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Joined: Feb 2007
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well, it looks like the Revelation buffs might have gotten it wrong ... to a degree.
Most manuscripts in Rev 13:18 have 666 as the number of the beast.
But more manuscripts found have 616!!!!!!!!!
Where did we do the math wrong?
Ed
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Catholic Gyoza Member
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Hebrew and Greek count the name for Nero as 666 whereas in Latin it would be 616.
As each letter has a corresponding number in these numerologies. ie I is one, V is 5; alpha is one, beta is two; etc...
I know nothing of Hebrew, but I'd guess that alef is one, etc...
Father Anthony, do you know?
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Dr Eric,
not only are you correct, but since 10 is yod, 15 and 16 would give yod-he and yod-waw, but these would be part of the Divine Name YHWH, so are replaced by teth-waw for 15 and teth-zayin for 16, ie 9+6 and 9+7. I find that much more fascinating than all these mind-games with the Apocalypse.
Shalom!
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Highlander, I was not making a defense based on the Apocalypse - mind games or not. I am making a statement based on ancient biblical manuscripts. This is a manuscript issue, not one of interpretation, numerology, and apocalyptical symbologies.
I cannot change the fact that more manuscripts from the early church days have 616 or even 615 in them rather than 666.
Ed
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Ed,
In the science of reconstructing the original text of any document, the number of manuscripts is not what is important. Any mistake or alteration in a manuscript will be repeated in all copies made from it. For this reason versions are grouped in a sort of genealogy, and studied to discover which version is anterior to the others. So a reading from a late copy of a reliable source is better than a number of copies of a flawed version. This principle applies also to Biblical texts.
However, the question of whether the author of Revelation originally put this or that number is of mind-boggling unimportance in the matter of our duty of redeeming the world in union with the Lord Jesus, and is of purely academic interest in the literal meaning of the term.
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Ed,
In the science of reconstructing the original text of any document, the number of manuscripts is not what is important. Any mistake or alteration in a manuscript will be repeated in all copies made from it. For this reason versions are grouped in a sort of genealogy, and studied to discover which version is anterior to the others. So a reading from a late copy of a reliable source is better than a number of copies of a flawed version. This principle applies also to Biblical texts.
However, the question of whether the author of Revelation originally put this or that number is of mind-boggling unimportance in the matter of our duty of redeeming the world in union with the Lord Jesus, and is of purely academic interest in the literal meaning of the term. I know. But it is all so funny. Ed
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It is very difficult for a laymen to approach scribal errors with any confidence. The matter is best left to the judgments of experts.
Terry
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