How We Got Bible

7/31/2019 How We Got Bible

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HowWeGot

...theBible

Charlie Brackett

Clarion Word Publishingwww.clarionword.com


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How We Got the Bible


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HowWeGottheBible

A.TheBible 1.Auniquebook.

a. TheBibleisthemostamazingbookofallhistory.

b. Untoldyearsofeffortandcarewentintoproducing

copiesaccurately,preservingtheoriginaltextand

verifyingcopies. c. Translatedintomanylanguages,theBiblecontinues

tobethetopsellingbookeachyear.

2.Manybooksinone.

a. TheBibleiscalledtheBookofbooks.

b. Composedofmanybooksatotalof66.

1) 39booksintheOldTestament.

2) 27booksintheNewTestament.

3.TwosectionscalledTestamentsorCovenants.

a. ThemessageoftheBibleislargelypresentedwithin

theframeworkofthesetwocovenants.

b. Theyarereferredtointernallyandexternallyasthe

OldandNewCovenants.

c. Itisfundamentalthattheoldwasreplacedbythenew.

Hebrews8:7-13 4.TheBiblecoversthreeperiodsofdivinegovernment.

a. Patriarchal-fromthebeginningofcreationtothe

givingoftheLawofMosesonMountSinai.

b. Mosaical-fromgivingoftheLawofMosestothe

deathofChristonthecross.

c. Christian-fromthedeathofChristuntilChrist

returns.Referredtoinscriptureasthe last days.Acts2:17;Hebrews1:2


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5.ThemeoftheBible

TheBiblestory,takenasawhole,tellsofGodcreating

mankindandhishabitationforthepurposeofmankindbeinglovedbyGodand,inturn,lovingandglorifying

God.MansinnedthusfailingtoloveGod.ButGod,

beingcompassionateandforgiving,gaveHisonlySon

as payment in sacrice for the sins of man so that anyone

whorepentsandobeysGodcan,throughChrist,be

saved,reconciledwithGod,andcanattaintotheimage

andpresenceofGodthroughouteternity.TheBibletells

ofmansredemptionfrombeginningtoend:

a. Gods purposeforit,

b. Hisplanningofit,

c. HispromisesregardingittoAbrahamandhis

descendants,

d. the prophesyingofitbyholyprophetsthroughout

centuries,

e. nal preparationforitsdeliverance, f. perfectionofitinthelifeanddeathofJesus,and

g. perpetuationofthewonderfulprovisionsof

redemptiondownthroughtheagestoourtime.

6.ReliabilityofBiblicaltext

a. Manytodayaskif,throughallthecopiesand

theagesseparatingusfromtheoriginalwriters,

theaccuracyoftheBible,particularlytheNewTestament,waspreserved.Itisagoodquestion.

b. ItislogicalthatthesameGodwhowrotetheBible

alsopreservedit.

1) Cantherebeanydoubtthattheintelligence,

wisdomandpowerwhichproducedtheBible

isablealsotosafeguarditfromchangeor

destructionanddeliveritintacttosucceeding

generations.


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2) Godnotonlycould,buthewantedtokeepHis

wordintactforthesamereasonsHewantedto

communicate to man in the rst place. 3) AllowingHismessagetobedestroyedor

tamperedwithinanywaywoulddefeatGods

purposeforthecreationofmanand,therefore,

theuniverse.GivenwhattheBiblesaysabout

whoGodis,HispowerandHiswisdom,this

possibilityisunthinkable.

c. GodsclaimsaboutHiswordnecessitatedthatHe

protectituntilnow.

1) TheBibleclaimsitwillendureforeverthus

implyingenduranceinoriginalform.Byclaiming

HiswordwilllastforeverGodwouldhaveto

takewhateverstepsneededtoassurethatnoone

destroyedit.Mark13:31;1Peter1:23,25

2) ByclaimingHiswordisperfectGodobligated

Himselftoprotectitfromtampering.Proverbs30:5;James1:25;1Peter2:2;Deuteronomy4:2;

12:32;Revelation22:18,19

3) By claiming His word is all-sufcient God

obligatedHimselftopreserveittodothework

forwhichHeclaimednothingelsewasneeded.

2Timothy3:17;Jude3

d. SecularrecordsindicatethatGodis,infact,

preservingHisword.

