emendation

An emendation is a correction made to a manuscript.  There are all sorts of motives which would lead a scholar to suggest such a change.  He may believe that his change is a reading more closely aligned with the original text.  He may think his change makes better sense.  Some times emendations are made to support a given theological point or a preconceived understanding of what the text must mean.  Evangelical scholars typically reject emendations as much as possible.  An example is the interpretation of Shiloh in Genesis 49:10 which almost all scholars emend in some fashion.

See also ketiv.

 

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