that a certain king once commissioned seventy-two of their rabbis to reproduce the Torah and then checked some of those copies against others. Even if this story were accepted as true, it still would not rule out the possibility that mistakes had already found their way into some of its wording—unless it could be proven that the text was taken directly from an infallible prophet or that an infallible prophet had endorsed every single word of it.

Whatever an infallible prophet has uttered is true, and whatever is established through uninterrupted mass transmission is likewise true.

Those who maintain that alterations touched some of its wording in that earlier period admit that the book was neither taken from an infallible prophet nor transmitted by tawatur.

By contrast, the Muslims and People of the Book who dispute that view say, “It was taken from ʿUzayr, and he was an infallible prophet.” In this matter both the claimant and the objector alike must present solid proof.

Should the Christians argue, “The Messiah—peace be upon him—approved it,” the reply is: the Messiah—peace be upon him—could not even compel them to discharge what God had made obligatory upon them—namely, to believe in him and obey him. How, then, could he have altered the many copies of the Torah in their possession, at a time when they were intent on killing and crucifying him, deeming him powerless and weak? They crucified someone made to resemble him, as the Muslims say, or crucified him himself, as the Christians claim. How, then, could he possibly have corrected whatever had been altered in it?

As for those who came after the Messiah, none of them is infallible, and the Messiah altered some