1) Despiteattemptsthroughouthistorytoeliminate

the Bible and its inuence, the Bible continues to

inuence the world today.

2) Sinceoriginaldocumentsarenotavailabletous

today,howreliablearethecopieswehave?

a) Thereisatremendousamountofevidence

substantiatingreliabilityofourBibleversions;alittleofthiswillbepresentedlaterunderthe


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separateheadingsofOldandNewTestament

reliabilitytoshowthattheBibleistrustworthy.

b) There are three basic principles used in the eldofhistoriographyfortestinghistoricalreliability

ofancientwritings.

(1)Thebibliographicaltest.

(2)Theinternaltest.

(3)Theexternaltest.

c) ThebibliographicaltestaloneshowstheBible

messagetohavebeentransmittedthrough

manuscriptcopiestoourtimewithno

consequentialchange.

3) Otherancientdocuments,comparedtotheBible,

havesurprisinglylittleevidencetosupportthe

authenticityofthecopiesnowinourpossession,yet

weacceptthemwithoutquestion.Basedoncurrent

evidence,nootherancientliteratureisnearlyas

trustworthyastheBible.

B.OldCovenant. 1.Language

a. TheOldTestamentwaswrittenintwolanguages:

HebrewandAramaic,neitherdeadtoday.

1)IsraelspeaksHebrew.

2)AramaicisspokensomeinSyria.

b.Hebrew 1)AfamilyoflanguagescalledSemitic.

2)VerydifferentfromtheEnglishlanguage.

a) Twenty-twocharactersintheHebrewalphabet.

Eachoftwenty-twostanzasinPsalm19begins

withadifferentHebrewletter.

b) Charactersarealldifferent,butitishardtotell

someapart.

c) Novowels(theywereaddedlaterfor

convenience).


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d) Thelettersarewrittenbackwards,fromrightto

left.

3) MostalloftheOldCovenantiswritteninHebrew. c. Aramaic.

1)SomeoftheOldTestamentiswritteninAramaic.

a) OneverseinJeremiah(10:11)

b) SixchaptersinDaniel(2:4b-7:28)

c) SeveralchaptersinEzra.

2)Thelettersdontappearanydifferentthanthosein

Hebrew.

2.OldTestamentcanon

a. Denition ofcanon.

1) FromtheGreekkanonmeaninga measuring rod, a

level,ora ruler.

2) Itwasalsousedtomeanalistorindexthusreferring

tothelistofbookswhicharerecognizedas

Scripture.

3) Thecanonicityofabookisnotthesameasitsauthority.

a) BooksoftheBibleshouldnotbeconsidered

authoritativebecausetheywereincludedon

somelistbyachurchcouncil.

b) Actually,bookswereincludedinacanon

becausetheywereauthoritative.

c) ThepronouncementsinBiblebookswereauthoritativelongbeforetheywereevenwritten

down.ConsiderExodus24:7and1Corinthians

14:37

d) Nocouncileverselectedbookstobeincluded

inacanon,butratheronlyrecognizedas

canonicalthosebookswhichhadcrushedoutall

oppositionbytheirweightandworthingeneral

use.

b. TheHebrewversion,accordingtoJosephus,had

twenty-twobooksinthreegroups.


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1)FiveofLaw-GenesisthroughDeuteronomy.

2)ThirteenProphets-

a) Former-Joshua,Judges(includingRuth),SamuelandKings.

b) Latter-Job,Isaiah,Jeremiah(including

Lamentations),Ezekiel,Esther,Daniel,Ezra/

Nehemiah,Chronicles,andTheTwelve.

3)FourWritings-Psalms,Proverbs,SongofSolomon,

Ecclesiastes.

c. Ourversionhaspreciselythesametextastheearly

Jewishcanon,butwithdifferentbookdivisions.Now

weseparateMinorProphetsintotwelvebooksand

dividesomeothersdifferently.

1)FiveofLaw-GenesisthroughDeuteronomy.

2)TwelveofHistory-JoshuathroughEsther.

3)FiveofPoetry-PsalmthroughSongofSolomon.

4)FiveMajorProphets-IsaiahthroughDaniel.

