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(More customer reviews)Since the nineteeenth century, the absolute integrity of the text of the Pentateuch as the letter-for -letter accurate revelatory message of the Divine to Moses on Mount Sinai has been an article of faith for Orthodox Judaism. Prof. Levy shows with meticulous scholarship that from early Rabbinic times onwards, through the Middle Ages and even into more modern times many rabbinic scholars acknowledged and discussed the variations in the Masoretic and other texts of the 5 Books ( particularly in the context of the accuracy of the Scrolls used in synagogue). What was commonplace discussion in early times turned into sensation in our own times; what was never at issue turned into heresy, and, conversely, a view that was never espoused turned into an article of faith. The book is a superbly documented window onto the history of Judaism, and on to the history of the transmission of texts, with restrained but pointed relevance to some contemporary causes celebre - eg Bible Codes, whose basic premise this books elegantly demolishes. Should be in every theological and Jewish library!
Click Here to see more reviews about: Fixing God's Torah: The Accuracy of the Hebrew Bible Text in Jewish Law
The Hebrew text of the Torah has never been finalized down to the last letter. This is important not least because Jewish law requires that Torah scrolls read publicly in the synagogue be error-free. Jewish scribes, scholars, and legal authorities have sought to overcome or narrow these differences, but to this day have not completely succeeded in doing so. This book offers an in-depth study of how rabbinic leaders of the past two millennia have dealt with questions about the text's accuracy, presenting numerous authoritative rabbinic sources, many translated here for the first time.
