I’ve often heard arguments about the accuracy of scripture, given that it has been copied and translated many times over the centuries. How can we trust that someone didn’t change something and make things up?
Those who were entrusted to copy and keep the scriptures, the scribes, it was of the highest honors. They took it incredibly seriously. They didn’t just copy scripture word for word, they copied it letter by letter. And another man checked his work, letter by letter. If they messed up, they started all over again. They wrote on long, continuous scrolls. So if they copied the book of Isaiah on a scroll, and got to the very end, and messed up a letter, they would rip it up and throw it away and start all over again. It could be months of work. They had such reverence for the name of God, that whenever they would get to the word God, the Elohim, or the El in scripture, before writing His name, they would go take a bath, change into clean clothes, clean their pen, and dip it in fresh ink. There is not any other ancient text that was so carefully and accurately preserved.