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Your Bible

February 13, 2017
Copyright (c), 1994, 1997, 2000 Ronald W. Leigh
Biblical quotations are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

————— Contents ————— A. Description B. Organization and Overview C. Translations D. Multiple Interpretations E. Supposed Contradictions F. Inspiration G. Manuscripts H. Canon and Apocrypha I. Time Line J. Theme and Teachings ———————————————

A. Description of the Bible

1. Brief Description of the Bible

The Bible is an anthology, that is, a collection of writings.  Our English word “bible” comes from an old Latin word “biblia” which simply means books.

Some of these writings (books) are less than one page long and some are scores of pages, but the total volume is quite large — equal to two or three typical encyclopedia volumes.  They were written over a period of more than 1500 years by 36 to 40 different authors.

In general, the Bible focuses on God and mankind.  More specifically, it describes the ancient nation of Israel and its relationship to God, Jesus Christ as both God and man, and the human predicament of sin and alienation from God and God's provision of salvation for mankind.

The Bible is divided into two main parts — the Old Testament and the New Testament.  The Old Testament (which is over three times as long as the New) contains books that deal with a long span of history from the creation of the world through the history of the ancient nation of Israel, up to approximately 400 BC.  It was written mainly in Hebrew.  It contains 39 books in the Protestant Bible and 46 books in the Roman Catholic Bible.  The Bible used by some Eastern Orthodox Churches contains several additional books in its Old Testament beyond the 46 of the Roman Catholic Bible.

The New Testament contains books that focus on a relatively short span of history, covering the life of Jesus Christ and the first few decades of the early Christian church.  The New Testament was written mainly in Greek and contains 27 books.

When the books of the Bible were originally written, they did not contain chapter or verse divisions.  The chapter divisions were added in A.D. 1250.  The verse divisions were added in 1551 for the New Testament and 1560 for the Old Testament.

The Bible is a unique book which has been more widely translated and circulated than any other book.  It has had many defenders as well as many detractors and has generated uncounted debates and commentaries.  If the Bible is merely a human book, it still deserves our attention more than any other book simply because of its widespread and historic influence.  But, the Bible does claim a divine origin.  If it really is a book from God, then it is our most reliable source of information about God and mankind and thus deserves our highest respect and most careful study.

2. Relevance

There is a widespread opinion that the Bible is ancient and irrelevant.  Of course, the Bible is ancient literature — its most recent book (Revelation) was written over 1900 years ago.  However, for the following reasons its subject matter will remain relevant in any century. It tells the human story, giving insight into the origin and nature of mankind and dealing with the problems and solutions of the human spirit.  It reveals things about the unseen world, both good and evil, which science by definition cannot know.  It has a spotless track record in predicting human events, some of which are still future to us today.  It gives guidelines for behavior which are more enduring than any school of psychology.  And, besides its expected spiritual topics (such as God and the devil, sin and salvation, Israel and the church, faith and repentance, prayer, and heaven and hell) it deals with scores of personal and social topics that we all face day by day.  So, if you think the Bible is not relevant to you today, you simply haven't read it!

3. Types of Published Editions of the English Bible

The English language Bible has been published in a wide variety of editions for various purposes.  Three common types of printed editions are listed below.  (Although examples are listed under each type, most of the listed translations are available in other types as well.  For example, the NIV is available in plain, reference, and study editions.)

a. Plain Bibles, with little more than the Bible text, such as

• The Holy Bible, New International Version (Zondervan)
• The Holy Bible, American Standard Version, 1901 (Thomas Nelson)

b. Reference Bibles, with cross references and/or concordance, such as

• New American Standard Bible, Reference Edition (Lockman Foundation)
• The Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version (Harper & Brothers)
• The Open Bible, King James Version (Thomas Nelson)
• Good News Bible, Today's English Version (American Bible Society)

c. Study Bibles, with cross references, concordance, plus many interpretive notes, such as

• The NIV Study Bible, New International Version (Zondervan)
• The New American Bible, Saint Joseph Edition (Catholic Book Publishing Co.)
• Holy Bible, New Scofield Reference Edition (Oxford University Press)
• The Jerusalem Bible (Doubleday)

Besides the above common types of editions, there are various types of specialty Bibles including:

