Origin of the Bible Outline I. The Name Bible A. Originated with the Egyptians B. Scrolls and books were made from: 1. Papyrus reeds 2. Byblos reeds C. The 2nd Century AD Greeks morphed the Egyptian word byblos to: ta Biblia 1. ta Biblia means the books D. the English language morphed the Greek word ta Biblia to the Bible
II. Inspiration of the Bible A. the Bible is God s book B The Bible tells us it is from God. 1. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that all Scripture is inspired or God breathed 2. God breathed means it is as though the words of Scripture came from Gods own lips 3. The words of Scripture are inspired or God breathed, NOT the writers. 4. The writers are gone, the Scriptures are still with us C. The Holy Spirit is the author of Scripture 1. 2 Peter 1:21 tells us the prophets (human authors) were moved or carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2. 1 Corinthians 2:10 13 tells us the Holy Spirit used the writers to express His spiritual truths in spiritual words.
III. Preservation of the Bible A. Preservation is God s work in making sure His word does not change over time. B. Jesus said in John 10:35 the Scripture can not be broken C. Jesus says in Mark 10:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away but my words will by no means pass away. D. Acts 17:11 tells us that the Bereans searched the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul was teaching was true. The Bereans were using copies of the original Scriptures. E. The fact that the Scriptures have been preserved is demonstrated by the fact that people today are saved by reading/hearing the Bible (Romans 10:17).
IV. Canon of Scripture A. Canon is a word to describe the books that were included into the Bible. 1. From a Hebrew word that means measuring rod 2. Has come to mean rules or standards B. 66 books, 40 different human authors, over a period of about 1500 years. C. Who determined which ancient writings were included? D. God determined which writings through His inspiration. E. Man discovered God s inspired writings
F. First 5 books immediately included & established the first 5 rules 1. They are authoritative direct communication from God. 2. They were written by a prophet or apostle of God 3. They are authentic They tell the truth about God, man 4. They possess the life changing power of God. 5. They were accepted by the people of God. G. The 6th rule is the No Contradiction rule. 1. Any books added could not contradict any books already in the collection.
H. Determining the books in the Bible was a gradual process. I. Pseudepigrapha writings that claimed to be from God but were not. J. Apocrypha Books 1. 14 Old Testament books 2. Limited acceptance 3. Not included in the Hebrew Bible 4. Included in the Catholic Bible 5. Cover the period of time from Malachi to Matthew
V. The original languages of the Bible A. Old Testament written primarily in Hebrew 1. Portions of Daniel, Ezra, and Jeremiah were written in Aramaic. 2. The first Greek translation of OT was called the Septuagint because of 70 translators. a. translated about 250 BC B. The New Testament written in Greek. 1. Greek is the most precise written language ever developed. C. Original manuscripts are called autographs. 1. autographs are not available
D. Two main sets of New Testament manuscripts 1. Total of over 5300 New Testament manuscripts a. Approx 5000 from around the City of Antioch (Turkey) called the Majority Text. b. Approx. 300 from Alexandria (Egypt) called the Alexandrian Text or Minority Text. c. The Alexandrian Text manuscripts are older (closer to the time of Jesus than the Majority Text manuscripts
C. Dynamic equivalent easier to read 1. New International Version 2. New Living Translation VI. Modern English translations A. Descend from: 1. Majority Text a. King James Version b. New King James Version 2. Alexandrian Text a. New International Version b. New American Standard Version c. New Living Translation B. Literal translations more accurate 1. New King James Version 2. New American Standard Version
Origin of the Bible The English word Bible came originally from the name of the papyrus or byblos reed used extensively in ancient times for making scrolls and books. The second century A.D. Greek Christians called their sacred Scriptures ta Biblia, which means, "the Books." This Greek word was later incorporated into Latin and eventually to English as the Bible.
Inspiration The Bible is God s book. God gave us the Bible so we could learn about Him and know how to have a relationship with Him. The Bible itself tells us that it is from God. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that all scripture is inspired by God. Another good translation of 2 Timothy 3:16 states that all Scripture is God breathed. It is as though the words of the Bible came from God s own mouth.
Write 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Peter 1:21 is another verse that tells us that the Bible is from God. The writers of Scripture were actually moved or carried along by the Holy Spirit Write 2 Peter 1:21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
God used the personalities of the men who wrote to get His message across. It is important to realize that it is the Scripture that is inspired by God not the writers. The writers are gone but Scripture (the Bible) remains.
No Errors In John 17:17, Jesus was praying to the Father when He said Your word is truth Hebrews 6:18 tells us that God cannot lie. Since God is perfect, He tells us the truth, and cannot lie, the Bible is without error or inerrant.
Write John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. Write Hebrews 6:18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie
Preservation Preservation of the Scriptures is the process by which God ensured that His word was passed down from generation to generation in a way that it remained suitable for its intended purpose. Jesus tells us in John 10:35 that the Scripture can not be broken. Jesus also tells us in Mathew 5:18 that not one jot or tittle of the law shall pass until it is all fulfilled. Furthermore, in Mark 13:31 Jesus tells us that Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.
