The Masoretic text is not perfect without errors

While the Masoretic Text is generally considered to be a highly trustworthy representation of the original Hebrew text[1], this assessment acknowledges reliability rather than perfection.

There are some differences between the Masoretic Text and other ancient versions of the Hebrew Bible, such as the Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls[1]. More specifically, textual scholars have identified instances where the Masoretic reading appears problematic. In Isaiah 53:11, the Masoretic Text reads “in his death,” while the Septuagint reads “in his integrity”—a difference that could reflect an unintentional error introduced by metathesis (transposition of letters)[2]. This demonstrates that even the carefully preserved Masoretic tradition contains readings that may not represent the original text.

The Masoretes themselves acknowledged textual difficulties. The consonantal text was treated as a fixed given that could not be tampered with by any of the Masoretes[3], yet they sometimes noted variant readings in their marginal annotations (the Masorah). This practice suggests they recognized problematic passages but were bound by their scribal discipline to preserve the received consonantal text rather than alter it.

What distinguishes the Masoretic Text is not perfection but disciplined transmission. Unlike the New Testament, which bases its textual fidelity on the multiplicity of manuscript copies, the Old Testament text owes its accuracy to the ability and reliability of the scribes who transmitted it[4]. Each biblical book had mathematical devices—such as letter counts and the identification of the middle letter—that copiers used to check and recheck their work[3]. This rigorous methodology preserved the text’s integrity across generations, but it could not eliminate errors that existed in earlier exemplars or arose through inadvertent scribal mistakes.

[1] Edward Andrews, Introduction to the Text of the Old Testament: From the Authors and Scribes to the Modern Critical Text (Cambridge, OH: Christian Publishing House, 2023). [See here, here.]
[2] Amy Anderson and Wendy Widder, Textual Criticism of the Bible, ed. Douglas Mangum, Lexham Methods Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018), 101.
[3] Walter C. Kaiser Jr., The Old Testament Documents: Are They Reliable & Relevant? (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2001), 43.
[4] Norman L. Geisler and William E. Nix, From God to Us: How We Got Our Bible (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2012), 197.