What is an Emendation?

[Mr. M]

Jewish tradition holds that the Soferim (Levite scribes) were responsible for copying and maintaining the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible or Christian Old Testament) after the Jews returned from Babylonian Exile. While the Bible speaks of several scribes before the Exile, Jewish tradition recognizes Ezra as the first who was given the task of maintaining the Tanakh’s accuracy and providing the correct interpretation of its meaning.
"Emendation" is defined as an "alteration intended to improve."
Despite God’s prohibition found in Deuteronomy 4:2 ("You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, not take away from it,..), it is believed that the Sopherim made changes to 1) correct errors that crept into their copies, 2) clarified the intent of the passage or 3) maintain the appropriate reverence towards the sacred name of God.
It should be noted that the presumed Emendations of the Scribes is difficult to verify with absolute certainty. Aside from comparing ancient manuscripts such as the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Septuagint and others, there aren’t any pre-Sopherim texts in possession to study. Despite this, there is a strong basis to acknowledge the existence of the Emendations of the Scribes albeit the specific emendations may be contested.

What is an Emendation

Emendation is defined as an 'alteration intended to improve'

helpmewithbiblestudy.org

Faith Once Delivered - The 134 Emendations of the Sopherim.

 

[keras]

We have to trust that God has given us a true and accurate copy of His holy Word. Otherwise; where are we?
I instantly reject anyone who says: This verse does not mean what it says, it means this, Or people who add their opinions , as if they are facts.

The reason that there is so much controversy, is because people have chosen to believe wild and fanciful fables, so God allows them to be confused and deceived. Isaiah 29:9-12
The Lord also hides the truths of the Prophetic Word from those who consider themselves 'wise', Matthew 11:25-26,

 

[Mr. M]

We have to trust that God has given us a true and accurate copy of His holy Word. Otherwise; where are we?
I instantly reject anyone who says: This verse does not mean what it says, it means this, Or people who add their opinions , as if they are facts.

The reason that there is so much controversy, is because people have chosen to believe wild and fanciful fables, so God allows them to be confused and deceived. Isaiah 29:9-12
The Lord also hides the truths of the Prophetic Word from those who consider themselves 'wise', Matthew 11:25-26,

Emendations exist in the Tanakh.
That is what the 2 articles address.

 

[HTacianas]

Jewish tradition holds that the Soferim (Levite scribes) were responsible for copying and maintaining the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible or Christian Old Testament) after the Jews returned from Babylonian Exile. While the Bible speaks of several scribes before the Exile, Jewish tradition recognizes Ezra as the first who was given the task of maintaining the Tanakh’s accuracy and providing the correct interpretation of its meaning.
"Emendation" is defined as an "alteration intended to improve."
Despite God’s prohibition found in Deuteronomy 4:2 ("You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, not take away from it,..), it is believed that the Sopherim made changes to 1) correct errors that crept into their copies, 2) clarified the intent of the passage or 3) maintain the appropriate reverence towards the sacred name of God.
It should be noted that the presumed Emendations of the Scribes is difficult to verify with absolute certainty. Aside from comparing ancient manuscripts such as the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Septuagint and others, there aren’t any pre-Sopherim texts in possession to study. Despite this, there is a strong basis to acknowledge the existence of the Emendations of the Scribes albeit the specific emendations may be contested.

What is an Emendation

Emendation is defined as an 'alteration intended to improve'

helpmewithbiblestudy.org

Faith Once Delivered - The 134 Emendations of the Sopherim.

It is difficult to tell what is or is not an emendation to the text of the old testament because there was no standard text to make a comparison. There were always bodies of texts floating around and the wording from one body to the other differed. When we talk about authorities having control over the text we normally mean the rabbis of Jerusalem. But then the rabbis of Rome or Alexandria having authority over texts among the Jews of Rome or Alexandria opinions may have differed. Note that each body of text contained the same message, but the wording of the text differed. It remained that way until around 1000 AD with the completion of the Masoretic Text. The Masoretic Text then became the accepted standard. Anything that differed from the MT was considered in error. That led to several problems, especially within Christianity. Christianity has always used the Septuagint as the old testament, which obviously differs from the MT, as the MT did not exist at the time of the writing of the Septuagint. Compounding the problem is the King James Version, which used the MT as the basis for the old testament. That leads to old testament quotes in the new testament varying from the wording of the old testament in the same book.

 

[Mr. M]

helpmewithbiblestudy.org

The interpretation of Psalms 110 is perhaps one of the most contended among all of the Psalms. Psalms 110:1 or 4 are quoted several times in the New Testament (Matt 22:44; 26:64; Mark 12:36; 14:62; Luke 20:42–43; 22:69; Acts 2:34–35; Heb 1:13; 5:6; 7:17, 21) or alluded to (Mark 16:19; John 12:34; Rom 8:34; 1 Cor 15:25; Eph 1:20; Col 3:1; Heb 1:3; 5:10; 6:20; 7:3; 8:1; 10:12–13; 12:2).
Psalms 110:1-7 (note the emendation of verse 5)
1) The LORD says to my Lord:
"Sit at My right hand
Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet."
2) The LORD will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying,
"Rule in the midst of Your enemies."
3) Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power;
In holy array, from the womb of the dawn,
Your youth are to You as the dew.
4) The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind,
"You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek."
5) The Lord is at Your right hand; (Scribal emendation: Adonai [Lord] here was changed from YHWH [LORD])
He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.
6) He will judge among the nations,
He will fill them with corpses,
He will shatter the chief men over a broad country.
7) He will drink from the brook by the wayside;
Therefore He will lift up His head.
When the scribal emendation is removed, Psalms 110:5 speaks of the simultaneous presence of two Yahwehs. Scribal emendation took place, because this was a blasphemous thought for the Jews who believed that the Messiah was not equal to God. Judaism believed that their human Messiah was lower than God.
This can be further understood in light of Matthew 22:41-46 and why Caiaphas tore his robes in Matthew 26:64-65.
Jesus provides a clearer understanding of Psalms 110 and its succinct Messianic message is perhaps the main reason why it is so often referred to in the New Testament.

