Monday 30 July 2018

Christians are not certain


Are Christians certain they'll be saved on the day of Judgement? Not according to the saying of their "so called saviour".

On judgment day many will say to me, 'Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.' But I will reply, 'I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God's laws.' (Matthew 7:22-23)

Pause for a moment! This is something to think about. Christians keep telling us, how Jesus died for their sins, and how they are saved. Anyone who rejects the son will be in eternal fire blah blah blah. Yet the above saying by their own god seems to suggest something else about them. It's clear from the text, on judgement day "many" will approach Jesus and tell how they served him, but in response Jesus would deny them as his followers?

What's more, the text doesn't specify who these Christians are? I.e. what sect, denomination, church etc. In other words, this could apply to any Christian. Thus, they have no certainty if they would not be amongst those people "Jesus" will condemn.

Christians must accept they could be part of this condemned group.  If any Christians claim they are not part of that that group, ask them for evidence.  How could you honestly count yourself as not being part of that group? The text tells us, those people were believers, they prophesised, cast out demons, performed many miracles. This is exactly what every day Christians do, or at least claim they do. They prophecies, cast demons, do miracles in their church, they even call Jesus lord. So, what's the difference between those Christians whom Jesus will deny and the Christians we have now? Nothing!

This is a serious problem for Christian who claim they are saved, when in reality they have no certainty on where will happen to them.  Now moving on to the next part, why is Jesus going to condemn these "Believers? It happened to be, that these people, though they claim to be believers are in reality evil. The text goes to tells us "you who break God's laws." i.e. you never kept the commands of God. This Law of God is so important to Jesus, that he is willing to deny his own followers who were going everything in his name. Jesus himself made it clear how important the Law of God is :

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5: 17-19)

Here Jesus himself is declaring how important the Law of God is. You're not to even break one of these commandments. 613 laws of God, Jesus came to fulfil them all, how many do Christians accept and reject? If you reject then your doomed, your Jesus will deny you. However, if you accept them all then you are saved. 

How many Christians agree with each commandments in the Old Testament starting with killing a disobedient child, or apostate? Saying these laws, we're for the Jews not gentiles won't help you, as the saying of your Jesus does not specify what race or tribe. The laws mean law.

Thus, we can conclude, unless Christians abide by the 613 Laws as instructed by their Jesus, they have no certainty of being saved!


Sunday 29 July 2018

Sun on the Run





The sun rises, and the sun sets— And glides back to where it rises. (Ecclesiastes 1:5)

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A major scientific error found in the supposed inspired word of God.  What makes it worse is, this saying comes from Solomon the son of King David. The same Solomon whom the God of Israel gave “wisdom and understanding”, which no man had ever received (1 kings 10:23).  The question is, how could a man of such wisdom by God, make such a scientific error? If we are to accept, 1 Kings 10:23 as Solomon being the wised man on earth through his prayer to God, which he granted as found in 1 Kings 3:5-9, then how could Solomon erroneous statement? This would mean, Yahweh who initially gave Solomon his wisdom was wrong

This would mean, not only did Yahweh give Solomon false information, he also wasn’t aware of his “own creation”, i.e. the celestial planets and the body of planets and their movements. The traditional teaching heliocentricism is in conflict with Ecclesiastes 1:5. It will be highly unorthodox to claim that, Ecclesiastes 1:5 is not a literal statement rather metaphoric, purely to cover up what the God of Israel really thought of the sun and its movement.  The idea that the sun rises and sets, then hurries or glides back to where it rises, has no basis in the real world of science. The author of the Bible i.e. God should have known that.

The Earth revolves around the sun. the sun does not revolve around the earth nor does it hurry back to where it rises. How could the God of Israel make such a blunder? Also, the church used this argument in Galileo’s day causing a lengthy trial and undue punishment

Even Classical Jewish Rabbis understood this verse as the sun literally moving about the earth.

As it is stated: “The sun also rises and the sun goes down, and hastens to its place, where it rises again. It goes toward the south, and turns about to the north; round and round goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns” (Ecclesiastes 1:5–6). The verse is understood as describing the sun’s movements, as follows: “It goes toward the south” during the day, “and turns about to the north,” on the outside of the firmament, at night. “Round and round goes the wind [rua] and the wind returns again to its circuits”; as the word rua can also mean direction or side, Rabbi Yehoshua explains that these are the face of the east and the face of the west. Sometimes, in the short winter days, the sun turns about them without being seen, and sometimes, in the long summer days, it traverses them visibly. (Talmud Bava Batra 25b:2)

It’s amazing how Christians have the audacity to attack Muslims scriptures, yet have no idea that their own Bible is filled with erroneous statement.  Thus from the Bible itself and classical understanding, we can conclude the God of Israel was wrong about the sun, that it moves back and forth around the earth.

