08-26-2010, 04:51 AM
At the destruction of the Temple the principle copies of the OT were destroyed and those who escaped with copies of some or all of the text were dispersed. The Masoretic text was assembled and edited using available sources and the and oldest copies of the current Masoretic text date to the 9th Century AD. See <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masoretic_Text">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masoretic_Text</a><!-- m -->
Lamsa's comments about the comparison of Isaiah 6:9-10 with respect to John 12:40 concern the nature of the of their "blindness" and ability to "understand". This is clear in his commentaries: Old Testament Light page 67, and Gospel Light page 363. The text reads "they have become blind" not "he made them blind" as in the Greek text or the Masoretic text. His point is that the Peshitta OT and the NT agree in this regard but do not match up with the current Hebrew version which has God making them blind rather than their blindness being a result of their condition.
Lamsa apparently saw healing and forgiveness as equivalent in the context of Is 6:9-10 and John 12:40. Either English word is apparently okay. That's not the point he was addressing or saw as a conflict.
Otto
Lamsa's comments about the comparison of Isaiah 6:9-10 with respect to John 12:40 concern the nature of the of their "blindness" and ability to "understand". This is clear in his commentaries: Old Testament Light page 67, and Gospel Light page 363. The text reads "they have become blind" not "he made them blind" as in the Greek text or the Masoretic text. His point is that the Peshitta OT and the NT agree in this regard but do not match up with the current Hebrew version which has God making them blind rather than their blindness being a result of their condition.
Lamsa apparently saw healing and forgiveness as equivalent in the context of Is 6:9-10 and John 12:40. Either English word is apparently okay. That's not the point he was addressing or saw as a conflict.
Otto