ABORTION IS THE MURDER OF A HUMAN BEING IN VIOLATION OF EXOD

[iris89]

[ABORTION IS THE MURDER OF A HUMAN BEING IN VIOLATION OF EXODUS 20:13, “You must not murder.”

HOWEVER MANY INDIVIDUALS STRONGLY BELIEVE IN THIS WRONG AND WILL DO ALMOST ANYTHING TO KEEP IT LEGAL IN THE USA. LET’S LOOK AT ONE OF THESE SINFUL INDIVIDUALS AND THEN LOOK AT HOW WRONG ABORTION IS IN GENERAL.
INDIVIDUAL WHO WILL DO ANYTHING ALMOST TO KEEP IT LEGAL EVEN IF IT MEANS TRYING TO DESTROY ANOTHER'S GOOD REPUTATION ON NATIONAL TV DUE TO EXTREME HATE OF ANY WHO DISAGREE WITH HER.

HERE ARE TOO ARTICLES DETAILING THIS AND A BIBLICAL DISCUSSION OF THE EXTREME LYING ABOUT ANOTHER TO GAIN ADVANTAGE OVER HIM/HER.

Christine Blasey Ford's Lawyer: Okay Fine, Protecting Abortion Was Part of Why She Accused Kavanaugh Of Rape .

“New video has surfaced of leftist activist Debra Katz, the attorney for Christine Blasey-Ford, admitting her client (falsely) accused Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct in order to protect abortion and Roe v. Wade.
"In the aftermath of these hearings I believe that Christine's testimony brought about more good than the harm the misogynist Republicans caused by allowing Kavanuagh on the court," Katz said during an event in Baltimore. "He will always have an asterisk next to his name. When he takes a scalpel to Roe v. Wade we will know who he is, we know his character and we know what motivates him. It's important that we know and that's part of what motivated Christine."
"After an extensive investigation that included the thorough review of all potentially credible evidence submitted and interviews of more than 40 individuals with information relating to the allegations, including classmates and friends of all those involved, Committee investigators found no witness who could provide any verifiable evidence to support any of the allegations brought against Justice Kavanaugh," the report states. "In other words, following the separate and extensive investigations by both the Committee and the FBI, there was no evidence to substantiate any of the claims of sexual assault made against Justice Kavanaugh."
[SOURCE = RETRIVED FROM townhall.com/…/christine-blasey-fords-lawyer-okay-fine-abor… ON 02/11 / 2019]
“
and.

Christine Blasey Ford’s Lawyer Admits Attacks on Kavanaugh Motivated by Abortion Rights
Christine Blasey Ford’s lawyer Debra Katz on Wednesday admitted that ‘abortion rights’ is partially what motivated her client Christine to attack Brett Kavanaugh last year.
Debra Katz said that putting “an asterisk” next to Kavanaugh’s name in a case Kavanaugh attacked Roe v. Wade “is part of what motivated Christine.”
[SOURCE = RETRIVED FROM www.thegatewaypundit.com/…/christine-blasey-fords-…/ ON 02/11/ 2019]

NOW WHAT THE BIBLE HAS TO SAY ON THE MATTER:

Regarding false accusations, the psalmist says, “For they do not speak words of peace, But they deceptively scheme against the peaceful ones of the land.” (Psalms 35:20, [New World Translation Revised; NWTR] ). This is an accurate description of the motives of individuals such as ms. Ford, and results of false accusations. People lie about the innocent in order to stir up trouble or to destroy them for evil purposes. This happens on every level of society, from the halls of your local high school to the halls of the Pentagon. People accuse others falsely as a revenge tactic or power play or when they think they have something to gain. There is no need to state that this behavior is un-biblical in the extreme.
The command against making false accusations is one of the Ten commandments ““You must not testify falsely when you are a witness against your fellow man” (Exodus 20:16, [NWTR]) , According to Mosaic Law, someone who accused another person falsely was to receive an ironic punishment: “) The judges will thoroughly investigate, and if the man who testified is a false witness and has brought a false charge against his brother, 19 you should do to him just as he had schemed to do to his brother, and you must remove what is bad from your midst.” (Deuteronomy 19:18-19, [NWTR] ). The Law also specified that the punishment of a false witness was to be carried out without pity, “ ) You should not feel sorry: Life will be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.(Deuteronomy 19:21, [NWTR]); it is a serious thing in God’s eyes to make a false accusation.
The folly of making a false accusation is illustrated in the book of Esther. A man named Haman, a nobleman in the court of King Ahasuerus, devised a plot to frame a Jew named Mordecai and have him hanged on a gallows fifty cubits high. Haman sought to ensure Mordecai’s death by means of false accusations. Haman devised this plot because he hated Jews, and he especially hated Mordecai because Haman was jealous of a favor Mordecai had received from the king. But Haman’s plot was found out, and the punishment for Haman’s treachery was poetic justice—he was hung on the very gallows he had constructed for Mordecai as Ms. Ford plotted to ruin Kavanaugh’s reputation to stop him from becoming a judge on the Supreme Court of the US. This evil plan failed.

Those who make false accusations are under God’s judgment per, “You will destroy those who speak lies. Jehovah detests violent and deceptive people.”, (Psalms 5:6, [NWTR] ). As followers of Christ, we can expect that people will sometimes make false accusations against us, but hear Jesus’ encouragement: ““Happy are you when people reproach you and persecute you and lyingly say every sort of wicked thing against you for my sake. 12 Rejoice and be overjoyed, since your reward is great in the heavens, for in that way they persecuted the prophets prior to you.” (Matthew 5:11-12, [NWTR] ) No matter what others say about us falsely, we rely on God’s Word: “) The presumptuous smear me with lies, But I observe your orders with all my heart. 70 Their heart is insensitive, But I am fond of your law.” (Psalms 119:69-70, [NWTR] ).

Jesus Himself faced false accusations from the Pharisees and their followers. Isaiah prophesied this when he said of the Messiah, “He was oppressed and he let himself be afflicted, But he would not open his mouth. He was brought like a sheep to the slaughter, Like a ewe that is silent before its shearers, And he would not open his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7, [NWTR] ). Even Pilate, the Roman governor who oversaw Jesus’ sentence, knew that Jesus had done nothing wrong, but he pandered to the Jews and allowed the false accusations to stand

NOW LET’S LOO AT THE EVIL OF ABORTION – THE MURDER OF ANOTHER HUMAN BEING.
THE PRACTICE OF EXECUTING THE INNOCENT BECAUSE OTHERS MAKE THE WRONG FIRST CHOICE IS WICKED AND AGAINST EXODUS 20:13, “THOU SHALT NOT KILL.”

INTRODUCTION: The Bible clearly states, “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” 1 John 4:8, [authorized King James Bible; AV]
Almighty God (YHWH) has shown His love for mankind by providing many items for our enjoyment and for food out of love and He will judge the inhabited earth in righteousness. He will appoint His Son, Jesus (Yeshua)to accomplish this task as revealed at Acts 17:31, [AV] “Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” This judgment will be a blessing for all rightfully disposed individuals as they will enjoy life in a peaceful earth without war and crime and corruption and murder as Jesus (Yeshua) will be in charge and not some individual basically only interested in himself.
Those who willfully take the life of other human beings because they made a bad first choice due to their pursuit of hedonist sexual pleasures without taking adequate protection to avoid adverse consequences will be held accountable by Almighty God (YHWH). All know or should know the consequences possible or outcomes from having sex without taking adequate precautions, which was their choice. They should NOT BE ALLOWED a second choice to rectify the consequences of their BAD original choice that involves the execution of an innocent human life. Yes, all should have a first choice, but if they willfully make a BAD one, no second choice that would murder another human life, not their own, should be permitted.
Even wicked criminals when they are executed have ‘rights’ such as having a painless death. But women who make a BAD first choice should NOT be given a second choice when it involves painfully stamping out a human life of an innocent one as is the case with respect abortion.

Not only is the execution of a viable human life of an innocent an abomination to our Creator, it is wickedness personified. Diabolic killers are provided attorneys to defend them and if they fail in that are given the right as previously mentioned to a painless death.

However, an unborn human is NOT given a right to an attorney even though it is well known he/she is guilty of NO WRONG DOING. Yes unborn humans, “As early as eight to ten weeks after conception, and definitely by thirteen-and-a-half weeks, the unborn experiences organic pain…. First, the unborn child's mouth, at eight weeks, then her hands at ten weeks, then her face, arms, and legs at eleven weeks become sensitive to touch. By thirteen-and-a-half weeks, she responds to pain at all levels of her nervous system in an integrated response which cannot be termed a mere reflex. She (he) can now experience pain.” [SOURC - RETRIEVED FROM www.abortionfacts.com/facts/13 ON 1/26/2017]

Why pain? “…"the unborn child's body parts (in an abortion) are grasped at random with a long-toothed clamp. The fetal body parts are then torn off of the body and pulled out of the girl thingyl canal.’ The text notes that this concern for the unborn child's possible pain is in keeping with laws having to do with the humane slaughter of livestock and lab animals.” [sourc - retrieved from content.time.com/…/na…/article/0,8599,1566772,00.html on 1/26/2017]
REALITY – “The Embryo of Me”

THE more man learns about how the fetus develops, the more he is confronted by evidence showing that, from early on, it is a gradually unfolding life with feeling, hearing, sight, movement, and other functions. He continues to be startled by discoveries showing that it is more than a mere collection of cells and tissue. In Chatelaine, a Canadian women’s magazine, Anne Beirne sets out what is now known. Moving: Though the mother may not feel it, the fetus starts to move its muscles as early as eight weeks—and its heart is already beating! “By 28 weeks, a normally developing fetus moves at least ten times every 12 hours.” Feeling: At 16 weeks, it reacts to pain, even kicking if stuck by the needle used in amniocentesis. Hearing: It can hear its mother’s heartbeat at 24 weeks and responds to loud sounds, music, and voices. “It can even bounce in rhythm to its mother’s voice.” Seeing: “By 16 weeks, its eyes have developed to the point where they can move around; by 24 weeks, . . . the fetus is able to detect light through the uterine wall.”
This fact is noted at Psalm 139:16, [NWTR] “Your eyes even saw me as an embryo; All its parts were written in your book Regarding the days when they were formed, Before any of them existed.” Yes, Almighty God (YHWH) sees the conception of new life as it occurs. And as Genesis 1:22, [AV] “And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.” Clearly showing His original purpose for mankind was to multiply and fill the earth, NOT to murder the product of conception.

As reported in the Toronto Star a few years ago, “The prospect that a 2-day-old infant may actually be doing some rudimentary thinking has set the child development specialists abuzz,” Yes, this finding sets on end the old thinking that believed that infants younger than 8 or 12 months were incapable of coordinating data from more than one of their senses. This was per a report given by Meltzoff of the University of Washington several years ago at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Clearly indicating the fetuses undoubtedly develop rudimentary thinking much earlier than previously thought.
So much for technical, now vivid reality penned by an anonymous author and published in the Awake Magazine of 5/22/1980 that drive home how horrible abortion really is:

“Diary of an Unborn Child

OCTOBER 5:
Today my life began. My parents do not know it yet, but it is I already. And I am to be a girl. I shall have blond hair and blue eyes. Just about everything is settled though, even the fact that I shall love flowers.

OCTOBER 19:
Some say that I am not a real person yet, that only my mother exists. But I am a real person, just as a small crumb of bread is yet truly bread. My mother is. And I am.

OCTOBER 23:
My mouth is just beginning to open now. Just think, in a year or so I shall be laughing and later talking. I know what my first word will be: MAMA.

OCTOBER 25:
My heart began to beat today all by itself. From now on it shall gently beat for the rest of my life without ever stopping to rest! And after many years it will tire. It will stop, and then I shall die.

NOVEMBER 2:
I am growing a bit every day. My arms and legs are beginning to take shape. But I have to wait a long time yet before those little legs will raise me to my mother’s arms, before these little arms will be able to gather flowers and embrace my father.

NOVEMBER 12:
Tiny fingers are beginning to form on my hands. Funny how small they are! I’ll be able to stroke my mother’s hair with them.

NOVEMBER 20:
It wasn’t until today that the doctor told mom that I am living here under her heart. Oh, how happy she must be! Are you happy, mom?

NOVEMBER 25:
My mom and dad are probably thinking about a name for me. But they don’t even know that I am a little girl. I want to be called Kathy. I am getting so big already.

DECEMBER 10:
My hair is growing. It is smooth and bright and shiny. I wonder what kind of hair mom has?

DECEMBER 13:
I am just about able to see. It is dark around me. When mom brings me into the world it will be full of sunshine and flowers. But what I want more than anything is to see my mom. How do you look, mom?

DECEMBER 24:
I wonder if mom hears the whispering of my heart? Some children come into the world a little sick. But my heart is strong and healthy. It beats so evenly: tup-tup, tup-tup. You’ll have a healthy little daughter, mom!

DECEMBER 28:
Today my mother killed me.

NOW WHAT OF SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES?

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES:
FIRST, What of the situation where both mother and child are in critical condition due to the pregnancy, but only one can be saved? Reality, this does NOT involve murder but the making the selection of whom to save – usually made by doctor and family.
SECOND, What of the situation with respect rape? Here is women has NOT made a bad choice, but a lustful wicked criminal has violated her. The question, what should be done? First, if this wicked individual is found, then he, not the innocent unborn should be executed if anyone is executed.
At the present for example, Europe is faced with a major perplexing rape problem where over 70% of rapes are committed by lustful male members of one religion that makes up less 4% of the population of Europe. Let’s look at this in more detail:
In most host countries the number of rapes and crimes committed by this group is statistically very great. In most of Europe they form Muslim rape gangs that go out and systematically rape young girls of the host country.
Let’s look at some examples. Muslim Child-Rape Gangs in Britain, the facts.
While Muslim groups have sought to discredit the police investigations by claiming "Islamophobia," it recently emerged that British police had known for more than a decade that Muslim rape gangs were targeting young girls in England, but they ignored evidence because they were afraid of being accused of racism.
To learn more, go to,
1) www.clarionproject.org/…/muslim-child-rape-gangs-bri…
2) www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3846
3) www.frontpagemag.com/.../britain-grapples...muslim-sex-gangs
4) www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZCQ9ZWfCuQ
5) www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3068/muslim...rape-gangs-britain
6) www.caringforourchildrenfoundation.org/?p=21500
7) www.mrctv.org/videos/dispatches-muslim-rape-gangs-england
ALSO, SWEDEN: 77.6% OF ALL RAPES ARE COMMITTED BY MUSLIM MALES, WHO TOTAL ONLY 2% OF POPULATION – GOVERNMENT REPORT
To see account of this, go to muslimstatistics.wordpress.com/…/sweden-77-6-perce…/
NOTE: Some Muslims berate European host countries due to their high birth rate among teen agers, BUT FAIL TO MENTION THEY ARE LARGELY AT FAULT DUE TO THEIR RAPE GANGS PRACTICING UNPROTECTED SEX. Also, they claim their women be more modest due to their wearing excessive clothing and sometimes even face covering masks, but in reality neither excessive clothing or lack there of makes one modest – only wearing conservative clothing in good taste does. WHAT HYPOCRITES.
This is a major problem and not a minor isolated problem like priest in the Roman Catholic taking advantage of girls to satisfy their sexual lust.
All rapist when caught should be made to pay for all expenses and damages resulting to the women until the illegitimate child they caused is adopted, plus triple putative penalty damages. There is a great demand to adopt children in most first world countries, and many profit and none profit groups to assist even including a fast food chain, Wendys.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION ON ABORTION METHODS IN A NUTSHELL:
Suction Aspiration. A suction curette (hollow tube with sharp-edged tip) is inserted into the womb, and suction 28 times stronger than that of a vacuum cleaner shreds the baby and draws the pieces into a container. This method is used in most abortions up to the 12th week. By then the child is completely formed and sensitive to pain.
Dilation and Curettage (D & C). Similar to the suction method, except for the insertion of a loop-shaped knife that dismembers the baby and scrapes the pieces out through the womb opening.
Saline Solution. Fluid is drawn out of the amniotic sac where the baby is and a concentrated salt solution injected in its place. The baby breathes and swallows the solution, struggles, hemorrhages, goes into convulsions, and in a few hours dies. Thereafter the mother goes into hard labor and delivers a dead or dying baby. This method is used in advanced pregnancies, four to six months. [MORE PAIN THE THAN WATERBOARDING TORTURE.]
Prostaglandin Abortion. Birth hormones are injected into the amniotic sac to induce premature birth. Salt is often injected first to prevent live births.
Yes, ungodly people even use abortion executions as a means of birth control or planned parenthood. Some couples do not wish to bother with contraceptives. Contrary to expectations, the pill has not turned back the rising tide of abortions. Many have repeat abortions. Now, how uncaring can you get when you use murder, in violation of Almighty God’s (YHWH’s) direct commandment at Exodus 20:13, Rutherford Translation, “Thou shalt not commit murder.” Obviously He will not look on this willful planned execution with favor. And in some countries, For sex control. By obtaining fetal cells from the amniotic fluid doctors can test for genetic defects in the baby. They also can tell the sex of the baby. This is resorted to by some, and on the basis of this information they decide whether to have an abortion or not. If it’s a girl and they want a boy, or if it’s a boy and they want a girl, an abortion eliminates the unwanted child.
The false claim is often made that the pregnant woman should have control of their own body, but the fetus is not her body. It is not an appendage or part such as the appendix or gallbladder the removal of which has been likened to the removal of the fetus from the mother’s body. Dr. A. W. Liley, world-renowned research professor of fetal physiology, said: “Biologically, at no stage can we subscribe to the view that the/she foetus is a mere appendage of the mother. Genetically, mother and baby are separate individuals from conception. ” He continues with a description of the activities of the fetus, as follows:
“We know that he/she moves with a delightful easy grace in his buoyant world, that foetal comfort determines foetal position. He/she is responsive to pain and touch and cold and sound and light. He/she drinks his amniotic fluid, more if it is artificially sweetened, less if it is given an unpleasant taste. He/she gets hiccups and sucks his thumb. He/she wakes and sleeps. He/she gets bored with repetitive signals but can be taught to be alerted by a first signal for a second different one. And finally he/she determines his birthday, for unquestionably the/she onset of labour is a unilateral decision of the/she foetus. . . . This is also the/she foetus whose existence and identity must be so callously ignored or energetically denied by advocates of abortion.”
CONCLUSION:
There is absolutely no justification for the execution/murder of innocent unborn humans that have committed no wrong, or telling lies to keep this evil practice legal.