Monday 23 July 2018

Dirham





It comes with no surprise our friend Stephen Atkins keeps repeating himself with the same old busted argument, what was the price that Joseph was sold for"?  The problem isn’t on asking what price he was sold for, rather the problem is the hidden agenda behind the question.

The Quran tells us, Joseph (Pbuh) was sold by his brothers for a few pieces or silvers. Or according to translations for the lame like Stephen, a few pieces of silver coins. This is where is gets interesting, where Stephens actual motive on asking the question get’s revealed.

According to Stephen Atkins, “Dirham” (دِرْهَمٍ) was not used during the time of Joseph Pbuh thus, it’s historically inaccurate.

Well, our friend Stephen shouldn’t be surprised to know that on this occasion he is wrong and made an inaccurate statement. just for the record,  I am no scholar or historian on this matter, nor do I hold any such degree on this subject which gives me an upper hand for my argument. I’ll be using a simple basic, down to earth, lay man response. If you want an academic response to Stephen Atkins question, then I recommend you visit, Islamic Awareness website. You’ll get a highly Academic, bone breaking answer and more. I however, won’t have that sort of response. I’ll be as simple as possible.

Before I give my response, here’s what Stephen Atkins wrote:

The Storey of Joseph
- Shekels or Coins?
According to Genesis Joseph was sold for 20 shekels of silver.
Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt. [Genesis 37:28]
Fact
- Joseph lived approximately 1700 BC
- Shekels were weighted measurement
Surah 12:20
- J. B. Irving a few coins
- Muhammed Farooq & Azam Malik dirhams (silver coins)
- Syed Ahamed a few dirhams
- Majid Fakhry dirhams
- The Noble Quran a few dirhams (silver coins)
- Pickthall a number of silver coins
The consensus by those translating the Quran is Joseph was sold for a few silver coins or dirhams
Fact
- The first coins were developed in Iron Age Anatolia around the 7th and 6th centuries BC. Coins spread rapidly in the 6th and 5th centuries BC, throughout Greece and Persia, and further to the
- Dirhams were not used as a coin until the 7th century


Stephen Atkins has the audacity to question the Quran, yet dismisses his own Bible? His argument is, the Quran uses the word Dirham (Silver Coins), whereas the Bible uses the word Shekels. He goes on to say and i quote :
 The first coins were developed in Iron Age Anatolia around the 7th and 6th centuries BC. Coins spread rapidly in the 6th and 5th centuries BC, throughout Greece and Persia, and further to the
- Dirhams were not used as a coin until the 7th century”

So, according to Stephens shabby information, “Dirham were not used until the 7th century”? let’s find out a little about Dirham before we close this case.

The word "dirham" comes from drachma (δραχμή), the Greek coin. (Oxford English Dictionary, 1st edition, s.v. 'dirhem')

The Greek-speaking Byzantine Empire controlled the Levant and traded with Arabia, circulating the coin there in pre-Islamic times and afterward. It was this currency which was initially adopted as an Arab word; then near the end of the 7th century the coin became an Islamic currency bearing the name of the sovereign and a religious verse. The dirham was struck in many Mediterranean countries, including Al-Andalus (Moorish Spain) and the Byzantine Empire(miliaresion), and could be used as currency in Europe between the 10th and 12th centuries, notably in areas with Viking connections, such as Viking York 

(In addition to Islamic dirhams in ninth and tenth century English hoards, a counterfeit dirham was found at Coppergate, York, struck as if for Isma'il ibn Achmad (ruling at Samarkand, 903-07/8), of copper covered by a once-silvery wash of tin (illustrated in Richard Hall, Viking Age Archaeology, [series Shire Archaeology] 2010:17)

Notice from the above information, Dirham was adopted as an Arab word, due to the trading with Arabia by the Byzantine Empire. Note after the “7th century” it became an Islamic currency. This alone has destroyed Stephen Atkins argument, but we haven’t finished yet.

Coming back to the word Dirham, we read from Oxford English Dictionary, the word Dirham comes from the word “DRACHMA”. Whats interesting about the word drachma is, it’s found in the Bible. The very Bible Stephen Atkins used as his shield to discredit the Quran, will now back fire on him.

Not only is the word Dirham in Arabic found in the Arabic Bible, the word Drachma is used frequently in the Septuagint Bible, which apparently Paul was familiar with.

Since Dirham was introduced during the 7th century according to our friend Stephen Atkins, one wonders why the Arabic bible would use the word Dirham during the time of David, that’s 1050 B.C.?

Bible: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV-AR)

وَقَدَّمُوا مِنْ أجلِ خِدْمَةِ بَيتِ اللهِ خَمْسَةَ آلافِ قِنْطارٍ وَعَشْرِةَ آلافِ دِرْهَماً مِنَ الذَّهَبِ، وَعَشْرِةَ آلافِ قِنْطارٍ مِنَ الفِضَّةِ، وَثَمانِيَةَ عَشَرَ قِنْطاراً مِنَ البرُونْزِ، وَمِئَةَ ألفِ قِنْطارٍ مِنَ الحَدِيد. (1 Chronicles 29:7)

And gave for the service of the house of God of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand drams, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. (1 Chronicles 29:7)

Maybe Stephen Atkins can tell why the Arabic Bible used Dirham during the time of David if Dirham was supposed to have been in circulation during the 7th century? We have another, this time from Ezra.

Easy-to-Read Version (ERV-AR)

69 فَكانَت تَبَرُّعاتُهُمْ لِهَذا البِناءِ قَدرَ طاقَتِهِمْ: واحِداً وَسِتِّينَ ألفَ دِرْهَمٍ مِنَ الذَّهَبِ، وَخَمسَةَ آلافِ رَطلٍ [a] مِنَ الفِضَّةِ، وَمِئَةَ ثَوبٍ للكَهَنَةِ. (Ezra 2:69)

They contributed to the treasury for this work in accordance with their ability: 61,000 golden drachma, 5,000 units of silver, and 100 priestly robes.  (Ezra 2:69)

Once again I ask Stephen atkins, if Dirham circulated during the 7th century, why then is the Arabic bible using it during the time of Ezra 445 B.C.? now I’ll post a few verses from the Septuagint Bible and showing the word “DRACHEM” (Dirham in Arabic دِرْهَماً) being used.


The Book of Leviticus, from the English Translation of the Greek Septuagint Bible Online. Lancelot C. L. Brenton 1851
... from twenty years old to sixty years old shall be his valuation shall be fifty didrachms of silver by the standard of the sanctuary. 4 And the valuation of ...

2. Exodus
The Book of Exodus, from the English Translation of the Greek Septuagint Bible Online. Lancelot C. L. Brenton 1851
... bull gore a man-servant or maid-servant, he shall pay to their master thirty silver didrachms, and the bull shall be stoned. 33 And if any one open ...

3. Joshua
The Book of Joshua, from the English Translation of the Greek Septuagint Bible Online. Lancelot C. L. Brenton 1851
... done: 21 I saw in the spoil an embroidered mantle, and two hundred didrachms of silver, and one golden wedge of fifty didrachms, and I desired ...

The Book of Nehemiah, from the English Translation of the Greek Septuagint Bible Online. Lancelot C. L. Brenton 1851
... before me oppressed them, they even took of them their last money, forty didrachms for bread and wine; and the very outcasts of them exercised authority over ...

5. Genesis
The Book of Genesis, from the English Translation of the Greek Septuagint Bible Online. Lancelot C. L. Brenton 1851
... my lord, I have heard indeed, the land is worth four hundred silver didrachms, but what can this be between me and thee? nay, do ...

6. Numbers
The Book of Numbers, from the English Translation of the Greek Septuagint Bible Online. Lancelot C. L. Brenton 1851
... even take five shekels a head; thou shalt take them according to the holy didrachm, twenty oboli to the shekel. 48 And thou shalt give the money ...


The Book of Deuteronomy, from the English Translation of the Greek Septuagint Bible Online. Lancelot C. L. Brenton 1851
... man who lay with her shall give to the father of the damsel fifty silver didrachms, and she shall be his wife, because he has humbled her; ...



Now for the grand finale!

8 او اية امرأة لها عشرة دراهم ان اضاعت درهما واحدا ألا توقد سراجا وتكنس البيت وتفتش باجتهاد حتى تجده(Luke 15:8)

Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? (Luke 15:8)

From the lips of Jesus, Drachem (Dirham درهما) used in the Arabic Bible. Were the Arab Christians told by Muslims to insert Dirham in the Arabic Bible? Hope Stephen Atkins has a good response.

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Smith's says that according to Genesis 37:28 Joseph was sold for 20 shekels. This was "about a price of a slave around that time period. So not only does the Bible get the right denomination, it also gets the right currency." There are serious problems with Smith's claims. To start with, in the book of Genesis, Joseph was sold twice; firstly by his brothers "who sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt" (Genesis 37:28) and secondly, the Midianites who "sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard" (Genesis 37:36). The Qur'an, on the other hand, mentions only one sale of Joseph to al-ʿAziz in Egypt by travellers who picked him from a well (12:19-21). Comparing the biblical and the Qur'anic stories, it is amply clear that neither of the two books mention any price for the sale of Joseph in Egypt. But the Qur'an does describe this sale as the one involving a few pieces of silver which are countable. Undoubtedly, Smith has confused himself thoroughly with the stories.

 

Secondly, the claim that Joseph was sold for 20 shekels being "about a price of a slave around that time period" is not based on data from Egypt because this sale never took in Egypt! If he had bothered to check, he would have found that Professor K. A. Kitchen used the data from the ancient Near East to work out the price of a slave around the time when Joseph lived.[90]

 

From <https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/external/dirham.html>

 

Conclusions

In a lecture given to his fellow missionaries Joseph Smith had claimed that the use of the word dirham during the time of Joseph is an anachronism in the Qur'an. To support his claim, he said that the dirham was created only after the advent of Islam by ‘Umar, who subsequently introduced the dirham to replace the drachma. Furthermore, he added that Joseph was sold to the Egyptians for a few dirhams, counted out. According to him, only coins are counted and there were no coins in the time of Joseph, it was bullion. Regrettably, Smith's superficial knowledge of numismatics in general and the numismatic history of the ancient near east in particular, has caused him to make many gross errors fundamental in nature.

 

It was shown that pre-Islamic Arabs were aware of the dirham. The evidence comes from the pre-Islamic romance poetry of ‘Antara. The Arabs from pre-Islamic Arabia handled Persian currency and called it dirham which came from the Persian drahm. Both Muslim and non-Muslim philologists agree that this is a word of foreign origin borrowed into Arabic. It is clear that the use of the dirham in the Qur'an is not an anachronism, as the Arabs from pre-Islamic times were already aware of it.

 

Moreover, during the advent of Islam, any silver coin was called a dirham; it was also a unit of weight and coinage, and represented a monetary unit that might or might not be represented by a circulating coin. Given the multifarious nature of dirham, the use of this word in the story of Joseph represents silver "coinage"; the silver used as deben or sh‘t in ancient Egypt. A study of "coinage" in ancient Egypt clearly shows that precious metals, especially silver, were used as money in the form of deben and sh‘t. During trade, the numbers of deben or sh‘t were specified, clearly suggesting that they were counted and were of a standard metal quality as well as of a standard weight. The texts do not say that either deben or sh‘t were weighed or tested for quality during commercial transactions. Although very common from Ramesside times onward, the evidence of such transactions extend all the way down to the mid-5th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom Period, where, in one particular market scene, a particular length of cloth is valued at 6 sh‘t.

 

In assessing the evidence of coinage in ancient Egypt, Černý came to the conclusion that sh‘ty "was a flat, round piece of metal 1/12 deben, that is about 7.6 grams, in weight, possibly with an inscription to indicate this weight or the name of the issuing authority", adding "If so, the 'piece' was practically a coin."[103] Although Černý's assessment was startling,[104] he was not too far off the mark.

 

In conclusion, the Qur'anic description of the transaction darāhima maʿdūdatin (i.e., a few pieces of silver, countable) is accurate from the point of view of ancient Egypt.

And Allah knows best!

 



Saturday 21 July 2018

Ezra changed the Torah text

                                                
                                                                             Tikkunie Soferim

Tikkunei Soferim, which can be translated as “corrections by the scribes,” refers to at least eighteen changes that were made in the original wording of the Hebrew Bible wording during the second temple period, perhaps sometime between 450 and 350 BCE.[1]
Most of these changes were made to enhance the honor due to God, to avoid a problem, or to use less harsh words. Some sources suppose the changes were made by Ezra the Scribe and/or the Men of the Great Assembly.[2] We do not know exactly when Ezra lived, but he probably lived around 450 BCE.[3] We also do not know with any degree of certainty why he was called a scribe or what the function of a scribe is.
What alterations were made?
The eighteen alterations of Scripture are listed in Ochlah v-Ochlah.[4] (1) Genesis 18:22, (2) Numbers 11:15, (3 and 4) Numbers 12:12, (5) I Samuel 3:13, (6) II Samuel 16:12, (7) I Kings 12:16, (8) II Chronicles 10:16, (9) Jeremiah 2:11, (10) Ezekiel 8:17, (11) Hosea 4:7, (12) Habakkuk 1:11, (13) Zachariah 2:12, (14) Malachi 1:13, (15) Psalm 106:20, (16) Job 7:20, (17) Job 32:3, and (18) Lamentations 3:19.
The following are several examples:
  1. In Genesis 18:22, the original text stated “God was still standing before Abraham” was changed to “Abraham was still standing before God.” The former is debasingly anthropomorphic; it depicts God in a somewhat servile manner, waiting upon Abraham.
  2. The original wording in Zechariah 2:12 has God saying “whoever touches you (Israel) touches the apple of my eye,” meaning pocking a finger in God’s eye, which suggests that God has an eye and can be harmed. It was replaced to “his eye,” saying whoever touches Israel has done such a grievous harm as if he hit the nation in its eye.
  3. The context of I Kings 21:13 indicates that Naboth is being accused of cursing God, but the act is so despicable that “cursed” was replaced by “blessed.”[5]
Everyone did not agree that words were substitutes in the Torah
The idea that anyone, even a biblical figure such as Ezra would tamper with the divine Torah is so startling that not everyone agreed that it was done. Many traditional commentators such as Rashi and the Midrashim Tanchuma, Exodus Rabba, Genesis Rabba, and Minchat Shai[6] unabashedly and explicitly accepted that the divine text was changed because those who made the change felt that their respect for God required that they hide the true text and portray God in a better light than what was in the original wording of the Bible.
However, other traditional scholars such as Elijah Mizrachi, Rashba, Joseph Albo, Ibn Ezra, and Josephus in his Contra Apion 1:8 could not abide by the notion that anyone would tamper with the holy text.[7] They felt that statements saying the wording was changed should be understood to mean that the Torah wording is “as if” there was an original wording that needed to be changed to honor God. The modern ultra-Orthodox ArtScroll Chumash commentary which deletes commentaries that are contrary to the editor’s theology deleted Rashi’s statement that there are Tikkunei Soferim.[8]
More changes were made
There are also scholars who claim that the number 18 does not count all of the alterations made to the Hebrew text. There are many more than the rabbis identified and the true number may be closer to thirty.[9]
How should we understand Maimonides?
How can we understand the concept that changes were made in the Torah with the eighth principle of the fundamentals of Judaism in Maimonides list of thirteen principles that the Torah in our hands today is identical to the Torah given by Moses?[10] Didn’t Maimonides know that changes were made? Didn’t he know that not all of the texts of the Torah that we have today are identical? Didn’t he have to decide which Torah text was the most precise and selected the Aleppo Codex as the best version?
One answer was offered by my late teacher Rabbi Yaakov Weinberg, Rosh Ha-Yeshiva of Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore Maryland: “Rambam knew very well that those variations existed when he defined his Principles. The words of Ani Ma’amin and the words of Rambam, ‘the entire Torah in our possession today’ must not be taken literally, implying that all the letters of our present Torah are the exact letters given to Moshe Rabbeinu. Rather it should be understood in a general sense that the Torah we learn and live by is for all intent and purposes the same Torah that was given to Moshe Rabbeinu.”[11]
Another answer is that Maimonides wrote the thirteen principles for the general population, what he called “essential truths,” not real truths, but ideas that the general population need to know. But the truth is that Maimonides himself did not believe all of the thirteen principles, only the first few dealing with God. For example, the thirteen principles appear at the end of his work called Chelek. At the start of this essay, he states that he does not believe in resurrection. Yet at the end of Chelek, he includes resurrection as one of the principles of Judaism.

[1] Tikkunei is spelled by some as Tiqqunie. The Midrashim Sifrei Numbers 10:35 and Mikhilta Shemot 15:7 call the replaced wording kina hakhatub, “the verse was substituted.”
[2] The subject of the “Men of the Great Assembly” and the “Sanhedrin” is generally misunderstood and there are many misconceptions about the two of them, and the two are often confused. It is an important subject for both Jews and Christians to know to remove the misconceptions.
Unsubstantiated Jewish tradition supposes that the Men of the Great Assembly a group of 120 scribes, sages, and prophets composed or edited some of the books of the Hebrew Bible, but many scholars are convinced that the institution never existed. If the Men of the Great Assembly existed it was probably a kind of kitchen cabinet for Ezra or a kind of congress that Ezra formed and which ceased to exist around 300 BCE when the institution of the Sanhedrin began. Jewish tradition supposes that the institution of the Sanhedrin began during the days of Moses and famed Bible commentators such as Rashi ascribe some activities to this group during the biblical period. However, the name Sanhedrin is Greek, which together with the fact that no reliable evidence exists for the existence of the Sanhedrin before the Greek period in Israel, prompted scholars to date its origin to around 300 BCE. The Sanhedrin was a court of law, a kind of Supreme Court composed of 71 members. Scholars insist that writers of the New Testament did not know how the Sanhedrin functioned and depict it improperly in the New Testament.
Sidney B. Hoenig addresses all of these problems and more in his superb scholarly study in The Great Sanhedrin, Dropsie College, 1953. Louis Finkelstein does so as well in Ha-Perushim ve-Anshe Kenesset Ha-Gedolah, Jewish Theological Seminary, 1950. The English translation of Professor Finkelstein’s excellent book is “The Pharisees and the Men of the Great Assembly.” The Pharisees were a group that developed interpretations of the Torah that generally liberalized Torah mandates. The Hebrew name Perushim could mean “separatist.” They separated from the Tzedukim, in English Sadducees, which could mean the righteous ones, those who adhered to the ancient traditions. Many Sadducees functioned in the temple, while the Pharisees were associated with the common folk.
While the present day consensus is that the changes in the Torah were made by Ezra, some sources insist that they were done by either Nehemiah, Zechariah, Hagai, or Baruch. See the sources in Saul Lieberman’s Hellenism in Jewish Palestine, Jewish Theological Seminary, 1994, pages 28-37, and Menachem Kasher, Torah Shelemah, Parashat Mishpatim, Jerusalem, 1992, volume 5, book 19, pages 374-375.
[3] Ezra’s activities are described in the biblical book with his name and in the biblical book Nehemiah. He was a priest. Ezra 7-10 and Nehemiah 8 state that he reintroduced the Torah to Jews in Jerusalem, enforced the observance of the Torah, and exhorted Jews about intermarriage with pagans.
[4] Ktav Publishing House, NY, 1972, page 113, first published in Hanover in 1864.
[5] Apparently thinking that readers would be confused to read that Naboth is being accused of blessing God, the Jewish Publication Society translation changed to wording back to “cursed.”
[6] Minchat Shai comments and explains most of the 18 Tikkunei Soferim in its commentary to Zechariah 2:12.
[7] See Kasher’s Torah Shelemah and ibn Ezra’s commentaries to Numbers 11:15, 12:12, and Job 32:3.
[8] Another example of ArtScroll censorship is the deletion of the Rashi’s grandson Rashbam’s view in the first chapter of Genesis that according to the Torah the day begins in the morning, not at sunset, for the Torah states that God performed certain acts of creation and then “there was evening and morning” and a new creation was made after the morning on the new day.
[9] See Tikkunei Soferim, An Analysis of a Masoretic Phenomenon, by Avrohom Lieberman, Hakirah, The Flatbush Journal of Jewish Law and Thought, pages 227-236.
[10] Found in his introduction to the tenth chapter of Mishnah Sanhedrin called Chelek.
[11] Quoted by Marc Shapiro in Fundamentals and Faith, Southfield, Michigan, 1991, p. 116, from Rabbi Weinberg’s lectures.

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Note: This is the second article in a series on Old Testament textual criticism.
Occasionally the reader of BHS will come across a note which reads “Tiq soph, lect orig . . . .” These abbreviations mean “Tiqqunê sopherim, original reading. . . .” The equivalent note in BHQ simply shows a variant reading followed by the symbol , which directs the reader to the textual commentary. Tiqqunê sopherim is a Hebrew term which means “emendations of the scribes.” According to rabbinic sources and the Masoretes, these are places where scribes of an earlier Jewish tradition had altered the original text of the OT out of theological sensitivities. Normally this involved a statement that was disrespectful to God and therefore, in their judgment, could not be said aloud when reading. The disrespectful term was replaced with a term that could be acceptably read. The Masoretes noted what they believed was the original reading, but their extremely conservative copying practices forbade them from altering the main text of their manuscripts. Many of the tiqqunê sopherim seem strange to Christian students of the Bible, since the things in the text which were theologically troublesome for Jews are very different from those things which might seem problematic to Christian scribes. The tiqqunê sopherim have more to do with matters of reverence than with matters of systematic theology.
Although rabbinic lists vary, the main lists have eighteen verses with alleged emendations, as shown below, with McCarthy’s evaluation of the authenticity of each tradition (in Carmel McCarthy, The Tiqqune Sopherim and Other Theological Emendations in the Masoretic Text of the Old Testament, Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 36 [Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1981], 61-129).
1.    Genesis 18:22—”Yahweh was still standing before Abraham” (וְיהוה עוֹדֶנּוּ עֹמֵד לִפְנֵי אַבְרָהָם) was changed to Abraham was still standing before Yahweh (‎וְאַבְרָהָם עוֹדֶנּוּ עֹמֵד לִפְנֵי יהוה), because to stand before someone usually means to minister to an authority who is sitting. McCarthy: unauthentic emendation
2.    Numbers 11:15—”Your wretchedness” (בְּרָעָתְךָ) was changed to my wretchedness (בְּרָעָתִי), so as to avoid a disrespectful expression toward God. McCarthy: unauthentic emendation
3.    Numbers 12:12—”our mother’s womb” (אִמֵּנוּ) and our flesh (בְשָׂרֵנוּ) were changed to its mothers womb (מֵרֶחֶם אִמּוֹ) and its flesh (בְשָׂרוֹ), in order to avoid an expression of disrespect regarding the origins of Moses. McCarthy: unauthentic emendation
4.    1 Samuel 3:13—”his sons were cursing God” (‎כִּי־מְקַלְלִים אֱלֹהִים בָּנָיו) was changed to his sons were cursing themselves (‎כִּי־מְקַלְלִים לָהֶם בָּנָיו), so that the reader of the Scriptures would not have to speak aloud of cursing God. McCarthy: authentic emendation
5.    2 Samuel 16:12—”Yahweh will look with His eye” (יִרְאֶה יְהוָה בְּעֵינוֹ) was changed to Yahweh will look on my eye” (Qere: יִרְאֶה יְהוָה בְּעֵינִי), in order to avoid an anthropomorphism. McCarthy: unauthentic emendation
6.    2 Samuel 20:1—”to his gods” (‎לֵאלֹהָיו) was changed to to his tents (‎לְאֹהָלָיו), in order to avoid reading aloud a call to apostasy. McCarthy: unauthentic emendation
7.    1 Kings 12:16—”to your gods” (‎לֵאלֹהֵיךָ) was changed to to your tents (‎לְאֹהָלֶיךָ), in order to avoid reading aloud a call to apostasy. McCarthy: unauthentic emendation
8.    Jeremiah 2:11—”My glory” (‎כְּבוֹדִי) was changed to their glory (‎כְּבֹדוֹ), so as to soften the force of an expression of disrespect toward God. McCarthy: unauthentic emendation
9.    Ezekiel 8:17—”My nose” (‎אַפִּי) was changed to their nose (‎אַפָּם), to avoid expressing the blasphemous idea of putting a branch to Yahwehs nose. McCarthy: unauthentic emendation
10. Hosea 4:7—”My glory” (‎כְּבוֹדִי) was changed to their glory (‎כְּבוֹדָם), so as to soften the force of an expression of disrespect toward God. McCarthy: unauthentic emendation
11. Habakkuk 1:12—”You will not die” (‎לֹא תָּמוּת) was changed to we will not die (‎לֹא נָמוּת), to avoid the unseemly concept of Gods death. McCarthy: unauthentic emendation
