Transcription Errors in Our Bibles? Part 2 (TMF:768)

Peace to Live By: Transcription Errors in Our Bibles? Part 2 (TMF:768) - Daniel Litton
(Tap or right-click link to download two-minute feature)


       Even if a person were to write out a copy of a text today, and try his or her best, odds are the person would transcribe the text very accurately. There might be a very minor mistake every so often, but likely it would be insignificant and would not affect the overall message of what was being transcribed. But even trying your best, you likely would not be as accurate as the transcribers back then. Not only was their transcribing accurate back then, but they didn’t use the last copy to make the transcription. Rather, they would use the ‘original’ copies to transcribe each new copy (see Strobel, 2007, pg. 81). This point is very important. This means that copies down the line would not continue to get more and more weak, but rather each newly produced copy would be strong. It’s no different from publishing today. A publisher doesn’t make a copy of a book and then take that copy to make the next copy, but rather the publishers uses the original copy to make new copies.

Reference:
Strobel, Lee. (2007). The Case for the Real Jesus. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI.