Why do you think the Masoretic text and the biblical manuscripts of the Dead Sea scrolls were so similar despite the 1000 year gap between the time they both were compiled? what does this tell us about the chain of transmission of the Hebrew bible?

Answers:

Answer 1: Many have attributed the consistency between biblical manuscripts each written a century apart, to the integrity of the Masoretic Traditions, others attribute it as an evidence of the workings of God.

The Masoretes were rabbis that is teaches whose specialty was to rectifyany erros that may have been infused into the text of the Old Testament while the jews were in Babylonian captivity.

Answer 2: The similarity between the Dead sea scrolls and the Masoretc texts are an evidence that the chain of transmission was not carelessly handled but was the life occupation of some who took it upon themselves to ensure that there were little or no variations or errors.

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