In short, Samuel is especially prone to copying errors because its text is one of the least stable in the Hebrew Bible. Scholars like Emanuel Tov call it “poorly preserved,” and Pierre Hugo notes its complex, fragmentary transmission.
Big differences between the Masoretic Text, Septuagint, and Dead Sea Scrolls, like in 1 Samuel 17, show just how many issues there are. All of this makes Samuel far more vulnerable to scribal mistakes than most other books.
Thank you for this breakdown! Why do you (or “they”) think 1 Samuel is more prone to copying errors?
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In short, Samuel is especially prone to copying errors because its text is one of the least stable in the Hebrew Bible. Scholars like Emanuel Tov call it “poorly preserved,” and Pierre Hugo notes its complex, fragmentary transmission.
Big differences between the Masoretic Text, Septuagint, and Dead Sea Scrolls, like in 1 Samuel 17, show just how many issues there are. All of this makes Samuel far more vulnerable to scribal mistakes than most other books.