Why does Nehemiah 7:68 omit the number of camels in some Bible translations? Context and Parallel Passage Nehemiah 7 rehearses the same census that appears in Ezra 2. Ezra 2:66-67 reads: “Their horses were 736, their mules 245, their camels 435, and their donkeys 6,720.” The Masoretic Text of Nehemiah 7:68-69 mirrors that: “Their horses were 736, their mules 245, their camels 435, and their donkeys 6,720.” Because the verses are virtually identical, copyists sometimes blended, skipped, or rearranged lines when reproducing Nehemiah, creating small textual variations that show up in later translations. Why Some English Versions Omit the Camel Number • If a translation’s base text follows the main Masoretic tradition (e.g., KJV, ESV, NASB, CSB), it prints the camel figure. • When translators lean on a critical eclectic text (e.g., older RSV editions, some niche study Bibles) whose editors suspected harmonization with Ezra 2, they occasionally bracket or drop the phrase “their camels 435,” reasoning that a scribe’s eye skipped from “mules 245” to “donkeys 6,720” (haplography) and the omission was later “corrected” by copying Ezra verbatim. A few translators therefore leave the verse without the camel number or relocate it to a footnote, explaining the textual uncertainty. • Because modern verse numbers follow the Masoretic layout, removing the phrase shortens the verse, producing an apparent blank in the main line of text—hence the impression that “Nehemiah 7:68 omits the camels.” Text-Critical Assessment 1. External evidence—overwhelmingly favors including “camels 435.” The oldest complete Hebrew codices and the bulk of ancient versions agree. 2. Internal evidence—omitting the camels makes Nehemiah’s list differ from Ezra’s, even though Nehemiah cites the record as a direct copy (Nehemiah 7:5). Normal scribal tendencies favor accidental omission, not invention, so the longer reading explains both forms: a careless scribe skipped a line; a later corrector restored it from Ezra. 3. Result—virtually all conservative Hebrew scholars accept the camel figure as authentic; critical editions (BHS, BHQ) print it in the main text. Theological Implications Leaving out 435 camels neither alters doctrine nor undermines inerrancy. The minor variation reflects normal transmission processes God sovereignly superintended so that, through the total manuscript witness, the original wording remains identifiable. As Jesus declared, “Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). Textual criticism simply recovers what the prophets actually wrote; it does not create new Scripture. How Modern Committees Decide • Committees such as the UBS and NA place readings in grades (A–D). Nehemiah 7:68 receives an “A” rating for the longer reading because of manuscript weight and coherence with Ezra 2. • Translators then decide whether to reflect that consensus in the body text or to note alternatives in footnotes. Hence some English Bibles retain the number explicitly, others footnote it, a handful omit it in the main line but insert a marginal note like “Many manuscripts add 435 camels.” Conclusion The apparent omission of camels in certain English translations of Nehemiah 7:68 arises from differences in the underlying Hebrew manuscripts those versions chose to follow. The preponderance of evidence—including the Masoretic tradition, most ancient versions, and the internal harmony with Ezra 2—supports the reading “their camels 435.” Therefore, conservative editions (including the Berean Standard Bible) rightly print the figure. Where modern editors do omit or bracket the number, it is a translational, not canonical, decision; the inspired text itself consistently records that the returning exiles possessed 435 camels. |
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