Objection · Case 03 · Reliability of Scripture
A paleo-Hebrew Leviticus is interesting archaeologically, but the script says nothing about whether the words were copied accurately.
One objection from the free evidence repository at apologetics.pro.
Response
The script matters for a different reason: paleo-Hebrew was a deliberately archaic choice reserved for texts regarded as especially sacred, which shows the care the community took with the Torah. On accuracy, 11QpaleoLev is a substantial scroll whose text is close to the Masoretic tradition with some Samaritan-type readings, which is exactly the kind of witness that lets scholars check both traditions against a third.
About this exhibit
This objection is to Leviticus.
About 13 to 17 copies of Leviticus were found. The standout is 11QpaleoLeviticus, written in the paleo-Hebrew script and usually dated to around 100 BC, in the late Hasmonean period, though some…