5)TwelveMinorProphets-HoseathroughMalachi. d. TheCatholicBibleaddsadditionalbookscalledthe

apocrypha(Greek,apokruphos)meaninghiddenor

concealed.Thisreferstothefactthattheiroriginwas

doubtfulorunknown.

1) Totaloffourteenindividualbooksandadditionsto

thethirty-nineOldTestamentbookswehave.

I Esdras

II Esdras

Tobit

Judith

The Wisdom of Solomon

Ecclesiasticus,orSirach

Baruch

Susanna,addedasthe13thchapterofDaniel

Bel and the Dragon,14thchapterofDaniel Additionsto Esther

Song of Three Hebrew ChildrenafterDaniel3:23


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Prayer of Manasseh

I Maccabees

II Maccabees 2) MostwerewritteninGreek,someinHebrew:

Tobit, Judith, Sirach,Baruch(partprobablyin

Greek),and I Maccabees.

3) Allwrittenbetween200BCand100AD,during

thesilentperiodbetweenthebookofMalachiin

theOldTestamentandMatthewintheNew.

a) OldestisSirach(190-170BC)

b) PartsofIIEsdraswereprobablywrittenaslate

as100AD.

4) Christandtheapostlesneverquotedthemthough

hundredsoftimestheyquotedandreferredtomost

ofthetwenty-twobooksofJewishcanon.

5) Writersoftheapocryphafrequentlyquotedfrom

OldTestamentscriptures,butofcourse,nowhere

didOldTestamentwritersmentiontheapocrypha. 6) Earlysecularwritersdidnotrecognizethe

apocryphaasinspired.

a) TheJewishhistorianJosephus(AD30-100)

explicitlyexcludedthemclaimingthere

wereonlytwenty-twoinspiredbooksinthe

OldTestament.Heneverquotedfromthe

apocrypha.

b) TheAlexandrianJewishphilosopherPhilo(20

BC-40AD)frequentlyquotedfromtheOld

Testamentandrecognizeditsthreedivisions,

butneverfromtheapocryphaasinspired.

c) Manyearlychurchfathers-Origen,Cyril

ofJerusalem,Athanasius-spokeagainstthe

apocrypha.

d) Jerome(340-420),scholarandtranslatoroftheVulgate,rejectedtheapocryphaaspart

ofthecanon.HedisputedwithAugustineon


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this point, at rst refusing to translate them

intoLatin.Laterhehurriedlytranslatedafew.

OnlyafterhisdeathweretheybroughtintohisLatinVulgate.

7) No canon or council for the rst four centuries

recognizedtheapocryphaasinspired.Theywere

actuallyrejectedbyJewishscholarsattheircouncil

ofJamnia(AD90).

8) Manylaterscholarsrejectedtheirinspiration.

a) ManyRomanCatholicscholarsthroughthe

Reformationperiodrejectedthem.

b) MartinLutherandthereformersgenerally

rejectedthem.

9) FinallyacceptedintothecanonbytheRoman

CatholicChurchattheCouncilofTrentin1546.

e. The Jewish Septuagint version conrms our Old

Testamentcanon.

1) TheSeptuagintwasaGreektranslationofHebrewscripture rst done in the reign of Ptolemy

PhiladelphiaofEgypt(285-246BC).

a) Jewswhohadsettledinvariouspartsofthe

worldneededacopyofscriptureinGreek,the

common,universallanguageoftheday,since

manysecond,third,andlatergenerationJews

couldnotspeakHebrew.

b) Septuagintmeansseventy(usuallyreferred

tobyRomannumeralsLXX,butnowthis

designationofthetranslationisbeingreplaced

bythetermsThe Old Testament in Greekand

The Alexandrian Version).

c) Traditionssays:

(1) Ptolemywasresponsiblefordevelopment

ofagreatlibraryatAlexandria,Egypt,with world class cultural signicance.


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(2) InterestinHebrewlawmotivatedPtolemy

toarrangefortranslationwithEleazer,the

JewishhighpriestatJerusalem. (3) Sixelderswerechosenfromeachof

twelvetribesofIsrael(72total)todothe

translation.