I CHALLENGE ANYONE TO SHOW ANY FACTUAL ERRORS IN WHAT I HAVE WRITTEN – ALL HIGHLIGHT UNCALLED FOR MURDER IN VIOLATION OF EXODUS 20:13.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BIBLE AND RELIGION – BOTH TRUE AND FALSE – AT WWW.JW.ORG

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[iris89]

COMBINATION OF [1] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND [2] THE WORKING OF IRON AND BRASS WAS KNOWN TO THE PRE-FLOOD ANCIENTS AND USED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF NOAH’S ARC. With the Scripture of the Day first.

[1] SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [265B]

As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Psalms 103:12, [authorized King James Bible; AV]

However as shown at Isaiah 1:16 - 20, [AV] Almighty God (YHWH) will wipe away the sins of those loving him, “Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. 18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: 20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” Thus it is imperative to strive to bring our lives in harmony with his will as detailed in His book of guidance, the Bible.


[2] THE WORKING OF IRON AND BRASS WAS KNOWN TO THE PRE-FLOOD ANCIENTS AND USED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF NOAH’S ARC.

THE Bible says at Genesis 4:22, [authorized King James Bible; AV] says, “ And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.” This is very interesting, since after the flood of Noah’s day, it was many centuries before humans were working with brass and iron, materials that Tubalcain worked with before the flood that were used in the construction of Noah’s arc as shown by its recent probable re-finding. Let’s review a recent claim on that subject.

Noah’s Ark Has Been Found. Why Are They Keeping Us In The Dark?

 May 20, 2016 Tiffany Landis

I’m often amazed at our lack of knowledge about history. Ordinary people are hungry for this information, yet the organizations responsible to disseminate these facts seem to have an agenda to keep us in the dark. This is especially true when it comes to our ancient human history.
I won’t hold you in suspense with this article: The Ark of Noah has been found. It’s real. I’ll describe the evidence in some detail and end with the historical and religious implications.

How It Was Discovered
In 1959, Turkish army captain Llhan Durupinar discovered an unusual shape while examining aerial photographs of his country. The smooth shape, larger than a football field, stood out from the rough and rocky terrain at an altitude of 6,300 feet near the Turkish border with Iran.

Capt. Durupinar was familiar with the biblical accounts of the Ark and its association with Mount Ararat in Turkey, but he was reluctant to jump to any conclusions. The region was very remote, yet it was inhabited with small villages. No previous reports of an object this odd had been made before. So he forwarded the photographic negative to a famous aerial photography expert named Dr. Brandenburger, at Ohio State University.
Brandenburger was responsible for discovering the Cuban missile bases during the Kennedy era from reconnaissance photos, and after carefully studying the photo, he concluded: “I have no doubt at all, that this object is a ship. In my entire career, I have never seen an object like this on a stereo photo.”

In 1960 the picture [above] was published in LIFE magazine under the heading of Noahs Ark? That same year a group of Americans accompanied Capt. Durupinar to the site for a day and a half. They were expecting to find artifacts on the surface or something that would be unquestionably related to a ship of some kind. They did some digging in the area but found nothing conclusive and announced to the anxiously waiting world that it appeared to be a natural formation.
Most of the global media turned away from the find and it became a non-story.

In 1977 Ron Wyatt visited the site. Obtaining official permission, Ron and others conducted more thorough research over a period of several years. They used metal detection surveys, subsurface radar scans, and chemical analysis — real science — and their findings were startling. The evidence was undeniable. This was the Ark of Noah.

The first part of the survey was to examine the object and take its measurements. The shape looked like hull of a ship. One end was pointed as you would expect from bow [below: D] and the opposite end was blunt like a stern. The distance from bow to stern was 515 feet, or exactly 300 Egyptian cubits. The average width was 50 cubits. These were the exact measurements mentioned in the Bible.

On the starboard side (right) near the stern there were four vertical bulges protruding from the mud , at regular intervals, that were determined to be the “ribs” of the hull [see below]. Opposite to these, on the port side, a single rib protrudes from the mud. You can see its curved shape very clearly. Surrounding it are more ribs, still largely buried in the mud, but visible upon close examination.

Remember that this object, if it is the Ark, is extremely old. The wood has been petrified. Organic matter has been replaced by minerals from the earth. Only the shapes and traces of the original wood remain. Perhaps this is why the expedition in 1960 was disappointed. They anticipated finding and retrieving chucks of wood, long since eroded.

From the position of the object in the middle of an obvious mud flow, it is obvious that the object slid down more than a mile from its original location. Geologists believe it was originally over 1000 feet higher in the mountain and encased in a shell of hardened mud. They think that an earthquake in 1948 cracked the mud shell and revealed the structure. This is confirmed by stories from the surrounding villagers who tell of its “sudden appearance” around that time.

Biblical accounts of the Ark describe it as having as many as six levels. The assumed shape of the Ark seems consistent with the bulge [C] in the middle of the object. In fact, as we will soon learn, radar scans of the structure suggest that this bulge is the collapsed debris of these levels.
Although most people think of the Ark as being rectangular, that only applies to the top decks. The sleek shape of the hull is necessary to enable the huge ship to remain stable in the water and survive tremendous waves.

The human eye needs to see reflected light to recognize an object. To visualize what remains below the earth, scientists use microwaves which can penetrate the ground and bounce back when they hit something solid. This technique is commonly used to locate oil and other minerals. Called Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), the apparatus us made from an antenna that transmits, then listens to receive the “echo” and prints the result on a piece of paper. The delay and strength of this echo tell the geologists how solid and at what depth the objects are under the earth. The team of geologists didn’t scan the entire object. Instead, they marked out lines that crossed the object with yellow tape. Then they dragged the antenna (about the size of a lawnmower) over the lines and watched the output on the paper recorder. When they got a strong “hit” — meaning there was something solid underneath — they would record the position on the tape [above]. Later, when they made a map of the object, the tape and the location of the “hits” they realized that there was indeed a structure underneath the mud.

The radar cans revealed this structure under the mud. The symmetry and logical placement of these objects shows that this is unmistakably a man made structure, most likely the Ark of Noah. Using the GPR, Ron Wyatt discovered an open cavity on the starboard side. He used an improvised drill to make core sample inside this cavity and retrieved several very interesting objects. Found, by what turned out to be petrified animal dung, then a petrified antler and lastly a piece of cat hair.

Perhaps the most significant find from the Ark itself is a piece of petrified wood. When this was first found it appeared to be a large beam. But upon closer examination it is actually three pieces of plank that have been laminated together with some kind of organic glue! This is the same technology used in modern plywood. Lamination makes the total strength of the wood much greater than the combined strength of the pieces. This suggests a knowledge of construction far beyond anything we knew existed in the ancient world.

Tests by Galbraith Labs in Knoxville, Tennessee, showed the sample to contain over 0.7% organic carbon, consistent with fossilized wood. The specimen was once living matter. Examination reveals the glue oozed from the layers. The outside of the wood appears to have been coated with bitumen. Even more surprising were laboratory analyses which not only revealed that the petrified wood contained carbon (proving it was once wood) but there were iron nails embedded in the wood!

We like to imagine that humanity evolved in a neat sequence of eras, each named after the technology that was discovered. We have the Stone Age (where man developed arrows and stone tools), the Bronze Age (where metals were combined and heated to make tools and household items) and lastly the Iron Age (where iron and steel objects were made by heating iron ore and adding other material — like charcoal — to strengthen it). The Iron Age is usually placed at 1200-1000 BC, yet we have iron nails being used in this extremely old construction.

The most surprising find was discovered with sensitive metal detectors. The team located several strong “hits” that, when dug up, revealed large disc shaped rivets. From simple observation of the metal it was possible to see where the rivet had been hammered after being inserted through a hole. If rivets being used in ancient construction doesn’t impress you, this surely will.

An analysis of the metal used to make the rivets revealed that they were a combination of iron (8.38%), aluminum (8.35%) and titanium (1.59%). Remember these trace metals have survived petrification and so do not indicate the exact content in the original material.

We know the aluminum was incorporated in the metallic mixture because it does not exist in metallic form in nature. This implies an extremely advanced knowledge of metallurgy and engineering. Characteristics of an iron-aluminum alloy have been investigated in The Russian Chemical Bulletin (2005) and reveal that this alloy forms a thin film of aluminum oxide which protects the material from rust and corrosion. The addition of titanium would provide added strength. This seems to have worked. The rivets have survived from antiquity!

Several miles from the location of the Ark, huge stones were discovered, some standing upright while others lying on the ground. These stones, weighing many tons, have holes carved in them. Scientists have determined that they were anchors and the holes would have been their attachment to a ship with hemp rope.

Often these stones will have crosses carved in them, from centuries ago when pilgrims made the journey to visit the Ark. Yes, the Ark was well known in the Middle Ages and even before. And its location was recorded in many historical documents.

The Gilgamesh Epic (650 BC) gives Mt. Nisir as the landing place of the Ark. The local name for the town where the Ark was found is Nasar. The annals of Ashurnasurpal II of Assyria (833-859 BC) places it south of the Zab river (correct). Theophilus of Antioch (115-185 AD) said the Ark could be seen in his day in the Arabian mountains. Later Church Fathers also mention the Ark as late as the mid 7th century. In the 13th century, Willam, a traveler, stated for the first time that Mt. Masis was the Ark location (present-day Mt. Ararat). Ptolemy’s Geographia (1548) mentions the mountains of Armenia as the place of landing. So does the traveler Nicolas de Nicolay (1558).

Pilgrims to the site would gather bits and pieces of the petrified wood which would be used as charms to ward off evil. When they encountered the anchors, they had no doubt about their association with the Ark. They often carved one big cross to represent Noah and smaller crosses representing his family. The huge anchors would have been suspended from the keel of the ship. This was a common practice among ancient mariners to stabilize a heavy ship and ensure that the bow is always facing the on-coming waves. A “top heavy” ship, such as the Ark, could easily be capsized by a wave approaching from the side. This is yet further proof that Noah’s Ark was a reality and that it has indeed been found in Turkey. [sourc - retrieved from thefactedz.com/noahs-ark-has-been-found-why-are-they-keeping-us-in-the-dark/11/ on 5/28/2016]

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BIBLE AND RELIGION - BOTH TRUE AND FALSE - AT WWW.JW.ORG

[iris89]

COMBINATION OF [1] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND [2] THE REALITY ON ISAIAH 41:4. With the Scripture of the Day first.

[1] SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [266B]

For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. Romans 8:22, [authorized King James Bible; AV]

Yes, things on earth are NOT getting better, but only going down in a continuous downward spiral. Of course, this eventuality was foretold long ago by the Apostle Matthew when he wrote at Matthew 24:8 – 12, [AV] “All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” For example the use of illegal drugs is increasing and more youths are committing crimes of ever more grave types, and the political scene is getting worse in many diverse countries, and there is no peace in the world as it is in great turmoil with entities that claim a religious reason such as ISIS and Al Queda.


[2] THE REALITY ON ISAIAH 41:4:

Isaiah 41:4 Who has performed and accomplished it, Calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last, I am He." [New American Standard Bible-Reference Edition by Moody Press, Chicago, a div. Of Moody Bible Institute; NASB-MP].

Some think this applies to Jesus (Yeshua), but it does not, it applies to his Father (YHWH) as clearly shown at Isaiah 44:6-8, 'Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. 7 And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them. 8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.." (AV); and at Isaiah 46:9-10, "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: "; and Isaiah 43:10-11, "Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. 11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour." (AV); and many others.

But Isaiah 48:17-18, "Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. 18 O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:" (AV) clearly shows the Title, "Lord," being applied to Almighty God (YHWH). This is reaffirmed at Revelation 11:17, "Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.",(AV), yet there are those who attempt to twist the scriptures to serve the god of this system or world, and use scriptures such as Revelation 1:11, "Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea." (AV) , but fail to notice the critical difference "the first and the last" which rather than implying that Jesus (Yeshua) is Almighty God (YHWH) clearly show his as the first of Creation as does Revelation 3:14, "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans F1 write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;" (AV); Clearly they do not recognize the difference between "beginning and the ending" and "the first and the last."

Actually a lot of this confusion results from poor translation as clearly shown by the rendering of Revelation 1:11 in the New American Standard Bible-reference Edition by Moody Press, Chicago, a div. Of Moody Bible Institute; NASB-MP, "Saying, 'Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches; To Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyater and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodices." (NASB-MP); similar renderings are found in the American Standard Bible (ASB); the New World Translation (NWT); The Emphatic Dialogue; New Revised Standard Version (NRSV); the Westcott-Hort (1948 Reprint), and many more. Of particular interest is the rendering in the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible, the following, "Saying: What thou seest, write in a book and send to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamus and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.".

However, be not mislead by the trickery of men, but know this Psalms 83:18 says, "That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth." (AV). And the difference is drawn out at Acts 5:24-26, "Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow. 25 Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people. 26 Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned." (AV), where it clearly says, Acts 4:26, "The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the Lord, and against His Christ." (NASB-MP). Clearly showing here "Lord" applied to Almighty God (YHWH) and distinguishing him from his son the Christ, Jesus (Yeshua) as it showed them against both as distinct beings and not as one and the same.

So we can clearly see those being mislead by the god of this system, see 2 Corinthians 4:4, "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." (AV), are liars like their leader as shown at John 8:44. They twist scripture and/or use poor translations to try and support their idolatry, instead of trying to understand the plain Truth of the Bible.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BIBLE AND RELIGION - BOTH TRUE AND FALSE - AT WWW.JW.ORG

[iris89]

COMBINATION OF [1] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND [2] THE 'TEXTUAL MECHANICS' OF EARLY JEWISH LXX/OG PAPYRI AND FRAGMENTS BY ROBERT A. KRAFT (UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA)- PART 1. With the Scripture of the Day first.

[1] SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [267B]

And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5, [authorized King James Bible; AV]

The Creator, Almighty God (YHWH), saw what was happening and for a moment even regretted that he had made humans as recorded at Genesis 6:6 -8, [AV] “And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.” However one pre-flood man, Noah, found favor with the Lord per Genesis 6:8, [AV] “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” Yes, he was an upright man, Genesis 6:9, [AV] “These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.”

[2] The 'Textual Mechanics' of Early Jewish LXX/OG Papyri and Fragments
By Robert A. Kraft (University of Pennsylvania)

[Most recently modified 11 July 2001]
[This is a greatly expanded and revised form of a paper first delivered in May 1998 (Hampton Court, Herefordshire England) to the conference on "The Bible as Book: The Transmission of the Greek Text" sponsored by the Van Kampen Foundation and The Scriptorium: Center for Christian Antiquities. A shorter form of the revised essay is scheduled to appear in the volume being prepared from that conference.]

[The images of MSS provided here are secondary and provisional in nature, mostly drawn from the referenced publications, and intended to help illustrate various aspects of the subject under examination. For a quick list of the fragments reviewed here (and others),
see Early Papyri and MSS for LXX/OG Study.

The following images are linked below [listed here for convenience; other links to be added]:

01. Qumran cave 4 LXXDeut 11 (2nd bce, parchment roll)
02. PRyl458 of Deut (2nd bce, papyrus roll),
03. Qumran cave7 Exod 28 (2nd/1st bce, papyrus roll),
04. Qumran cave4 Lev\a (2nd/1st bce, parchment roll),
05. Qumran cave7 EpJer (2nd/1st bce, papyrus roll),
05+. Qumran cave 7 frg 5 (unidentified controversial "Mark" frg, papyrus roll),
05+. Qumran cave7 frg 8 (unidentified),
06. PFouad266a [942] Gen (1st bce, papyrus roll),
07. Qumran cave4 Lev\b (1st bce, papyrus roll; tetragrammaton = IAW),
08. PFouad266b [848] Deut (1st bce, papyrus roll; Hebrew/Aramaic tetragrammaton),
09. PFouad266c [847] Deut (late 1st bce, papyrus roll),
10. Qumran cave4 paraphrase of Exod(?) (late 1st bce, papyrus roll),
11. Qumran cave4 unidentified Greek (late 1st bce, parchment roll),
12. Qumran cave4 Num 3-4 (turn of the era, parchment roll),
13. Nahal Hever Minor Prophets (hand A), with example of paleo-Hebrew tetragrammaton and hand B (turn of the era, parchment roll),
14. POxy3522 of Job 42 (1st ce, papyrus roll; paleo-Hebrew tetragrammaton), see also the black and white image,
15. POxy4443 of Esther (1st/2nd ce, papyrus roll), see also the black and white image,
16. PFouad 203 prayer/amulet? [no image yet]
17. PYale1 of Gen 14, recto, and verso (2nd ce, papyrus codex; number 318 abbreviated),
18. PBodl5 of Pss 48-49 (2nd ce, parchment codex),
19. POxy656 of Gen (2nd/3rd ce, papyrus codex, problematic tetragrammaton),
20. POxy1007 of Gen (3rd ce, parchment codex),
21. POxy1166 of Gen 16 (3rd ce, papyrus roll),
22. PBerlin 17213 of Gen (3rd ce) [no image yet]
23. POxy1075 of Exod (3rd ce, papyrus roll; end of book),
24. Cairo ostrakon 215 of Judith (late 3rd ce) [no image yet]
25. PLitLond 202 of Gen (3rd/4th ce, papyrus codex) [no image yet]
26. PWien Rainer 18 of Pss (3rd/4th ce, parchment roll; Symmachus?) [no image yet]
27. PAlex 203 of Isa 48 (3rd/4th ce, papyrus roll?),
28. PHarris 31 of Ps 43 (3rd/4th ce, papyrus roll/amulet?),
29. POxy1225 of Lev 16 (early 4th ce, papyrus roll),
30. PLitLond 211 of Dan 1 Theodotion (early 4th ce, vellum roll) [no image yet]

[[under construction (additions from July 2001)]]
add 31. Goettingen # 967 Ezekiel-Daniel-Esther (about 200 ce, papyrus codex); ending of Daniel/Susanna, with subscriptio (PKoeln Theol 37v, p.196)
add 32. POxy4442 Exodus [first side] (early 3rd ce, papyrus codex); [other side]
add 33. PVindobGr 29828+29456 Jannes and Jambres (early 3rd ce, papyrus roll [reused], nomina sacra uncontracted) [vh1068]
add 34. PMich 4925 Jannes and Jambres (early 3rd ce, papyrus roll [reused]) [BASP 16 (1979) 114]
add 35. PChBeat 16 Jannes and Jambres (4th ce, papyrus codex, odd nomina sacra) [Pietersma]
add 36. POxy1173+1356+1207+2158+ Philo (3rd ce, papyrus codex) [vh696]
add 37. PAntin 8 Prov-Wisd-Eccl (3rd ce, papyrus codex) [#928 = vh254]
add 38. PAntin 9 Prov (3rd ce, papyrus codex) [#987 = vh252]
add 39. Freer Minor Prophets (late 3rd ce, papyrus codex) [vh284];
add 40. Berlin Genesis (late 3rd ce, papyrus codex) [#911 = vh004];
add 41. PLond Christ 5 (3-5th ce, liturgical codex) [vh921],
add 42. POxy2745 Hebrew onomasticon (3/4th ce, papyrus roll) [vh1158]
add 43. POxy2068 (4th ce, papyrus liturgical roll) [vh966]
add 44. PAntin 10 Ezek (4th ce, papyrus codex) [#988 = vh316]
add 45. PSorbonne 2250 Jer 17f & 46 (late 4th ce, papyrus codex; aberrent text) [#817 = vh308];
add 46. PRanier 4.5 Psalm 9 (5th ce, papyrus amulet?) [#2086 = vh105].
add 47. PBerlin 17035 Gen 36 Symmachus? (5/6th ce, parchment codex) [vh022];
add 48. PGiessen 13+19+22+26 Deut 24-29 (5/6th ce; parchment codex; possibly non-Christian provenance) [no image yet]

for additional images of scriptural and other (mostly Christian) fragments, see Wieland Willkur's links
Context and Overview

This study is very much "in process," and to view the larger picture (including images of manuscripts) as well as to see periodic supplements and updates the reader is referred to the author's World Wide Web Internet LXX/OG (CATSS) homepage.

The main sources cited below are abbreviated as follows:
Aland = Kurt Aland (ed), Repertorium der griechischen christlichen Papyri I: Biblische Papyri ... (Berlin/New York: de Gruyter, 1976).
DJD = Discoveries in the Judean Desert, the official publication series for the Dead Sea Scroll materials (Oxford Press).

Roberts (MSB) = Colin H. Roberts Manuscript, Society and Belief in Early Christian Egypt, The Schweich Lectures of the British Academy, 1977 (Oxford: Oxford University Press 1979)
Tov = his article in this volume; otherwise also "Scribal Practices and Physical Aspects of the Dead Sea Scrolls" in The Bible as Book: the Manuscript Tradition ed by John Sharpe III and Kimberly Van Kampen (British Library 1998) 9-33; The Text- Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research (Jerusalem: Simor 1997\2); and numerous other pertinent publications on scribal practices.

Treu = Kurt Treu, "The Significance of Greek for Jews in the Roman Empire," with an excursus on Jewish scriptural manuscripts/fragments, originally published as "Die Bedeutung des Griechischen f&u%;r die Juden im r&o%;mischen Reich," Kairos NF 15, Hft. 1/2 (1973), 123-144; translated by William Adler with Robert Kraft (1991) for Internet access.

Turner = E.G.Turner, Greek Manuscripts of the Ancient World, (Princeton University Press 1971); second edition revised and enlarged edited by P. J. Parsons (Bulletin Supplement 46, London: Institute of Classical Studies 1987).
Turner (Codex) = E.G.Turner, The Typology of the Early Codex (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1977).
vh### = Joseph van Haelst, Catalogue des Papyrus Litte/raires Juifs et Chre/tiens (Paris: Sorbonne 1976).

The standard papyrological designations will be used, as listed also in vh, Aland, and elsewhere.

A major goal of this research is to explore more closely the preserved evidence from early Jewish biblical and related materials in Greek reflecting scribal habits and techniques in order to address questions about Greek Jewish developments, on the one hand, and the relationship between Greek Jewish "scribal culture" and early Christian literary practices on the other. My intuitions are that the continuities between "Jewish" and "Christian" will outweigh the discontinuities in such matters, but the thrust of earlier scholarship (with some exceptions) has not tended in that direction. Thus I have attempted to select and examine closely some 30 biblical and related Greek fragmentary manuscripts, all of which are either clearly Jewish in origin or have a reasonable claim to be so, with a view to building up a more carefully controlled set of criteria for addressing ambiguities in other, even more ambiguous (with regard to origin) materials. It will be clear from this evidence that there was a variegated "scribal culture" in pre-Christian Jewish circles (not unlike the situation in the non-Jewish Greek world!); how much of it may have carried over into "Christian" practices, and under what conditions, remain less clear, but hopefully will receive further light from this study.
My work on this topic in many ways parallels and supplements the research of my colleague, Emanuel Tov, who focuses even more than I have attempted on the significance of various "physical" characteristics (spacing, punctuation, etc.) for the ancient preparers and users of the texts. I also view my efforts as continuations of the suggestive but relatively little known study by the late Kurt Treu, in his essay mentioned below (which is readily available in English through the aforementioned Internet home page). That I am often critical of the conclusions of the late Colin Roberts on these subjects does not detract from my appreciation of and respect for his pioneering efforts as one of the papyrological giants of the 20th century, on whose shoulders we all must stand.
Setting the Scene

Among the 120 or so papyri and other early fragments of Greek Jewish scriptures ("LXX/OG") and related materials dated paleographically from the 4th century and earlier, we find more than a dozen that are clearly of Jewish origin, and another dozen or so for which this identification has also been strongly suggested.\1/ The vast majority of the remainder has been assumed to have been produced by Christian copyists, although the evidence is seldom unambiguously clear. This study attempts to reexamine the situation with a focus especially on details of format and presentation ("textual mechanics"), without any special attention to textcritical content.\2/
---
\1/I have not included several manuscripts listed by Treu as ambiguous but worth consideration when his reasons appear to be less "mechanical" than seem appropriate for this study. For example, he points out (142f) that since we have evidence for Jewish presence at such sites as Oxyrhynchos and Antinoopolis, it is not unreasonable to suppose that some of the Jewish Greek scriptural materials from those sites might be of Jewish origin, and he offers some textcritical observations in support (e.g. closer affinities to the surviving Hebrew text, "eccentric text"). From this textual basis, he expands his horizons further; see his notes on PAntin 8, 9, 10 [vh254, 252, 316]; PGiss 13... [vh58]; PSorbonne 2250 [vh308]; PBerlin 17035 [vh022]; Freer Minor Prophets [vh284]; Berlin Genesis [#911 = vh004]; Chester Beatty (etc.) Ezekiel-Daniel-Esther [#967 = vh315]; PRanier 4.5 [#2086 = vh105]. Probably POx 2745, a Hebrew onomasticon roll [vh1158] mentioned by Treu (144) should be added to my list; see also n.11 below on liturgical materials (e.g. POx 2068). A fresh look at the evidence from the early papyri (3rd ce) of Philo's works will also be in order at some point.

\2/The textcritical situation seems analogous to what the NT papyri have shown -- that the textual relationships prior to the imagined watershed of recensional activity in the 3rd and early 4th centuries ce are in many ways just as confused and confusing as afterwards. Of course, the materials from this early period, on rolls and early mini-codices, must be examined book by book (and sometimes even in smaller units within "books") rather than in generalized "text types," but even then clear patterns seldom emerge. Did we really expect clear patterns, given what we have learned from the Judean Desert discoveries as well as from other avenues of information about those textually tumultuous early times? For details, consult Emanuel Tov's Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint.
===
The basis for scholarly discussion of these materials in the past quarter century was established primarily by the publications of Treu's article and Roberts' Schweich Lectures (MSB). Treu attempted to view the early fragments in the larger framework of how Judaism adapted to, or perhaps reacted to the Greco-Roman world in which it existed and often flourished. While Treu did not ignore textual matters (see n.1 above), he was much more focused on the sorts of "physical" and immediately visible criteria that could reasonably be employed in attempting to identify "Jewish" scriptural materials. The appendix to his 1973 article presents a challenge to previous analyses, and sets the stage for subsequent discussion.

Roberts, in his attempt to extract information from the early papyri for reconstructing the development of Christianity in Egypt, shows sympathy for some of Treu's observations while at the same time defending aspects of the "older" approach, with its tendency to focus on early Christianity.\3/ Perhaps unwittingly, in his quest to identify characteristic "Christian" traits in the early manuscripts and fragments, Roberts actually opens some new lines of investigation applicable to the Jewish materials as well: especially suggestive are his comments about the "documentary" tendencies exhibited in some aspects of the presentation of early Christian materials (use of spacing, punctuation, enlarged letters, etc.), and his attempt to distinguish the resultant paleographical "style(s)" of his "Christian" witnesses from a more "elegant" literary approach in (some of) the clearly Jewish fragments.
---
\3/This was not a new interest for Roberts, as his pioneering early article on "The Christian Book and the Greek Papyri" (JTS 50 [1949] 155-68) amply attests. It rewards rereading even now.
===
The Main Issues
The older "criteria" to which Treu, especially, reacts, and the new issues introduced into the discussion by Roberts (with further elaboration recently by Lawrence W. Hurtado\4/), may be summarized as follows -- we will want to be especially alert to such matters when we survey the data:
---
\4/"The Origin of the Nomina Sacra: A Proposal," JBL 117 (1998) 655-673. Hurtado's primary contribution to the ongoing discussion relates to the graphic marker (overline stroke) used to indicate the significance of IH as both a suspension of the nomen sacrum IHSOUS (the name Jesus) and as the shorthand way of writing the number 18, which number in Hebrew gematria equivalences also is the word for "life" (XY. Perhaps not to be lost in this discussion is the fact that the Hebrew letter-number for 18 is YX, which in most early orthographies would resemble closely the anticipated (if the numbering system were consistent) Hebrew number 15 YH, but in the development of Jewish tradition this numerical representation is not used, but we find instead +W (nine plus six = 15; also +Z or nine plus seven = 16), presumably as protection against careless reprentation that might be associated with the tetragrammaton and/or its abbreviated forms, but perhaps also to avoid ambiguity. It would be useful to know when, and under what conditions, such a supposed modification in the Hebrew numbering conventions arose.
===
1. Scroll or codex format -- as a rule of thumb, and especially when other evidence is lacking, the equation of scroll with Jewish and codex with Christian has tended to prevail. Admittedly, Christians continued to use the roll format well after codices became popular, and clearly codices came to be used among Jews at some point, but there is little clarity or agreement on the history of such developments. In the survey of 30 Jewish and possibly Jewish texts that follows, all but items 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 24 (ostrakon) and 25 are scrolls.

2. Papyrus or parchment material -- it is clear now that early Jewish scriptural copies could be inscribed on either material (see the Dead Sea Scrolls, for example), but in 1973 Treu felt the need to argue against the idea that authentic Jewish copies could only be written on animal skins. Of the unambiguously (by date) Jewish manuscripts listed below, all but items 1, 4, 11, 12, and 13 (see also 20, 24 [ostrakon], 26, 30) are on papyri.

3. Use of "nomina sacra" -- Roberts especially (developed further now by Hurtado) has championed the view that a widely accepted "system" of abbreviation by contraction of certain key words with "sacral" connotations (especially "Jesus," "Christ," "Lord," and "God"; but also several others) developed early in Christian scribal circles, although the modern inventor of the term "nomina sacra" (Ludwig Traube -- at a time when virtually no early Jewish evidence was available) thought that the practice must have had Jewish roots.\5/ No unambiguously Jewish manuscripts with abbreviated nomina sacra in Greek (as opposed to tetragrammaton representations, on which see below) have yet been agreed upon by the debating scholars, but items 19, 21, 23, 27, (and 29?) below (see also n.11 on POx 2068) would seem to offer a strong challenge to Roberts' position.
---
\5/Traube, Nomina Sacra: Versuch einer Geschichte der christlichen Ku%rzung (Munich: Beck 1907), 26. See also A.H.R.E.Paap, Nomina Sacra in the Greek Papyri of the First Five Centuries (Leiden: Brill 1959), 119ff, for a similar view of origins (but different details of development).
===
4. Treatment of the "tetragrammaton" -- the presence in many of the clearly Jewish fragments of a special way of representing the four lettered divine name YHWH, in contrast to the use of the Greek substitute term "LORD" (KURIOS) in most LXX/OG manuscripts, has led to discussions of the origins and history of such practices, including the relationship between this phenomenon and the development of "nomina sacra."\6/ None of the unambiguously (based on date) Jewish manuscripts described below preserves representations of the tetragrammaton with KURIOS, but the evidence from the first hand as well as the corrector/enhancer of item 19 deserves to be noted, along with the contracted forms found in items 21, 23, 27, and 29 (see above; note also the blank in item 22).
---
\6/Hurtado's article provides an excellent discussion of these related issues, as well as an extensive (if not exhaustive) bibliography.
===
5. Treatment of numbers -- Roberts also argued that Christian copyists tended to use number symbols rather than spelling out the numbers in good Greek literary style. He saw this as another "documentary" influence. (This feature, if accurate, could strengthen Hurtado's theory that the abbreviated use of IH = "Jesus" associated with it's numerical value as "18" reflects an early Christian development; see note 4 above.) The only manuscript to preserve abbreviated numbers discussed below is item 17, of ambiguous origin.

6. Use of "scriptio continua" (continuous writing, without word or sense division) or of spacing and other visual aids for the reader -- Roberts attempted to claim that influences from "documentary" scribal practices may have led early Christian scribes and copyists to abandon the strict literary convention of writing an unbroken string of letters and introduce various sorts of sense divisions and similar indicators (using blank spaces, punctuation, enlarged letters, marginal marks, etc.); similar features also seem to be present in many of the early Jewish texts (as Roberts also noted, rather in passing\7/). Of the unambiguously Jewish manuscripts listed below, only items 3 and 5 show completely unbroken strings of writing in their very limited fragmentary remains. Thus it makes no sense to employ this feature as a sign of "Christian" origin.
---
\7/Roberts MSB 18 and n.3: "Documentary practice may not have been the only influence on Christian scribes. In the manuscript of the Minor Prophets found in a cave near Engedi in Judaea [subsequently identified as Nahal Hever] and dated between 50 B.C. and A.D. 50, an enlarged letter, preceded by a small blank space, marks the beginning of a new phrase, while verses are marked off by larger spaces. This may well have been standard Hebrew usage in texts such as this, clearly intended for liturgical reading." The footnote refers to articles by E.J.Revell in BJRL 54 (1971) 214ff and StudPap 15 (1976) 131ff, comparing this situation with Hebrew Masoretic tradition. Roberts then concludes "this might indicate that the method of paragraphing by the initial letter was of Jewish origin." Study of such phenomena in early Jewish and Christian biblical texts is now underway by Emanuel Tov and will make it quite clear that this was no uniquely "Christian" development (in addition to the publications listed above, I have been privileged to see a draft form of his forthcoming "Scribal Features of Early Witnesses to Greek Scripture" [tentative title]).
===
7. Assessment of literary style -- Roberts saw in most of the early Jewish materials an "elegance" of writing style distinct from most of the early Christian examples. He noted especially the use of "serifs" (decorative strokes) on certain letters. I have also tried to pay attention to "shading," that is, the relative thickness of horizontal, vertical, and oblique strokes (shading occurs when one type of stroke tends to be thinner than another). The general comments of Eric Turner on these matters in the Greco-Roman world at large deserve attention, since in what follows attempts will be made briefly to describe the various Jewish hands:
Several 'styles' of writing were simultaneously in use [in the Ptolemaic as in the Roman period]. Contemporary with each other, they cross-fertilize and hybridize easily. Study of these reciprocal influences is rewarding, provided only that the investigator is not trying to prove a derivation of one 'style' from another.

Then Turner lists some of the "objective considerations" on which his classifications are based, including degree of formality or informality in writing, speed and skill in execution, size, shape, and tilt of the letters, and consistency of spacing between letters and lines (ed 1, p.24 = ed 2, p.20f).

