Has the Holy Torah book been changed by human hands throughout time?

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kismet

The Torah has NEVER been changed.
We are FORBIDDEN from changing even one iota of it!!!
The proof is, that Torah scrolls from ALL OVER THE WORLD and from all time periods ARE COMPLETELY IDENTICAL!

Jak

Great pains are taken to ensure the torah is passed down from generation to generation without any changes. It is believed that before the Babylonian exile, jewish scholars had been successfull at copying the original 13 torahs supposedly produced by moses without any errors. However, at that time, many copies were damaged, destroyed or lost. it is believed that the modern torah is extremely close to the original, but how would we verify this?

When a torah is copied, it must be done letter by letter (without any intermediary steps or by memory), without any mistakes and each word must be read aloud by the transcriber. There are times when the transcriber has difficulty reading a letter or inflection and this will be noted. There are examples in the torah where it is not entirely agreed upon that one letter or word that is close to some other hebrew letter or word has been altered over the many years.

If you don't understand hebrew,number of inferences made during a translation to english will also create many differences between versions of translation.

Kevin S

"Parts of it have been changed, yes, just like the Bible. "

Nada would you please care to explain which parts.........I can claim the Qu'Ran is changed because it has a differfent number of letters in the different arab countries. But I can't argue this because I have never read most of the Qu'Ran. Have you read all of the 24 Jewish Holy Books?

The burden of proof lies on your shoulders......am I wrong?

Arieh

If you're really interested in reading it, may I recommend the following. (English and Hebrew)

http://www.amazon.com/Chumash-Stone-Artscroll-Nosson-Scherman/dp/0899060145#reader

The Torah is the 5 books of Moses and the Mishna(Oral Torah).

The Torah is different from the rest of the Bible, it is styled much differently. Unless you know Hebrew, you are stuck with translations.

The Christian translations are not good. The best translation is exspensive though, so I would recommend the Jewish Publication Society translation. It isnt perfect but it is the best one for the price.

trancinguy

The problem with the Torah (old testament), is that it was compiled from multiple sources , therefor needed someone (human), to sow it all together...which led to the conflicting reports on historical accounts.
e.g. Actual sites
Number of soldiers
etc

PaperbackWriter JPA

We're actually forbidden from changing even one letter in the Torah :)

As JD rightly notes, the Dead Sea Scrolls support the accuracy of the Torah we read today, as the material that was found as part of the Scrolls is 99.999% identical to what is in our books today (in Synagogue, the Torah is a scroll, not a book, though).

As a precursor to reading the Torah, I recommend 'Torah For Dummies' by Arthur Kurzweil - ignore the title, it's a really lovely introduction to the Torah :)

http://ajewwithaview.wordpress.com

Shay p

The significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls should never be underestimated. They answer one of the most critical questions of life: How do we know the Bible we have today has been passed down to us accurately â€” and is its message trustworthy?

What the Dead Sea Scroll manuscripts clearly demonstrate is that through about a thousand years there was essentially no significant alteration in the text. The scribes who transcribed the text of the Bible were so meticulous â€“ they had such high standards of accuracy, counting every word and every letter of every word, dotting each â€œiâ€ and crossing each â€œtâ€, so to speak â€“ that one may be absolutely certain the Old Testament text available to scholars today is in essence the same as the originals. The Dead Sea Scrolls are an incontrovertible archaeological confirmation that this is the case.
http://www.bibbiablog.com/2009/01/17/dead-sea-scrolls-exhibit-testifies-the-bible-is-true/

When the scrolls first were discovered in 1947, scholars disputed their dates of composition. Scholars now generally agree that although some materials are earlier, the Qumran materials date primarily to the Hasmonean (152-63 B.C.) and early Roman periods (63 B.C.-A.D. 68). Several strands of evidence corroborate these conclusions. First, archaeological evidence from the ruins of the Qumran community supports these dates. After six major seasons of excavations, archaeologists have identified three specific phases of occupation at the ancient center of Qumran. Coinage discovered in the first stratum dates from the reign of Antiochus VII Sidetes (138-129 B.C.). Such artifacts also indicate that the architecture associated with the second occupational phase dates no later than the time of Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 B.C.). Also reflected in the material remains of the site is the destruction of its buildings in the earthquake reported by the first-century Jewish historian, Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews, 15.5.2). Apparently, this natural disaster occurred around 31 B.C. a position that prompted the occupants to abandon the site for an indeterminate time. Upon reoccupation of the areaâ€”the third phaseâ€”the buildings were repaired and rebuilt precisely on the previous plan of the old communal complex. The community flourished until the Romans, under the military direction of Vespasian, occupied the site by force (see Cross, 1992, pp. 21-22). Such evidence is consistent with the second century B.C. to first-century A.D. dates for the scrolls.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SCROLLS
While the importance of these documents is multifaceted, one of their principle contributions to biblical studies is in the area of textual criticism. This is the field of study in which scholars attempt to recreate the original content of a biblical text as closely as possible. Such work is legitimate and necessary since we possess only copies (apographs), not the original manuscripts (autographs) of Scripture. The Dead Sea Scrolls are of particular value in this regard for at least two reasons: (1) every book of the traditional Hebrew canon, except Esther, is represented (to some degree) among the materials at Qumran (Collins, 1992, 2:89); and (2) they have provided textual critics with ancient manuscripts against which they can compare the accepted text for accuracy of content.

