Ancient Manuscript Appreciation

Genesis 1 (1:1)  في البدء خلق الله السموات والارض. (1:2)  وكانت الارض خربة وخالية وعلى وجه الغمر ظلمة وروح الله يرف على وجه المياه. (1:3)  وقال الله ليكن نور فكان نور. (1:4)  وراى الله النور انه حسن. وفصل الله بين النور والظلمة. (1:5)  ودعا الله النور نهارا والظلمة دعاها ليلا. وكان مساء وكان صباح يوما واحدا (1:6)  وقال الله ليكن جلد في وسط المياه. وليكن فاصلا بين مياه ومياه. (1:7)  فعمل الله الجلد وفصل بين المياه التي تحت الجلد والمياه التي فوق الجلد. وكان كذلك. (1:8)  ودعا الله الجلد سماء. وكان مساء وكان صباح يوما ثانيا (1:9)  وقال الله لتجتمع المياه تحت السماء الى مكان واحد ولتظهر اليابسة. وكان كذلك. (1:10)  ودعا الله اليابسة ارضا. ومجتمع المياه دعاه بحارا. ورأى الله ذلك انه حسن. (1:11)  وق...

  There is overwhelming evidence to suggest that the Bible has been miraculously preserved for us today nearly 2,000 years after the death and resurrection of our Messiah and has been translated into over 1,000 languages worldwide - either whole or in part.  Its preservation is far better than any other lengthy ancient text in existence. A big question is: Which language/languages were the original autographs of the New Covenant texts written in? The majority of western Bible scholars will tell you that the New Testament was originally written in Greek while many eastern Christians, Messianic Jews, and the so-called "church-fathers" suggest that the New Testament (or at least some of it) was originally written in a semitic language --- Hebrew and/or Aramaic.  The New Covenant Writings were most definitely most widespread in the Greek language, as it was a widely spoken language and many of our oldest manuscripts are in Greek.  Does that necessarily mean that the orig...

  This post is solely dedicated to linking you to critical Biblical texts and best translations in various prominent languages that closely reflect the original languages and manuscripts of the Holy Bible. The Hebrew text of the "Old Testament" shared in this post is reflective of the pure Masoretic Hebrew tradition [with any alternative renderings from the Peshitta or DSS placed in brackets].  The Tetragrammaton, God's Name, is left un-voweled in this Hebrew text as reflective of certain scribal traditions and variations in pronunciation.  Any translations of the Hebrew text into other languages will include a rendering God's Sacred Name into that respective language throughout the text. Now for the New Covenant Writings (Matthew through Revelation), we will share the best manuscripts we have discovered that reflect Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic-Peshitta traditions of those Biblical texts.  For any other languages we choose to include within this post (we will add more...