Turner's resulting general categories of classification for literary hands of the first four centuries are: (1) Informal round hands; (2) Formal round hands (with three subdivisions: Round/Square, Biblical Majuscule, Coptic Uncial); (3) Formal mixed hands (20-21). Most of the materials described below will fit into Turner's second category, of formal round/square decorated hands. Indeed, it may help to nuance his "round/square" style by noting the extent of formal decoration present -- "highly decorated" indicates that most non-rounded strokes terminate with full serifs (short perpendicular strokes to both sides) or half serifs (to only one side); "moderately decorated" would include the use of hooks or blobs as well as some serifs; "sporadically/minimally decorated" and "undecorated" complete the scale.\8/
---
\8/With such paleographical backgrounding in view, here is my summary checklist of the phenomena that ideally would deserve attention in a complete examination and description of the materials listed below (but for present purposes, a summary treatment will suffice). Note that Aland also tries to follow such a checklist in his descriptions (p.6):
manuscript identification
? contents (author, work, etc.) and relevant modern editions
? current location, identification number(s), ownership history, etc.
? place and circumstances of discovery
? place of origin, probable date
overall form and format description
? type and characteristics (color, texture, etc.) of material for writing surface (papyrus, leather, etc.)
? type and characteristics of ink(s)
? mega-format (roll, codex, amulet, etc.)
? specifics of what is preserved (size, letters, etc.)
? mega-dimensions (writing surface, written blocks)
marginal markings (outside the writing blocks)
? column/page numbers
? corona
? paragraph marks
? indicators of special (e.g. quoted) material
? correction marks and marginal corrections
? other
overall style of writing (within the writing blocks)
? relative bilinearity (consistent letter heights)
? letter widths and proportions (square, rectangular, oval)
? letter slant (e.g. upright, slanting right/left at top)
? letter formation (strokes per letter, speed, ligatures, etc.)
? letter shading (thick/thin strokes)
? decoration
* serifs (i.e. horizontal strokes, esp. along the bilinear planes)
* finials, hooks and/or loops (other, less angular flourishes)
* shading (very subtle end strokes), blobs
use of internal spacing (absence of ink)
? blank lines or unusual vertical spacing
? indentations
? end of line space
? more than one letter width in line
? one letter width in line (or less)
? other (e.g. writing in shapes, like a triangle)
explicit in-line markings (presence of ink)
? enlarged letters
? reduced size letters
? unusual letters (e.g. tetragrammaton)
? punctuation
? trema/dieresis [diaeresis] ("organic" and "inorganic")
? apostrophes (e.g. to separate identical consonants)
? breathings
? accents
? contractions and/or suspensions (e.g. "nomena sacra")
? marking number symbols (e.g. between dots, overlined)
? other special symbols (e.g. "year," monetary denominations)
? correction marks and correction locations
? other (e.g. marked tetragrammaton space)
===
Now let us turn to the detailed evidence.
The Manuscript Fragments
Here are brief descriptions of the Jewish and possibly Jewish fragments (including a few unidentified, perhaps "parabiblical" early pieces) arranged in roughly chronological order (according to paleographical approximations).\9/
---
\9/Items are presented with the Goettingen Septuagint Institute (or "Rahlfs") number in brackets, where available, followed by the van Haelst number (vh###) and Aland's [AT##]. Other attempts to identify and discuss aspects of the early Jewish biblical papyri are noted by Hurtado (his n.6), and by Tov in his forthcoming study (above, n.7).
===
Attention will be given especially to the aforementioned "presentational" issues, as described by the respective editors and reevaluated, when possible, by the present author from available photographs -- and with the problematic issues described above also in mind.
1. 4Q122=LXXDeut, Deuteronomy 11 [#819; unknown to vh];
parchment roll, 2nd bce; Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem.
From Qumran, cave 4; ed. E.Ulrich, DJD 9 (1992) 195 (plate 43), with paleographical comments by P.Parsons, 11-12.

Very few consecutive letters are preserved on these tiny, misshapen fragments, making precise judgments especially problematic. The manuscript seems to have contained 26-29 letters per line, but the length of each column cannot be determined.

The hand is literary, but not elegant, tending to a thick informal upright bilinear round style (R and perhaps U descend below the plane; there is a tendency to vertical oval shape with QO, and S has a flattened top), perhaps with some tendencies to ligatured (note the long middle stroke of E) and to cursive forms (e.g. some representations of A), which might suggest "documentary" influence. It is moderately decorated, with small flourishes on the top and base of most verticals (and the left upper diagonal of U) in the form of short hooks or blobs (mostly to the left, except on the top right vertical of N). No shading of ink strokes is evident.

There is some evidence of spacing between at least three of the possible 7 word breaks, but no preserved left margins and not enough words to determine the extent and nature of the use of spacing or associated devices.

No nomina sacra or other special markings are preserved.

[]
2. PRyl 458, Deuteronomy 23-28 [#957 = vh057 = AT28];
papyrus roll, 2nd bce; John Rylands Library, Manchester ENG.
Location of the find is unknown (purchased with other papyri in 1917 by Rendel Harris; cartonnage, possibly from the Fayum); ed. C.H.Roberts, Two Biblical Papyri ... (Manchester Univ Press 1936) (with one photo) and PRyl 3 (1938) (no photos); additional photos are found in E.Wu%rthwein, The Text of the Old Testament (1957, Eerdmans 1995\2).

The papyrus itself is light colored and of good quality. Originally it was about 28 cm tall with at least 30 lines per column, and columns about 10 cm wide with 27-29 letters per line (average). These fragments are written in a relatively bilinear (FY extend above and below the imagined lines, and IRTU below) square/round upright (but the rounded letters, especially S tend to "lean" back to the left at the top), highly decorated "elegant" formal book hand, with no clear evidence of shading.

The use of spacing is noteworthy, with both smaller and larger spaces employed between various word groups, but no word division as such. Roberts comments: "our text ... shows no sign of documentary influence and we cannot ascribe to this cause the systematic use of [spacing] found here" (26), and wonders about possible influence from Hebrew or Aramaic. See now the investigations by Emanuel Tov mentioned above.

No nomina sacra occur, or other special markings.
[]
3. 7Q1 LXXEx, Exodus 28 [#805 = vh038 = AT18];
papyrus roll, ca 100 bce; Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem.
From Qumran cave 7; ed. M.Baillet (with J.T.Milik & R.de Vaux), DJD 3 (1962) 142-43 & plate 30. Brief paleographical comments by P.Parsons in DJD 8 (1990) 25.
Probably 19-20 letters per line average; column height cannot be determined on the basis of the two small preserved fragments. The hand is a highly decorated formal upright with strict bilinearity in the few preserved letters -- none protrude above or below the projected lines (there are no occurrences of FY); no shading is obvious.

No unusual formatting appears in the small extant fragments and there are no occurrences of nomina sacra or other special markings.

[]
4. 4Q119=LXXLev\a, Leviticus 26 [#801 = vh049];
parchment roll, ca 100 bce; Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem.
From Qumran cave 4; ed. E. Ulrich DJD 9 (1992) 161 & plate 38; paleographical analysis by P.Parsons, 7.
Full scroll height about 20 cm, with at least 1.3 cm top margin and 1.5 bottom; about 28 lines per column, with an average of 47- 48 letters per line (about 10 cm wide, with at least .8 cm between columns). There are faint traces of horizontal guidelines, with the letters dropped from the line. This produces greater linearity at the top of the roughly bilinear (with FY extending both above and below, and BRU and occasionally I below) upright informal round (tending to oval in places) rather cramped writing. Sporadic ornamentation, with left hooks at the feet of some RF letters, and a downward hook sometimes on the left horizontal of T. No shading. See Turner's "informal round" style?
A textual break marked by an inline blank of about 3-4 letter widths and a horizontal paragraphos mark below that line on the left margin indicates the start of Lev 26.21. Otherwise there are a few possibly intentional short spaces between some words or clauses at other points in the fragment, but no observable pattern.

No nomina sacra are preserved in the fragment, or other special markings. Iota adscript is used. An interlinear correction occurs (apparently by the original copyist), and perhaps a couple of "strike-over" corrections as well.

[]
5. 7Q2 LXX EpJer, Epistle of Jeremiah (Baruch 6) [#804 = vh312 = AT144];
papyrus roll, ca 100 bce; Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem.
From Qumran cave 7; ed. M.Baillet (with J.T.Milik & R.de Vaux), DJD 3 (1962) 143 & plate 30.

Parts of 5 lines (21 total letters) are preserved, with probably originally 23-24 letters per line; there is no way to know the size of the column(s). The hand appears to be bilinear, formal upright round/square, relatively thick but perhaps shaded on some horizontals and obliques, with subtle ornamentation (small but full serifs, curved flourishes) on most non-rounded letters. There are no preserved examples of the letters KMRFY, among others, and both a larger and a smaller form of S appears.

No spacing appears in the preserved material, although it is tempting to reconstruct it for one of the lacunae. There are no abbreviations, nomina sacra, or other special marks.\10/
[]
---
\10/Qumran cave 7 has produced several other small Greek fragments that have not yet been identified convincingly. In general, many of them seem to be bilinear and decorated with serifs and/or hooks. Spacing may be present on 7Q5 and 7Q15, and 7Q16 may have a paragraph mark (see also 7Q7?). Since they are probably of Jewish provenance, they are also of possible relevance as attesting Jewish literary activity and scribal practices. In his forthcoming article (above, n.7) Tov notes the following suggested identifications with LXX/OG locations, any of which if verifiable would qualify the respective fragment(s) for inclusion in the present list:
7Q4 Numbers 14.23-24
7Q5 Exodus 36.10-11; Numbers 22.38
7Q6.1 Psalm 34.28; Proverbs 7.12-13
7Q6.2 Isaiah 18.2
7Q8 Zechariah 8.8; Isaiah 1.29-30; Psalm 18.14-15; Daniel 2.43; Qohelet 6.3
===
6. PFouad 266a, Genesis 3-38 [#942 = vh056 = AT3];
papyrus roll, 1st bce; Egyptian Papyrological Society, Cairo.
Unknown provenance (acquired by P.Jouget in 1943); ed. Zaki Aly and Ludwig Koenen, Three Rolls of the Early Septuagint: Genesis and Deuteronomy ... (Bonn: Habelt 1980) (includes plates); the descriptions and notes are by Koenen.
The height of the roll is unknown, while the preserved columns are about 15 cm wide (about 38 letters per line, average), and the width of vertical margins is unknown. It is good quality papyrus, written by the same hand or in the same scribal tradition as #848 (item 8 below) in a highly decorated rigorous bilinear formal upright (only F extends above and below the projected lines, and Y above); horizontal strokes tend to be thicker than verticals (obliques are mostly thick); there are full lower serifs on TUFY, and sometimes on I and on the left verticals of GHKNPR; half-serifs or hooks occur on most other vertical strokes, and on some obliques (especially also with thickened ends, or delicate "blobs"); the right vertical of P is rounded, and there is a tendency to rounding on the right vertical of H. The horizontal stroke in Q is short, and does not touch the circle on either side; the horizontal midstroke on E is relatively longer, and does connect on the left.

Spacing of about half the width of a letter is occasionally found, especially before and after some proper names.

No examples of the tetragrammaton have survived on these eight small fragments, nor any unusual markings, but QEOS is found (Gen 4.6) uncontracted and unaccompanied by the tetragrammaton, contrary to the majority of witnesses in this passage (compare #905, item 19 below). Iota adscript is frequent.

[]
7. 4Q120=LXXLev\b, Leviticus 2-5 [#802 = vh046 = AT22];
papyrus roll, 1st bce; Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem.
From Qumran cave 4; ed. E.Ulrich, DJD 9 (1992) 168 (plates 39- 41), with paleographical analysis by P.Parsons, 10.
A tall scroll, about 31 cm high (about 38 lines per column), with columns of about 10-11 cm in width (23-29 letters).
This fragment is written in a highly decorated bilinear script, with no significant shading (compare #848 and #943b, items 8 and 13 below).
Spacing is used before and after the divine name (represented by IAW) and occasionally between sense-divisions or sentences. Paragraph signs also occur at the left margin. The manuscript also uses iota adscript (usually); and contains some corrections.

[]
8. PFouad 266b, Deuteronomy 17-33 [#848 = vh56 = AT27];
papyrus roll, 1st bce; Egyptian Papyrological Society, Cairo.
Unknown provenance (acquired by P.Jouget in 1943); ed. Zaki Aly and Ludwig Koenen, Three Rolls of the Early Septuagint: Genesis and Deuteronomy ... (Bonn: Habelt 1980) (includes plates); the descriptions and notes are by Koenen.

The height of the roll was about 24 cm, with 21-23 lines per column, while the preserved columns vary from about 15.5 to 16.5 cm wide (about 37 letters per line, average, but line endings are irregular and the final letters sometimes cramped), and the width of vertical margins varies from about 1.5 cm down to 0.2 cm(!), with a tendency for the lower lines gradually to "move" their beginnings more to the left ("Mass' Law"). Similarly, there is a tendency for the top lines in a column to have more space between them than those at the bottom.
The text is written on good quality papyrus, by the same hand or in the same scribal tradition as #942 (item 6 above) in a highly decorated rigorous bilinear formal round/square upright (only F extends above and below the projected lines, and Y above); horizontal strokes tend to be thicker than verticals (obliques are mostly thick); there are full lower serifs on TUFY, and sometimes on I and on the left verticals of GHKNPR; half-serifs or hooks occur on most other vertical strokes, and on some obliques (especially also with thickened ends, or delicate "blobs"); the right vertical of P is rounded, and there is a tendency to rounding on the right vertical of H. The horizontal stroke in Q is short, and does not touch the circle on either side; the horizontal midstroke on E is relatively longer, and does connect on the left.

Paragraph markers are frequent at the left margin between the lines, and spacing of varying widths is found throughout to indicate various units (or sometimes with no apparent function). Spacing around proper names does not seem to be a feature of #848, unlike its sister MS #942 (item 6 above). At Deut 21.1, along with a paragraph sign, there is a large diagonal slash in the left margin. Its function (if any) is not clear. There are a few corrections, and a marginal gloss at the bottom of one column. Iota adscript is normal.

The tetragrammaton appears frequently, in small square Aramaic/Hebrew letters (resembling PIPI) that are oriented to the base line (not hung from the top), preceded but not followed by a high dot with the entire ensemble occupying the space of about 5-6 letter widths of which perhaps half (distributed on each side of the tetragrammaton) is blank. The first copyist left the dot marker and blank space, which was filled in later, presumably by another hand.

[]
9. PFouad 266c, Deuteronomy 10-33 [#847 = vh56 = Aland01];
papyrus roll, late 1st bce; Egyptian Papyrological Society, Cairo.
Unknown provenance (acquired by P.Jouget in 1943); ed. Zaki Aly and Ludwig Koenen, Three Rolls of the Early Septuagint: Genesis and Deuteronomy ... (Bonn: Habelt 1980) (includes plates); the descriptions and notes are by Koenen.

The height of the roll may have been about 24 cm (as with #848, item 8 above), with about 21 lines per column, but the width of the columns was much smaller, around 17 cm (about 24 letters per line, average, but with a great deal of variation), and the width of vertical margins may have been around 1 cm.

The text is written on good quality papyrus, and although in some ways the hand is similar to ##942 and 848 (items 6 and 8 above), it is less formal in execution, while still generally bilinear (the top flourish on A usually breaks the upper plane; and the foot of U sometimes drops below the lower line; there do not seem to be any examples preserved of FY) and round/square (with some oval tendencies in the rounded letters); no obvious shading but highly decorated -- usually there are full lower serifs on TU, and sometimes on I (also on top); half-serifs or hooks occur on most other vertical strokes; the right vertical of P is rounded, but not the right vertical of H. The horizontal stroke in Q connects the two sides and sometimes extends beyond the right arc.
One paragraph stroke is preserved, and small spacing is used similarly to #848 (item 8 above) but also in connection with the start of proper names (as in #942, item 6 above), but not after such names.

There are no instances of the tetragrammaton, but QEOS is uncontracted, as expected. Interlinear corrections appear. The dieresis/trema is found once on an initial vowel, but no other diacritics or explicit punctuation marks occur.

[]
10. 4Q127 Exodus Paraphrase (?) [no Goettingen #; unknown to vh];
papyrus roll, late 1st bce; Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem.
From Qumran cave 4; ed. E.Ulrich, DJD 9 (1992) 223f (plate 47), with paleographical analysis by P.Parsons, 12f.
Dimensions undetermined (no complete line or vertical fragment extending through an entire column's height has been preserved). The writing is similar to #802 (see above, item 7); an informal round/square highly decorated (but no shading) literary script ("ineptly written," so Parsons). Some spacing (e.g. with proper names) and paragraph markings, plus a marginal "coronis" (as in #848, item 8 above) and a few corrections by the original hand. No occurrences of nomina sacra or tetragrammaton are preserved.

[]
11. 4Q126 unidentified Greek [no Goettingen #; unknown to vh];
parchment roll, late 1st bce; Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem.
From Qumran cave 4; ed. E.Ulrich, DJD 9 (1992) 219 (plate 46), with paleographical analysis by P.Parsons, 12.
The dimensions represented in these 8 fragments are undetermined. The hand is similar to #802 (item 7 above) and #803 (item 12 below) -- a highly decorated bilinear, but with no shading.
Some use of spacing occurs for larger as well as smaller units. Fragment 2 seems to have KURIO[], preceded by a short space.

[]
12. 4Q121=LXXNum, Numbers 3-4 [#803 = vh051];
parchment roll, turn of the era; Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem.
From Qumran cave 4; ed. E.Ulrich, DJD 9 (1992) 188 (plates 42- 43), with paleographical analysis by P.Parsons, 11.
Large format, more than 25 cm tall (34 lines per column), with columns about 10.5-11 cm wide (27-34 letters per line) and perhaps a 1.5 cm margin between. Some use of spacing. Iota adscript. Highly decorated pronouncedly bilinear round/square hand (some oval letters, which tend to lean backwards) with no shading, similar to #802 (item 7 above). No occurrence of the tetragrammaton. A few corrections.

[]
13. 8HevXIIgr = Nahal Hever Minor Prophets [#943 = vh285];
parchment roll(s), turn of the era; Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem.
From the Cave of Horror, Nahal Hever (Wadi Habra), Israel; ed. E.Tov, DJD 8 (1990), with paleographical analysis by P.Parsons, 19-26.
Dimensions can vary somewhat from column to column (especially widths), but in general the material was about 35 cm tall (42 lines per column for hand A, 33 for hand B) with column widths averaging around 9 cm (7.5-11.5 range), and about 1.7 average margins between. It is possible that the original scroll was around 10 meters long, if it was a single scroll containing all the Minor Prophets. It is also possible that two separate scrolls (hand A and hand B, thus #943a-b) are represented by the fragments. The leather inscribed by hand B is also coarser than that by hand A.

