Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 141:563 (Jul 1984)
Article: Studies in 1 and 2 Samuel Part 3: The Text of Samuel
Author: John A. Martin

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BSac 141:563 (Jul 84) p. 209

Studies in 1 and 2 Samuel
Part 3:
The Text of Samuel

John A. Martin

Introduction

The interpretation of any written text presupposes that the text in the hands of the interpreter is in the same form as when it left the pen of the author or editor and was published. In the modern era such verification is not hard to ascertain. An interpreter need only look at a printed edition of a work to be sure he has the proper text. However, with ancient manuscripts the process is much more difficult. A given manuscript may have been copied by scores of copyists. With each stage of copying the likelihood of error creeping into the text multiplied. Added to unintentional copyists’ error is the possibility that the text may have been deliberately altered by one or more copyists to make it conform to the view(s) about that text current in his day.

Most Bible interpreters never worry about the underlying text of their translation of 1 and 2 Samuel for they usually rely on the standard Masoretic text or English translations based on it. Even if an interpreter relies on English translations which are based on text-critical methods, he usually does not observe major changes in the book. Even the most radical opponent of the Masoretic text does not depart greatly from the traditional text when it is considered as a whole. Although it has been stated that

BSac 141:563 (Jul 84) p. 210

the Masoretic text of 1 and 2 Samuel is the most “corrupt” in the entire Old Testament,1 the percentage of changes that would be made by the most thoroughgoing text critic are quite low and rarely change the overall interpretation of those books.

The purpose of this article is to alert interpreters and preachers of 1 and 2 Samuel to the state of current scholarship in the study of the text of 1 and 2 Samuel. Though the material presented here is not new, it is important to be restated for those who believe in the integrity of the biblical text.

The following abbreviations are used in this article. MT is used for the Masoretic text. LXX stands for the Septuagint majority text at any one place in the Old Testament. DSS are the Dead Sea Scrolls in which 4Q or 4QSam is the fragmentary document of Samuel. G refers to the Greek majority text for Samuel. OG is the Old Greek (reconstructed from several text types). The letters pL refer to proto-Lucian, that is, so-called Lucianic readings which occur much earlier than historical Lucian, OL is the Old Latin. C is the Hebrew text of Chronicles.

The State of Current Study

2 In the text critical study of the Old Testament a series of sm...

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