I told you in the previous Nugget, how two Israeli experts, Mordechai Mishor and Edna Engel, noticed the similarities in handwriting and layout of the text of Exodus 9:18–13:2 while the sheet was on display in the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem. It reminded them …
Textual Transmission Nuggets
A collection of Nuggets exploring matters relating to the reliability of the text of the Bible.
A Missing Link Found in the Story of Text Transmission
When I first read the news announcement related to a major new discovery of a 7th or 8th Century document called the Ashkar-Gilson Manuscript, it reminded me of a quote I first heard over 25 years ago. Archaeology has not yet said its last word; …
Jesus’ Promise – Has the Text of the Bible Changed?
In the Bible we find Matthew 5:18 where Jesus said, “For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” KJV Version Matthew 5:18 Well that is …
The Oldest Portion of the Bible in Existence
In 1985 Gabriel Barkay, a Jewish archeologist, was conducting a dig in a series of caves in the Hinnom Valley, close to Jerusalem when he discovered a collection of ancient artifacts. One particular decorated artefact attracted his attention. On examining it he realized he had …
The Methods of the Scribes
The Scribes are called Sopherim in Hebrew. Sopherim derives from the Hebrew verb saphar “to count”. The scribes used a number of methods to ensure that the text did not change but stayed the same. They counted each and every letter in every book of …
The Remarkable Find at Qumran
One July afternoon in 1947 three Palestinian cousins were looking after the goats in Wadi Qumran. One of the goats started to stray up the scree slope nestled against the Qumran cliffs. That slope is formed by gravity as the rocks fall off the cliff …
The Value of the Bible Documents
Let’s look at the documents which lie behind the Bibles that we hold in our hands. We all know our Bible are copies of translations made from the original texts. Well let’s examine the textual history for a moment. The two texts in the photographs …
The Two for One Deal
Have you ever gone into a shop and come out with two items for the price of one in a sale? When we come across a “two for one deal” it puts a smile on our face. We Christians have secured a number of two …
News Flash: “All New Testament Documents Lost in Fire”
Imagine if the title of this Nugget was actually a newspaper headline. On one particular night all of the ancient witnesses (manuscripts or portions) to the New Testament of the Bible were burnt up and lost. That would have to have been an extraordinary fire …
Breaking News: Hidden Text Found on Blank Dead Sea Scroll
In last week’s Nugget I pretended to give you a News Flash about a fire that had burned up all of the New Testament documents. That was pretence, but this week I am sharing true Breaking News. These fragments were presented Tuesday evening (May 1st …