The fact that Scripture has been preserved is proved by the fact that many people have been saved by hearing the Bible that we have today. This is verification of Romans 10:17 which states So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Acts 17:11 tells us that the Bereans searched the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul was teaching was the truth. This is a testimony to the preservation of Scripture because we know that the Bereans were reading copies of the Bible.
The Canon of Scripture Canon is a word used to describe how the Bible came to be. Obviously, the books of the Bible had to be put together. There are 66 books written by 40 different human authors over a period of about 1500 years. Who decided what ancient writings made up the Bible as we know it today? Ultimately God, through His inspiration, decided which books were to be included.
The Canon of Scripture Canon is a word to describe the books that were included in the Bible. The actual meaning of the word is comes from a Hebrew word that means measuring rod. Its meaning has been broadened to indicate a standard or norm. The books included in the Bible are said to be in the canon of Scripture
The books that are included in the canon are determined by the inspiration of God. It is a common mistake to think that men decided which ancient writings were included into the Bible. Ultimately God gives divine authority to the writings, and men of God are able to identify it as God s word.
Canonicity is similar to inspiration. Just as the writings, not the writers, were inspired by God, canonicity is determined by God and discovered by man. The five basic rules that validate authentic Scripture show that: 1. They are authoritative they are direct communication from God. etc. 2. They were written by a prophet or apostle of God 3. They are authentic They tell the truth about God, man 4. They possess the life changing power of God. 5. They were accepted by the people of God.
The first five books of the Bible referred to as the Law of Moses were immediately included into the canon of Scripture. These books all contain five principle characteristics or rules. They are authoritative, that is, they have direct communication from God. They were written by Moses, who was a prophet of God. They are authentic They tell the truth about God, man etc. They possess the life changing power of God. They were accepted by the people of God.
These five basic characteristics or rules that apply to the books of the Law are the same five principles that were used to determine the canonicity of the rest of the Bible. When considering some of the books, the rules are not always obvious. In some cases, the rules are implied. The book of Hebrews is a good example. Although the prophetic author of the book of Hebrews is not known, when the other 4 characteristics or rules are considered, prophetic authorship is obvious.
The development of the canon was a gradual process. New books could not be included unless there was no contradiction with the existing canon. This is called the no contradiction rule. These six rules serve as the measuring rod or canon that was used to make up the Bible as we know it today.
The rules served to establish two other categories of writings. First, the Pseudepigrapha, these were writings that claimed to be from God, but everyone was in agreement that they were not, and second, the 14 Old Testament Apocrypha books. The Apocrypha books are books that received limited acceptance. The Apocryphal books have never been included in the Hebrew Bible. They are, however, included in the Catholic Bible. The books in question cover the time period after the close of Malachi and before the Gospel of Matthew.
The Original Languages of the Bible The Old Testament was written primarily in Hebrew. A small portion of the Old Testament was written in Aramaic. Ezra 4:8-6:18; 7:12-26; Jer 10:11; and Dan 2:4-7:28 were written in Aramaic. About 250 years before Jesus; the Old Testament was translated into Greek. This translation of the Old Testament Scriptures was called the Septuagint because of the 70 translators that worked on the project. The Septuagint was the popular Hebrew Bible during the time of Jesus.
The original language of the New Testament was Greek. It is interesting to note that the Greek language is the most precise written language ever developed. This allows us to translate the New Testament Scriptures with great accuracy. Although the original manuscripts are not available, (the original manuscripts are called autographs ) there are approximately 5300 copies of the New Testament manuscripts available today. The majority of these manuscripts (more than 5000), were translated in the area of the ancient city of Antioch which lies in modern day Turkey. Appropriately, these manuscripts are called the Majority Text.
Another group of manuscripts (less than 300) were translated in the area of Alexandria, Egypt. These are called the Minority Text or Alexandrian Text. Due to the dry climate in Egypt, the manuscripts from Alexandria are older (closer to the time of Jesus) than the Majority Text manuscripts
Modern English Translations The modern English translations are descendants of either the Majority Text _or the Alexandrian Text. The first universal English translation of the Bible was commissioned by King James in the early sixteen hundreds. The King James Bible was the official English translation for nearly 400 years. The King James Bible, and its successor, the New King James Version was translated from the Majority Text manuscripts. Because of the longevity of the King James Version, many related study materials were developed in conjunction with it.
The New International Version, The New American Standard Version, as well as The New Living Translation are all descendants of the Alexandrian Text manuscripts. As time passes more study tools are being made available for these translations.
The modern translations were developed with different goals in mind. For example, The New American Standard Version and the New King James Version, the translators goal was to make it as close to a literal translation as possible.
The New International Version and The New Living Translation were designed to be dynamic equivalent translations. Dynamic equivalent means that instead of a word for word translation, it was translated phrase for phrase. This resulted in the New International Version which was written at a seventh grade reading level. On the other hand, the New American Standard and the New King James are more accurate but possibly more difficult to understand.