bible manuscripts

Many years ago I visited a local museum to see a special exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls.  I was very excited to actually see those old manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible.  But when I saw them I was a little disappointed. 

​Only small fragments were on display and the room was a little dark to perhaps preserve the sensitive documents.  I was surprised to see how small each letter was.  The writing materials must have been very precious.

In ancient times, scribes meticulously copied the scriptures.  The scribes had strict rules they must follow when they copied the manuscripts.  For example, letters and words must be counted and compared to ensure the copy’s accuracy. 

The Dead Sea Scrolls were hundreds of years older than the oldest manuscripts they had at that time.  They were compared to see how many errors had been introduced into the later manuscripts over the centuries. Surprisingly they almost matched.

I am grateful that those scribes painstakingly copied the manuscripts to preserve the word of God.