12. Zechariah 2:12 (2:8 Eng.)—”My eye” (‎עֵינִי) was changed to His eye (‎עֵינוֹ), so as to refer to the divine eye euphemistically (in the third person). McCarthy: authentic emendation
13. Malachi 1:13—”you have snuffed at Me” (‎וְהִפַּחְתֶּם אוֹתִי) was changed to you have snuffed at it (‎וְהִפַּחְתֶּם אוֹתוֹ), in order to avoid an expression of offense toward Yahweh. Some lists include Malachi 1:12 instead of or in addition to Malachi 1:13, claiming that “you profane Me” (‎וְאַתֶּם מְחַלְּלִים אוֹתִי) was changed to you profane it (‎וְאַתֶּם מְחַלְּלִים אוֹתוֹ). McCarthy: unauthentic emendation
14. Psalm 106:20—”My glory” (‎כְּבוֹדִי) was changed to their glory (‎כְּבוֹדָם), so as to soften the force of an expression of disrespect toward God. McCarthy: unauthentic emendation
15. Job 7:20—”I am a burden to You” (‎וָאֶהְיֶה עָלֶיךָ לְמַשָּׂא) was changed to I am a burden to myself (‎וָאֶהְיֶה עָלַי לְמַשָּׂא), because of the unseemliness of speaking of becoming a burden to God. McCarthy: authentic emendation
16. Job 32:3—”yet they had condemned God” (וַיַּרְשִׁיעוּ אֶת־אֱלֹהִים or ‎וַיַּרְשִׁיעוּ אֶת־יהוה) was changed to yet they had condemned Job (וַיַּרְשִׁיעוּ אֶת־אִיּוֹב), in order to avoid reading an expression of blasphemy. McCarthy: unauthentic emendation
17. Lamentations 3:20—”Your soul is bent down within You” (וְתָשִׁיחַ עָלֶיךָ נַפְשֶׁךָ with some variations in the tradition) was changed to my soul is bent down within me (וְתָשִׁיחַ עָלַי נַפְשִׁי), in order to avoid a strong anthropopathism. McCarthy: unauthentic emendation
18. 2 Chronicles 10:16—”to your gods” (‎לֵאלֹהֵיךָ) was changed to to your tents (‎לְאֹהָלֶיךָ), in order to avoid reading aloud a call to apostasy. McCarthy: unauthentic emendation
McCarthy’s thorough evaluation of the tiqqunê sopherim shows that they were mostly traditions which developed from midrashic exegesis; he finds only three of the eighteen in the main list to be genuine scribal emendations.
There are a number of other places in the OT, outside of this list, in which it is suggested (either by ancient rabbinic sources or by modern scholars) that words were substituted for theological reasons. However, in many cases it is debated whether the substitutions are true tiqqunê sopherim (i.e., emendations by copyists), or whether they were a euphemism supplied by the original writers. Some of these include the following, with McCarthy’s evaluation:
1.    The substitution of “bless” for “curse” in 1 Kings 21:1013Job 1:5112:59. McCarthy: original euphemism
2.    The substitution of “these men” for “our” in Numbers 16:14 and 1 Samuel 29:4. McCarthy: original euphemism (or not a substitution at all)
3.    Insertion of “the enemies of” before a name in 1 Samuel 20:1625:222 Samuel 12:14. McCarthy: emendation
4.    Changing “Yahweh” to “the word of Yahweh” in 2 Samuel 12:9. McCarthy: emendation
5.    Addition of “the men” in 1 Samuel 2:17. McCarthy: probable emendation
6.    Names in which “Bosheth” (shame) or the name of the true God is substituted for “Baal” or the name of a false god: Jerubbaal/Jerubbesheth, Ishbaal/Eshbaal/Ishbosheth, Mephibaal/Mephibosheth, Eliada/Beeliada/Baaliada, Joram/Hadoram. These substitutions are complex to judge; in each case, there are three possibilities: (a) Some individuals were known by two or more names. (b) The original writers of Scripture altered these names for theological reasons. (c) A scribe or copyist emended these names. McCarthy’s evaluation is different in the case of different names and verses.
7.    The substitution of “Manasseh” for “Moses” in Judges 18:30. McCarthy: emendation
8.    Changing “who hate David’s soul” to “who are hated by David’s soul” in 2 Samuel 5:8. McCarthy: emendation
9.    Changing “your wives” to “your men” in 1 Kings 10:8 and 2 Chronicles 9:7. McCarthy: 1 Kgs 10:8 is an emendation; 2 Chr 9:7 is an original euphemism. (Note: McCarthy’s split evaluation is based on liberal theological presuppositions.)
10. Changing “he was afraid” to “he saw” in 1 Kings 19:3. McCarthy: emendation(Note: This is not a true emendation, since it is only a difference in vocalization.)
11. Changing “he prospered” or “he was victorious” (יוֹשִׁיעַ) to he acted wickedly or he put them to the worse (יַרְשִׁיעַ) in 1 Samuel 14:47. McCarthy: emendation
