First, it appears that you are saying all scribes were Jewish, or that the bible we have today comes directly from their writings is that accurate? Second, thanks for the lecture on the Pentateuch though I am already familiar. Third, there is not as much consensus on the writer of the Torah as you claim. Most Bible Scholars question how Moses could have possibly written about his own death, and rightly so. It could have been possible for Jesus to write of his own death, but not Moses.
Many scholars believe Moses was very qualified to translate cuneiform into Hebrew because the Bible talks about Moses' mother having him educated in all the knowledge of the Egyptians...these are all studies and very actively discussed in theological circles.
Of course copies clay tablets are not what is written in today's Bible because that would probably be cuneiform. However, most Bible scholars attribute moses for writing the Pentateuch or first 5 books of the Old Testament, also known as the TORAH.
The term "Torah" (Hebrew: תּוֹרָה, "teaching" or "instruction," sometimes translated as "Law,"[1]), or Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, refers to the entirety of Judaism's founding legal and ethical religious texts.[2][3] When used with an indefinite article, "a Torah" usually refers to a "Sefer Torah" (סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה, "book of Torah") or Torah scroll, written on parchment in a formal, traditional manner by a specially trained scribe under very strict requirements.
All Jewish scribes had to be highly educated to ever be allowed to work on a copy of Torah. This also set apart Jewish scribes from other ancient scribes...the rituals of a scribe were rigorous. I can go into the details of the strict codes that went into a scroll if you like.
Translation when done honestly by dedicated scholars of language would not fall into the category of changing the meaning. By wording I mean changing a word to another word meaning something else. Sure meanings can change and this is why word study is so important. We use lexicons, concordances, commentaries etc to understand root words and original meanings.
Copies of clay tablets are not what is written in today's bible. They are similar but not the exact same, this means that it has been changed... if god didn't want this to happen why did it? You give to much credit to the ancient scribes, many were illiterate and only copied the symbols they saw, others would make changes if the template text 'read funny' (they would make it more sensible). You can't claim the bible is unchanged anymore than you can claim only one true version of Christianity.
You were called out multiple times making unfounded and bizarre claims, and very often you'd go far more defensive and try to find other ways to escape owning up to making said claims.
What you're doing is not pondering, but injecting your religious ideology into every aspect of life, and demanding that others follow your beliefs. You misrepresent people and science, quote mine, outright lie and ignore sound evidence in such pursuits.
"in other words don't change the wording and meaning" And how do you propose making changes without doing this? Biblical scholars are well aware of changes made to the bible over the years, and 'meaning' itself changes over time.
The word abomination used in ancient texts was used to define what was not acceptable in the context of ritual. The understanding of this word has changed dramatically since then, now people think being gay is wrong or unnatural. All because the meaning changed.
I expect to be called out if I'm making unfounded and bizarre claims but I think pondering is acceptable as long as it is identified as pondering. After all aren't Ponderings and musings seeds of giant trees of discoveries yet to be?
Second, thanks for the lecture on the Pentateuch though I am already familiar.
Third, there is not as much consensus on the writer of the Torah as you claim. Most Bible Scholars question how Moses could have possibly written about his own death, and rightly so. It could have been possible for Jesus to write of his own death, but not Moses.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sure meanings can change and this is why word study is so important. We use lexicons, concordances, commentaries etc to understand root words and original meanings.
You give to much credit to the ancient scribes, many were illiterate and only copied the symbols they saw, others would make changes if the template text 'read funny' (they would make it more sensible).
You can't claim the bible is unchanged anymore than you can claim only one true version of Christianity.
What you're doing is not pondering, but injecting your religious ideology into every aspect of life, and demanding that others follow your beliefs. You misrepresent people and science, quote mine, outright lie and ignore sound evidence in such pursuits.
That's not pondering. That's being deceitful.
The word abomination used in ancient texts was used to define what was not acceptable in the context of ritual. The understanding of this word has changed dramatically since then, now people think being gay is wrong or unnatural. All because the meaning changed.