2500 Years of Torah Corruption
From times of Jeremiah to Maimonides and counting
I listened to an interview with James Tabor few days ago. Well, it was more a lecture with occasional cuts to the host wisely nodding along, but still. I learned a lot of interesting info. For example that the “weeping prophet” Jeremiah was already well aware that the Torah has been corrupted by scribes.
For those who don’t know, Jeremiah lived two and half millennia ago in ancient Israel. He preached and warned about upcoming destruction few decades before and until after the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of Solomon’s Temple in 587 BCE by Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II.
Yes, the generation that witnessed destruction of the First Temple was already well aware that Torah was corrupted. Well, not that I was exactly surprised, but it was new to me. Of course, I wanted to see it for myself. So, I identified chapter 8, verse 8 as a pretty explicit example, and what I have found was more than interesting.
First, look at Biblical translations:
“How can you say, “We are wise, for we have the law of the Lord,” when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely?” (NIV)
“How can ye say, We are chachamim (wise ones), and the torat Hashem is with us, when, hinei, the et sheker (deceiving pen) of the sofrim (scribes) has made it [the torat Hashem] into sheker (a falsehood, i.e., falsely authoritative scribal interpretation has twisted Scripture, perverting its truth; see also Jer 2:8; 2K3:16; here is a warning against false teachers, and it is important because the scribal group in Israel would become the rabbinic group in time to come, and here their doctrines are coming into direct opposition to the Torah and the inerrant prophecies of Jeremiah.).” (Orthodox Jewish Bible)
Now, look at naive translation attempts:
“How?! Say wise we law YHWH of but/truly who (to) lie make stylus falsehood scribes.” (word by word meanings from BDB dictionary)
“How will you say that we are wise and the Torah of Jehovah is with us, indeed here is a lie, a pen makes a lie books.” (Google Translate)
And finally, the Tanakh translations of this verse from Jewish sources. Well, if you don’t speak Hebrew and don’t trust Christian translations or Google, you will get a totally different picture:
“How can you say, “We are wise, And we possess GOD’s Instruction”? Assuredly, for naught has the pen labored, For naught the scribes!” (JPS, 2006)
“How do ye say: ‘We are wise, and the Law of the LORD is with us’? Lo, certainly in vain hath wrought the vain pen of the scribes.” (JPS, 1917)
I must admit, it’s a very clever way. Hiding the lie in a fog of implicitness created by the most euphemistic interpretation allows for the largest argumentative wiggle room possible. And to understand why the size of that argumentative wiggle room plays such a huge role, consider the attitude expressed by Maimonides aka Rambam in his Mishneh Torah, Murderer and the Preservation of Life 4:10–11:
It is a mitzvah to kill minim and apikorsim. The term minim refers to Jewish idolaters or those who perform transgressions for the sake of angering God, even if one eats non-kosher meat for the sake of angering God or wears sha’atnez for the sake of angering God. The term apikorsim refers to Jews who deny the Torah and the concept of prophecy. If there is the possibility, one should kill them with a sword in public view. If that is not possible, one should develop a plan so that one can cause their deaths. What is implied? If one sees such a person descend to a cistern, and there is a ladder in the cistern, one should take the ladder, and excuse oneself, saying: “I must hurry to take my son down from the roof. I shall return the ladder to you soon.” Similarly, one should devise other analogous plans to cause the death of such people.
With regard to a gentile idolater with whom we are not at war, a Jewish shepherd of small livestock, and the like, by contrast, we should not try to cause their deaths. It is, however, forbidden to save their lives if their lives are threatened. For example, if such a person fell into the sea, one should not rescue him. Leviticus 19:16] states: “Do not stand idly by while your brother’s blood is at stake.” This does not apply with regard to such individuals, because they are not “your brothers.”
Frankly, this is why I say that fundamentalist Christian apologists are minor leaguers. Though to leave no doubt I must also add that this is not a championship worth one’s engagement. And certainly not a competition one aspires to win. After all, in this kind of perverse contest everyone loses.
