Friday, November 21, 2014

Daniel Wallace on Islam and New Testament Manuscripts

Muslims believe in an original "Gospel" that was corrupted over time. Since this Gospel was still available when Muhammad was preaching in Arabia (see Qur'an 5:47 and 7:157), it must have been copied and transmitted for several centuries (the first century through the seventh century).

However, according to Dr. Daniel Wallace (executive director of the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts), there isn't a single ancient New Testament manuscript anywhere on the planet that presents an Islamic view of Jesus.

Hence, Muslims who believe in an original Gospel that supports Islam are doing so against the uniform testimony of manuscript evidence.

11 comments:

SG said...

Maybe Allah took those manuscripts to himself much like he did with Jesus according to the Qur'an. He IS the best deceiver after all.

Unknown said...

This is the question muslims have failed to answer over the ages. What were the contents of the quran destroyed by usman? Its obvious that we Christians are digging deep to get to the earliest manuscripts of our faith. We have nothing to hide Muslims on the other hand prevent any excursion into the orginal manuscript of the so called koranic revelations.
I guess muslims are muslims today because they do not allow independent foray and thinking about their claims. A very backward religion that can only make converts with deceit and threats of the sword. Islam unravelling before our very eyes.
Jesus Christ is Lord!

Unknown said...

What are the 3 most-significant instances of corruption of which you're aware:
of the New Testament?
of the Quran?

Some candidates for the first question:

1. Corruption in adding in the story of the woman caught in adultery.
That story, seen at John 8 in almost all New Testaments printed today, is not in the original Aramaic of the Peshitta, as noted by the John 8 interlinear translation PDF at peshitta.org
The story got added in by someone well after the book of John was composed.

2. Corruption in calling a particular woman Greek when the original Aramaic didn't say she was Greek.
In Mark 7:25-28, the Aramaic Peshitta reads,
"For immediately a certain woman whose daughter had an unclean rukha [spirit] heard about him [al-Nabia Isa], and she came (and) fell before his feet. Now that woman was kanapta [a heathen/ foreigner] from Phoenicia in Syria, and was entreating him to cast out the shada [shade/devil] from her daughter. …. 'even the dogs eat from under the tables the crumbs of the children.'"
Greek manuscripts erroneously say the woman was Greek. This sets up an unnecessary contradiction with Mt 15:21+, where she is called a Canaanite: "And Yeshua went out from there and came to the border of Tsur and of Tsidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from those borders came out while crying and saying, "Have mercy on me Mari [my Lord], the Son of Dawid. My daughter is seriously vexed by a shada.... even the dogs eat from the crumbs which fall from the tables of their masters and live."

3. Corruption in adding in the name "Jeremiah" as the author of a particular quote, even as there's no evidence he ever said that remark.
In Mt 27:9-10, Greek manuscripts have the erroneous addition that Jeremiah said a particular remark, when there's no Old Testament evidence that Jeremiah said that. The Aramaic original leaves unspecified the name of the prophet, avoiding the unnecessary contradiction: "Then the thing was fulfilled which was spoken of by the prophet who said,
"I took the thirty (pieces) of silver,
the price of the precious one
which (those) from the sons of Israel agreed upon."

4. Corruption in many Greek manuscripts by lacking this mention of fasting, which is in the Aramaic original:
Mark 9:28-29: "Now when Yeshua entered the house, his talmida [students] asked him privately, 'Why were we not able to cast him [a certain devil] out?' He said to them,
'This kind is not able to be cast out by
anything except by fasting and by prayer.'"

5. Corruption in Greek manuscripts by having the Joseph in the lineage of Mt 1 be Mary's husband. In reality, the Aramaic original says the Joseph in the lineage is Mary's "gowra"-- which means 'guardian male'-- not necessarily a husband. Mary had *two* key individuals named Joseph in her life. This corruption in Greek manuscripts led to the speculation that Matthew couldn't count generations, or that an individual's name got somehow lost. The reality is that Matthew 1:17 is correct in saying that there's 14 + 14 + 14 generations listed.

4 biographies about al-Nabia Isa ibn Maryam
http://preview.tinyurl.com/k6tvrcd

Unknown said...

There is corruption in the Greek manuscripts in that each of their mistranslations of the original Aramaic are less than ideal.

