IZwi LikaNkulunkulu—Ubufakazi Bokwethembeka Kwalo
Yiqiniso noma amanga?—IBhayibheli liye ladluliswa ukusuka kwenye inkathi kuya kwenye ngaphandle kokushintshwa.
Yiqiniso noma amanga?—Izinkulungwane zezinto ezishintshiwe emibhalweni yesandla yeBhayibheli zilulaza ukusho kwalo kokuthi liyiZwi likaNkulunkulu.
NGAPHAMBI kokuba uphendule leyomibuzo, cabangela okunye ukwaziswa okwanikezwa muva nje eMbukisweni “WeZwi LikaNkulunkulu” owawuqhutshelwa esakhiweni soMtapo iChester Beatty eDublin, eIreland.
Amakhasi epapyrus ayimvithi, ayizicucu ayavithika ngokuhamba kwesikhathi. Nokho, amaphepha epapyrus aseChester Beatty ayimibhalo yesandla eyigugu kunayo yonke kulesakhiwo esiwumtapo. Avunjululwa ethuneni lomCopt (lomGibithe) cishe ngo-1930. UMnumzane Frederic Kenyon wathi: “[Kwaku] okutholiwe okwadlulwa kuphela ukutholakala kweCodex Sinaiticus.”
Lamakhasi epapyrus abhalwe ngesandla, asesimweni secodex, akopishwa ekhulwini leminyaka lesibili, lesithathu, nelesine leSikhathi sethu Esivamile. “Amanye,” kusho uWilfrid Lockwood, umphathi womtapo, “kungenzeka ukuthi akopishwa ingakapheli iminyaka eyikhulu yokwenziwa kweyokuqala.” (Omalukeke sizenzele.) Enye icodex inamaVangeli amane nencwadi yezEnzo. Enye inezincwadi eziningi zomphostoli uPawulu, kuhlanganise nencwadi yakhe eya kumaHeberu.
Ukukopisha imibhalo yesandla enjengalena kwakukhathaza futhi kunzima, futhi kulula ukuba kube namaphutha. Kwakulula ukungalifundi ngendlela uhlamvu noma ukweqa umusho, kungakhathaliseki ukuthi okopishayo unesineke kangakanani. Ngezinye izikhathi okopishayo wayeba nesithakazelo esikhulu ekutholeni indaba nencazelo yalokho okwakushiwo umbhalo wokuqala kunamazwi aqondile. Njengoba amakhophi ayebuye akopishwe futhi, amaphutha aqhutshekiselwa phambili. Izazi zezingcaphuno zemibhalo zahlela imibhalo yesandla enezinto ezishintshiwe ezifanayo ngokwamaqoqo. Lamakhasi epapyrus aseChester Beatty, imibhalo yesandla ebalulekile emidala kunayo yonke ekhona yeBhayibheli lesiGreki, anikeza izazi umbono omusha ongalindelekile ngezinto, njengoba yayingafani nanoma yimaphi amaqoqo amagama ababewahlelile.
Ngaphambi kwesikhathi sikaJesu, futhi ikakhulukazi ngemva kokubhujiswa kweJerusalema (ngo-607 B.C.E.) nokuhlakazeka kwamaJuda okwalandela, kwenziwa amakhophi amaningi abhalwe ngesandla emiBhalo engcwele yesiHeberu. Cishe ngo-100 C.E., iziphathimandla ezingamaJuda zasebenzisa lamakhophi ukuze zenze umbhalo wesiHeberu owamukelwa amaJuda obuorthodox.