 

[Mr. M]

This can be further understood in light of Matthew 22:41-46 and why Caiaphas tore his robes in Matthew 26:64-65.
Jesus provides a clearer understanding of Psalms 110 and its succinct Messianic message is perhaps the main reason why it is so often referred to in the New Testament.

Matthew 22:
41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,
42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?”
They said to Him, “The Son of David.”
43 He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying:
44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” ’?
45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?”
46 And no one was able to answer Him a word,
nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.

Matthew 26:
62 And the high priest arose and said to Him, “Do You answer nothing?
What is it these men testify against You?”
63 But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him,
“I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!”
64 Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you,
hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power,
and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
65 Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy!
What further need do we have of witnesses?
Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!
66 What do you think?”
They answered and said, “He is deserving of death.”

 

[Mr. M]

Faith Once Delivered - The 134 Emendations of the Sopherim.

Jesus Knew What They Had Done!

Ordinarily, this matter would have escaped notice, except for the theological implications it raised. In the New Testament accounts, this matter was brought-up a number of times. It was one of their emended verses that time and time again caused major problems for Jewish theology. Under the pretext of doing something else, the Sopherim, and the Massorites after them, and the Scribes of Jesus’ day perpetuated a fraud against their followers that Christ exposed, to His great peril. In emending the text of their canon, they obscured a fundamental Truth. The Truth that God was more than just a single Being! New Testament theology at first restored that Truth, though subsequent Christian theology again in its own way obscured it once again! (But, that’s another story which needs to be dealt with in its own separate article.)

The issue raised by New Testament writers in so many places, as it related to these Emendations, has a very profound impact on not only the Judaic religions, but on Christianity as well. We can know that from the extraordinary use of one of those key places that were emended. In this place is proof that they altered the text of the sacred scriptures in order to accommodate that belief to which they so rigidly held. Christ knew they had done so, and by the use of one particular verse, He made it known to them that He KNEW what they had done! They had taken on an altered concept of God, and those key scriptures that could have exposed the Truth were altered. As a result, Orthodox Judao-Christian religions, have been confounded ever since.

It was one of these emended passages that appears numerous times in the New Testament scriptures. That one verse is quoted or referenced no less than twenty times. That one passage proved to be a ‘hot-button’, when quoted in the presence of the religious establishment. It was Psalm 110. In that chapter, verse 5 was emended, changing “YHVH” to “Adonai” and in the process here and elsewhere, obscured the fact that there were two persons in the Godhead called “Yahweh” (YHVH)! Old Testament Judaism came to reject that idea utterly.

“Sit Thou At My Right Hand”.

Psalm 110:1 says, “The LORD said unto my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool’.” In verse 5 it says,“The Lord[1] at Your right hand; He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath.”

Verse 5 is one of those emended places, where they omitted Yahweh (YHVH), substituting in its place Adonai. Ordinarily, under the rules, verse 1 would also have been emended, except for the fact that it already HAD Adonai being spoken to by Yahweh! And verse 5, before they altered it, showed that the Being at Yahweh’s right hand was also Yahweh! In other words, there are two Yahweh’s in the Elohim! A completely blasphemous idea to the religious establishment of Jesus’ day!

This particular passage, when quoted in the presence of those religious authorities, predictably provoked a passionate negative reaction. Not only was their belief system challenged, but also the acts of their predecessors having had the gall to alter the texts of their sacred scriptures to suit their religious preferences! Two of the more notable reactions happened when Caiaphas, the High Priest, tore his clothes at Christ’s trial, another at Stephen’s stoning. Both upon hearing quoted Psalm 110:1. The Sadducees, then the Pharisees and lawyers were silenced by the question this verse raises. (Matt. 22:46.) After having it posed to them, they were unable to answer. They couldn’t answer. To do so, they would have to have admitted the inadmissible.

 

[jamiec]

Jewish tradition holds that the Soferim (Levite scribes) were responsible for copying and maintaining the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible or Christian Old Testament) after the Jews returned from Babylonian Exile. While the Bible speaks of several scribes before the Exile, Jewish tradition recognizes Ezra as the first who was given the task of maintaining the Tanakh’s accuracy and providing the correct interpretation of its meaning.
"Emendation" is defined as an "alteration intended to improve."
Despite God’s prohibition found in Deuteronomy 4:2 ("You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, not take away from it,..), it is believed that the Sopherim made changes to 1) correct errors that crept into their copies, 2) clarified the intent of the passage or 3) maintain the appropriate reverence towards the sacred name of God.
It should be noted that the presumed Emendations of the Scribes is difficult to verify with absolute certainty. Aside from comparing ancient manuscripts such as the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Septuagint and others, there aren’t any pre-Sopherim texts in possession to study. Despite this, there is a strong basis to acknowledge the existence of the Emendations of the Scribes albeit the specific emendations may be contested.

What is an Emendation

Emendation is defined as an 'alteration intended to improve'

helpmewithbiblestudy.org

Faith Once Delivered - The 134 Emendations of the Sopherim.

Changing "Manasseh" to "Moses" in Judges 18.30 is an emendation - and the sense seems to require it. It seems to be an emendation of a text that was at some time "corrected" from reading "Moses". Biblehub lists several dozen English translations, which between them supply both readings of the passage: Judges 18:30 - The Danites Take Micah's Idols