Copying the Bible Manuscripts

We wouldn’t have our Bibles today if it weren’t for thousands of people over many centuries carefully copying the manuscripts. The copying was done by scribes, who patiently copied the Scriptures when the original scrolls became too worn to use. The material they wrote on only lasted about 40 years, so the copyists had to keep making new manuscripts to preserve the text from being destroyed. 

To ensure accuracy, the scribes counted every letter on every page they copied. The word for “scribes”, sopherim, literally means, “the counters” because they counted, not only every word, but every letter. The middle letter of the manuscript was marked, as was the middle word of each major section of a book. If the letters of the copy didn’t match up with the original, they destroyed the page and started over.

By the time Jesus was born, the most recent Old Testament book, Malachi, had been copied and recopied more than 400 years. The books of Moses had been copied for more than 1,400 years. Imagine copying the entire book of Exodus without making a mistake.  

Over the last 3,000 years, generation after generation, thousands of scribes spent their lives carefully copying manuscripts to preserve the Bible for future generations. You don’t have to copy the Bible, but have you read the Bible through even one time? Don’t let their labor be in vain. www.makinglifecount.net

MORE STUDY: How Did We Get the Bible?

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