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Word Gems 

exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity

 

Prof. Bart D. Ehrman

The issue of forgery or changing a text to suit private agenda is addressed as a widespread problem in many ancient-world documents, with the authors, even in the Bible, offering curses to those who would dare modify the original writing. This did nothing to stop the alterations.

 

 

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Editor's prefatory comment:

Dr. Ehrman explains that the 5700 early copies of the New Testament – copies of copies of copies – contain hundreds of thousands of discrepancies.

Many of these are inconsequential but a significant number alter the meaning of the text in important ways. Most of these constituted mere human error in copying but some of them, it appears, were purposefully injected into the text by editorial judgment of scribes.

This entire area of scholarship is far more complex than most realize, leading the objective reviewer to understand that, in many cases, we have no knowledge of the original text of the New Testament.

In addition to Dr. Ehrman’s books, his lectures are available on youtube; for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfheSAcCsrE&t=12s

 

 

Dr. Ehrman speaks of this in his book, "Misquoting Jesus."

 

Editor’s note: I was surprised to learn of the many references to forgeries and fakes concerning manuscripts in the ancient world. The examples, and discussion thereof, is extensive in Dr. Ehrman’s book, and therefore I must refer you to his first-hand account. See chapter one.

However, to mention just one of these references, an example from the Bible, a passage from Revelation, I thought, most noteworthy. In 22:18-19 we find curses heaped upon anyone who would alter the writer’s text.

It never made sense to me: who would “add” or “remove” any of the words of Revelation? In the past, I had no idea of the widespread problem of falsification of texts in the ancient world, and the writer of this book preemptively wishes eternal damnation for those who would change his message.

 

 

Editor's last word: