An Amazingly Reliable Preservation

Are the copies of the Old Testament writings we have today anything like what was originally written down so long ago? Quite amazingly, the answer is yes. For the most part we can be confident that what we have today is nearly identical to the ancient copies. We back that up by drawing your attention to the scribes and the scrolls.

The Scribes

The copies of the scrolls of Hebrew scripture were made by a special group known as scribes. Israelite scribes learned their craft as a kind of holy profession in family-like guilds as is attested in the Bible that mentions "Clans of Scribes who inhabit Jabez" I Chronicles 2:55.

The Hebrew word for scribe is sofer. Its root meaning is "to count." And scribes indeed were careful counters making sure every word and letter were accounted for. They worked under very strict conditions and regulations. They went about their work with a seriousness many would consider almost fanatical today.

For example, the Jewish Masoretic scribes, who made hand written copies of the Bible worked under rules designed to insure utmost accuracy.

No word or letter could be written from memory (the scribe had to say the word aloud).
Before writing the sacred name of God, the scribe had to pause and wipe his pen.
A scroll was discarded if spelling errors were found.
Perhaps most important-after copying, every single word and every letter was counted to verify accuracy and to be sure they matched the original.
Before beginning his work, a scribe would cleanse himself in a ritual bath-a vivid evidence of the seriousness and sacredness of the task of writing a scroll. He was going to write the names of God and must do so with proper devotion and ritual purity.

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Material Reproduced with Permission of the Christian History Institute