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  • From: Dave Washburn <dwashbur AT nyx.net>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Qumran agreement with LXX and MT, was: aph
  • Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2004 19:33:39 -0700

On Monday 23 February 2004 16:26, Jonathan Walther wrote:
> On Mon, Feb 23, 2004 at 04:09:18PM -0700, Dave Washburn wrote:
> >Most of the "non-aligned" texts are actually MT-based, with the vast
> > majority of variants involving little more than spelling variations.
> > Based on my own research, I would guesstimate that at least 30% of these
> > have what I would call an MT "flavor" while the other 17% are readings
> > unique to the DSS themselves. Tov tends to refer to the 30% as either
> > "proto-Masoretic" or "Qumran type." I have some doubts about these terms
> > (because of certain assumptions that underly them, see his book) but the
> > actual differences between these and what we know as the MT are fairly
> > minor.
>
> What is your take on the book by Pastor V.S. Herrell, "The History of
> the Bible"? It is short, you can read it online here:
>
> http://www.christianseparatist.org/ast/hist/toc.htm
>
> He argues that Jesus spoke Greek, not Aramaic, and that the Septuagint
> was the Bible that Jesus and his disciples considered authoritative.
> His arguments and evidence seemed compelling to me, but I don't have the
> scholarly background or resources to make an accurate judgement on these
> matters. Perhaps some kind person on this list could help?
>
> Jonathan

I believe Soren and I already did. He claims there was some conspiracy to
suppress the DSS, which is baloney; the first scrolls were edited and
published within a handful of years of their discovery. He also claims that
the DSS support the LXX, but Soren and I have already dealt with this matter.

If you want to see the material for yourself and add up the numbers, pick up
my book "A Catalog of Biblical Passages in the Dead Sea Scrolls" published by
SBL (paper) and Brill (hardcover). It lists every biblical text and quote in
the DSS and includes a textual analysis of each, plus publication info so you
can look at the original yourself if you want. Truth be told, the DSS are
overwhelmingly Masoretic-text in flavor, and this guy's claim is bovine
fertilizer (not to put too fine a point on it). I'll apologize to the
moderators right now for that, but comments like these infuriate me.

I don't see how he can claim that Jesus didn't speak Aramaic, when we have
several transliterated Aramaic words and phrases in the New Testament.
Ephphatha, talitha cumi and the cry on the cross come immediately to mind, so
that in itself should give you some idea of how "scholarly" this person's
work really is.

--
Dave Washburn
http://www.nyx.net/~dwashbur
Learning about Christianity from a non-Christian
is like getting a kiss over the telephone.





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