Objection · Case 03 · Reliability of Scripture
4QSam-a differs from the Masoretic Text in hundreds of places and contains a whole paragraph about Nahash the Ammonite that the Masoretic Text lacks. Doesn’t that show the Masoretic Samuel is a damaged text?
One objection from the free evidence repository at apologetics.pro.
Response
Samuel is the strongest case for the objection, which is why it is stated up front rather than buried. The Masoretic text of Samuel is widely agreed to have suffered more accidental omissions than most books, and 4QSam-a lets scholars repair some of them; the NRSV and other translations now include the Nahash paragraph. This is faithful transmission in the sense that matters: the older form survived in another line, was recovered, and the damage was reversible. The claim would be false only if the corruption were undetectable, and here it was detected.
About this exhibit
This objection is to 1 and 2 Samuel.
About 4 copies of Samuel were found, counted together as the Hebrew Bible treats them as one book. The copy known as 4QSamuel-a is important because it agrees at points with the ancient Greek…