Scribe A uses spacing for sections and sub-sections (with some enlarged initial letters), but not for words as such; scribe B spaces between most words as well. Both hands are bilinear round/square in conception (but not necessarily in execution; hand A is especially inconsistent) and heavily ornamented (but not with full serifs). Hand A shows no consistent shading, while hand B does. Parsons concludes that hand B was "a much more fluent and consistent copyist than hand A" (22). Paragraph marks also occur in hand A, and some marginal marks.

Each of the respective sections (A and B) has a different rendering of the archaic Hebrew tetragrammaton, and probably hand A actually wrote the material in continuity with the Greek (not after the Greek was completed), from left to right. It is not clear whether hand B followed the same procedure (see Tov, DJD 8, p. 14).

It is possible that we have remnants of two scrolls here; in any event, two different hands worked on the materials that have survived, and the second hand presents virtual word division in those sections.

[]
14. POx 3522 Job 42 [Goettingen #??; unknown to vh];
see also the black and white image; papyrus roll, 1st ce; Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

From Oxyrhynchos; ed. P.Parsons, POx 50 (1983) 1 (with plate).
Dimensions may be as small as 14 cm tall (15 lines per column), or as large as 29 cm (39 lines) or even 32 cm (46 lines), depending on the identification of the poorly represented (3 legible letters!) 2nd column, with 19-22 letters per line. Informal (even careless) upright bilinear (some ovals, tending to lean left) with moderate ornamentation (mostly by hooks on some vertical strokes); no shading; some ligatures and cursive tendencies; dieresis/trema on the initial letter of I+WB.

Use of spacing followed by an exaggerated letter for sense divisions. Tetragrammaton in paleo-Hebrew, written consectutively by the original scribe from left to right.

[]
15. POx 4443 Esther E + 8-9 [Goettingen #??; unknown to vh];
papyrus roll, 1st/2nd ce; Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
From Oxyrhynchos; ed. K.Luchner, POx 65 (1998) 4ff (with plate).
About 30 cm tall, with writing block 20 cm (31 lines) by 7 cm (25 letters average) and about 2 cm between columns. Has paragraph markers with enlarged initial letters of next line projecting into the left margin, and initial letters of most other lines also enlarged. Otherwise relatively bilinear with minimal ornamentation (some hooks and flourishes), and various "documentary" tendencies (ligatures, cursive forms, etc.).
Some spacing for word/phrase separation and at line ends before paragraph markers; dieresis/trema occurs several times, and iota adscript (not always where expected!). Otherwise no punctuation or special markings.
No occurence of tetragrammaton; "nomina sacra" are uncontracted -- e.g. QEOU, SWTHRIAN, ANQRWPOIS in E.16 (reconstructed) and 18, 23, 24.

[]
16. PFouad 203 prayer/amulet? [no Goettingen #; vh911];
papyrus roll, ca 100 ce; Egyptian Papyrological Society, Cairo.
Unidentified provenance; Ed P.Benoit, RevBiblique 59 (1951) 549-65.
From the top of the middle column (of three), 19 lines (about 17- 18 letters per line) are preserved, but it is not possible to determine how much has been lost below. I have not seen a photo of this material but the editor provides an extensive paleographical description and classes the hand as clearly "literary," carefully written without any cursive forms.
Roberts MSB 78: "There can be little doubt of the Jewish origin [of this manuscript], a prayer against evil spirits, written on a roll of papyrus and attributed to the late first or early second century."\11/
---
\11/Roberts continues, MSB 78: "Both PLond Christ 5 (=vh921), a leaf from a liturgical book of the third century [vh reports 4- 5th ce!], and POx 17.2068 (=vh966), some fragments of a papyrus roll of the fourth century, have been thought to be Jewish [e.g. by G.D.Kilpatrick]; but in the latter the contraction of QEOS, the eccentric nomen sacrum BS = BASILEUS, and the apparent echoes of Revelation 15.3 and 1 Timothy 1.17 in l. 7 render the suggestion doubtful. To these should be added the Vienna text of The Penitence of Iannes and Iambres: it was written on the recto of a roll and nomina sacra are left uncontracted [p.61f n.5 calls this PVindobGr 29456 (=vh1068); p.63 n.3 refers to the forthcoming ed of Jannes/Jambres material by A. Pietersma and also to the republication of the Vienna fragment by P.Maraval in ZPE 25 (1977) pp. 199ff.]."
===
17. PYale1 recto and verso of Genesis 14 [#814 = vh012 = AT6];
papyrus codex, 2nd ce; Beinicke Library, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Largely bilinear upright round/square lettering but with descenders on RUYF and sometimes I, and enlarged B. Also FY and sometimes KI extend above the projected top line. There is no evidence of perpendicular or baseline serifs, but some decorative hooks, especially at the top of some diagonals, notably KU (see also ADL). The writing almost fits Turner's "Formal Round: Biblical Majuscule/Uncial" style (ed1, 25f = ed2, 21f) but is less disciplined, with horizontal strokes (especially on tau and epsilon) frequently touching the adjacent letter; no consistent shading is visible from the photographs.
The text includes mid-points after most proper or gentilic names, some breaks between verse-units, possibly some smaller breaks as well, and mid-points to offset number shorthand TIH (318).

SEE PART 2 IN VOL 268B

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BIBLE AND RELIGION - BOTH TRUE AND FALSE - AT WWW.JW.ORG

[iris89]

COMBINATION OF [1] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND [2] THE 'TEXTUAL MECHANICS' OF EARLY JEWISH LXX/OG PAPYRI AND FRAGMENTS BY ROBERT A. KRAFT (UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA)- PART 2. With the Scripture of the Day first.

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [268B]

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in d**nable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 Peter 2:1, [authorized King James Bible; AV]

Today we see many religions, over 33,000, all teaching different things, many of which are in opposition to each other; but Almighty God (YHWH) IS A God of unity along with His son, Jesus (Yeshua). They are one in purpose and their genuine true followers must likewise be one in purpose and in unity. Yes, there are many false religions in existence today spawned by the Creators arc-enemy, Satan the Devil, and their evil results are highlighted at 2 Peter 2:2 – 8, [AV] “And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their d**nation slumbereth not. 4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;”

[2] PART 2 OF THE 'TEXTUAL MECHANICS' OF EARLY JEWISH LXX/OG PAPYRI AND FRAGMENTS BY ROBERT A. KRAFT (UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA)-

The editor, Bradford Welles, dated PYale 1 to around the year 90 and especially because of the codex form considered it unquestionably Christian. Treu would date it at least a century later , and wonders if it might be of Jewish origin. Turner also dates it to late 2nd or early 3rd c [Codex "OT 7" pp. 90, 164].

Roberts also dates this text later than 100 [see van Haelst], but considers it definitely of Christian origin not only because of its codex form but because "the numeral 318 is written not in words but in symbols, contrary to the usual practice of Graeco- Jewish manuscripts; moreover, in this passage the symbols had for the author of the epistle of Barnabas [9.7-9; see further Hurtado] a mystical significance which the words could not have conveyed and it is reasonable to think that they had the same meaning for the writer of PYale 1" [MSB 78].
18. PBodl 5, Psalms 48-49 [#2082 = vh151 = AT68];
papyrus codex, 2nd ce; Bodleian Library, Oxford.
Ed J.W.B.Barns and G.D.Kilpatrick, Proc Br Acad 43 (1964), 229-32 (plate).
Originally 35-40 lines per page.
The photographs are difficult to read, but the hand appears to be a "delicate" round/square minimally decorated bilinear similar to #905 (item 19 below).

Stichometric format (with some long lines continued at the end of the next line and marked with guidelines accordingly). Uncontracted forms of QEOS and ANQRWPOS are restored ("conclusively," so Treu, but not so confidently Roberts MSB 78) in the gaps. Roberts thinks it "definitely" Christian (as did the original editors, because of the codex format), Treu is less sure.
19. POx 656 Genesis 14-27 [#905(U4) = vh013 = AT8];
papyrus codex, 2nd/3rd ce; Bodleian Library, Oxford.
Oxyrhynchos; ed. Grenfell & Hunt, POx 4 (1904) 28f (plate).
Page dimensions at least 11 by 24 cm, 41-42 lines per page (Turner, Codex OT 9).

Carefully written in a round/square large upright hand with minimal decoration (similar to #2082, item 18 above). Some use of spacing as well as explicit high and middle stops. No abbreviations except the stroke representing N at the end of some lines -- QEOS and KURIOS are uncontracted in the first hand. Some corrections have been made by a second hand, which also seems to have added the numeration at the top of each page.

Treatment of tetragrammaton passages warrants further comment. At Gen 15.8 (where the absence of KURIE is a variant in the MSS) there was a blank, four letters in width, filled in with KURIE by another hand. Presumably the manuscript being copied represented the tetragrammaton here in non-Greek letters, and space was left to be filled in by someone expert in the desired script. In Gen 24.40, no attempt is made to represent the tetragrammaton, in accord with a minority textual variant.

The remaining two passages are especially interesting since they both occur at the end of lines at Gen 24.31 (line 122) and 24.42 (line 166; see the photo), and in neither case is the full form of the word KURIOS preserved! In the first of these passages, only the first letter K can be seen before the fragment breaks off (where space for 1-3 letters would have remained, based on the format of the surrounding lines), and in the second passage only KU appears, although there is some room for additional letters after that on the preserved blank surface (the editors complete the word by supplying RIE in the margin of the lacuna preceding the next line, which would be highly unusual!). It seems to me more likely that only the abbreviated KU (without any mark of abbreviation) was supplied in the second instance, and possibly in the first as well!

[]
20. POx 1007 = PLitLond 199, Genesis 2-3 [#907 = vh005];
parchment codex, 3rd ce; British Museum, London.
Oxyrhynchos; ed. A.S.Hunt, POx 7 (1910) 1-3 (plate).
Relatively square page format, about 16 cm high, with two columns of about 33 lines each and 20-25 letters per line.

Basically upright "formal mixed" bilinear lettering (FY break the upper and lower planes, and R the lower), with oval tendencies and minimal decoration -- some loops/hooks on some vertical strokes, but no serifs as such. A blank space of about one letter width appears between chapters 2 and 3; otherwise no clear evidence of punctuation or word division.

The tetragrammaton is rep resented by paleo-Hebrew double yod (two yods with a line through them both; a form found already on coins from the 2nd century bce [[locate a photo?]]), and QEOS is contracted, but no other nomina sacra contractions occur (e.g. ANQRWPOS is fully written several times). Treu, following Kahle (Cairo Geniza), considers the text to be of Jewish origin.

Roberts is more cautious:
"Either we have an instance of a Jewish scribe being influenced by Christian practice or we must assume that a Christian copying a Jewish manuscript preserved the Hebrew form of the Name, as a few later manuscripts, e.g. the Marchalianus [MS Q], do" (MSB ...). Apparently Roberts does not consider the possibility that the tradition of abbreviating QEOS may itself be of Jewish origin, along with abbreviating the tetragrammaton.

21. POx 1166 = PLitLond 201, Genesis 16 [#944 = vh014 = AT9];
papyrus roll, 3rd ce; British Museum, London.
Oxyrhynchos; ed. A.S.Hunt, POx 9 (1912) (plate).
At least 28 lines per column, about 14-15 letters per line.
The calligraphic style in this scroll fragment differs significantly from all that we have seen above; this is in an attractive large undecorated bilinear round/square "Biblical Uncial/Majuscule" with thick strokes except for the horizontals (thus "shaded"). KURIOS and QEOS (as reconstructed) are contracted, but not ANQRWPOS. A medial point occurs two (or three?) times (e.g. before 16.10 and 16.11), once clearly followed by a short blank space; no other spacing appears. A rough breathing mark also occurs in 16.10, O( AGGELOS KU.

This is an especially important text for the discussion of Jewish or Christian scribal practice. Roberts sees the evidence as ambiguous, finally concluding that "It is perhaps more likely to be Christian than Jewish" (MSB 77; but see his earlier comments in JTS 50 [1949] 157). Treu is less sure.\12/ If this text is Jewish in origin, it suggests that the "biblical majuscule" style may have come into Christianity from Judaism, and that the use of nomina sacra was no less Jewish than Christian in this early period!
---

\12/The fragment contains a variant that might also be relevant to this discussion: in Gen 16.11 which parallels the familiar wording of Matt 1.21 "she shall bear a son," #944 has paidion in agreement with some MSS of Philo, while all other known witnesses to the Genesis and the Matthew passages have uion. Was this an old Jewish reading that survived in our fragment (and in Philo) despite the temptation that Christian scribes might have had to harmonize the text with Matthew? Or is it evidence for Christian revisionary activity to make the Genesis text (on the birth of Ishmael) more different from the Matthew wording (Ishmael is a "servant/son," while Jesus is simply "son")?
===
22. PBerlin 17213, Genesis 19 [#995 = vh015 = AT10];
papyrus codex, early 3rd; Staatlichen Museen, Berlin.
Provenance unknown; ed. K.Treu, Archiv fuer Papyrusforschung 20 (1970) 46f (plate).

Fragments of 8 and 9 lines from a page that originally contained 27-28 lines of about 26-27 letters each. The script is in a relatively bilinear round/square hand that tilts slightly to the left at the top, with little obvious decoration (some feathering) or shading, and regular ligaturing of some letters (e.g. alpha, epsilon, and tau with what follows them).
There is a mid-stop with a space at the end of 19.17, and a space of about 3 letter widths at the end of 19.18, where most texts have a form of KURIOS. Treu comments: "...as though the scribe omitted the word unintentionally.... Or perhaps this resulted from a vorlage that had the Hebrew divine name here?" Roberts suggests that this is "a secular sense" of the designation "lord" (MSB 77 n.2), but it is at best ambiguous, referring to one or two divine messengers, and the textual variants in the context show that a tetragrammaton type of understanding was not impossible.

23. POx 1075 = PLitLond 203, Exodus 40 [#909 = vh044 = AT21];
papyrus roll, 3rd ce; British Museum, London.
Oxyrhynchos. Ed A.S.Hunt POx 8 (1911) (plate).
The remains of 23 lines plus a simple subscription at the end of the book of "Exodus," with about 19-23 letters per line. On the reverse side and in a different and slightly later hand from the 3rd/4th ce are 17 lines from near the beginning of the Apocalypse (POx 1079 = vh559 = NT18).
The Exodus scroll is clearly written in a "sloping uncial hand of medium size," bilinear in concept but erratically executed without literary formalism; there is sporadic ornamentation (no serifs as such) and appears to be some consciousness of word or phrase division (a few very small spaces, and some slightly enlarged letters) in addition to the one high-stop and space after 40.28. Dieresis/trema occurs on the first letter of "Israel." At the end of the text are found three pointed space fillers (> > >) after the last word (underlined, to separate it from the subscription?) and then centered (or indented) on a separated line the title ECODOS[...] with short lines above and below to set it off as well.

KURIOU is contracted as KU with an overstroke (in slightly enlarged letters followed by a small space -- it is possible that this was originally a blank space filled in later, probably by the same hand) but not "sons of Israel."

The reuse of this roll within a generation or so to inscribe a Christian apocalypse inclines one to believe that the Exodus text was also Christian in origin, but as Treu is quick to point out, "Jewish manuscripts in the possession of Christians are attested" (as well as the opposite -- see the reused Cairo Geniza copies of the Hexapla and of some church fathers). Roberts does not discuss this fragment in MSB.

24. Cairo Ostrakon 215, Judith 15 [#999 = vh080];
ostrakon, latter 3rd ce; Egyptian Papyrological Society(?), Cairo.
Fayum; ed. J. Schwartz, RevBiblique 53 (1946) 534-37 (plate).
This unusual fragmentary piece containing at least 19 lines (often with 50 letters or more) from Judith 15.1-7 is written in a sloping but neat semi-cursive hand with minimal ornamentation and no evidence of spacing or added marks of any sort. "Israel," "sons of Israel," and "Jerusalem" are spelled out in full.

The editor discusses some pros and cons of whether to classify the fragment as Jewish or Christian, and leaves the question open. Treu (143f and n.81) and Roberts (MSB 78) seem to agree.

25. PLitLond 202 = BM P 2557, Genesis 46-47 [#953 = vh030 = AT14];
papyrus codex, ca 300 ce; British Museum, London.
Provenance unknown; ed. H.J.M.Milne, Catalogue... (1927) 165f (no plate).
The page was originally about 14 by 17 cm, with 16-17 lines per page, written in a "medium-sized upright laterally compressed cursive hand of a type familiar in documents of the period of Diocletian. Punctuation by a middle point and a small space in the line. The I has the diaeresis once [on the first letter of the name Joseph, but not normally]" (Milne). An apostrophe separating double consonants "gg" and "ng" also seems to be present (judging from the transcript). "Father" and "Israel" occur without contraction.

26. PVindob 39777 = StudPal 11.114 = PWien Rainer 18, Ps 68/69, 80/81 (Symmachus) [Goettingen #?? = vh167];
parchment roll, 3/4 ce; Vienna.
Fayum or Heracleopolites Nome; ed. C.Wessely in Melanges ... Chatelain (1910) 224-29 [identified as Aquila], with handwritten replica in Studien zur Palaeographie und Papyruskunde ... Theologischen Inhalts 2 (1911) [corrected identification to Symmachus].
Roberts MSB 77: "The Tetragrammaton is in the archaic Hebrew characters; the writing is noticeably elegant." In the handwritten facsimile, it appears to be moderately decorated with cursive tendencies and frequent ligatures and no pattern of spacing. QEOU is uncontracted.
27. PAlex 203, Isaiah 48 [Goettingen #?? = vh300];
papyrus roll, 3/4th ce; Alexandria Museum, EGYPT.
Provenance unknown; ed. A.Carlini, Ann. Sc. Norm. Sup. Pisa, series 3, vol 2.2 (1972) 489-94 (plate).