(4) The Pentateuch (ve books of law by

Moses)wastranslatedtoGreekin72

days,translatorsworkingindependently

andtheirtranslationsbeingcomparedfor

accuracyattheconclusionofthework.

d) Later,therestofthetwenty-twobooksof

JewishscriptureweretranslatedintoGreek

formingtheSeptuagintversioninuseatthe

timeofJesusandtheapostles.(Fromthe

prologueofSirachitisgenerallyunderstood

thatAlexandrianJewshadaGreekversion

oftheLaw,theProphets,andtherestofthebooksbytheyear132BC,orcertainlybyas

lateas100BC.)

e) Booksoftheapocryphawerelateraddedto

theSeptuagintbytheJews(2ndcentury),but

thisadditionwasafterJesususeoftheearlier

version had conrmed its completeness.

2) Jesusandtheapostlesoftenquotedfromthe

Septuagint.

3) JesusreferredtothecompleteOldTestamentcanon

bycitingitsthreedivisionsinLuke24:44.

4) Jesus conrmed completeness of the Jewish canon

inMatthew23:35.

a) HespokeofthebloodofrighteousAbel

(Genesis4:8)tothebloodofZechariah(2

Chronicles24:20-21).b) The rst book in the Jewish canon was Genesis

andthelastwas2Chronicles.


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c) Jesusstatementislikeoursaying,From

Genesis (rst book of the Old Testament) to

Malachi(lastbookoftheOldTestament). d) ThusJesusrecognizedthethencurrentJewish

canon (rst book to last) as the complete

collectionofoldscriptures.

3.OldTestamentManuscripts

a. CairoCodex(AD895)isintheBritishMuseum.Itwas

producedbytheMassoreticMosesbenAsherfamily

andcontainstheprophets. b. CodexoftheProphetsofLeningrad(AD916)includes

Isaiah,Jeremiah,Ezekielandthetwelveminor

prophets.

c. CodexBabylonicusPetropalitanus(AD1008)in

LeningradistheoldestcompleteOldTestament

manuscript.

d. AleppoCodex(AD900+),oncethoughtlost,was

rediscoveredin1958. e. BritishMuseumCodex(AD950)containspartof

GenesisthroughDeuteronomy.

f. ReuchlinCodexoftheProphets(AD1150).Textwas

preparedbyMassoretebenNaphtali.

4.ReliabilityofOldTestamenttext

a. FindsamongtheDeadSeaScrollsshowtheaccuracy

oflaterMassoretictexts. 1) TheIsaiahAscrollisthecompleteHebrewtext

ofIsaiahdatedabout125BCwhichprovesthe

accuracyoftheMassoreticcopyofIsaiahmadein

916AD,over1,000yearslater!

2) TheIsaiahBscroll,anincompletecopyof

IsaiahfoundamongtheDeadSeaScrolls,further

substantiatesthisaccuracy.


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b. TheSeptuagint,orLXX,isveryclosetothe

MassoreticTextof916ADthusestablishingreliability

oftheMassoreticcopy1,300yearslater. c. SamaritanText(5thcenturyBC).Variationsbetween

theSamaritanPentateuchandtheMassoreticcopy

of 916 AD are insignicant compared with points of

agreement.

d. TheTargums.Theseworkswereparaphrasesofthe

OldTestament,whichappearedinwrittenformabout

500AD,andprovethattheHebrewtextatthetime

oftheTargumswassubstantiallythesameasourOld

Testamenttexttoday.

e. TheMishnah(AD200),acollectionofJewish

traditionsandexplanationsofthelaw,werewritten

inHebrewandoftenregardedastheSecondLaw.

Thequotationstheycontainareverysimilartothe

Massoretictextof916AD.

f. TheGemaris(AD200-AD500)arecommentariesoftheOldTestamentwritteninAramaicwhichsupport

Massoreticreliability.

g.TheMidrash(100BC-300AD),doctrinalstudies

oftheOldTestamentHebrewtext,aresubstantially

Massoretic.

h.Othersecularworks.Manyotherwritingsshowby

theirquotationsandreferencestotheOldTestament

thatthetextinuseduringtheyearsAD40-254was

quitesimilartotheMassoretic.

C.NewCovenant 1.Language

a. TheNewTestamentwaswrittenintwolanguages.

b.Aramaicwasthetongueofthecommonmanin

Palestineafter500BC.

1) Jesusandtheearlydisciplesprobablynormally

spokeinAramaic.


