Hebrew scriptures are more accurate then the NT?

Question

In Judaism, the newer a copy of the Torah is the more valuable and therefore considered more accurate.
For NT believers, the older a translation is the more accurate it is.

Answer 1

As I explained in answer to your other question re: Muslim criticism of the OT and NT, the OT was copied using an incredibly ingenious process known as the Masoretic system (look it up on Wikipedia). While there are some transcription errors (such as the age of Ahaziah when he ascended the throne -- was it 22 as in 2 Kings 8:26, or was it 42 as in 2 Chronicles 22:2?), they are very few indeed.

I've never heard that a newer copy of the Tanakh would be considered more accurate. You are correct about the feeling that the older the copy of the NT, the better.

Avoid the Latin Vulgate, as was suggested by another answerer. It is based on a translation of a translation of a translation (Greek to Latin to English). Lots more errors and lost or confused meanings occur in a NT based on the LV.

Peace.

Answer 2

I beleive you misunderstand Judaism's view on the matter.

Judaism's view is that the only text that really matters is the original Hebrew text. Any transalation is just that... a translation. Thus, a translation is never considered more accurate or more faithful than the original Hebrew text. This is quite logical.

It is the traditional view that the hebrew text has been preserved throughout the millenia. Thus, a translation is viewed as either a "good one" or a "not so good one" depending on how faithful it is and rendering the original text and meaning into another language.

There are some Christian groups that are really hung up on translations, feeling that their version is G-d's given truth (e.g. there are those who feel that way about the KJV or the Septanguint) to the exclusion of anything else. Then again, there are other Christians who are not like that at all, who do not have the hangups on translations.

Answer 3

None of the original texts exist today. They are all copies of copies. For this reason, along with early scribes having to copy by hand, the Church has determined the St. Jerome translation to the Latin Vulgate to be more accurate and faithful to the now lost original scrolls. Since he did his work about 1600 years ago he also had most of the originals available to work from.

There are modern Hebrew and Greek texts available today. However, there seems to be variations even between a given Hebrew or Greek text and another Hebrew or Greek Text. These types of variations do not exist between various copies of the Latin Vulgate.

The most accurate and faithful rendition of Holy Scripture available to us today comes from the Latin Vulgate and it's faithful English translation from the late 1500s, the Douay-Rheims Bible.