Biblical Hebrew Forum

[peter_kirk AT SIL.ORG]

Dear Lee,

I brought in the idea of inspiration in response to the comment you 
quote that "only the autographs are inspired." I didn't intend 
discussion to focus on that issue, but rather on the choice of that 
text.

As for 2 Timothy 3:15-16, don't forget that the author Paul was a 
"Hebrew of Hebrews" who would have used the Hebrew text himself. 
Probably Timothy (whose Jewish mother and grandmother had Greek names) 
would have known only Greek translations, and so Paul here accepts 
those as Scripture - but then I guess he would have accepted any 
translation. Perhaps better to say that Paul was not focusing on any 
particular text form when he wrote of inspiration, and to follow his 
example. Anyway, Paul's focus was on what was useful for teaching 
etc., and few would doubt that of any good translation (though they 
might disagree about what makes a good translation!)

So I am quite happy to think primarily in terms of default text, and 
to suggest a preference for the proto-Masoretic text as that.

Peter Kirk


______________________________ Reply Separator 
_________________________________
Subject: Re: Text and inspiration
Author:  lmartin AT vol.com at internet
Date:    09/04/1999 08:48


Dear Doug,
Point well taken.
I agree with your and Peter's concept of "default text."  What I object to is 
th
e
identification of "inspiration" with the "proto-Masoretic text," as Peter 
called
it.
If he had omitted the word "inspired" I would have agreed with his post. 
Furthermore,
someone (I don't remember who) had said, "only the autographs are inspired."  
If
that
is true, then we have no inspired Scripture.  2 Tim 3:16 suggests to me that 
the
early
Christian community did not hold to such a view.  Since they used the Greek 
translation as "Scripture" they apparently considered it to be "inspired."

Doug Kasten wrote:

> Lee,
>
> It seems to me that Peter's effort was to define a 'default' text, and
> not to focus on the nature of inspiration itself.  It seems also that he 
> went some distance to keep a battle over the nature of inspiration OUT of 
> the issue by putting quote marks around 'inspired' in his posting.

--

Lee R. Martin
Pastor, Prospect Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee 
Instructor in Hebrew and Old Testament
Church of God Theological Seminary
http://earth.vol.com/~lmartin/