Layers of Redaction
By W.R. Selvig
Most Christians grow up believing the Old Testament is a flawless, untouchable book — every word exactly as God intended, preserved perfectly from the moment it was written. But have you ever stopped to ask yourself why you believe that?
Was it because you studied the evidence for yourself? Or was it because you were told never to question it?
If your only reason is “that’s what I was taught,” then it’s time to wake up.
The Reality of Redaction
Scholars across the board — conservative and liberal alike — agree that the Hebrew Scriptures went through layers of theological editing. We see it in the evidence:
- The Dead Sea Scrolls show readings that don’t match the later Masoretic Text.
- The Septuagint (Greek translation) preserves a Divine Council worldview where El Elyon divided the nations among His sons (Deut. 32:8–9).
- Later scribes, especially after the exile, redacted those references. They systematically flattened divine plurality into a “Yahweh-only” monotheism.
These weren’t sloppy copy mistakes. They were theologically motivated revisions. Yahweh was the patron god of the Jews. The scribes wanted their people to worship Him alone, so they edited the texts to make Yahweh appear supreme. In the process, they erased El Elyon — the One Jesus revealed as Abba.
Why This Matters for Your Faith
These edits aren’t small details. They shape the way you view God. If the Old Testament has been redacted — and the evidence shows it has — then you cannot just assume that every single word as it now stands is God’s direct voice.
Most Christians cling to the idea that “if it’s in the Bible, God intended it to be exactly that way.” But that collapses once you admit what scholars already know: there were insertions, edits, and theological agendas at work in the transmission of these texts.
This doesn’t mean you have to throw out your Bible. It means you must read it with discernment. You must test the voices. As Paul said, “Test everything; hold fast to what is good” (1 Thess. 5:21).
A Hard but Necessary Wake-Up Call
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Jews do not believe what Christians believe. The Hebrew Bible was edited to reflect Jewish theology — not Christian faith in Jesus. When Christians accept the Old Testament without question, as though it perfectly represents the Father Jesus revealed, they are often aligning themselves with those redactions.
That’s why Jesus had to come. He didn’t just repeat the old voices. He said, “You have heard it said … but I say to you.” He unveiled the Father behind the veil of law, fear, and redacted theology.
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Final Thought
If your faith is built on never questioning, then your faith is built on sand. The evidence is there — Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint, textual criticism — and scholars know it. Pretending it doesn’t matter doesn’t protect your faith, it only weakens it.
The real question is: Will you keep believing what you were told not to question? Or will you dare to look through the redactions and see the Father Jesus came to reveal?