RE: [TruthTalk] 1 Cor. 10:8

[Slade Henson]

Terry says: Thanks to you also Slade.  I was not aware of the numbers thing that I underlined.  I had always assumed that the Biblical record was meticulously passed down from generation to generation in minute detail.   You are correct in the meticulous passing down of the Text. Please remember that function is FAR MORE important than essence. That's why numbers are estimates. 24,000 died. Did exactly 24,000 die? 3,000? 37,000? Why does the Text tell us 70 elders when there were 72? Why is the Septuagint called LXX and not LXXII? Function... not essence.   An exception: 603,550 men who left Egypt entered the Israeli army. Why so exact? Because it has to be in order to provide proof that the promises of God are true and correct: "Count the stars, Avraham... if you can... for your seed will outnumber them." How many stars could you count if you had access to a clear sky? 600,000 stars, give or take.   Another exception: the number of fish retrieved from "the other side of the boat."   -- slade