Why We Have Over 99.9999999% of the Original Five Books of the Bible

The most conservative Orthodox Jews believe that the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, was dictated by God to Moses, letter-by-letter. Not all Jewish traditions are as conservative as the Orthodox, but all authentic Torah scrolls are identical and must meet certain guidelines.

The Midrash (in Devarim Rabba 9:9) states that Moses wrote out 13 Torah scrolls and gave one to the leader of each tribe. The 13^th scroll was placed in the Ark of the Covenant. All the other 12 scrolls were checked letter-by-letter against the Temple Scroll. Modern Torah Scrolls are still checked in this way.

Modern Torah Scrolls are hand-copied from a previously approved scroll by a certified scribe. The process takes about 2000 hours. If even one error is found in the copy or if the fabric of the Torah is physically damaged in any way, the scroll is placed in a blessed container and buried in a Jewish cemetery near the grave of a Torah scholar.

The hand-copied scroll is checked against strict requirements and must be discarded for failing to meet any of the standards. The guidelines include:

1. The scroll is discarded if one letter is added.

2. The scroll is discarded if one letter is missing.

3. The scribe must be certified after special training.

4. The parchment, quill pen, and ink, must meet special requirements.

5. The text must be copied letter-by-letter, not written from memory.

6. Before writing down each word, the scribe must say it out loud.

7. The entire scroll is discarded if any part of a letter touches any part of another letter.

8. Every letter must be legible or the entire scroll must be discarded.

9. There must be a precise spacing between each letter and those around it.

10.          There are required line-lengths and paragraph formats.

11.         If any mistake cannot be corrected without damaging the scroll, it must be buried.

12.         The scroll must contain 304,805 letters.

13.         The parchment is prepared from the skin of a kosher animal. Panels of parchment are sewn together to form one continuous scroll.

The Yemenite Torah scrolls contain the only nine known letter variations, all of which are spelling differences. None change the meaning of the text.

 

https://aish.com/48969731/#:~:text=For%20example%2C%20the%20destruction%20of,thousands%20of%20years%20are%20remarkable!