02-08-2008, 09:17 PM
One of my posts just disappeared. Rats.
Basically, I pointed out that the MT doesn't appear to have changed much in the last several thousand years of it's editing. Only minor changes, mainly coming from the standardization within the Massoretic family, were made. You can compare the BHK to the Aleppo codex and see that quite clearly. The Massoretic tradition is not really much older than the first century, if it is any older at all.
I also pointed out that the DSS have to be used carefully, as their vocabulary and grammar have clearly been updated. They are sometimes quite obviously an attempt to make the TN"K more readable for the first century reader.
Basically, I pointed out that the MT doesn't appear to have changed much in the last several thousand years of it's editing. Only minor changes, mainly coming from the standardization within the Massoretic family, were made. You can compare the BHK to the Aleppo codex and see that quite clearly. The Massoretic tradition is not really much older than the first century, if it is any older at all.
I also pointed out that the DSS have to be used carefully, as their vocabulary and grammar have clearly been updated. They are sometimes quite obviously an attempt to make the TN"K more readable for the first century reader.