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a) Mark5:41

b) Mark7:31

c) Matt27:46 2) ThereareseveralindicationsthatearlyChristians

usedthelanguage.

a) AbbaisAramaicforFather.Romans8:15;

Galatians4:6

b) Our Lord comewasprobablyacommon

expressionintheearlychurch.1Cor.16:22

3) Aramaiccontinuestobespokensometodayin

Syria.

c. Greek.

1) MostoftheNewTestamentwaswrittenin

Hellenistic(Koine,orcommon)Greek.

2) Nolanguageinhistorywasmoreabletogetthe

gospelmessagetoalltheworld.

3) TodayGreekisspokenbymillions,thoughKoine

Greekisnolongerused. 2.NewTestamentcanon

a. During the rst period of their usage, New Testament

bookswerenotinacollection.

1) Duringtheyearsofwritingmuchteachingwas

doneorally.

a) Becausedirect,divineinspirationwouldnot

last(1Corinthians13:8-10)themessagewaswrittendownbydivinemenunderguidanceof

theHolySpiritsothatlatergenerationswould

havethesameteachingasthosewholivedwith

theapostles.1Corinthians2:10-13;2Peter

1:19-21;Ephesians3:3-5

b) TheNewTestamentmessagebegantobe

writtenabouttwentyyearsafterJesusascended

to the Father and was completed in forty-ve

yearsorless.


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2) Earlyletterswerepassedaround.Colossians1:16;

1Thessalonians5:27

3) Theprocessofcollectingbooksmayhavebegunearly.2Peter3:15,16

a) ExternalevidenceindicatesearlyChristianshad

thenumberofdistinctbookswenowhaveand

mayhavedividedthemintothreegroups:

(1) Fivebooksofhistory-GospelsandActs.

(2) Twenty-oneofdoctrine-RomanstoJude.

(3) Oneofprophecy-Revelation.

b) Thecollectingofbookswasprobably

completedbythe2ndor3rdcentury.Another

methodofgroupingthemwas:

(1) Book1-LettersofPaul

(2) Book2-Fourgospelaccounts

(3) Book3-Thegeneralepistles

(4) Book4-TheRevelation

b. Afteralltwenty-sevenwerewritten,earlywritersfrequentlyappealedtotheauthorityoftheNew

Testament(Examples:JustintheMartyr,Irenaeus,

Origen)

c. Variouslistsofbooksbelievedtobeinspiredexist

fromthe2ndtothe4thcenturies.

1) Therewashardlyanyquestionthenregarding

inspirationoftwentyofthetwenty-sevenbooks.

2) Somequestionswereraisedaboutseven.

3) Butforalmosttwomillenniumtoourtime,the

vastmajorityofscholarshaveacceptedallofthe

twenty-seven.

d. Churchcouncilshaveagreedaboutthecanonofour

twenty-sevenbooks.

1) CouncilatHippoRegius,NorthAfrica,393AD.

2) CouncilatCarthage,NorthAfrica,in397.e. Today we divide the same twenty-seven books into ve

groups:


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1) FourGospels-MatthewthroughJohn.

2) OneofHistory-Acts;thebeginningofthechurch.

(AcontinuationofLuke,beingbythesameauthor.)

3) FourteenSpecialLetters-Romansthrough

Hebrews.

4) SevenGeneralLetters-JamesthroughJude.

5) OneofProphecy-Revelation.

Note: InearlyGreekmanuscriptsthegeneralletters

werefoundfollowingActsandbeforePauls

letters.

3.EarlyNewTestamentManuscripts

a. JohnRylandsMS(manuscript)(130AD)islocatedin

theJohnRylandsLibraryofManchester,England,and

istheoldestextantfragmentoftheNewTestament.

b. BodmerPapyrusII(150-200AD)islocatedinthe

BodmerLibraryofWorldLiteratureandcontainsmost

ofJohn. c. ChesterBeattyPapyri(200AD)isacollectionof

papyruscodices,threecontainingmajorportionsof

theNewTestament.Thiscollection(partlyownedby

theUniversityofMichigan)ishousedintheChester

BeattyMuseuminDublin.Thesedocumentsbring

ussoclosetothedatesoforiginalNewTestament

writingsthattheyallbuteliminateanyquestionabouttheauthenticityofmoderncopies.

d. CodexVaticanus(325-350AD)intheVaticanLibrary

containsnearlyalltheBible.

e. CodexSinaiticus(350AD)intheBritishMuseum

containsalmostalltheNewTestamentandoverhalfof

theOld.

f. CodexAlexandrinus(400AD),writteninGreek,

containsalmosttheentireBible.Itishousedinthe

BritishMuseum.


