Did the Masorites "faithfully" copy the text as you suggest?
You miss the point. The KJ translators were told by King James to follow the words of the previous bibles unless necessity dictates the change.
And, up until Tyndale and Wycliffe, the phrase used for "Holy Spirit" was hagios pnemua. (Holy Spirit, not hagios phtasma, or Holy ghost)
Fact is, from the early 1st century, our bibles come down to us by way of copying. It can be proven beyond any shadow of a doubt that the scribes made mistakes copying the text down through the ages. Even the Masorites admist they had a corrupt text. There is no way you can start with a corrupt text, and by correcting it, make it a pure text.
The Masoretic Text, is the text for the OT. And it is a corrupted text. Period.
We also know that Luke's writing of the book of Acts, preceeded all the gospels. And the fact that Luke used the word "pneuma" for the Holy Spirit, is followed by the Apostles.
F. F. Bruce writes:
"It is necessary, then, to look for an appropriate life-setting for a work which strikes the apologetic note in just this way. One attractive suggestion points to the period A.D. 66 or shortly afterward, when the chief accusers of Paul, the Judean authorities, ahd so completely discredited themselves in Roman eyes by the revolt against imperial rule. True, Paul himself was dead by then, but the accusations against him, especially that of fomenting public disorder, continued to be brought against Christians in general, and his defense, which could have been seen as vindicated in the event, might be validly pleaded on their behalf. In those years it would have been quite effective to emphasize that, unlike the rebellious Jews, Christians were not disloyal to the empire--that, in fact, it was the rebellious Jews themselves who had always done their best to disown Christianity.
The argument that there is nothing in Acts--or even in Luke--that presupposes the Jewish revolt and the resultant destruction of the temple and city of Jerusalem (A. D. 70) has been used in defense of a pre-70 dating for the twofold work--early in the twentieth century by Adolf Harnack and over sixty years later by J. A. T. Robinson. Indeed, it has been further argued, since there is no allusion to two earlier events--the Neronian persecution and the execution of Paul--that the composition of Luke-Acts should probably be dated not later than A.D. 65. So far as the Neronian persecution is concerned, even Tacitus (no friend to Christians) admits that it was the action of one man's malignity rather than an expression of public policy, and the official reprobation of Nero's memory and actions at his death could have been held to cover his persecution of the Christians of Rome. So Luke's recording of favorable judgments which had been passed on Christianity by other Roman authorities might have been intended to suggest that Nero's anti-Christian activity was an irresponsible and criminal attack by that now excrated ruler on a movement whose innocence had been amply attested by many worthier representatives of Roman power."
F. F. Bruce, The Book of Acts, pp. 10-12
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So, again, sorry to disagree but in every instance in the Greek, the Holy Spirit is always referenced to as "pneuma".
Here is another instance where the KJ translators could have used the correct word, but got it wrong.
""Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the
ghost." -Mt. 27:50 (KJV)
The Greek reads:
"ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς πάλιν κράξας φωνῇ μεγάλῃ ἀφῆκεν τὸ
πνεῦμα." -Mt. 27:50 (GNT)
Here, on the cross, this scripture shows us what happened the minute Christ died.
Here, the correct word is used: "pneuma".
"πνεῦμα,
n \{pnyoo'-mah}
1) the third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, coequal, coeternal with the Father and the Son 1a) sometimes referred to in a way which emphasises his personality and character (the \\Holy\\ Spirit) 1b) sometimes referred to in a way which emphasises his work and power (the Spirit of \\Truth\\) 1c) never referred to as a depersonalised force 2) the spirit, i.e. the vital principal by which the body is animated 2a) the rational spirit, the power by which the human being feels, thinks, decides 2b) the soul 3) a spirit, i.e. a simple essence, devoid of all or at least all grosser matter, and possessed of the power of knowing, desiring, deciding, and acting 3a) a life giving spirit 3b) a human soul that has left the body 3c) a spirit higher than man but lower than God, i.e. an angel 3c1) used of demons, or evil spirits, who were conceived as inhabiting the bodies of men 3c2)
the spiritual nature of Christ, higher than the highest angels and equal to God, the divine nature of Christ 4) the disposition or influence which fills and governs the soul of any one 4a) the efficient source of any power, affection, emotion, desire, etc. 5) a movement of air (a gentle blast) 5a) of the wind, hence the wind itself 5b) breath of nostrils or mouth"
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“Ghost” is a mistranslation of the Greek word “pneuma” which means
breath or
spirit. The KJV inconsistently translated the word
pneuma as
spirit or
ghost, with 91 instances of
Ghost or
ghost referring to God. The word “Ghost” with reference to God, which is used in all English Bibles predating the King James Version, can be traced to the Wycliffe translation (1395). Although the Wycliffe Bible was translated from the Latin Vulgate, Jerome used the Latin term “Spirtu Sancto” for the Holy Spirit and “spiritum” for Jesus’ spirit. Wycliffe did not actually translate the Bible that bears his name; it was translated by other Lollard scholars at Oxford University while Wycliffe led the Lollard movement politically.
Application of the word “Ghost” to God the Holy Spirit may qualify as blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. (Matt. 12:31) The word “ghost” means “spirit” in a demonic sense; it is the pagan term for the spirits of dead people who are believed to roam on earth. “Ghost” is derived from the Old English word
gæstan (‘to frighten’) and, apparently, from the Gothic word
usgaisjan. It is a West Germanic word for a terrifying ‘supernatural being.’ Needless to say, the pagan connotation of the word “ghost” (i.e., Halloween ghosts) makes it an inappropriate term to identify God. This pagan usage may influence some unconverted persons to misunderstand the nature of God and to view Him as a Satanic being with evil intentions. In fact, Gnostic doctrine teaches that the God of the Bible is Satan, and that the true God is Lucifer. (See:
“The Gnostic Gospel”)"
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Sorry.
God Bless
Till all are one.