NEW TESTAMENT CANON: written prior to Fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD and before fire of Rome, as these events plus martyrdoms of James(62 AD), Paul (64 AD) and Peter (65 AD), all pivotal Christian events, not mentioned in Acts
NEW TESTAMENT EXTANT MANUSCRIPTS:
- Rule of thumb: the more MSS the more credible the document,
- that which is closest to the event is most authoritative
- 5,300 Greek, 10,000 Latin Vulgate, 9,300 other early versions
- 24,000 copies of portions of the New Testament in existence today!
- 230 MSS compiled before 7th century (i.e. before the Qur'an)!!
DATING:
| Secular and Biblical Manuscript Comparisons: |
|---|
| | Date Written | Earliest Copy |
| Secular Manuscripts: |
|---|
| Herodotus (History) | 480 - 425 BC | 900 AD |
| Thucydides (History) | 460 - 400 BC | 900 AD |
| Aristotle (Philosopher) | 384 - 322 BC | 1,100 AD |
| Caesar (History) | 100 - 44 BC | 900 AD |
| Pliny (History) | 61 - 113 AD | 850 AD |
| Suetonius (Rom. History) | 70 - 140 AD | 950 AD |
| Tacitus (Greek History) | 100 AD | 1,100 AD |
| Biblical Manuscripts: |
|---|
| Magdalene Ms (Matt. 26) | 1st century | 50-60 AD* |
| | John Rylands (John) | 90 AD | 130 AD |
| Bodmer Papyrus II (John) | 90 AD | 150-200 AD |
| Chester Beatty Papyri (NT) | 1st century | 200 AD |
| Diatessaron by Tatian (Gospels) | 1st century | 200 AD |
| Codex Vaticanus (Bible) | 1st century | 325-350 AD |
| Codex Sinaiticus (Bible) | 1st century | 350 AD |
| Codex Alexandrinus (Bible) | 1st century | 400 AD |
-Magdalene Manuscript (*Dr.Thiede) = 50-68 AD?
(KE = Kurios = Lord) oldest of 98 Papyri
EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS:
Luke 1:1-3 (disciples), Acts 2:22 (Jews), Acts 26:24-26 (Secularists)
HOSTILE ACCOUNTS:
Thallus, Tacitus, Josephus, Suetonius, Pliny the Younger
15,000 TRANSLATIONS: (150AD - 6th cent) Latin, Syriac, Coptic, Armenian, Gothic, Nubian, Georgian, Ethiopic
2,135 LECTIONARIES: from 6th century
EARLY CHURCH FATHER'S LETTERS:
-86,489 Biblical quotes; (32,000 before 325AD) all the New Testament quoted except for 11 verses, Clement = 2,406 quotes, Tertullian = 7,258 quotes, Origen = 17,922 quotes
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SIRA, HADITH, TARIKH, TAFSIR PROBLEMS:
Late dates: Sira (Hisham = 833AD), Hadith (Buhari = 870AD), Tarikh, Tafsir (Tabari = 923AD)
Credibility: reflect 9th-10th c. bias based on ra'y (opinion), conflicting akhbars
Contradictions: Al-Tabari's conflicting accounts (i.e. 15 dif. accnt of Muh. mtng)
Proliferation: Waqidi & Abdallah; Bukhari=600,000 to 7,397 (2,762 originals)
Isnad: transmitters names, begins w/Sha'fi (820AD) yet no documentation till 9thc.
Storytelling: Kussas related stories of Biblical & Iranian legend, like Griots today
- Oral tradition = embellishment (i.e. griots), mss. aged, disintegrated - did mss. exist?
- Why no 7th century MSS for Qur'an or traditions extent today?
UTHMANIC RECENSION:
(claim = 650AD) not Topkapi / Sammarkand
must do Accelerated Mass Spectrography (AMS) analysis and SCRIPT Analysis
SCRIPTS:
- Hijazi/Ma'il 7th-9th century (Medina and Mecca).
- Mashq- 7th century onwards.
- Abbasid/E.Kufic 8th-11th century (needs landscape format)
- Naskh 11th century till today.
COINS:
Mashq/Hijazi = from 697AD - 750AD, thus Umayyad
Kufic = 750AD onwards, same as MSS, thus Abbasid!
MANUSCRIPTS:
Topkapi: parchment-medallions-18lines-formal-uniform-Abbasid script-justification
Sammarkand: 42Suras(S.2:7-43:10)-100 text variants-8-12lines haphazard-
col. medallions-unbalanced- Abbasid script-both Topkapi/Sammarkand = 9thc.
BL2165: 8th c.-vellum-portrait-23-26 lines-Hijazi/Ma'il script-(S.7:40-43:71)
San'a 01-28.1: Puin:
Oldest parchments & papers of Qur'anic Ms.@ ambiguous letters - different numeration, sura arrangements found (i.e. sura 19-22...26-37-36-38...67-71-72-51-Many deviations not mentioned in later literature.
Difference is even meaningful in a theological sense@ Sometimes Abraham (S.2), sometimes Ibrahim, 'Qalu' 50% with alif b/w Qaf-Lam, 'Qalu' to 'Qul'
Conclusion: no Uthmanic recension, & Qur'an=1, 200 yrs old, not 1400=150 yr gap!
SOURCES:
Gunther Luling: Poetry = pre-Islamic Christ. Syriac hymns w/Arab themes
John Wansbrough: Pattern of the text=later editing. Compiled 8th- 9th century
Karl-Heinz Ohlig: Qur'an compiled late 7th c., other versions up to 9th century
-No O.T. prophets & Pauline literature. Thus added sectarian traditions: Nestorian: Jesus was a God-chosen human (sura 3:42-48, 51, 59; 4:171; 5:116-117; 19:30, 34-35), Monarchianism: God has no children (sura 4:171; 19:34) Docetism: Jesus didn't die (sura 4:156-158), Monophysites & Maryolatry: Mary in Trinity (sura 5:116). So Qur'an not Uthmanic but East. Syria = Mesopotamia
TALMUDIC SOURCES:
Cain/Abel: (raven) S.5:31=Targum Jonathan-ben-Uzziah,S.5:32=Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5
Abraham: (smashed idols, fiery pit) (S.21:51-71) = Midrash Rabbah
Solomon & Sheba: (hoopoo bird, mirrored floor) (S.27:17-44) =II Targum of Esther
Mary-Imran-Zachariah Sura 3:35-37 = Proto-evangelion's James the Lesser
Jesus' birth:- Palm Tree- S.19:22-26=The Lost Books of the Bible=apocryphal fable
Baby Jesus talking - S.19:29-33 = The 1st Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ
Creating birds from clay - S.3:49 = Thomas' Gospel of Infancy of Jesus Christ.
HADITH COMPILATION CRITIQUE:
Buhari:
- Abu bakr (632-634 AD) with 1st compilation (vol.6:509-510)
- Uthman (644-656 AD) revised Hafsa Ms, burns others (vols.4&6:510)
- Verses canceled (5:416) or now missing (Rajam = stoning S.24:2) (vol.8:817)
Imam Malik
- Some verses have been changed
Sahih Muslim - Parts of the Qur'an has been forgotten
Ibn Dawud - Verses were lost, overlooked and modified
As-Suyuti - Much of Qur'an has disappeared
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