http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/266

Saphira

You said you have not come across a Torah to read but you also said that you have a Bible. The Bible has the Torah. The Torah is the first five books of the Bible. The Dead Sea scrolls have pretty much put to rest any idea that scripture has changed. Hebrew is written on scrolls in such a way that when lined up, the first letter, middle letter and last letter on the scroll will be identical to what was originally written. Jesus also said of scripture that not one jot or tiddle would be taken away (or changed).
Kind of like the saying cross your t's and dot your i's. Everything is in the Bible and the Torah is just as it should be. God wants us to have his holy word in full. He would not allow his chosen to be without it.

devora k

Never ever

Ruth Catkin JPA

Haify and Nads are vested in saying that the Torah was changed because their late-comer religion claims that without proof. Haify was never a Jew either, wonder what one says in the various religions about lying?

answer: No, it's forbidden to change even one letter of the Torah. There are a couple of good translations on the web and, as others have said, some decent translations from the Hebrew (Artscroll is the best, JPS more common and less expensive).

http://www.hareidi.org/bible/

http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/ptmp3prq.htm

Bosco

Yes. At Nag Hammadi an earlier version of the Book of Genesis was discovered with a markedly different text. Rather confusingly it is known as Genesis Two because it was a second version,discovered long after publication of the common version. All of the books of the Tanahk show the work of many hands; ie. the text has clearly been heavily worked over. To a skilled editor reading it is a lot like going through a script that have been worked on by who knows how many script-doctors.

The Dead Sea Scrolls back it up. What do you think was changed in any of it? How can you be so interested in something you won't take the time to read?
I don't believe you are very interested and that it would make any sense to you.

Mobius

First,a minor point: As I understand the word "Bible", it includes the Torah. If you think of the Bible as Old and New Testaments, actually (it surprised me) about 80% of it is Old Testament, which was originally written in Hebrew (a small part of it was Aramaic). It consist of three divisions, the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), Prophets, and Writings. It is more or less a history of the world, starting from creation, and becoming a history of the Jews BC.

As many of the responders have already said, the text of the Torah has been zealously guarded for accuracy in transmission, and the earliest known documents are nearly identical to the current version.

But the earliest copies don't go way back to the time of Moses, who is said to have received the Torah directly from God. The question of Biblical authorship has fascinated scholars, and the overwhelming current consensus is that it is a synthesis of four or more authorships during the first millennium BC. This is called the "Documentary Hypothesis". It proposes a "Redactor" who combined them into its current form, around 400 BC, whom many people believe was Ezra. (Needless to say, this stuff doesn't go over well in religious circles.)

A great book to read about this, and very readable, is "Who wrote the Bible?", by Richard Elliot Friedman, though it helps to have read Genesis to appreciate it.

Muslims like to say that the differences between similar parts of the Torah and the Quran can be explained by the fact that the Torah has been changed/corrupted, and the Quran is the unchanged word of God (maybe that's what your question is about). But try comparing the story of Joseph in the Bible (Genesis chapters 37-50) with the chapter of Yusuf in the Quran. It would be very hard for me to imagine anyone in his right mind giving both stories an honest reading and concluding that Yusuf was the uncorrupted "true" version. The Biblical version is full of drama, suspense, irony, humanity. The Quran comes off to me as a badly written, plagiarized version of the Biblical one. Sorry if this sounds rude, but it is not out of religious chauvinism. It's just how it honestly strikes me. Try it yourself, Joseph is a great story. And form your own opinion. I'd be curious to hear your take on it.

aprilisnewlife

Scripture is still Scripture. G-d said that heaven and earth will pass away but His word will endure forever.
The Torah has been open to as much misinterpretation as the Bible has. Even before the Christian Bible was ever written, G-d's chosen were bending the word of G-d either to hide a sin or to make them look more holy. Take for instance the law that says "do not boil the kid in it's mothers milk". If someone wants to take that to mean > "do not eat meat and dairy products together" they can go right ahead and do that. No one can stop them. But if I had to interpret that Scripture, I would say ... hmm... "do not boil the kid in its mothers milk".
Why do Jewish people write the word G-d without using the letter in between the G and the d? Because they have stretched the law of G-d that says not to take His name in vain. No where are they instructed in scripture to put dashes in for vowels (or omit vowels) when writing the name of G-d. Some see it as respect for His name, while others see it as a pious act to make them look more holy. Either way, it is a misinterpretation of G-ds word. Yet the Scripture still remains the same. I'm not putting any one down. This is just human nature. Christians bend G-ds word as well. In fact the catholic church may be more guilty of this than all religions put together. Again no offense that's just the way it is.
Why do I write G-d like that? Just in case.

Steel Rain

Haifa (Jewish Diva)

Yes it was changed several times, but rabbis keep denying it!
That's why i stopped following Judaism, it's not clear and full of lies.

ggopri

Of course it was.And the same happened to Bible and your Quran.Don`t be naive,Unforsakenme.Any Holy Book was changed through centuries it exists.Quran,for example,has been changed hundreds of times since the time of Muhammad to Uthman.Only very naive people can belive that a book can be rewritte hundreds of times by scribes,translated in hundreds of languages and dialects-and remain unchanged.
BTW,do you know that one of the scribes to whom Muhammad dictated his revelations ,changing them every day, renounced of islam,because , he said,the Word of God can not be changed by anyone,including the prophet of Islam? ItÂ´s a very well known story and not a single of Islamic scholars has ever tried to say that itÂ´s untrue.

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