[Avodah] Reliability of the Mesorah

[Micha Berger via Avodah]

>From <http://j.mp/2dmtibe> (compressed from http://www.independent.co.uk...)
the Independent (UK) tech column, with AP material folded in, about
what it took to be able to read a copy of Vayiqra from the bayis sheini
era. And not from some group of minim in the desert, but in use, in a shul.

To jump to the point "100% identical", "This is quite amazing for us," [Dr
Emmanuel Tov, Hebrew U] said. "In 2,000 years, this text has not changed."

   Scientists have finally been able to read the oldest biblical text ever
   found.

   The 2,000-year-old scroll has been in the hands of archaeologists for
   decades. But it hasn't been possible to read it, since it was too
   dangerous to open the charred and brittle scroll.

   Scientists have now been able to read it, using special imaging
   technology that can look into what's inside. And it has found what was
   in there: the earliest evidence of a biblical text in its standardised
   form.
   ...

   The passages, which come from the Book of Leviticus, show the first
   physical evidence of a long-held belief that the Hebrew Bible that's in
   use today has is more than 2,000 years old.
   ...

   The biblical scroll examined in the study was first discovered by
   archaeologists in 1970 at Ein Gedi, the site of an ancient Jewish
   community near the Dead Sea. Inside the ancient synagogue's ark,
   archaeologists found lumps of scroll fragments.

   The synagogue was destroyed in an ancient fire, charring the scrolls.
   The dry climate of the area kept them preserved...

   The researchers say it is the first time a biblical scroll has been
   discovered in an ancient synagogue's holy ark, where it would have been
   stored for prayers, and not in desert caves like the Dead Sea Scrolls.

   The discovery holds great significance for scholars' understanding
   of the development of the Hebrew Bible, researchers say.

   In ancient times, many versions of the Hebrew Bible circulated. The
   Dead Sea Scrolls, dating to as early as the 3rd century B.C.,
   featured versions of the text that are radically different than
   today's Hebrew Bible.

   Scholars have believed the Hebrew Bible in its standard form first came
   about some 2,000 years ago, but never had physical proof, until now,
   according to the study. Previously the oldest known fragments of the
   modern biblical text dated back to the 8th century.

   The text discovered in the charred Ein Gedi scroll is "100 percent
   identical" to the version of the Book of Leviticus that has been in
   use for centuries, said Dead Sea Scroll scholar Emmanuel Tov from
   the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who participated in the study.

   "This is quite amazing for us," he said. "In 2,000 years, this text
   has not changed."
   ...

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             For a mitzvah is a lamp,
micha at aishdas.org        And the Torah, its light.
http://www.aishdas.org                   - based on Mishlei 6:2
Fax: (270) 514-1507