Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Toto · 05-15-2013, 11:15 PM

Stephan's friend Benny Tsedaka:

The Other Torah

Quote:

Perhaps the most variant of texts within the two Torahs is the differences in the Ten Commandments.

“The Commandments are all in the form of ‘do’ and ‘don’t do,’ ” Tsedaka asserted. “The Masoretic version includes the intro of ‘I am your God that took you out of Egypt,’ as a commandment, when we see it as an introduction. Our Ten Commandments start later, and we have our last commandment to establish Mount Gerizim.”

While an “extra” commandment to establish an altar on Mount Gerizim might seem random in the Masoretic text, the part that follows the Ten Commandants in the Masoretic version talks about the forbidden action of building stairs to an altar. Some scholars believe that the Masoretic text would not be discussing steps to an altar without talking about an altar first, and so some believe there might be a part of the text that is missing in the Masoretic version

mountainman · 05-16-2013, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toto

Stephan's friend Benny Tsedaka:

The Other Torah

“The Samaritan Torah and Masoretic Torah used to be studied side by side."

Quote:

Until the 1950s, Bible scholars turned to the Jewish Masoretic text as the definitive version of the Torah, virtually ignoring the Samaritan text. However, in the winter of 1947, a group of archeological specialists searching through 11 caves in Qumran happened upon the Dead Sea Scrolls. After rigorous study of the scrolls, researchers have come to believe there were several versions of the Torah being studied throughout Jewish history, according to Eugene Ulrich, a theology professor at University of Notre Dame.

The scrolls they found in Qumran matched the Samaritan text more closely than the Masoretic text, leading some researchers to believe the Samaritan text held validity in the minds of Jews during the Second Temple period and that both texts were once studied together.

“Finding the Dead Sea Scrolls proved that there were two versions, if not more, of the Torah circulating within Judaism, but they were all dealt with with equal validity and respect,” said Ulrich, who served as one of the chief editors on the Dead Sea Scrolls International Publication Project. “The Samaritan Torah and Masoretic Torah used to be studied side by side. The Masoretic text wasn’t always the authoritative version. They were both seen as important during the Second Temple time period.”

εὐδαιμονία | eudaimonia

Duvduv · 05-16-2013, 07:36 PM

One of the most interesting aspects of the Samaritan Torah was been analyzed by Rabbi Chaim Heller in a book he wrote examining the content of the Samaritan Torah. He found that many of the differences from the Masoretic text can be found in the targems of Yonatan Ben Uziel and Onkelos. Actually, Rabbi Heller's book is hard to get hold of nowadays, but anyone familiar with the Torah and the targems can easily go through a comparison of the two texts and see how many times the targem renditions (which are commentaries as well) have been integrated into the Samaritan Torah.

Which leads me to the conclusion that the contemporary Samaritan Torah is an expansion that was used alongside the original Masoretic text by the Samaritans, perhaps with a few orthographic changes such as the word "B-CH-R" instead of "Y-V-CH-R" for "chose" (dropping the Masoretic letter yud for the future imperfective rendering it in the past) in reference to the place where God chooses.

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05-16-2013, 07:36 PM	#3
Duvduv Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: USA Posts: 4,095	One of the most interesting aspects of the Samaritan Torah was been analyzed by Rabbi Chaim Heller in a book he wrote examining the content of the Samaritan Torah. He found that many of the differences from the Masoretic text can be found in the targems of Yonatan Ben Uziel and Onkelos. Actually, Rabbi Heller's book is hard to get hold of nowadays, but anyone familiar with the Torah and the targems can easily go through a comparison of the two texts and see how many times the targem renditions (which are commentaries as well) have been integrated into the Samaritan Torah. Which leads me to the conclusion that the contemporary Samaritan Torah is an expansion that was used alongside the original Masoretic text by the Samaritans, perhaps with a few orthographic changes such as the word "B-CH-R" instead of "Y-V-CH-R" for "chose" (dropping the Masoretic letter yud for the future imperfective rendering it in the past) in reference to the place where God chooses.

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