The two best preserved columns (of three) differ significantly in width, with the first averaging about 11 letters, and the second about 15; the columns seem to have contained 24-25 lines (not 27 as the editor estimates).

The writing style fits Turner's "formal mixed" classification, with a combination of petit rounded letters (except omega) some medium sized forms (e.g. alpha, iota, rho) and otherwise bold strokes. The result is a relatively attractive upright hand with minimal decoration and a hint of shading (the photo is somewhat blurred, making subtle judgments difficult). One dieresis/trema is visible, on the first letter of the name Jacob. There is a wider space than normal between the last line of 48.11 and the first line of 48.12, and possibly a space was present in the line on which 48.16 begins. Otherwise, no spacing between letters is obvious.

The editor claims that KURIOS is contracted at one point (48.17), although the photo is not clear, and my reconstruction suggests that it was also contracted in the two other occurrences in this material. Possibly the one reconstructed occurrence of QEOS was similarly shortened. Other nomina sacra -- Israel and heaven -- do not seem to have been contracted (although the evidence for "Israel" seems ambiguous in both instances).

28. PHarris 31, Psalm 43 [#2108 = vh148 = AT67];
papyrus roll(?), 3/4th ce; Central Library of the Selly Oak Colleges, Birmingham ENG.
Unknown provenance; ed. J.E.Powell, Rendel Harris Papyri 1 (1936) (plate); identified by G.D.Kilpatrick, JTS 50 (1949) 176-177.
Beginning of six fragmentary lines, stichometric (longest line has 44 letters, shortest 23 -- thus perhaps a page rather than a roll?). "The writing is of the elegant character referred to above [in connection with Jewish biblical manuscripts]" (Roberts MSB 77) -- shaded and modestly ornamented (mostly by feathering), with slightly enlarged initial letters. QEOS is uncontracted.

29. POx 1225, Leviticus 16.33f [#947 = vh048 = AT23];
papyrus roll, early 4th ce; Princeton Theological Seminary, NJ.
Oxyrhynchos; ed. A.S.Hunt, POx 10 (1914) (plate).

Parts of only 12 lines are preserved, with about 15-20 letters per reconstructed line. The style is a heavy, slightly sloping "formal mixed" tending towards "biblical majuscle" (but with relatively smaller O E S forms). There is a hint of ornamentation by means of some subtle thickening and/or feathering at the end of some strokes, and also a hint of shading. The ink is brownish in color rather than the more usual black.

In this short amount of text, three instances of dieresis/trema occur, and three middle stops, without any accompanying spacing (which suggests that they may have been added by a later hand). No nomina sacra are visible, although the editor has supplied -- perhaps unnecessarily -- the contracted form of "Israel" in one reconstruction, preceded by the full form of YI+W[N] (with dieresis/trema on the iota).

30. PLitLond 211, Daniel 1.17f (Theodotion) [#925 = vh319];
vellum roll, early 4th ce; British Museum, London.
Upper Egypt, from the cover of a Sahidic codex; ed. H.I.Bell in Budge, Coptic Biblical Texts (1912) xiv (no plate).

Parts of 8 lines are preserved. Since I have not seen a reproduction of this piece, here are Roberts' comments: "A fragment of a parchment roll of Daniel in the version of Theodotion, written in the first half of the fourth century; QEOS is uncontracted. This too exemplifies the light and elegant script found in other Jewish texts" (MSB 77).

Listing of other early fragments
Summary and Conclusions
There are various ways in which this complex body of literary "presentational evidence" can be analyzed, depending to a large extent on what sort of conclusions are being tested or what hypotheses developed. There are few "control" criteria, such as date, to assist the process. Intuitions are important, but also need careful testing. My own approach tends to assume that developments of this nature came into early Christian circles by means of the Greek Jewish world unless the evidence clearly indicates otherwise; my impression is that Roberts (and Hurtado) would assume the Christian origin of such practices unless there were contrary evidence. So how is the evidence to be evaluated?

It would be useful to have an appropriate and unambiguous term to denote the sorts of features under analysis, some of which have come back into the spotlight partly as a result of scholarly reconsideration of the "oral" side of ancient textual culture. Hurtado seems to prefer "material culture" (659 n.14), but that seems to me unnecessarily imprecise. Something like "textual presentation" or even "textual mechanics" gets closer to the point -- the conventions involved in laying out the text,
from choice of material (e.g. papyrus, leather, pottery, etc.)
to its mode of packaging (roll, codex, ostrakon, etc.)
to the details of how the writing is organized relative to the writing surfaces (dimensions of writing material, size of columns and letters, column/page layout)

as well as relative to itself (paragraphing and marginal markers, use of spacing in relation to lines and letters, punctuating, abbreviating, form of numbers, form of corrections and notations, use of diacritics, etc.), perhaps sometimes with a view to facilitating (public) reading.
"Style": A central point in the overall discussion is the assessment of relevant Greek transcriptional styles. Colin Roberts has moved farther than most in this area, in which he was very experienced -- although sometimes his desire to illuminate early Christian "orthodox" development seems to me to problematize aspects of his presentation.

Roberts sees most of the clearly "Jewish" LXX/OG texts as more professionally written -- more "literary" and "elegant" in appearance than most of the earliest "Christian" texts -- although exactly what features indicate the degree of "literaryness" for him would be useful to know with more precision (e.g. "bilinearity" or consistent height of letters, use of "serifs" and other embelleshments on non-rounded basic strokes, thickness of strokes, shading, etc.). For him this observation goes hand in hand with his explanation of certain "documentary" (in contrast to "literary") tendencies in the early Christian materials (e.g. the use of spacing/punctuation, diacritics, abbreviated numbers and special contractions, less formal script, cursive tendencies, ligatures).\13/

\13/Roberts, MSB 76: "There seems to have been a distinctive style of writing used for Jewish copies of the scriptures in Greek from the second century B.C. onwards and still used, with modifications of course, down to the third century A.D. [\fn/ The style of these Jewish manuscripts needs closer examination and definition than they have as yet been given, especially in the use of serifs (for these see GMAW, p.25).]; a parallel would be the development of the so-called Biblical Uncial or Biblical Majuscule.... But not all Greek manuscripts known to be Jewish are written in this style, witness the roll of the Minor Prophets from Engedi [actually, Nahal Hever], and parallels to it can be found among the secular literary papyri." See also P.Parsons, DJD 8 (1990) 23f, on the Minor Prophets scroll (item 13 above): "...the use of enlarged initials at line-beginning (hands A and B) and phrase-beginning (hand A) and (set out in the margin) to mark a new section (hand A) gives this manuscript a documentary look. ... The fact is itself remarkable. Early Christian books show the same characteristic; copies of the Greek classics do not. It has therefore been tempting to argue that the texts of the Early Church stood closer to the world of business than to that of literature, and to draw conclusions about the social milieu in which the texts circulated or the esteem in which they were held. Now we see the same thing in a Jewish manuscript of pre-Christian date. This may suggest that the Christians inherited the practice, rather than inventing it; the problem remains, why Greek-speaking Jews should have adopted it in the first place" (23f). Parsons adds, in his comparisons of the various Dead Sea Scroll Greek scripts: "This makes it clear that serifed hands are common enough (but not universal) in Judaean material assignable to the period i B.C.-i A.D." (25).
===
The range of hands and styles even within the Judean Desert fragments, which were produced within a fairly limited period of time, is noteworthy, and is also reflected in the Egyptian materials contemporary with the Judean. A detailed comparative analysis of the relevant features remains to be made, but I doubt that it will result in identifying "schools" or traditions of scribal culture except in very broad terms. Of course, comparison with what was happening at the same time in the larger Greco- Roman world will also be very relevant.\14/ If, in general, the Roman period (moving into the "common era") witnessed a tendency for literature to be copied less elegantly than it had been before, the presence of such a "decline" in Jewish texts, and its reflection in Christian materials would seem less significant than otherwise.
---
\14/Note, for example, Turner's strictures on giving too much weight to the use and forms of "serifs" in classifying styles of Greek hands (ed1, 25 = ed2, 21)!
===
Nevertheless, progress has been made in this survey simply by recognizing the extent of the problem and sampling some of the possibilities. A next step in assessing these phenomena more carefully would require availability of excellent reproductions of the extant fragments in a framework that facilitates close comparison and contrast (e.g. by computerized paleographic analysis). Hopefully, the Internet can be used to provide such a resources in the near future, if permissions from the current "owners" of the materials can be obtained to display high quality digitized images.

Scroll/Codex: Of course, the main vehicle for Greek literary production at the start of the period we are examining was the roll, and a major point of discussion is the introduction of the codex format and its very rapid acceptance in emerging (Egyptian) Christianity -- where the roll also survives, but not in such relative abundance.\15/ How soon and under what conditions Jewish authors and copyists accepted the codex format is not clear. But as Treu pointed out forcefully, the mere fact that a fragment of LXX/OG is in codex format does not necessarily mean that it must be of Christian origin. Whether there will ever be sufficient evidence to support my suspicion that the codex form came into early Christianity from Judaism remains to be seen. Probably not in my lifetime. But it is almost certain that at least one Jewish codex can be identified in the raw data of this report (as even Roberts gradually came to admit) -- POx 656, from the late 2nd or early 3rd century ce (item 19; see also 20 and 22).
---
\15/The previous state of this question has been defined by the study produced jointly by Roberts and T.C.Skeat, The Birth of the Codex (1983; also released with a 1987 date). ===
Spacing: Whether roll or codex, comprehending the texts required some mental gymnastics on the part of the reader, especially when little or no visual assistance was available to identify larger or smaller sense units or ideally, words. In general, traditional literary Greek texts are in scriptio continua -- an uninterrupted flow of letters -- with occasional breaks or indicators for larger units. As Roberts correctly points out, in many -- perhaps most -- of the early Christian texts with which he deals (not only LXX/OG texts), there are various helps for indicating sense units, whether spaces or lines in the left margin (paragraphoi) or punctuation marks, or exaggerated initial letters or letters that protrude into the left margin. Roberts explains this as part of what he calls the "documentary" influence on early Christian scribal practice.
What Roberts notes (e.g. in editing item 2) but fails to pursue with the same vigor or consistency is that despite their relatively more "literary" flavor the clearly Jewish fragments almost all show evidence of the same sort of "aids to the reader" phenomenon. Indeed, the second hand (or, if I am right, second scroll) of the Nahal Hever Greek Minor Prophets materials [#943b, item 13b above] uniquely engages in actual word division of an obvious sort. To me, this kind of evidence deserves much closer exploration than it has received thus far, and Emanuel Tov is making a major contribution to this discussion by his careful analysis of such phenomena in the Judean Desert materials and in other biblical texts (see n.7 above). Spacing occurs in the Jewish materials whether "elegant" or not, early or late. It also occurs quite early in materials of clearly Christian origin. To view this as coincidental seems highly unlikely, given the fact that early Christianity developed out of Judaism! This not so unambiguously "documentary" practice -- which has not yet received the attention it deserves in the study of Greco-Roman literature in general\16/ -- almost certainly has been inherited by Christian scribes, if not from their Jewish examples (which seems to me most likely), then from the scribal culture of the Greco-Roman world at large.

---
\16/A small (yet large!) step in this direction is taken by William A. Johnson in his Yale dissertation on The Literary Papyrus Roll: Formats and Conventions -- An Analysis of the Evidence from Oxyrhynchus (1992); witness his long list of corrections to the editions of these literary papyri (22-70), where he regularly notes the omission in the editions of signs of paragraphing, punctuation, and occasionally spacing. See also his brief note on "The Function of the Paragraphus in Greek Literary Prose Texts" in ZPE 100 (1994) 65-68.
===
Special Words: Some of the spacing issues in these early Jewish and Christian texts are associated with the appearance of personal or ethnic names and certain special words that, for present purposes, fall into three categories: (1) the tetragrammaton, (2) "nomina sacra," and (3) number symbolism.
Jewish scribes were selfconscious about the representation of the tetragrammaton -- the special revered 4 letter name of the Jewish God -- and had available a variety of devices, from paleo-Hebrew, to square Hebrew (thus Greek PIPI), to abbreviated Hebrew (ZZ), to the semi-transliteration (also an abbreviation?) IAW and the use of substitutes such as ADONAI and KURIOS ("Lord"), or even to using dots and blank spacing. If convincing evidence has not yet emerged that they also used a Greek abbreviated formation such as KS (see items 19, 21, 23, 27 above), that surprises me less than the claim that such abbreviation must have been a Christian invention.

Roberts certainly wants to see it otherwise, and traces the practice that became so prevalent, if not pervasive, in Christian MSS of abbreviating a select group of "nomina sacra" terms to the initial and original Christian sacralizing of "the Name" Jesus, which then led to similar treatment for "Lord," and for "God," and for the other "nomina sacra." Hurtado introduces some considerations (see n.4 above) to strengthen this argument. Nevertheless, I remain skeptical. Though it admittedly remains ambiguous, some of the evidence presented above suggests that Jewish scribes sometimes may have used contractions of QEOS, and perhaps a few other frequently used words, in the development of their scribal traditions (see items 20, 21[?], 27, and n.11 above).

One other "special words" detail that comes up in the discussion is treatment of numbers. Roberts argues that good literary Greek texts invariably (or perhaps, normally) spell out numbers rather than using symbols, while Christian texts -- again following "documentary" influences -- usually employ the symbols. In our early texts, examples are few, and I have not systematically explored all of the early fragments of Greek Jewish scriptures for this feature. If PYale 1 (item 17), a codex fragment of Genesis that should probably be dated no earlier than the 2nd century ce, is of Jewish origin, Roberts' hypothesis would be in trouble since number symbols are found in that material. But the combination of codex and symbolized number in PYale 1 unites to make it difficult for Roberts even to consider the possibility that the text is of Jewish origin. Treu is not so troubled, and leaves open the possibility. Obviously I agree that this should be an open question.

Concluding Remarks
This just scrapes the surface of the variety of information and of issues that can emerge from close study of these early LXX/OG materials. Roberts recreates a developmental historical hypothesis about early Christianity in Egypt from the details as he interprets them, and in general, the hypothesis makes a great deal of sense. But he does not consistently engage the question of what we can learn about Greek speaking/writing/reading Judaism in Palestine and Egypt from the same materials, and in that regard, often fails to be convincing about details.
The evidence is clear that prior to the emergence of Christianity, Greek speaking/writing Jews had access to a range of scriptural (and other) works copied in a highly "professional" manner. That these manuscripts were produced by specifically Jewish copyists cannot be assumed, although in some instances, the treatment of the tetragrammaton and the apparently selfconscious attention to indicating significant sense units by means of spacing suggests that the task must have been entrusted to persons who were familiar with those sorts of special literary traditions. The differences in overall "style" between some of the early Jewish manuscripts suggests that our preserved witnesses represent varieties of technique that had developed in Jewish literary circles. Whether on the basis of this evidence one can mount economic arguments (these Jews were rich enough to afford such quality), or liturgical ones (the spacing techniques were developed to assist in oral reading in the synagogues), or even issues of cultural-educational status (these Jews knew what was appropriate to their social station) I will leave to others. The data suggests variety, and that is what we should have expected. And as new situations developed in the transition to Roman rule and influence, we should expect changes to evidence themselves, not only in our Jewish to Christian trajectories, but in the surrounding world as well.

Early Christianity was formed in large measure in close relationship (positive and negative) to the types of Judaism present in the Greco-Roman world in the first century of the common era. The "scriptural" preoccupations of many early Christian representatives surely were influenced by the established Jewish frameworks of the time. Thus in the end -- if one can responsibly speak of such an end -- I would expect to find that the debt of early Christianity to its Jewish heritage is even greater in these areas of "textual mechanics" and transmitted scribal craft than our scholarly traditions and approaches have permitted us to recognize.

//08 July 1999 draft #6//
Appended Excerpts [[to be linked]]
1. 4Q122=LXXDeut Deuteronomy 11 [#819; not known to vh] parchment roll, 2nd bce; Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem.
[excerpts]
Ulrich, DJD 9 (1992) 195 (plate 43): "The manuscript is inscribed in a literary hand not particularly elegant, though not careless; its uncial letters seem to be somewhat influenced by cursive forms. ... Space for word division appears between some words but not between others, and an unexpected space appears within the word ERUQRAS after the upsilon. Few, if any, clearly complete words survive, and ERUQRAS fragiley bears the sole possibility for the identification of the manuscript." These scraps would have been unknown to Roberts and Treu.
Parsons, DJD 9 (1992) 11-12: The letters ... are of irregular heights and widths. ... The letters are written with a thick pen, but without organised contrasts. ... There are small decorative hooks or blobs on the feet of some uprights, as well as on the tops of K and U. ... The scroll is written in an informal hand with some ligatures. The overall impression is of a script rather earlier than the others of this find. It is comparable with [some texts] ... of the early second century BCE, or ... of the mid-second century BCE. ... But it should be emphasised that, with so small a sample, the dating must be more than usually uncertain."

Parsons, DJD 8 (1990) 25: "The hand of this scrap shows no similarities with [#943a-b]; it is an informal script of Ptolemaic look with some cursive tendencies and no decoration except some terminal hooks and blobs."
2. PRyl 458 Deuteronomy 23-28 [#957 = vh057] papyrus roll, 2nd bce; John Rylands Library, Manchester ENG.

[excerpts]
Roberts, Two Biblical Papyri ... (Manchester Univ Press 1936) (with a facsimile): "The hand is a book hand, stylised and careful and of considerable elegance, if rather formal; its most striking feature is the use of decorative serifs, particularly noticeable on N, U and T. At first sight it has a somewhat archaic appearance, but this may well be deceptive and the formal character of the hand as a whole must be taken into consideration. [Then refers to similar hands, esp in PTeb]" 22f.

"What is paleographically of most interest about the text is the scribe's system of punctuation, or rather of interspacing. ...The writer regularly leaves a space not only at the end of a verse or sentence, but at the end of a KWLON or group of words. At the end of a verse, as in [Dt 24.1], a wider space is left and a high point added; otherwise the writer's principle seems to be to leave a fairly large space at the end of a sentence or clause ... and a smaller one at the end o***roup of words. The interspacing does not seem to follow the sense of the passage [in some instances]. But there is no attempt at word division. ... Our text ... shows no sign of documentary influence and we cannot ascribe to this cause the systematic use of [spacing] found here. ... Possibly it may be due to Aramaic influence, as word division is found in the Aramaic papyri of the fifth century B.C. The Nash papyrus, however -- a Hebrew text, probably liturgical, which contains the Decalogue and the Shema and was written not later than the second century A.D. -- has spacing between words but no verse division. ... This system [otherwise] is not to be found in Biblical manuscripts; its origin may perhaps be due to Aramaic influence or if, as is possible, this roll was the property of some Jewish synagogue, to the exigencies of public reading" (25- 28).
3. 7QLXXEx Exodus 28 [#805 = vh038]; papyrus roll, 2nd/1st bce; Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem.

[excerpt]
Parsons DJD 8 (1990) 25: "This small serifed bilinear hand has some similarities with hands A and B [of #943 Minor Prophets] (note the pointed alpha, and wide tau hooked down at the left)."
4. 4Q119=LXXLev\a Leviticus 26 [#801 = vh049]; parchment roll, 2nd/1st bce; Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem.
[excerpts]
Ulrich, DJD 9 (1992) 161 (plate 38): "The scribe used the customary scriptio continua but with occasional spaces for word-division, as after SPORON (line 6), UMWN (line 12), etc. Of the 12 lines whose beginnings are preserved, only two (lines 19, 23) show the division of a word between lines. A new section at 26.14 (line 21) is marked by an interval of about three letters' width within the line and by a horizontal paragraph-mark in the left margin."

Parsons, DJD 9, 7: "The script ... is approximately bilinear .... The letter forms tend toward the oval/rectangular, but not consistently. ... There is no consistent use of shading as part of the style. ... There is no consistent use of ornament, but there are sporadic terminal hooks, notably on the foot of R and the left extremity of T. ...The scribe displays a pinched, plain hand of no great pretensions .... The general impression is of a script ... unlikely to be later than the first century BCE, ... or much earlier. C.H.Roberts (apud Kahle, 616) thought of first century BCE, with the end of the second 'not out of the question'."

Parsons, DJD 8 (1990) 25: "This is a pinched, undecorated hand ... with a pronounced Ptolemaic look; not similar to [#943a-b], and probably earlier"
5. 7QLXX EpJer Epistle of Jeremiah (Baruch 6) [#804 = vh312]; papyrus roll, 2nd/1st bce; Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem.

[excerpts]
Parsons, DJD 8 (1990) 25: "This tiny scrap shows a broad bilinear script without ornament (except for a half-serif on the foot of tau)."
6. PFouad 266a Genesis 3-38 [#942 = vh056] papyrus roll, 1st bce; Egyptian Papyrological Society, Cairo.

[excerpts]
Zaki Aly & Ludwig Koenen, Three Rolls of the Early Septuagint: Genesis and Deuteronomy ... (Bonn: Habelt 1980) (includes plates). Descriptions are by Koenen. For #942 (Koenen 3): "The papyrus is of good quality. ... The use of the tetragrammaton is not attested for this roll, but may be inferred from the fact that 942 has probably been written by the same hand as 848 [see below] or, at least, by a scribe belonging to the same school and scribal tradition. Little blanks indicate new cola [footnote: "The practice was obviously the same as in 848 and 847" [see below]]. There is also a tendency to mark Hebrew names by little blanks before and after the names."

Turner, Greek Manuscripts\2 #56 (describing #848, below, which is virtually identical to the 9 small fragments of #942): "Medium to large, formal, upright, rounded capitals, written slowly. ... Markedly bilinear, the lower line outlined by horizontal strokes on the feet of letters [full feet on TU, half feet or hooks on most other verticals and on some obliques], the upper indicated by high horizontals; even R and U fall inside the parallels, only F protrudes [below and above, and Y slightly above, but not below]."

7. 4Q120=LXXLev\b Leviticus 2-5 [#802 = vh046]; papyrus roll, 1st bce; Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem.
[excerpts]
Ed. E.Ulrich, DJD 9 (1992) 168 (plates 39-41): "The scribe used the customary scriptio continua, but with spaces before and after the divine name and occasionally with spaces between sense-divisions or sentences. Signs to mark a new paragraph occur at the left margin of frg. 27 between lines 6 and 7 (= Lev 6.1 [5.24]) and of frg. 32." It also uses iota adscript (usually); and contains some corrections. The tetragrammaton occurs as IAW twice, and KURIOS is not found in these fragments.
Parsons, DJD 9 (1992) 10: "The scribe used a bilinear script ..., with square/circular letter forms. The upper line is broken by the risers of F and Y; the lower line, emphasised by the serifs, is hardly broken at all. ... There is hardly any noticeable shading. ... Ornament ... is frequent. ... This is a full round hand, carefully executed, comparable with the Fouad Deuteronomy [#848 below] ... and the second script of the Greek Minor Prophets Scroll [below #943]. ... Such scripts may belong to the first century BCE, ... but they may extend well into the first century CE. ... This example has a slightly old-fashioned look ..., and could reasonably be assigned to the first century BCE."
8. PFouad 266b Deuteronomy 17-33 [#848 = vh56]; papyrus roll, 1st bce; Egyptian Papyrological Society, Cairo.

[excerpts]
Koenen, Three Rolls 4-5: "The quality of the papyrus is the same as in the case of 942, and both rolls have probably been written by the same scribe. The columns of 848 are smaller (... [about] 37 letters per line); the height of the writing area varies between 15.5-16.5 cm. (21-23 lines). The upper margin was originally at least 3.5 cm., the lower margin 4 cm. This indicates close to 24 cm. for the height of the entire roll. Kolleseis [joins between sheets of papyri] are occasionally visible, but since too much of the roll is missing, the length of the kollemata [sheets] cannot be determined. The intercolumnation varies around an average of 1.5 cm., but occasionally it narrows down to 0.2 cm. Towards the bottoms the lines have the tendency to begin progressively more to the left, thus producing slightly longer lines (Mass's Law). Paragraphoi marking the beginning of verses are used throughout, though not regularly. An additional long oblique stroke marks the beginning of chapter 21 [footnote: "... This is the only instance; a reason for this special treatment is not apparent. ...]. Frequently small blanks indicate new verses, sentences, or cola [footnote: "... The size varies according to the function of the blank. In addition, there occur blanks for which I see no reason...."], while Hebrew names are not surrounded by blanks, as is the case in 942. The ends of lines are occasionally left blank in order to start the next verse on a new line. Corrections are rare. A gloss appears on the lower margin on pl. 6. col.4."

The tetragrammaton is represented by small square Hebrew letters (slightly more than half the height of the Greek, written along the bottom part of the line) inserted into a space equivalent to about "5-6 Greek letters (i.e. about the size of KU/RIOS written in full) and marked ... by a high dot at its beginning [preceded by a space]. A second scribe filled in the Hebrew letters. They cover only the middle of the blank, usually the space of 2 1/2 - 3 letters" (Koenen 5-6).

Turner, Greek Manuscripts\2 #56: "The ends of lines are not even. Letters may be reduced in size at the line-end. Medium to large, formal, upright, rounded capitals, written slowly. Contrast between thick horizontals and downward obliques, and fine verticals [RAK Note: this is not obvious from the photos]. Markedly bilinear, the lower line outlined by horizontal strokes on the feet of letters [full feet on TU, half feet or hooks on most other verticals and on some obliques], the upper indicated by high horizontals; even R and U fall inside the parallels, only F protrudes [below and above, and Y slightly above, but not below]." "...Few orthographical errors. Iota adscript is written."

9. PFouad 266c Deuteronomy 10-33 [#847 = vh56] papyrus roll, late 1st bce; Egyptian Papyrological Society, Cairo.

[excerpts]
Koenen, Three Rolls 7: "The papyrus is of a quality similar to 942 and 848. Only 49 very small fragments of a few letters each are extant. ... The columns seem to have had [about] 21 lines. ... One might assume that the overall height of the roll 847 was the same (24 cm.) [as 848]. The width of the lines averages 24 letters ... but the number of letters per lines varies considerably. Kollesis may occur [once]. ... Paragraphos is extant on pl. 51 col. V. Small blanks separate verses, sentences, or cola [footnote: "... small blanks also occur elsewhere. ..."] and mark Hebrew names [footnote: "... all in front of the name. No example survives for a blank after those names. ..."]. A large blank precedes Moses' blessing of Dan, presumedly at the end of line (4?) of col VIII (pl.53) [[conjectural reconstruction]] in order that the blessing may begin at a new line.... No KURIOS or tetragrammaton is extant. QEOS is written in full; thus we may assume that the scribe did not use the Christian abbreviations of holy names, which came into use after 70 A.D. 'Inorganic' trema [or dieresis, a single or double dot above a vowel] indicating the beginning of a word) occurs once [51.IV.11; but not clear in photo]... [footnote: "'Inorganic' is the use of the trema which marks the initial or emphasizes the final vowel of a word, while its use for separating vowels in a cluster is called 'organic.' The 'organic' use is attested as early as the 2nd cent. B.C., though it does not become common before the 2nd cent. A.D. For 'inorganic' use I am not aware of any example before the end of the 1st cent. B.C. ...."]. ...Corrections are frequent."

"In many details, this hand is similar to 848 [above], but larger, thinner, more rounded and irregular, and less bilinear, though the extensions of letters above the 'upper line' and below the 'lower line' are only small (see particularly A). The letters are occasionally decorated by quite heavy strokes [Schubart's decorative style...]. Also the middle horizontal strokes are stressed" (6 n.28). In dating, Koenen has vacillated between 1st bce and 1st ce, preferring in his edition "the end of the 1st cent. B.C." (6 n.28 and see examples cited there). The use of serifs and hooks is similar to 848 and 942, but less obvious or obtrusive. It seems to be a more refined formal hand.
10. 4Q127 Exodus Paraphrase (?) [unknown to vh]; papyrus roll, late 1st bce; Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem.

[excerpts]
Ulrich, DJD 9 (1992) 223f (very similar to 4QLXXLev\b = #802): "Where a margin is listed as questionable, there is insufficient evidence to determine whether the blank portion of the papyrus actually represents a margin, or rather a blank line above or below the extant text, or a space between words; it should be remembered, however, that in the Greek manuscripts from Cave 4 blank lines to signal a new paragraph are unusual." ... "Paragraphing is indicated in at least two places. Above KAI in line 3 of frg. 17 is a short horizontal line of 0.3 cm. There is also a coronis, or elaborate marginal marking, preserved on frg. 8 (cf. also frg. 18?)." ... "The manuscript dates from about the first century BCE or the earlier first century CE.... It is written in scriptio continua, with full or narrow spaces occasionally left before sentences (cf KAI in frg. 1 line 5) and before or after proper names (cf. each of lines 6-11 in frg. 1)." There are some corrections by the original scribe. There is no evidence of tetragrammaton passages.

Parsons, DJD 9, 12f: "The scroll is written in a bilinear hand ..., with the letter forms round and square [F (and probably Y) extend slightly below and also above the projected lines]. ... There is no noticeable shading. ... The tops of some uprights are hooked to the left; the feet of uprights and obliques are generally decorated with full or half serifs, sometimes in the form of angled hooks. ... The manuscript is rather ineptly written in a bilinear, decorated literary script. This ineptness is not necessarily personal, since many literary scripts of the early Roman period show the same characteristics .... It is likely that the manuscript was written in the first century BCE or the earlier first century CE. A date early in the period is certainly possible."
11. 4Q126 unidentified Greek [not known to vh]; parchment roll, late 1st bce; Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem.

[excerpts]
Ulrich, DJD 9 (1992) 219 (plate 46): "The scribe used the customary scriptio continua, though leaving some full- letter spaces probably between sentences ... and half- or quarter-spaces occasionally between words." Eight frgs (double plates of some). Frg. 2 seems to have KURIO[], preceded by a short space.

Parsons, DJD 9, 12: "The script ... is bilinear. ... There is no shading. ... There are some half-serifs or hooks on the feet of uprights, and full serifs on the base of T and U. ... To judge from this very small sample, the scroll is written by a hand of the same kind as those of 4Q120[Lev\b = #802] and 4Q121[Num = #803] (but more shakily executed), and it can be assigned to the same date (i.e. the first century BCE or possibly the early first century CE)."

Parsons, DJD 8 (1990) 25: "A decorated hand of the same type as [#803], but not so elegant."
12. 4Q121=LXXNum Numbers 3-4 [#803 = vh051]; parchment roll, turn of the era; Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem.

[excerpts]
Ulrich, DJD 9 (1992) 188 (plates 42-43): "The scribe does not usually leave a space for word-division. He does leave a single space for some sense-divisions, occasionally at the end of a 'verse,' but not always, and occasionally at other points within a 'verse.' Thus in counting letters per line, for this manuscript one should not count spaces between words, except possibly before some sense-divisions." Uses iota adscript; two or three corrections; no occurrences of tetragrammaton, but "in reconstruction, spacing would seem to allow either KURIOS or YHWH, whereas IAW ... and the (Christian) abbreviation KS would be too short. Palaeo-Hebrew or PIPI forms in a Greek manuscript this early are improbable" [why?!].

Parsons, DJD 9, 11: The scribe used a bilinear script ..., with the letter-forms square/circular [FY and sometimes A extend above the projected top line (but not below?)]. ... Shading [is not] ... notable. ... Ornament ... is frequent: the tops of uprights and obliques are occasionally decorated with hooks, and the feet of uprights and obliques are regularly decorated with heavy full and half-serifs (these are sometimes oblique, sometimes formed as a hook in a single movement with the main stroke). The serifs are notably long, and may run into the serif preceding or following; this marks the lower line all the more emphatically. ... The script is similar to that of 4Q120[Lev\b = #802], but with heavier ornament. This too could be of late Ptolemaic date; but the early Roman period cannot be excluded."

Parsons, DJD 8 (1990) 25: "This bilinear script (the descenders of rho and phi are curtailed), heavily ornamented with half- and full serifs, has some similarities with [#943a], but it is much more elegant and finely written; a distinctive feature is that the oval letters tend to lean backwards."

13. 8HevXIIgr = Nahal Hever Minor Prophets [#943 = vh285]; parchment roll(s), turn of the era; Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem.

[excerpts]
Tov, DJD 8 (1990) 9ff: "The text of the scroll has been subdivided into paragraphs with both minor and major breaks .... What has not been observed by these scholars is that the scroll contains also a division into 'verses' and that in all three divisions the scroll agrees to a great extent with the Masoretic tradition, not only regarding the system of subdividing the text, but also regarding the location of the divisions themselves. ..." "In addition to the open and closed sections the scroll indicates with one or two spaces the beginning of what in MT is a new verse. This practice is known from a few Hebrew sources (1QpaleoLev [limited evidence] and 4QDan\a,d/ [reported by S. J. Pfann]; the situation with regard to 1QIs\a/ is not clear) as well as from two early Greek biblical sources: PFouad 266 [see #848] and PRyl Greek 458 [= #957]. [[para]] It is relatively easy to recognize these spaces in the scroll since in the section written by scribe A there are otherwise no spaces between words. ... The second scribe left spaces between most words, and for the beginnings of new verses he left more than one space. Likewise, the scribe of PRyl Greek 458 [= #957] often left spaces within the verse, and between verses he left more than one space. ..."

