Truth is sacred, truth is nascent, truth is a double-edged sword that cuts deep both ways. Almost all the times, truth hurts. Yes, it hurts those whose main preoccupation is pervasion of history. But truth is also sweet. Its aroma satiates the mind. Truth is a harbinger of hope.
In each moment of our life, we are called to stand for truth and establish it because never a time an illusion of a truth can be better than the truth itself. Again for clearer understanding, our highest truths are sometimes half truths, think not to settle forever for what you know as truth, when you first have an inkling of its insufficiency, then weep not but give thanks to Yahweh for it is his voice-whispering.
For many centuries, the book of Bible has become the most focal point amongst all books produced in the earth. Many people including the great tyrants loves it, many have died professing, defending or producing it, and it has been adjudged as the most widely circulated book in human history. It is estimated that more than two billion copies of the book have been produced and sold. The book equally has attracted the wildest opposition from wicked and tyrant’ leaders as well as religious leaders of mainstream churches who carried out major intellectual assaults against the book.
Then what is the meaning of Bible? The term Bible originated from Greek word Biblia or Bibylos which means “little books”. The term is equally associated with inner part of papyrus. A plant from which papers were produced in ancient times. The book is aimed at transmission of the ancient divinely inspired documents by inspired men of Yahweh.
Today there are many hundreds of translations of the inspired works circulating in all faces of the earth with the identical names Bible. But our concern today is, do this modern day Bible represent the true and accurate account of the ancient inspired writers?
Were the translations perfectly done that it so represent the accurate communication from Yahweh to mankind? Can the Bible be trusted? Truly the ancient inspired writers were possessed by Yahweh to write down the mind of Yahweh but their works went through many ages and series of canonizations, translations and transliterations and within the scope of these workers, there might be serious dislocations which will render the original works to be in tune of the translators.
This infection of wrong translations was an ancient error which many prophets such as Yerimiah frowned at. The saviour of mankind Yahoshea Meshiyach equally attacked the scribes of his days for misdirecting the Hebrews by twisting the scriptures during their recopyings thereby adding traditions of men into the scripture.
For the Bible to come to its present state, it passed through many translations such as Samaritan, Pentateuch, Aramaic, Targums (Persia), Greek Septaugint etc.
For instance in the city of Alexandria in Egypt before the birth of Yahoshea Meshiyach, seventy Greek speaking Hebrews were ordained to translate the Scrolls into Greek text. And that was the source of Oregin’s translation and what is presently known as Greek Septugint.
Again another translator called Jerome is the source of “VULGATE”, the term vulgatus means? “Common, that which is popular”. While the accounts of Oregin and Jerome are from the same scrolls of original scriptures, yet there are lots of differences, meaning that each added his human understanding to his works.
During the council of Carthage 397 CE, some of the books were termed as Apocryphals while at the council of Trenth in 1546, the Roman Catholic confirmed seven of the books such as Tobit, Judith, Ester, Wisdom, Baruch, first Maccabees and second Maccabees as inspired works.
Therefore based on this, it is certain that the canonization of the 66 books was done by church authorities but not by the original inspired writers. Some conditions were mapped out as standard for selection of the books in the Bible which includes that the scriptures must deal with Yahweh’s affairs with the earth, turning men to his worship and stimulating deep respect for his name, his work and purpose in the earth. And that an authentic writer cannot conflict with others but upholds one authorship that Yahweh is the Grand Creator of the universe.
The early Hebrew copiests were called the Sopherim (scribes). And history proved that they made many textual changes and Yahoshea Meshiyach condemned them (Scribes) for falsification of scriptures. The Sopherim were succeeded by the Masoretes, they made many marginal notes out of Sopherim alterations which they termed as Masora.
Then what is the net evaluation to the textual integrity and authenticity? Can the accuracy be guaranteed through the discovered Dead sea scroll, assurances by the New World Bible Translation Committee or issues in form of geological or geographical accuracies of the Bible? Going by the truth, all those are not accurate evaluation points to ascertain the accuracy of the Bible.
Going by historic records many factors contributes to criticisms or doubt over the authenticity and the general integrity of the book of Bible.
Although the supporters of Bible is of the conviction that no other work of antiquity has been so accurately transmitted or passed to present generation as the book.
To them, no any ancient account can be as accurate as the Bible. This they attribute to the working of Yahweh and his representation that vow to preserve his works for all generations of humanity.
Although theologians are corroborating their claims of Bible authenticity with archeological findings, but such cannot be a reliable factor of its conclusion because all acclaimed manuscripts discovered by the archeologists have proven that their origins are of recent millenniums.
For example, the latest finding of the Dead Sea scroll of the Bible book of Isaiah discovered in 1947 alleged to have been written on leather in a pre-mesoretic Hebrew script was assumed to been penned down around second century B.C
The next discovery identified as John Ryland Papyrus assumed to date back to 1251 C.E. The Vatican and Siniatic manuscript is assumed to date back to 4th century C.E. while Alexander manuscript is alleged to date back to early 5th century C.E.
Some of the factors that might not be ignored as obstructions to authenticity of the Bible books can be classified as both human and inhuman.
For example, the inhuman factor must be considered at the level of textual or literal developments and abilities at the ages of these records.
No ancient Bible records that predate Dead Sea scrolls have been found. It means that the writings of early prophets as Moses and Joshua cannot be seen as originally penned down.
The reason for such occurrence can be adequately answers by the Journal Archeological Review as follows “Papyrus and leather documents have not survived from most of Palestine, only from very arid regions such as the area around the Dead Sea, these materials rot in damp soil.
Truly, literary texts were available in ancient Mesopotamia and Egyptian ages but were reserved to the elite class who were sparsely few in number.
Unavailable of writing materials that endured as well as restrictions caused by fewness of readable elites, and the mobility to produce the works in bulk were some of the ancient factors that accounted for the doubt of authenticity of the book of Bible.
Meshiyach Yahzitere Yahmarabhi
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