Numbers appear to have been particularly difficult to copy accurately. When we have more than one version of a census list, or related numbers such as a total or percentage, discrepancies are often apparent. The different ages given for antediluvian patriarchs in the Samaritan, LXX, and Masoretic texts is one example; another is the repeat of censuses in Ezra, Nehemiah, and I Ezdras. Although the names seem equally tedious to the average Western reader, they show much less variation. Jan has noted the possibility of symbolic interpretation of some numbers and confusion between use of the same word as thousand or clan, in addition to copying problems. Thus, I would be very hesitant to base a firm conclusion on the numbers from lists in the OT. Furthermore, I cannot think of any theologically significant issue that they address. I certainly find it interesting to try to figure out the chronology, and think it is a worthwhile endeavor, but I do not know that it really ma!
tters when Adam existed.
Dr. David Campbell
Old Seashells
University of Alabama
Biodiversity & Systematics
Dept. Biological Sciences
Box 870345
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 USA
bivalve@mail.davidson.alumlink.com
That is Uncle Joe, taken in the masonic regalia of a Grand Exalted Periwinkle of the Mystic Order of Whelks-P.G. Wodehouse, Romance at Droitgate Spa
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