Zabeka futhi imithetho eqondile ukuze zizame ukuqiniseka ngokuthi ingcaphuno yombhalo ikopishwa kahle. Zasho ngokuqondile ukuthi kwakungasetshenziswa nhloboni yezinto zokubhalela ngisho nobungako bezikhala phakathi kwezinhlamvu, amagama, imisho, nezinhlu. “Akukho-gama noma uhlamvu, ngisho neyod [uhlamvu oluncane kunazo zonke izinhlamvu zesiHeberu], okumelwe kubhalwe ngekhanda,” zisho. Ngaleyondlela abakopishi benza imiqulu enjengeTorah (yokufundisa), enezincwadi eziyisihlanu zokuqala zeBhayibheli, nencwadi kaEsteri. Imibhalo enjalo yesandla yomBhalo wesiHeberu, kusho incwadi yokubukisa enemifanekiso, “ibonisa izinga lokufana okuhlaba umxhwele.”
Ayengangathi sina kangakanani amaphutha angena kokubili emibhalweni yamaKristu yesandla yesiHeberu neyesiGreki? “Kumelwe kugcizelelwe,” kusho uMnu. Lockwood, “ukuthi ukungefani phakathi kwemibhalo yesandla yeBhayibheli akulutho uma kuqhathaniswa nalokho okutholakala emibhalweni yesandla yezincwadi zobuqaba . . . Noma yiliphi iphuzu lemfundiso yobuKristu alithinteki neze ngokonakala kwababhali.”—Omalukeke sizenzele.
Izincwadi zeBhayibheli kusukela ngaphambi nangemva kwesikhathi sikaJesu zahunyushelwa kwezinye izilimi. Enye yezinguqulo ezindala kakhulu iSamaritan Pentateuch. AmaSamariya ayengabantu ababehlala endaweni yombuso kaIsrayeli wezizwe eziyishumi ngemva kokuba inkosi yaseAsiriya ithumbe amaIsrayeli (ngo-740 B.C.E.). Azitholela ezinye izici zokukhulekela kwamaJuda futhi amukela kuphela izincwadi zokuqala eziyisihlanu zeBhayibheli, iPentateuch. Ingcaphuno yombhalo yamaSamariya yalezincwadi, eyabhalwa ngendlela yokubhala yesiHeberu sasendulo, ihluke ngezinto eziyizi-6 000 engcaphunweni yombhalo wesiHeberu. Incwadi yokubukisa enemifanekiso yathi: “Eziningi azibalulekile engcaphunweni yombhalo nakuba zithakazelisa njengoba ngokunokwenzeka zilondoloza izici zokuphimisela kwasendulo noma ukuhlelwa kolimi.”
Ngekhulu lesithathu leminyaka B.C.E., izazi ezingamaJuda eAlexandriya, eGibithe, zenza inguqulo yesiGreki yeSeptuagint yemiBhalo YesiHeberu, eyasetshenziswa amaJuda akhuluma isiGreki emhlabeni wonke. Ngokuhamba kwesikhathi amaJuda ayeka ukuyisebenzisa, kodwa yaba iBhayibheli lebandla lokuqala lobuKristu. Lapho abalobi abangamaKristu beBhayibheli becaphuna emiBhalweni engcwele yesiHeberu, babesebenzisa iSeptuagint. Amakhasi epapyrus aseChester Beatty emiBhalo yesiHeberu ahlanganisa amakhasi ayi-13 encwadi kaDaniyeli kuyiSeptuagint.
Izinguqulo zamuva zeBhayibheli zakhishwa ngezilimi ezinjengesiLatin, isiCopt, isiSyria, nesiArmenia. Esinye isibonelo embukisweni sasiyicodex yesikhumba sewundlu yenguqulo yesiCopt yengxenye yeBhayibheli kusukela ekhulwini leminyaka lesithupha noma lesikhombisa C.E. Izinguqulo ezifana nalezi zizisiza kanjani izazi zeBhayibheli nabagxeki bezingcaphuno? Izinguqulo ezinjalo ngokuvamile ziwukuhunyushwa kwezwi nezwi okukhulu kwemibhalo yesandla yesiGreki eyayisetshenziswa abahumushi. “Uma ingcaphuno yombhalo wesiGreki umhumushi ayeyihumusha kuyo yayingefanelekile,” kuchaza uMnu. Lockwood, “kwakusobala ukuthi inguqulo iyonikeza usizo olubalulekile emsebenzini wokutholwa kabusha kwamazwi okuqala esiGreki.”