It is possible that we have remnants of two scrolls here; in any event, two different hands worked on the materials that have survived, and the second hand presents virtual word division in those sections.
Peter Parsons describes the hands (19ff): With scribe A (the bulk of the preserved material) "the script is in intention bilinear (only F reaches well above the line; the descenders of R F and Y are normally curtailed), although uncertainty in execution, and the enlargement of initial letters, gives an irregular impression. ...[[para]]... The script is profusely ornamented. The feet of verticals and descending obliques carry blobs or hooks or half-serifs (horizontal or angular or arched) or -- rarely -- full serifs; hooks and half-serifs normally point to the right; they may be very large." For scribe B, "the script is bilinear (allowing for the enlargement of some line-initials), except for R and F (this scribe makes no attempt to curtail them). ... The general [horizontal] effect is round and square. ...[[paragraph]]... The feet of uprights, the tops of uprights in I, K, N, F, and the left- hand tips of U and X, take decoration in the form of blobs, hooks and half-serifs (horizontal or oblique), rarely full serifs; hooks and half-serifs more often (but not consistently) point to the left." In general, A "aspires to be a book-hand ..., but the performance is inconsistent." Hand B "is a much more fluent and consistent copyist than hand A." Comparison with other, especially dated materials (23) concludes: "Most of this material is documentary; but the comparison is rather appropriate, since the use of enlarged initials at line-beginning (hands A and B) and phrase-beginning (hand A) and (set out in the margin) to mark a new section (hand A) gives this manuscript a documentary look. ... The fact is itself remarkable. Early Christian books show the same characteristic; copies of the Greek classics do not. It has therefore been tempting to argue that the texts of the Early Church stood closer to the world of business than to that of literature, and to draw condlusions about the social milieu in which the texts circulated or the esteem in which they were held. Now we see the same thing in a Jewish manuscript of pre-Christian date. This may suggest that the Christians inherited the practice, rather than inventing it; the problem remains, why Greek-speaking Jews should have adopted it in the first place" (23f).
14. POx 3522 Job 42 [#??]; papyrus roll, 1st ce; [location?]
[excerpts]
---
POx 50 (1983) 1 (with plate): "The lines are of 19-22 letters; the columns perhaps of 15 lines [but see the discussion in the notes], which would give a roll-height of c. 14 cm.... There are no lectional signs; punctuation by blank space (i.4, 5, 7). The informal upright bilinear script, in which the verticals are often ornamented with back-hooks, has similarities with [[two dated MSS]]; a date in the early first century would suit. ... [[paragraph]] A copy in roll-form, and of this date, will have been Jewish, not Christian."
With regard to the "archaic Hebrew" tetragrammaton, "the scribe of 3522 himself wrote the Hebrew continuously and fluently ...; but apparently without understanding, since the medial and final he have different shapes." The writing appears to be relatively undisciplined (quickly executed, some ligatures and run-on strokes in letter formation), with no serifs of note beyond the "hooks" (mostly on T, H) mentioned above. The initial letter of the name JOB has a dieresis/trema (see above, on #847) over it, and the name may be followed by a short blank.
Tov, DJD 8 (1990) 12: "The scribe of POxy 3522 (Job) very clearly wrote the tetragrammaton from left to right, creating a ligature between the yod and the next Greek letter."
15. POx 4443 Esther E + 8-9 [#] papyrus roll, 1st/2nd ce; [location?]
[excerpts]
Ed K. Luchner, POx 65 (1998): "...This was a luxurious copy. The columns have 31 lines (height 20 cm) with an average 25 letters (width 7 cm, plus 0.5 cm for projecting letters at paragraphs). The intercolumnium is approximately 2 cm. The back is blank." [[paragraph]] "This is the first known [Greek] copy of a passage from Esther in roll-form, a rare format for biblical texts, probably indicating Jewish provenance (C.H.Roberts and T.C.Skeat, Birthe of the Codex 38-40). It is also the first papyrus to preserve this passage [and it supplies many variants in the "E" "additions" section]. ..." [[paragraph]] "There are no diacritical signs or punctuation, apart from some paragraphi (with short lines preceding them, and projecting enlarged letters at the beginning of the following line), and diaeresis above I (ii.24, 31; iii.6, 24) and U (i.6, ii.16). Words are occasionally separated. There are occasional space fillers at the line ends, and the centre bar of E is frequently extended for the same purpose. Iota adscript is generally used (ii.10 the only exception); four examples are irrational (ii.25, 27, 28, 29). Itacism occurs in i.2, 18, 19." [[paragraph]] "The script is fluent and broadly bilinear, but with its frequent ligatures, cursive forms, enlarged initial letters [also enlarged B elsewhere] and tall risers [e.g. H, F] / deep descenders (R, F, sometimes I) it perhaps owes more to official documentary styles than to bookhands. For the general appearance cf. the earlier Roberts GLH 9a (between 7-4 BC)." Also, "nomina sacra" are uncontracted -- e.g. QEOU, SWTHRIAN, ANQRWPOIS in E.16 (reconstructed) and 18, 23, 24.
16. PFouad 203 [vh911] (1st/2nd ce, papyrus roll, prayer/amulet?)
Roberts MSB 78 (no plate?): "There can be little doubt of the Jewish origin ..., a prayer against evil spirits, written on a roll of papyrus and attributed to the late first or early second century. Both PLond Christ 5 (=vh921), a leaf from a liturgical book of the third century, and POx 17.2068 (=vh966), some fragments of a papyrus roll of the fourth century, have been thought to be Jewish; but in the latter the contraction of QEOS, the eccentric nomen sacrum BS = BASILEUS, and the apparent echoes of Revelation 15.3 and 1 Timothy 1.17 in l. 7 render the suggestion doubtful. To these should be added the Vienna text of The Penitence of Iannes and Iambres: it was written on the recto of a roll and nomina sacra are left uncontracted [p.61f n.5 calls this PVindobGr 29456 (=vh1068); p.63 n.3 refers to the forthcoming ed of Jannes/Jambres material by A. Pietersma and also to the republication of the Vienna fragment by P.Maraval in ZPE 25 (1977) pp. 199ff.]."

19. POx 656 [#905(U4) = vh013 = T009] (2nd/3rd ce, papyrus codex, Gen 14-27)
Grenfell & Hunt, POx 4 (1904) 28f: "The MS was carefully written in round upright uncials of good size and decidedly early appearance, having in some respects more affinity with types of the second century than of the third. To the latter, however, the hand is in all probability to be assigned, though we should be inclined to place it in the earlier rather than the later part of the century. ... Another mark of age is perhaps to be recognized in the absence of the usual contractions for QEOS, KURIOS, &c., but this may of course be no more than an individual peculiarity. The only abbreviation that occurs is the horizontal stroke instead of N, employed to save space at the end of a long line. Both high and middle ... stops are found, but are sparingly used: more often a pause is marked by a slight blank space. A few alterations and additions have been made by a second hand, which seems also to be responsible for the numeration in the centre of the upper margin of each page."
Roberts MSB 76f: [does not comment on literary style] "... The implication is that the Hebrew Tetragrammaton stood in the exemplar and the first scribe, like the scribe of PFouad 266 [#848], either did not know how to write it or was not entrusted with the writing. In the event the second scribe, perhaps not accustomed to writing biblical manuscripts but aware that KURIOS was the Greek equivalent of Adonai inserted it here. The text has a number of unique readings which may point to a revision of the LXX."
//end//

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BIBLE AND RELIGION - BOTH TRUE AND FALSE - AT WWW.JW.ORG

[iris89]

COMBINATION OF [1] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND [2] PROPHECY ABOUT JESUS (YESHUA): With the Scripture of the Day first.

[1] SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [270B]

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in d**nable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 Peter 2:1, [authorized King James Bible; AV]

Today we see many religions, over 33,000, all teaching different things, many of which are in opposition to each other; but Almighty God (YHWH) IS A God of unity along with His son, Jesus (Yeshua). They are one in purpose and their genuine true followers must likewise be one in purpose and in unity. Yes, there are many false religions in existence today spawned by the Creators arc-enemy, Satan the Devil, and their evil results are highlighted at 2 Peter 2:2 – 8, [AV] “And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their d**nation slumbereth not. 4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an verthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;”


[2] PROPHECY ABOUT JESUS (YESHUA):

The prophecy that was written in the Old Testament was written hundreds of years before Jesus (Jeshua or YHWH saves) was even born and not after he was born. This has been proved by the findings of the Dead Sea Scrolls and many other ancient parchments, etc. Some of these prophecies and their fulfillment. See, " He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken." (Psalms 34:20 AV)[compare, 33 But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: 34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. 36 For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.] which was quite interesting as in the Roman method of execution of none Romans by crucifixion the bones of those were usually broken to hasten death, but Jesus's bones were not as he was already dead when the Roman guard checked him. As we know he was betrayed by Judas for 30 pieces of silver and this was foretold at " And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver." (Zechariah 11:12 AV). [compare, " And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver." (Matthew 26:15 AV)] Likewise it was foretold that they would divide up his garments " They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture." (Psalms 22:18 AV). [compare to " And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots." (Matthew 27:35 AV)]. " Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me." (Psalms 41:9 AV) [compare, " I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me." (John 13:18 AV)]. " They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." (Psalms 69:21 AV)[compare, " They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink." (Matthew 27:34 AV)]. "1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying," (Psalms 2:1-2 AV)[compare, " And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves." (Luke 23:12 AV)].

Also, " For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." (Psalms 16:10 AV)[compare, " He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee," (Luke 24:6 AV)]. " I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting." (Isaiah 50:6 AV)[compare, " And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands." (Mark 14:65 AV)]

Some ask what makes the Bible different from other books, but I will answer here with respect the Bible what makes it different from other so called "holy Books."
1) It was written under divine inspiration by over 40 men chosen by Almighty God (YHWH) as an instruction guide for all of mankind that he had created.
2) It accurately foretold future events with exact detail 100 of years in advance. For example, Isaiah was written app. 732 B.C.E., but it accurately foretold events that would occur during Jesus' life, see the above plus check out:

Anointed with the Spirit. Ps 45:7. Is 11:2; 61:1.
Fulfilled: Mt 3:16. Jn 3:34. Ac 10:38.

Born of a virgin. Is 7:14.
Fulfilled: Mt 1:18. Lk 2:7.

Buried with the rich. Is 53:9.
Fulfilled: Mt 27 :57-60.

Called Immanuel. Is 7:14.
Fulfilled: Mt 1:22-23.

Chief cornerstone of the church. Is 28:16.
Fulfilled: 1 P 2:6-7.

Conversion of the Gentiles to him. Is 11:10; 42:1.
Fulfilled: Mtl:17,21. Jn 10:16. Ac 10:45,47.

Death. Is 53:12.
Fulfilled: Mt 27:50.

Entering on his public ministry. Is 61:1-2.
Fulfilled: Lk4:16-21,43.

Flesh not seeing corruption. Ps 16:10.
Fulfilled: Ac 2:31.

Hated by the Jews. Ps 69:4. Is 49:7.
Fulfilled: Jn 15:24-25.

Intercession for his murderers. Is 53:12.
Fulfilled: Lk 23:34.

Meekness and want of ostentation. Is 42:2.
Fulfilled: Mt 12:15-16, 19.

Ministry commencing in Galilee. Is 9:1-2.
Fulfilled: Mt 4:12-16, 23.

Numbered with the transgressors. Is 53:12.
Fulfilled: Mk 15:28.

Patience and silence under sufferings. Is 53:7.
Fulfilled: Mt 26:63; 27:12-14.

Poverty. Is 53:2.
Fulfilled: Mk 6:3. Lk9:58.

Rejected by his brethren. Ps 69:8. Is 63:3.
Fulfilled: Jn 1:11;7:3.

Resurrection. Ps 16:10. Is 26:19.
Fulfilled: Lk 24:6,31,34.

A stone of stumbling to the Jews. Is 8:4.
Fulfilled: Ro 9:32.1 P 2:8.

Suffering for others. Is 53:4-6, 12. Dn 9:26.
Fulfilled: Mt 20:28.

Tenderness and compassion. Is 40:11; 42:3.
Fulfilled: Mt 12:15,20. He 4:15.

Visage marred. Is 52:14; 53:3.
Fulfilled: Jn 19:5.

Without guile. Is 53:9.
Fulfilled: 1 P 2:22.

Working miracles. Is 35:5-6.
Fulfilled: Mt 11:4-6. Jn 11:47.

Zeal. Ps 69:9.
Fulfilled: Jn 2:17

And this is just from one book of the Bible OT, Isaiah. Others are similar, let's just consider one example from the first book of the Bible, Genesis, written in 1513 B.C.E.

Seed of Isaac. " And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called." (Genesis 21:12 AV)[compare, "17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure." (Hebrews 11:17-19 AV).

See also,

Coming at a set time. Gn 49:10. Dn 9:24-25.
Fulfilled: Lk 2:1.

Seed of Abraham. Gn 17:7; 22:18.
Fulfilled: Gl 3:16.

Seed of the woman. Gn 3:15.
Fulfilled: Gl 4:4.

As can readily be seen from the short list of fulfilled prophecy above, the Bible is the only "Holy Book" that is really the word of God (YHWH) and all the other ones are only frauds and counterfeits.

Second with respect the virgin birth of Jesus many prophecies were fulfilled, a few of them follow:

He would be born in Bethlehem of Judaea: Prophecy = " But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." (Micah 5:2 AV)

Fulfillment = "1 ¶ Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. 5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel." (Matthew 2:1-6 AV)

A virgin would give birth, Prophecy = " Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14 AV),

Fulfillment = " Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." (Matthew 1:23 AV)

A barren women in her old age would have a son, Prophecy = " And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son." (Judges 13:3 AV)

Fulfillment = "30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren." (Luke 1:30-36 AV). Note, this group of scriptures goes from where Mary, a virgin, was told she would have a child who would be called the Son of the Highest and that her barren cousin would have a child.

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[iris89]

COMBINATION OF THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND THE RARE FRUIT TREES AND VEGETABLES - Mimusops zeyheri With the Scripture of the Day first.

[1] SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [525B]

I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers.
5 I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked. Psalms 26:4 – 5, [authorized King James Bible; AV]

We should seek to avoid the ungodly and fools as this will ensure we walk in the way of obedience to Almighty God (YHWH) per Psalms 13:20, [AV] “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” We must be careful not to be deceived by those not obedient to God per 1 Corinthians 15:33, [AV] “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.”

However, we should not hate those as all have the possibility of turning their life around as shown by Psalms 139:21, [AV] “Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?” But must always remember the admonition given at Psalms 1:1, [AV] “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.”


[2] Here is a Commentary on Bountiful Trees and Vegetables God (YHWH) has provided for mankind, specifically the Mimusops zeyheri is a medium-sized (up to 15m) evergreen tree belonging to the Sapotaceae family and widely distributed in rocky places from the east coast of southern Africa, inland and northwards to tropical Africa. Commonly known as milkwood or Transvaal Red Milkwood, its leaves are leathery and entire. Petioles and young leaves are covered in short rusty red hairs. Small amounts of latex can be seen on bruised leaves or petioles. The ripe yellow fruits have a glossy, brittle skin and are sweet and edible, floury in texture and slightly astringent. The wood is reddish-brown in colour, hard and tough, and was traditionally used in the making of wagons. Clusters of fragrant white flowers appear from October to January. Given sufficient space, this species can grow into a very large, densely shady tree. Some enormous specimens are to be seen amongst the Zimbabwe Ruins. This species is often found in association with Englerophytum magalismontanum. It is closely related to Mimusops obovata and M. caffra, both of which are South African trees. (Source - retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimusops_zeyheri on 3/24/2013)
Planting position: Full sun.Ideal for coastal areas.
Tolerates wind and moderate drought, once established.
Requires regular watering during dry spells.
Propagate from seed.
This tree attracts humans and bird-life with its sweet fruit. The fruit appear after the little star-shaped, whitish flowers which come with spring and summer. When ripe, the fruit is red. The leaves are a pale green, obovate and firm.

Mimusops obovata (Red-milkwood, 18m) is larger than the M. Caffra with also bigger fruit, otherwise it is similar. (source - retrieved from gardeningeden.co.za/plants-mimusops-caffra.html on 3/24/2013)
Shrub or tree to 20 m. Leaves thinly coriaceous, glabrous; lamina 2-5 × 1-2.5 cm, elliptic to obovate, shiny dark green above, dull green beneath; base acute; apex acute, apiculate or rounded; margin slightly undulate. Flowers white to cream, borne in clusters of 1-2 leaf axils. Calyx brownish-pubescent. Corolla: tube c. 1 mm; median and lateral segments approximately equal in shape and size; lateral segments undivided. Fruit ovoid, beaked, 2-3.5 cm long, yellow to orange-red when ripe; fruiting calyx reflexed. (source - retrieved from www.mozambiqueflora.com/speciesdata/species.php?species_id=175080 on 3/24/2013)
In Genesis 1:11-13, "And God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit-trees bearing fruit after their kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after their kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. (American Standard Version, ASV)[for more details, go to http://www.jw.org].


Transvaal red milkwood is part of the Mimusops genus. Its scientific name is Mimusops zeyheri.
a medium-sized (up to 15m) evergreen tree belonging to the Sapotaceae family and widely distributed in rocky places from the east coast of southern Africa, inland and northwards to tropical Africa. Commonly known as milkwood or Transvaal Red Milkwood, its leaves are leathery and entire. Petioles and young leaves are covered in short rusty red hairs. Small amounts of latex can be seen on bruised leaves or petioles. The ripe yellow fruits have a glossy, brittle skin and are sweet and edible, floury in texture and slightly astringent. The wood is reddish-brown in colour, hard and tough, and was traditionally used in the making of wagons.
It makes large, neat, deep green canopies, which offer shade to weary hikers in the African savanna as well as provide cool shade in the home garden.
Transvaal red milkwood grows as an evergreen and is an edible fruit. Being an evergreen plant, it will keep its leaves throughout the year. Transvaal red milkwood is known for growing to a height of approximately 48.75 feet (that's 15.00 metres in metric).
South Africa is believed to be where Transvaal red milkwood originates from.
Transvaal red milkwood is normally fairly low maintenance and is normally quite easy to grow, as long as a level of basic care is provided throughout the year. Being aware of the basic soil, sun and water preferences will result in a happier and healthier plant.
Saplings are usually ready to be planted out after four or more years from sowing, at which time attention should be given to the planting hole. Mix good compost with the back filling soil and add bone meal or tree planting tablets to the bottom of the hole. Saplings can be watered well for the first year, gradually reducing irrigation over the ensuing two to three years to ensure the development of a deep root system.
In higher lying areas young trees should be protected against frost for the first three years while the tree becomes acclimatized and attains some height to offer more resistance to mild or moderate frost; this species will not survive any extreme degree of frost.
Keep in mind when planting that Transvaal red milkwood is thought of as half hardy, so remember to watch your frost dates and ensure you have this plant protected when the temperature dips.
Growing Transvaal red milkwood from seed
The seed should be extracted from the fleshy fruit and sown fresh for best results. Seed have a high viability and germination begins within two weeks of sowing.
Transplanting Transvaal red milkwood
The seedlings may be left in the seedling trays until the following spring or pricked out at the two-leaf stage into individual containers.
Companion plants for Transvaal red milkwood
These plants have been known to grow well alongside Transvaal red milkwood so consider planting:
Repellent plants for Transvaal red milkwood
These plants will not grow well with Transvaal red milkwood so avoid planting these within close proximity:
Common Transvaal red milkwood problems
These problems, diseases and pests are known to affect Transvaal red milkwood plants:
Mimusops zeyherii is not prone to disease, but may attract scale insects on the young stems and growth tips, which should be monitored on smaller specimens to ensure the damage is not unsustainable. If it becomes necessary, they may be sprayed with a product registered for use on scale. Mineral oil can be effective and is harmless to the ladybird beetles and spiders as well as the environment, in extremely stubborn cases mineral oil can be alternated with products containing chlorpyrifos at 750g/kg. (source - retrieved from myfolia.com/plants/84204-transvaal-red-milkwood-mimusops-zeyheri on 3/24/2013)

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