1) The Greek manuscripts have a mistranslation for Mk 9:49, which when translated well reads:
"For with fire everything will be *vaporized*,
and with salt every sacrifice will be *seasoned*."
Re: vaporized and seasoned, the root MLKh can mean 'to salt, season' or 'to destroy, vaporize, scatter.' The intended meaning shifted between the first and second lines—Meshikha/ the Messiah plays on the dual meaning of MLKh. See Mk 9 PDF of Paul Younan at peshitta.org

2) The Greek manuscripts have a mistranslation for Acts 8:27, which when translated well reads:
"And he [Pileepos/ Philip] arose (and) went and met a certain *mahaymina* [believer] who had come from Cush, an official of Qandeq, the malkta [queen] of the Cushites, and he was an authority over all her treasures. And he had come to worship in Urishlim."
Re: MHYMNA, it can mean either 'believer' or 'eunuch'-- or many similar things. The Greek versions mistranslate this as 'eunuch' instead of the more contextually correct 'believer.'--PY. The Ethiopian _believer_ was intending to worship in Jerusalem, presumably in the temple there-- which eunuchs were prohibited from doing by Deut 23:2. Cf. Mt 19:12.

3) The Greek manuscripts have a mistranslation for Acts 12:20, which when translated well reads:
"And because he [King Herodus Agripus] was angry at the Tyrians and at the Sidonians, they gathered and came to him as one and persuaded Blastus, the chamberlain of the malka [king], and asked of him that (they) might have *shayna* [cultivated land], because the provision of their country was from the kingdom of Herodus."
Re: shayna, the Greek manuscripts mistranslate this Aramaic word as "peace"; a possible secondary meaning of the word is "cultivated land" (cf. Yaqub/James 3:18 also mistranslated by the Greeks)-- this reading makes far more sense contextually in a time of famine (cf. Acts 11:28.)-- PY.

4) The Greek manuscripts have a mistranslation for James 3:18, which when translated well reads:
"And the fruit of righteousness is sown in the *shayna* [cultivated land] of them that make shlama [peace]."
"Shayna" can mean tranquility/peace-- see Lk 11:21, Lk 12:51, and esp. Acts 10:36. However, for James 3:18 and Acts 12:20, the contextually-proper rendition is "cultivated land." See Lataster.

5) The Greek manuscripts have a mistranslation for Acts 14:17, which when translated well reads:
"And He [God] caused rain to descend from heaven for them [Gentiles],
and He caused fruit to grow in their seasons.
And He filled their hearts with *cheer* and gladness."
Re: cheer, Greek versions have it mistranslated as "food."--PY

Unknown said...

6) The Greek manuscripts have a mistranslation for Acts 2:24, which when translated well reads:
"But Allaha [God] loosed the *cords* of Sheol [the Grave/Death] and raised him [Yeshua/Jesus] because it was not possible that he be held in it, in Sheol."
Re: cords, the Greek versions mistranslated this word as 'pain.' Cf. Jn 2:15 & 2 Samuel 22:6.—PY

7) The Greek manuscripts have a mistranslation for Acts 5:13, which when translated well reads:
And there was a great fear in all the eidta [congregation], and in all those who heard.
And many mighty deeds and signs occurred by the hands of the Shelikha [Apostles] among the people. And they were all assembled together in the Porch of Shlemon [Soloman].
13. And of other men, not one dared to *touch* them,
rather the people magnified them.
Re: touch, this word can mean "join/commune" but also "touch," the latter undoubtedly being the correct reading. The Greek versions mistranslated this word as "join."--PY

8) The Greek manuscripts have a mistranslation for Acts 8:23, which when translated well has:
"But repent of this your evil and beseech Allaha [God]. Perhaps you [Simon the sorcerer] will be forgiven the guile of your heart.
23. For I [Shimon Keepa/ Simon Peter] see that you are in bitter *anger*
and in the bonds of iniquity."
Re: anger, the Aramaic word kabda can mean gall/liver/anger. The Greek versions mistranslate "bitter kabda" as "gall of bitterness" instead of the more contextually proper "bitter anger."--PY

9) The Greek manuscripts have two mistranslations for Mt 7:6, which when translated well reads:
"You should not *hang* *earrings* on dogs,
and you should not place your pearls before pigs,
that they should not trample them by their feet,
and they overtake and wound you."
As a side note, this has a chiastic structure, with the pigs line going with the trampling line, and the dogs line going with the wounding line.

10) The Greek manuscripts have a mistranslation for Lk 14:26, which when translated well reads:
"He who comes to me [Jesus]
and does not *sena* [put aside; contextually improper here: hate, have an aversion to] his father and his mother
and his brothers and his sisters
and his wife and his children and even himself,
is not able to be a talmida [student] to me."

4 biographies about al-Nabia Isa ibn Maryam
http://preview.tinyurl.com/k6tvrcd

QuranIsCorrupt2 said...

There are over ONE MILLION pieces of documentation that proves Christianity is correct concerning the divinity of Jesus and his death...I would like to see FIVE examples of pre-Islamic Muslim injeel that goes against the MILLIONS of pieces of Christian pre-Islamic documentation.

Unknown said...