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g. CodexEphraemi(400sAD)isintheBibleotheque

Nationale,Paris.EveryNewTestamentbookis

representedexcept2Thessaloniansand2John. h.CodexBezae(450AD+)isintheCambridgeLibrary

andcontainstheGospelsandActsinbothLatinand

Greek.

i. CodexWashingtonensis(about450AD)containsthe

fourGospels.

j. CodexClaromontanus(500sAD),abilingual

manuscript,containsthelettersofPaul.

4.NewTestamentReliability

a. Manuscriptevidence.Thereisfarmoremanuscript

evidencefortheNewTestamentthananyotherbody

ofancientliterature.

b. Therearemorethan5,300knownGreekmanuscripts,

10,000LatinVulgateandatleast9,300otherearly

versionstotallingmorethan24,000manuscriptcopies

ofportionsoftheNewTestamentinexistencetoday. c. Theearliestextantmanuscriptsofanysubstanceare

ofthe4thcentury-about250to300yearsafterthe

originalwritings.

1)Bycomparison,thechartonthenextpageshows

similardataonotherworksofantiquitywhose

reliabilityisgenerallynotquestioned.

2)NootherancientwritinghasasmanysupportingdocumentsverifyingauthenticityasdoestheNew

Testament.

d. IstheNewTestamentrelevanttoday?

1)Yes,byitsclaimtoall sufciency.

2)Yes,byitsclaimtobeeverlasting.

3)Yes,byitsclaimtobethe word of the only, all-wise

Creator.


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Literary Works of Antiquity Compared

(ChartfromEvidence That Demands a Verdict,p.42)

Date Earliest Time No.of

Written Copy Span Copies

HomersIliad 900BC 400BC 500yrs 643

CaesarsGallic Wars 58-50BC 850AD 900yrs 9-10

LivysRoman History59BC-17AD 4thCentury 20

(Only35of142booksremain)

PlatosTetralogies 427-347BC 900AD 1,200yrs 7

Sophocles 496-406BC 1,000AD 1,400yrs 193

Aristotle 384-322BC 1,100AD 1,400yrs 10

New Testament 40-96AD 125AD25-85yrs 24,000+

(All27booksareintact)

4) Yes,byitsclaimthatGodhas in these last days

spoken to us byHis Son.Hebrews1:1,2

a) ItisGodswordforourtime;thesearethelast

days.

b) ThereisnohigherauthoritytotellthisgenerationhowtolivethantheSon,Jesus

Christ,speakingfortheFather.

D.Conclusions

1.TodaysBibleistrustworthy.

Thereisanoverwhelmingamountofevidencethat

moderncopiesofthetextofGodswordareauthentic.

2.Theaccuracyofnootherancientbookissowell

attested.

If,afterreviewingtheevidence,wecannotacceptthe

authenticityofeithertheOldorNewTestament,thenwe

mustrejectaswelltheauthenticityofeveryotherancient

writingknowntoman.

3. WhatwehavetodayisthetruewordofGod.

AsSirFredericKenyonsaidinhisbookOur Bible andthe Ancient Manuscripts,...theChristiancantakethe


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wholeBibleinhishandandsaywithoutfearorhesitation

thatheholdsinitthetrueWordofGod,handeddown

withoutessentiallossfromgenerationtogenerationthroughoutthecenturies.

Bibliography

The Holy Bible,TheNewKingJamesVersion,Thomas

NelsonPublishers,Nashville,Tennessee,1988

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia,editedby

JamesOrr,WilliamB.EerdmansPublishingCo.,GrandRapids,

Michigan,1939

Evidence That Demands a Verdict, Volume I,JoshMcDowell,

HeresLifePublishers,Inc.,SanBernardino,Calif.,1989

Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts,SirFredericG.

Kenyon,Harper&Brothers,NewYork,N.Y.,1941

Charlie Brackett

[email protected]


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How We Got Bible