Scribe Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Sofer=== {{Main|Sofer}} Sofers (Jewish scribes) are among the few scribes that still do their trade by hand, writing on [[parchment]]. Renowned [[calligrapher]]s, they produce the Hebrew [[Sefer Torah|Torah scrolls]] and other holy texts. ====Accuracy==== {{further|Dead Sea Scrolls}} Until 1948, the oldest known manuscripts of the [[Hebrew Bible]] dated back to CE 895. In 1947, a shepherd boy discovered some scrolls dated between 100 BCE and CE 100, inside a cave west of the [[Dead Sea]]. Over the next decade, more scrolls were found in caves and the discoveries became known collectively as the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]]. Every book in the [[Hebrew Bible]] was represented except [[Book of Esther|Esther]]. Numerous copies of each book were discovered, including 25 copies of the book of [[Deuteronomy]]. While there were other items found among the Dead Sea Scrolls not currently in the Hebrew Bible, and many variations and errors occurred when they were copied, the texts, on the whole, testify to the accuracy of the scribes.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Johnson|first1=Paul|title=A History of the Jews|date=1993|publisher=Phoenix|location=London|isbn=978-1857990966|page=91|edition=2nd}}</ref> The Dead Sea Scrolls are currently the best route of comparison to the accuracy and consistency of translation for the Hebrew Bible because they are the oldest out of any [[Bible|biblical text]] currently known.<ref> {{cite book |last1 = Johnson |first1 = Paul |author-link1 = Paul Johnson (writer) |title = A History of the Jews |date = 8 August 2013 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=gbUzAAAAQBAJ |publisher = Hachette UK |orig-date = 1987 |publication-date = 2013 |page = |isbn = 9781780226699 |access-date = 21 February 2022 |quote = The Dead Sea Scrolls testify, on the whole, to the accuracy with which the Bible was copied through the ages [...]. }} </ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Johnson|first1=Paul|title=A History of the Jews|date= 1993|publisher= Phoenix |location= London|isbn=978-1857990966|page=91|edition=2nd}}</ref> ====Corrections and editing==== [[File:诪讬诪讬谉 诇砖诪讗诇 讬讜砖讘讬诐 讛专讘 讬讜谞转谉 砖讟谞爪诇 讛讙讗讜谉 专讘讬 讗砖专 讜讬讬住 讛专讘 讚讜讚 讬爪讞拽 诪谞讚诇讘讜讬诐 讻转讬讘转 住驻专 转讜专讛 讘讬转专 注讬诇讬转.JPG|thumb|Completing the writing of the text for an [[inauguration of a Torah scroll]]]] Priests who took over the leadership of the Jewish community preserved and edited biblical literature. Biblical literature became a tool that legitimated and furthered the priests' political and religious authority.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/origins-written-bible.html |title=Origins of the Written Bible |first=William M. |last=Schniedewind |author-link=William M. Schniedewind |date=18 November 2008 |access-date=9 July 2018 |publisher=[[PBS Online]] |work=Nova}}</ref> Corrections by the scribes ([[Tiqqun soferim]]) refers to changes that were made in the original wording of the Hebrew Bible during the second temple period, perhaps sometime between 450 and 350 BCE. One of the most prominent men at this time was [[Ezra|Ezra the scribe]]. He also hired scribes to work for him, in order to write down and revise the oral tradition.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://booksnthoughts.com/ezra-changed-the-torah-text/ |title=Ezra changed the Torah text |first=Israel |last=Drazin |date=26 August 2015 |access-date=9 July 2018 |website=Jewish Books}}</ref> After Ezra and the scribes had completed the writing, Ezra gathered the Jews who had returned from exile, all of whom belonged to [[Kohen|Kohanim]] families. Ezra read them an unfamiliar version of the Torah. This version was different from the Torah of their fathers. Ezra did not write a new bible. Through the genius of his 鈥榚diting', he presented the religion in a new light.<ref>{{cite book |first=M. |last=Okouneff |title=The Wrong Scribe: The Scribe Who Revised the King David Story |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3XFdjwEACAAJ |publisher=[[CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform]] |date=23 January 2016 |pages=146 |editor-first=John |editor-last=Greenburg |isbn=9781523640430}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-who-wrote-the-torah-1.5318582 |title=Who Wrote the Torah? |last=Gilad |first=Elon |date=22 October 2014 |access-date=9 July 2018 |newspaper=[[Haaretz]]}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page