One Tittle Shall in No Wise Pass: Destroying the Scholarly Myth that God did not Inspire the Vowels of the Old Testament by Dr. Chester W. Kulus - This book is surely one of the best books, if not the best, on this topic in English and maybe in any language. The author presents an incredibly excellent case for the vowels having been preserved in the Hebrew Scriptures through the ages and he uses Scripture to prove his points.
Kulus begins with explaining that the ‘tittle’ mentioned in Matthew 5:18 and Luke 16:17 is a dot (the smallest Hebrew vowel point) and that when Jesus said that not one tittle shall pass from the law, He meant it (God does not lie according to two passages in the Bible).
The author expands his work by explaining that many scholars are not in agreement about whether the Hebrew vowels were preserved or not. He divides them into three camps, which he calls the autographa position, the accommodation position, and the non-authoritative position. Then he lists scholars from different eras for each position and cites their various positions. This covers approximately 1/4 of the book.
Next Dr. Kulus examines a number of passages from Scripture for the purpose of proving that Scripture is the authority of salvation, judging, for local churches, for Jesus’ life, and for all of faith and practice. Then he compares that with certain groups such as Catholics, Lutherans, and others who do not hold Scripture up as THE ultimate authority.
Then the author examines numerous passages from Scripture for the problematic effect of accepting alternative views for vowel point placement. If the vowel points are not inspired and preserved, then this is what occurs and has occurred. The result is perversion of Scripture and confusion about the authority of Scripture, when the vowel points are not accepted as preserved.
Kulus goes on to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that the tittle is the smallest vowel and the jot is the smallest consonant in the Hebrew language. He quotes a number of scholars from the distant past to the present to build his case. Then he breaks down the Greek words translated as ‘tittle’ and ‘jot’ and demonstrates further proof that they are what he claims them to be.
There is then an analysis of the various objections which have been presented by those who do not believe that the Hebrew vowels are authoritative. He discusses the claims of those who hold out the Dead Sea Scrolls as being the preserved text as well as the synagogue scrolls that are extant. Kulus explains the story of Joab problem, the modern Jewish newpapers, and other unpointed Hebrew documents. Dr. Kulus ably overcomes every objection.
The book is closed with a summary conclusion and with a 28 page bibliography. It was very well researched. This 433 page book was a joy for me to read.
I highly recommend this book for all who are interested in the subject matter. It is probably not a good book for readers who are not at least somewhat familiar with the Hebrew language, but I think most good readers could get the gist of it even if they did not know any Hebrew.
~~~Book Review By Brian Shepherd~~~
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