The original Aramaic of the NT lacks an embarrassing contradiction present in the Greek manuscripts. Greek manuscripts have Jesus calling certain people fools, even as he uses *the same Greek word* in warning that those that call somebody a fool are in danger of the fire of Gehenna. See Strong's Concordance entries for "fool" and "fools" for the verses Mt 5:22 vs. Mt 23:17 (and Mt 23:19-- some but not all Greek manuscripts have the contradiction again here).
This is how the original Aramaic handles matters:

Mt 5:22: "and anyone who should say to his brother, 'Raca!' [(I) spit (on you); or: (you are) spit. Aramaic to Arabic to English produced: 'foul one']
is condemned to the assembly,
and anyone who should say, "Lela!" [(you are) a nursemaid/ coward]
is condemned to the fire of Gehenna."

Mt 23:17, 19: "Sakla [fools] and blind!
For what is greater: the gold, or the temple-- that which sanctifies the gold?
…. Sakla [fools] and blind!
What is greater: the qorbana [offering/sacrifice] or the altar that sanctifies the qorbana?"

Unknown said...

In being translated from Aramaic into Greek, there was degradation in this rhyming structure of the "Lord's Prayer":

Ah-woon ** our Father
d'wash-may-ya ** in heaven
===================================================
nith-qad-dash shmakh ** holy be Your name
teh'-theh' ** come
mal-koo-thakh ** Your kingdom
neh-weh ** be done
tsow-ya-nakh ** Your will
===================================================
ay-kan-na ** as
d'wash-may-ya ** in heaven
ap b'ar-aa ** so on earth.
===================================================
haw lan ** give us
lakh-ma ** the bread
d'son-qa-nan ** of our need
yow-ma-na ** this day
===================================================
ow-wash-woq lan ** and forgive us
khow-beyn ** our offences
ay-kan-na d'ap kha-nan ** as also we
shwa-qan ** have forgiven
l'khay-ya-wen ** those who have offended us
===================================================
ow'la ** and not
ta'-lan ** bring us
l'nis-you-na ** into trial
al-la pas-san ** but deliver us
min bee-sha ** from the evil one
===================================================
modt-dtil d'dee-lak ** for Yours
hee mal-koo-tha ** is the kingdom
ow-khay-la ** and the power
aw'tish-bokh-tha ** and the glory
l-al-um ail-meen. ** forever and ever.

Unknown said...

Greek translators of the Aramaic New Testament gave a few transliterations of words and phrases present in the Aramaic original, followed by their explanations. Their explanations are not part of the original, and it's not made explicit, e.g. through the use of brackets, that the explanations aren't part of the original.
For the verses below, a quote from the NIV at biblegateway.com is followed by a quote from Paul Younan's peshitta.org translation of the Aramaic.

* Matthew 27:46
About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
46. And about the ninth hour, Yeshua cried out with a loud voice and said,
"'Ail! Ail! Lamna shwaqthani?'"
[(My) Allaha! (My) Allaha! Why have you spared me?/ Why have you let me live?]

* Mark 5:41
He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”).
41. And he took the hand of the girl and said to her,
"Talita, qomy!" [young girl, arise]

* Mark 7:34
He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”).
34. And he looked into heaven and sighed and said to him,
"Aetpatak!" [be opened]

* Mark 10:46
….a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging.
46. ….a blind man, Timi Bar-Timi [Timi son of Timi i.e. Timi, Jr.], was sitting on the side of the road and begging.

* John 1:38
Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
38. And Yeshua turned and saw those who were coming after him and he said to them,
"What do you want?"
They said to him, "Rabban, where are you?" [idiomatic for 'where do you live?' 'Rabban' means 'our Rabbi.']

* John 9:7
“Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
7. And he said to him,
"Go wash in the baptismal of Shilokha."
And he went (and) washed and he came while seeing.

//////////////////////////
With the first verse, Mt 27:46, compare:
Mark 15:34
And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
34. And in the ninth hour, Yeshua cried out in a loud voice and said,
"'Ail! Ail! Lamna shwaqthani?'",
that is,
"'Allahi! Allahi! Lamna shwaqthani?'" [My Allaha! My Allaha! Why have you spared me?/ Why have you let me live?]

For John 1:38, compare:
John 20:16
….She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
20. ….And she turned around and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbuli!" which means "Malpana" [Teacher].

4 biographies about Isa ibn Maryam
http://preview.tinyurl.com/k6tvrcd

Unknown said...

It does not bother Islam if there is nothing from any gospels to prove the Islamic view on Jesus. Islam does not depend on Christianity's hodge podge stuff. You better solve the discrepancies between different versions of your bible rather than mixing Islam with your antique narrations. Find some answers for Bart Ehrnam.

Unknown said...

David Ford, there is no aramaic original of the New Testament, this is a scientific consensus.