12. Changing “this house will become lofty” (עֶלְיוֹן) to this house will become a ruin (לְעִיִּין) in 1 Kings 9:8 and 2 Chr 7:21. McCarthy: 1 Kgs 9:8 is an emendation; 2 Chr 7:21 is an original euphemism. (Note: McCarthy’s split evaluation is based on liberal theological presuppositions.)
13. Changing “The City of the Sun” (עִיר הַחֶרֶס) to the City of Destruction (עִיר הַהֶרֶס) in Isaiah 19:18. McCarthy: emendation
It is noteworthy that in every instance in the above two lists where, in McCarthy’s judgment, an emendation was made, there is textual evidence for the original reading. In other words, we do not need to speculate about places where the Hebrew text might have been emended, because some manuscripts or ancient versions always preserve the original reading.
There was a time when many OT scholars assumed that the traditional list of eighteen tiqqunê sopherim was merely a representative sample out of a huge number of theological emendations that Jewish scribes systematically conducted throughout the OT. More recently, scholars such as McCarthy, Ellis Brotzman, and Emanuel Tov have called into question this assumption. In fact, most of the traditions about the tiqqunê sopherim were developed after the text form had already been fixed by means of strict copying practices which forbade any alteration of the sacred consonantal text. The tradition about emendations is mainly a record of midrashic interpretation, rather than text criticism. Tov writes the following in Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible (2nd ed.; Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001), p. 66:
Another common characteristic of the corrections of the scribes is that most of them correct merely one or two letters, principally the pronomial suffix. If the corrections had represented changes in the text, it is hard to believe that the correctors would have limited themselves to such small details. Moreover, for some corrections it is improbable that the original text would indeed have read as the Masorah claims.
This agrees with McCarthy’s conclusion (The Tiqqune Sopherim, p. 250):
The actual extent of emendatory initiative undertaken by the ‘scribes’ was considerably restrained, and one must continually marvel at the overall fidelity and care taken by those to whom we are indebted for the transmission of the biblical text.
The reality is that the MT is an extremely conservative text. It is in the LXX (and, to a much lesser extent, the SamP) where we see evidence of frequent and large-scale emendations for theological reasons. Further, many of these emendations are directly concerned with systematic theology, rather than merely the formal expression of reverence. An example in the SamP is changing “Mount Ebal” to “Mount Gerizim” in Deuteronomy 27:4. Examples in the LXX include: (a) Changing “a little lower than God” to “a little lower than the angels” in Psalm 8:5. (b) Changing “seventh” to “sixth” in Genesis 2:2a. (c) Changing “pillars” to “stones” in Exodus 24:4. (d) Moving the oracles against the nations from Jeremiah 46–51 to Jeremiah 25 in order to match the statement about “this book” in Jeremiah 25:13. (e) Editing the prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 in order to change the referents of the prophecy to events in the time of Antiochus IV and the Maccabees.
To summarize, the following principles should be applied to an analysis of the tiqqunê sopherim when doing textual criticism:
1.    It is very likely that some of the tiqqunê sopherim are genuine scribal emendations, but not all are. It should not be assumed that every such tradition represents a place where the text was emended.
2.    Some, probably most, of the tiqqunê sopherim are false traditions developed by midrashic exegesis.
3.    Tiqqunê sopherim that are not supported by manuscript evidence or readings of the ancient versions are far less likely to represent authentic emendations.
4.    The rabbinic tradition about tiqqunê sopherim is simply another witness to the text that should be considered alongside other textual witnesses; it is not authoritative.
5.    There are a few unrecorded places where the Proto-Masoretic Text was altered for theological reasons, but not many. Widespread emendatory activity should not be postulated.

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