CONCLUSION

In the preceding pages the reader has been introduced to the two primary areas within the field of OT textual criticism—the history of the transmission of the OT text (chaps. 2–4) and the principles and procedures that are required for determining which of several variant readings is the most probable wording of the original text (chaps. 5–8).

The preceding pages have described something of the care with which the text of the Hebrew Bible has been transmitted through time. The composition of this book, even with the aid of a computer, has illustrated to us just how easy it is to err in writing and copying a text. It is important to remember the long time periods during which the OT text was transmitted only by hand copying. It is also fitting to recall the historical ebb and flow of the nation of Israel, the receiver and guardian of the OT text. When these are coupled with the nature of writing materials in antiquity and the climatic conditions in Palestine, it is amazing that we have any text of the OT. It is important to remember that the OT text has been in continuous circulation since the time of its initial writing. Its text is far better attested than any other document of comparable age.

Guidelines for Continued Work

This book is only an introduction to the vast and multifaceted field of textual criticism. The reader now needs to apply what was learned to other books and sections of the OT. The place to begin is with the apparatus of BHS or, as it becomes available, BHQ, although the beginning exegete will also want to make a careful study of the Septuagint text that corresponds to the section of the MT being studied. The student or pastor will also want to use a variety of commentaries that discuss textual issues. Series such as the International Critical Commentary (ICC), the Anchor Bible (AB), the New International Commentary on the Old Testament (NICOT), and the Word Biblical Commentary (WBC) offer information on textual matters.

For the Advanced Student

For those who want to specialize in the textual study of the OT, there are at least three areas in which to invest time and energy. The first area for further study involves obtaining the skills necessary to work independently with the critical editions of the various ancient versions of the OT. The necessity for this individual work with the ancient versions is based on the incomplete and occasionally inaccurate information in the critical apparatus of BHS. These skills include the ability to read Greek, Aramaic, Syriac, and Latin. Most seminary graduates have a working knowledge of Hebrew and Greek, and those languages are the most important for OT textual criticism. But the advanced student must be able to work with the critical texts of the targums, the Peshitta, the Old Latin, and the Vulgate.

A second area of additional study for the advanced student should be the ability to read unpointed Hebrew. This will allow the student to make use of the information that can be obtained in the biblical scrolls found at Qumran, Masada, and elsewhere. In addition, the student should learn to read the script of the Samaritan Pentateuch so that the information available in this witness to the text of the Pentateuch can be independently studied.

A third area of interest for advanced textual study relates to resources available in computer software. Software packages such as BibleWorks, Accordance, and Logos are continually adding new searchable databases and texts, facsimiles of manuscripts that are tagged, and search capabilities. Not only do these tools increase our speed and efficiency, but they also allow new kinds of comparisons.

Finally, the advanced student of textual criticism must continue to grow in exegetical skill. The ancient scribes and translators of the text were not working in a linguistic vacuum. They were often responding to issues in the text. Sensitive exegesis allows us to understand their motivations, approaches, and solutions. In addition, we will be in a better position to understand the implications of various textual readings for our own interpretation.

It is hoped that this book has laid an adequate foundation for the field of OT textual criticism. Because the OT has been accepted as God’s revelation by believing people of all ages, it is of primary importance that the reader knows what, in fact, God said in a particular passage. The aim of the textual criticism of the OT is to enable the reader to hear—and thus be able to respond to—God’s Word accurately in spite of the varied history and sometimes varied wording of the transmission of that written revelation through time.