Searching for the “Original” Bible - The BAS Library
Login
Home > Magazines > BAR > July/August 2014

Searching for the “Original” Bible

Do the Dead Sea Scrolls help?

By Emanuel Tov

When ancient Biblical texts differ from one another, which one should we believe?
More specifically, in answering this question: How helpful are those ancient scrolls of the Hebrew Bible found among the Dead Sea Scrolls?

Please join the BAS Library or become an All Access member of BAS to gain full access to this article and so much more.

Join the BAS Library!

Already a library member? Log in here.

Institution user? Log in with your IP address or Username

Endnotes

1.

Compare Psalm 82:1 in the New Revised Standard Version: “God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment.” See also Psalm 29:1 “Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.” In the latter verse, a literal translation of the words bney elim would be “sons of gods,” but modern translations usually present this phrase as “heavenly beings.”

2.

Like the preceding two verses, also this verse is lacking in the LXX and Qumran Scroll. Even though verse 8 does not contain praise of the Lord, it was probably added by a late scribe or redactor.

3.

Some guidance, including in practical matters, is given in my handbook Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible, 3rd ed., revised and expanded (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2012).