tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859011.post1330071702330701047..comments2024-03-29T00:57:56.876+00:00Comments on Evangelical Textual Criticism: New Book: How Old Is the Hebrew Bible?P.J. Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04388225485348300613noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859011.post-41540622688485329402019-03-03T13:41:50.437+00:002019-03-03T13:41:50.437+00:00Yeah. But the authors did not base this conclusion...Yeah. But the authors did not base this conclusion on intuition. Though there are some differences between epigraphic Hebrew and the MT, overall, the MT reflects the Hebrew from that period. So in this case we can verify the antiquity and conservative nature of the MT over and against the modernized SamPent and 1QIsa-a. Make sense?John Meadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09258579581521365645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859011.post-15861916178727693722019-03-03T13:37:43.735+00:002019-03-03T13:37:43.735+00:00Thanks, Jan. Look for it tomorrow morning.Thanks, Jan. Look for it tomorrow morning.John Meadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09258579581521365645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859011.post-8312815147109620712019-03-03T01:55:55.010+00:002019-03-03T01:55:55.010+00:00I'd file this under the heading: "The Myt...I'd file this under the heading: "The Myth that 'Older is Better'" ;-)<br /><br />Seriously, I don't think we should follow the MT at every point (and I'm inclined to say that in some books the MT is quite wide of the mark compared to other sources), yet it does, for the most part at least, preserve a text far older than the age of its MSS suggests. This conclusion can be reached from various independent angles, one of which is diachronics.Stephen Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07183031389623563984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859011.post-16456825344844454652019-03-02T20:59:31.724+00:002019-03-02T20:59:31.724+00:00Aha, I suspected they picked those parts of the Ta...Aha, I suspected they picked those parts of the Tanach since they are so well represented textually. But that's a bit counterintuitive--they are saying that manuscripts from the 20th century, and the end of a long chain of conservative transmission stretching back 1500 years, preserve an older text than manuscripts dug out of a cave in which they were buried 2000 years ago?Daniel Buckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02600146498880358592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859011.post-86731806244527497822019-03-02T09:56:18.891+00:002019-03-02T09:56:18.891+00:00Thanks, John, I look forward to the next instalmen...Thanks, John, I look forward to the next instalment!Jan Joostennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859011.post-119484218892099522019-03-01T16:29:51.950+00:002019-03-01T16:29:51.950+00:00Yeah. The book depends on other studies of course....Yeah. The book depends on other studies of course. But it does make the matter accessible.John Meadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09258579581521365645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859011.post-41648211987487839252019-03-01T16:20:09.117+00:002019-03-01T16:20:09.117+00:00Glad to see a relatively accessible book that can ...Glad to see a relatively accessible book that can bridge the world of exegesis, TC, and the evolution of grammatical nuances. My OT profs continually tried to demonstrate such issues, but this book sounds like the necessary tool to give a bigger picture than the occasional example given in an exegesis class. I am sure the authors all agree that for each book of the OT one could write a 221 page book without much effort, so this one can only serve as a launching pad for (hopefully) a series which will be helpful for future commentaries and dictionaries. Benjamin Murrayhttp://deeplygrateful.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859011.post-81083922147525602972019-03-01T14:26:47.064+00:002019-03-01T14:26:47.064+00:00That's right. Diachrony and removing obstacles...That's right. Diachrony and removing obstacles to it (e.g. textual history) is the point of their book.John Meadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09258579581521365645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859011.post-64270805260608501432019-03-01T14:25:42.032+00:002019-03-01T14:25:42.032+00:00In this chapter, the authors do not distinguish. H...In this chapter, the authors do not distinguish. Here, 1QIsa-a is the update, while MT is conservative. For the Pentateuch, SamPent is the update, while MT is conservative.John Meadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09258579581521365645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859011.post-88002235363465314022019-03-01T14:00:59.336+00:002019-03-01T14:00:59.336+00:00Well, maybe not the point. It seems to me relative...Well, maybe not <i>the</i> point. It seems to me relative chronology of authorial composition is the main concern.Stephen Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07183031389623563984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859011.post-4523245238536360482019-03-01T13:49:40.255+00:002019-03-01T13:49:40.255+00:00"The fact is that the MT of Isaiah and the Pe..."The fact is that the MT of Isaiah and the Pentateuch does not exhibit this modernizing profile."<br /><br />When they say "Isaiah" do they mean all of what is traditionally called "Isaiah"? Or do they just mean chapters 1-39. If this claim applies equally to chapters 40-66, do they have much to say about implications that has on the dating of that material?<br /><br />Similarly with the Pentateuch, do they mean all of the Pentateuch? If so, then it seems that their claims have implications both scribal conservatism and the dating of its composition or redaction into the form we know.Eric Rowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13379106188046530722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859011.post-12727935569559116292019-03-01T12:41:09.922+00:002019-03-01T12:41:09.922+00:00Yes, this is the point of the book.Yes, this is the point of the book.John Meadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09258579581521365645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859011.post-72775869902130819912019-03-01T12:35:19.842+00:002019-03-01T12:35:19.842+00:00I haven't read the book yet, but I heartily ag...I haven't read the book yet, but I heartily agree that at times text-critical work can clear up discrepancies in the diachronic data and diachronics can help eliminate secondary readings on linguistic grounds.Stephen Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07183031389623563984noreply@blogger.com