…the Torah, held to be the most ancient of histories,
existeth today in three separate versions: the Hebrew, considered authentic by
the Jews and the Protestant clergy; the Greek Septuagint, which is used as
authoritative in the Greek and other Eastern churches; and the Samaritan Torah,
the standard authority for that people. These three versions differ greatly,
one from another, even with regard to the lifetimes of the most celebrated
figures.
In the Hebrew Torah, it is recorded that from Noah’s flood until
the birth of Abraham there was an interval of two hundred and ninety-two years.
In the Greek, that time-span is given as one thousand and seventy-two years,
while in the Samaritan, the recorded span is nine hundred and forty-two years…
Refer to the commentary by Henry Westcott, for tables are supplied therein
which show the discrepancies among the three Torahs as to the birthdates of a
number of the descendants of Shem, and thou wilt see how greatly the versions
differ one from another.
Moreover, according to the text of the Hebrew Torah, from
the creation of Adam until Noah’s flood the elapsed time is recorded as one
thousand six hundred and fifty-six years, while in the Greek Torah the interval
is given as two thousand two hundred and sixty-two years, and in the Samaritan
text, the same period is said to have lasted one thousand three hundred and
seven years.
Reflect thou now over the discrepancies among these three
Torahs. The case is indeed surprising. The Jews and Protestants belittle the
Greek Torah, while to the Greeks, the Hebrew version is spurious, and the
Samaritans deny both the Hebrew and the Greek versions.
Our purpose is to show that even in Scriptural history, the
most outstanding of all histories, there are contradictions as to the time when
the great ones lived, let alone as to dates related to others.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a Tablet, New resources available at Online Baha’i Reference Library of
the Baha’i World Center)
