Very well written and stated, Michael!

I do have to take issue with a couple of your comments (of course!) and that is your use of the term "original manuscript". There are no original manuscripts. The extant MSS we have are copies of copies of copes, perhaps hundreds of generations deep. We need to stop using the term "original" when describing extant MSS.

Also, I disagree with your point that translators do not insert their opinion or bias into the translation. They most certainly do; case in point the "Christianized" (dare I say bastadized) translation of Isaiah 53, Jeremiah 31 and quite a number of Pauline letters have gotten very biased treatment with translating the Hebrew and Greek.

Translation is all too often made as its own form of exegesis via whatever pop-hermeneutic the IBS, ABS, or whichever group has formally adopted.

While I have my pet disagreements with some points in your posts, I enjoy reading your work here on Medium. Very well written!