Ancient Manuscripts And Biblical Exposition -- By: William D. Barrick

Journal: Masters Seminary Journal
Volume: TMSJ 09:1 (Spring 1998)
Article: Ancient Manuscripts And Biblical Exposition
Author: William D. Barrick


Ancient Manuscripts And Biblical Exposition

William D. Barrick

Associate Professor of Old Testament

Ancient manuscripts have been the subject of many books, journal articles, and essays, but few have dealt with their relationship to biblical exposition. Yet the expositor has a vital role in preserving what those ancient manuscripts of the Bible contribute to an accurate knowledge of Old and New Testaments. Few works on systematic theology deal with the important doctrine of preservation, yet Scripture itself deals extensively with that doctrine. To do his part in implementing that doctrine, the expositor must examine his text in the original languages, identify the text’s original statement, and expound that original text. He must practice the doctrine of preservation by participating in that preservation.

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Nineteen ninety-seven marked the fiftieth anniversary of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The impact of these scrolls on Bible translations, textual criticism, and biblical exposition is still being assessed. The scrolls are part of a larger body of ancient manuscripts that the footnotes and margins of a number of current Bible translations cite in support of their renderings of the OT. The ancient versions to which those footnotes refer include the Samaritan Pentateuch (4th century B.C.1 ), the biblical manuscripts from Qumran (3rd century B.C.-1st century A.D.), the Greek Septuagint (3rd-2nd centuries B.C.), the Aramaic Targums (1st-4th centuries A.D.2 ), the Syriac Peshitta (1st-2nd centuries A.D.), and the Latin Vulgate (ca. A.D. 400).

Those manuscripts have been subjects of many books, journal articles, and essays. Many of the published items deal with the significance and history of the ancient manuscripts. Various scholarly journals contain a large number of technical articles on the application of ancient manuscript evidence to the textual criticism of

both the OT and NT. One area of application often goes unnoticed, however. That is the area of biblical exposition or preaching. How do the ancient manuscripts affect the exposition of the biblical text? What effect might those manuscripts have upon present-day expositors of God’s Word? What is the expositor’s responsibility in light of those manuscripts?

The Expositor Is Accountable For His Role In The Preservation Of The Biblical Text

The accountability of biblical expositors goes beyond the integrity they must demonstrate in their interpretation of the Word. It involves the integrity of the Scriptures themselves. The expositor...

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