Umbukiso oyigugu kakhulu noyingqayizivele, ovelele emtatsheni uwukuhlaziya komlobi waseSiriya wekhulu lesine leminyaka, uEphraem, iDiatessaron ebhalwe nguTatian. Cishe ngo-170 C.E., uTatian wahlela ukulandisa okuvumelanayo ngokuphila nenkonzo kaJesu, esebenzisa izingcaphuno ezisemaVangelini amane (elithi Diatessaron lisho “okwenziwe ngezinto ezine”). Ngenxa yokuthi awekho amakhophi asala, abanye abagxeki ekhulwini leminyaka elidlule baphikisana ngokuthi kwake kwaba khona yini ukuvumelana okunjalo kwamaVangeli. Labagxeki baphikisa ngokuthi lamaVangeli amane ngokwawo awazange abhalwe kwaze kwaba phakathi nekhulu leminyaka lesibili.
Nokho, eminyakeni eyikhulu edlule, ukutholakala kweDiatessaron ehunyushwe ngesiArmenia nangesiArabhu kwaphoqelela abagxeki abavelele beBhayibheli ukuba bahoxe. Khona-ke, ngo-1956, uMnumzane Chester Beatty wathola lokuhlaziya okuyingqayizivele kwekhulu lesihlanu/lesithupha okunezingcaphuno ezinde ezivela encwadini yokuqala kaTatian. “Ngokuqinisekile kwayishabalalisa imfundiso yokuthi amaVangeli amane ayengemaningi ngaleyonkathi,” kusho uMnu. Lockwood.
UMbukiso “WeZwi LikaNkulunkulu” wawuyisikhumbuzo senala yezinto ezitholakalela izazi zeBhayibheli nabagxeki bezingcaphuno zemibhalo. Ake uvumele omunye walezazi, uMnumzane Frederic Kenyon, ukuba achaze ukubaluleka kwayo yonke lemibhalo yesandla yeBhayibheli eye yatholakala futhi ngesikhathi esifanayo aphendule imibuzo ephakanyiswe ekuqaleni:
“Kungase kube okuphazamisayo kwabanye ukuba bayeke umqondo wokuthi iBhayibheli ladluliswa ukusuka kwenye inkathi kuya kwenye ngaphandle kokushintshwa . . . Kuyaqinisekisa ekugcineni ukuthola ukuthi usuwonke umphumela wakho konke lokhu okuye kwatholakala nakho konke lokhu kuhlola ungowokuqinisa ubufakazi bokuthembeka kwemiBhalo, nokuqiniseka kwethu kokuthi sineZwi likaNkulunkulu langempela, ngobuqotho obuphawulekayo.” (The Story of the Bible, ikhasi 113)—IHubo 119:105; 1 Petru 1:24, 25.
[Isithombe ekhasini 27]
Ipapyrus yekhulu lesithathu leminyaka—2 Korinte 4:13–5:4
[Umthombo]
Reproduced by permission of the Chester Beatty Library
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Imiqulu kaEsteri yesikhumba neyenziwe ngesikhumba sewundlu yekhulu leminyaka le-18
[Umthombo]
Reproduced by permission of the Chester Beatty Library
[Isithombe ekhasini 29]
Icodex yesikhumba sewundlu yekhulu leminyaka lesithupha noma lesikhombisa—Johane 1:1-9, inguqulo yesiCopt
[Umthombo]
Reproduced by permission of the Chester Beatty Library
[Isithombe ekhasini 30]
Icodex yesikhumba sewundlu yekhulu leminyaka lesihlanu noma lesithupha—ukuhlaziya kukaEphraem okuhlanganisa izingcaphuno ezivela kuyiDiatessaron kaTatian, ngesiSyria
[Umthombo]
Reproduced by permission of the Chester Beatty Library