Have you ever noticed places in the Old Testament where an updated place name occurs? For example, Genesis 23.2 says “And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan” and Judges 1.10 says, “And Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba).” These geographical updates help people who would have been unfamiliar with the old place name understand the Bible. Dr. Peter Gentry argues that this phenomenon occurred throughout the Hebrew Bible’s transmission process where scribes updated not only names, but also antiquated vocabulary that they knew needed to change if their children and grandchildren were going to understand scripture. This is an important counter-argument to the critical theory that assigns late dates to most biblical books on based on what vocabulary they find. See what you think.
About the Speaker:
Dr. Peter Gentry has an expansive knowledge of biblical languages, including both Hebrew and Greek. He served on the faculty of Toronto Baptist Seminary and Bible College for 15 years and taught at the University of Toronto, Heritage Theological Seminary, and Tyndale Theological Seminary before going to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Gentry is the author of many articles and book reviews, and has given presentations to groups, such as the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament and the Society of Biblical Literature, of which he is also a member. He is currently editing Ecclesiastes and Proverbs for the Göttingen Septuagint Series and is giving leadership to the Hexapla Institute. He also authored Kingdom through Covenant with Stephen Wellum. He has just agreed to join the faculty of Phoenix Seminary and participating in the Text and Cannon Institute there.
This video is from the Sacred Words History of the Bible Conference, February 21–22, 2020. Hosted by the Text & Canon Institute.
