Are Older Bible Manuscripts More Reliable?
Question: It is logical, isn’t it, to assume that older biblical manuscripts would more likely reflect the original reading of the scriptures? If so, what are some reasons why? Answer: I n general, what we know about hand copying indicates more errors are introduced (and definitely the potential for introduction of errors is high) with each generation of copying. The question of reliability of manuscripts is also overlaid with assumptions about literacy as it has developed in the last two centuries in the west. This was not the context of hand-copied manuscripts, which could often be a rote-copying of symbols by assembly-line copyists who may not have even understood the language and words they were copying. Factors such as this are well-documented in the various scholarly literature. Different Literacy — Different World When we think of the handing down of the biblical (or any) text over the centuries, it is too easy to overlook the fact that these manuscripts existed and were copied
