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A
scribe must have a complete and authentic master from which to copy.
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Scribes could not copy even a word from memory.
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Scribes used a strict grid of lines and spaces so that individual
characters could be checked against the master document.
-
Only the use of special black ink was permitted in the copying
process
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While copying a scribe could not acknowledge anyone in the room,
including the King of Israel.
The
Consistency of Existing Texts
Over
2000 ancient copies of the Old Testament currently exist, though many
only contain fragments of the text.
-
Up until the 1940’s the earliest complete Old Testament
document dated to 980 AD.
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In 1947 the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in a cave in
Israel . These documents dated to 100 BC.
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When compared to the newer text the Dead Sea Scrolls were
found to be 95% identical. The 5% variation consisted mainly
of slips of the pen and variations in spelling. In no case
did the variations change the meaning of even one verse.
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These conclusions lead scholar William Green to state, “It
may safely be said that no other work of antiquity has been
so accurately transmitted.”
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Archaeological / Historical Confirmation
Many of
the people and places of the Bible have been confirmed recently through
archaeology. A brief description of some of the recent finds is outlined
below.
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Sodom and Gomorrah : The burned cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were
found near the Dead Sea .
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Archaeological evidence found between 1965-1973 at both sites
shows that the cities were destroyed by fire around 2,100 B.C.,
which would cohere with the biblical time of Sodom and Gomorrah
's destruction.
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The excavated cities lay in the area described in the Bible.
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Jericho : Excavations from 1930-1936 discovered the city of Jericho.
After digging the walls of the city appear to have fallen outward as
the Bible describes. This is unusual as a city under siege always
falls inward.
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Saul, David, and Solomon: The names of the three greatest kings of
Israel have been found during digs in recent years.
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The
Flood of Noah: Similar accounts of the flood are found in cultures
around the world.
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Tower of Babel : There now is evidence that at one point the world
did have a single language. Sumerian literature alludes to the fact
several times.
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Evidence of both the Assyrian invasion and the Babylonian captivity
have been found.
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Historian Henry Morris states, “Now, however it is no longer
possible to reject the substantial historicity of the Bible, at
least as far back as the time of Abraham, because of the remarkable
discoveries of archaeology.”
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