• Selected portions of the Bible (New Testament, Gospel of John, Psalms, etc.)
• Red letter editions (the words of Christ printed in red)
• Color coded editions (historical passages printed in one color, doctrinal passages in another, etc.)
• Large print Bibles and braille Bibles (for the visually impaired)
• Bibles on audio tape (for the visually impaired, etc.)
• Children's Bibles (usually a translation that uses a simplified vocabulary)
• Men's/women's Bibles (with appropriate comments and applications)
• Harmonies of the Gospels (parallel passages printed side by side, or combined into a single narrative)
• Parallel editions (translations in various languages printed in side-by-side columns)
• Editions with special codes (for example, to show which word is emphasized based on Greek word order, subtleties in Greek tenses, etc.)
• Bibles on computer (for quick search, transfer to word processor, etc.)
• Cartoon versions of the Bible (for the “visual generation”)

Important:  Remember that there is a difference between reading the Bible and reading about the Bible.  The extra things that are printed along with the Bible, such as cross references and interpretive notes, are not the Bible.  These extra things can be helpful, but they can also be misleading.  Just because you are reading between the covers of a Bible does not necessarily mean that you are reading the Bible.  If you are going to arrive at your own conclusions regarding the Bible and its teachings, you need to be fully aware when you are reading the Bible and when you are reading someone's interpretation of the Bible.

B. Organization and overview of the Bible

1 Law (also O.T. History) 5 books	2 O.T. History 12 books	3 Poetry & Wisdom 5 books	4 Major Prophets 5 books	5 Minor Prophets 12 books
Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy	Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Esther	Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Songs	Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel	Hosea Joel Amos Obediah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi

6 Gospels (also N.T. History) 4 books	7 N.T. History 1 book	8 Paul's Letters 13 books	9 General Letters 8 books	10 Prophetic Vision 1 book
Matthew Mark Luke John	Acts	Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Galatians Ephesians (prison) Philippians (prison) Colossians (prison) 1 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Timothy (dungeon) Titus Philemon (prison)	Hebrews James 1 Peter 2 Peter 1 John 2 John 3 John Jude	Revelation

1. Law

The first three chapters of Genesis describe the creation of the world, the creation of Adam and Eve, and mankind's fall (first sin).  Chapters 4 through 11 tell about Adam and Eve's descendants, as well as Noah and the flood and the tower of Babel.  The rest of Genesis deals with Abraham and his descendants (the beginning of the nation of Israel) ending with Joseph in Egypt.

The remainder of the Law covers the life of Moses, including Israel's exodus from slavery in Egypt, the details of the Mosaic Law, and the experiences of Israel in the wilderness.

2. Old Testament history

These books cover the history of Israel including the initial occupation of the promised land, the experiences of Israel under various judges and kings, the split of Israel and the eventual dispersal of the ten northern tribes into Assyrian captivity and the two southern tribes into Babylonian captivity, and their partial return to Jerusalem.

There is a gap in biblical history of over 400 years between the end of the Old Testament (the end of Malachi's ministry in 430 BC) and the beginning of the New Testament (the birth of Christ in 5 or 6 BC).

3. Poetry

These books include the experience of Job, the lyrics of David, and the wisdom of Solomon.  Chronologically, David and Solomon fit into the historical period described in 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, and 1 & 2 Chronicles.

4 & 5. Major and minor prophets

These books contain the writings of sixteen different prophets concerning the moral and spiritual life of Israel, as well as events in Israel's immediate and distant future.  Chronologically, these prophets fit into the historical period described in 1 & 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.

6. Gospels

The Gospels cover the birth and life of Jesus Christ including his teachings and miracles.  The last several chapters of each of the gospels are devoted to the final week of Jesus' life, giving in detail the events surrounding his crucifixion and resurrection.  (No other week in history receives as much space in the Bible.)

7. New Testament history

The book of Acts records early Church history starting with the resurrection of Christ and including the arrival of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, the spread of the church geographically beyond Jerusalem and culturally beyond the Jews, the miracles and teachings of the Apostles, the conversion of Paul, and Paul's missionary journeys.

8. Paul's letters

Each of Paul's letters bears the name of the destination city and was written during the middle of the first century.  These letters can be grouped into three categories.  First, the book of Romans is Paul's letter to the church in Rome, which he had never visited.  It gives both Jews and non-Jews detailed and logical instruction on righteousness, salvation, and Christian conduct.  Second, the books of 1 Corinthians through 2 Thessalonians are Paul's follow-up letters to churches he had founded on his earlier missionary journeys (recorded in Acts).  They contain both doctrinal and practical instructions relating to specific problems these churches were facing.  Third, the books of 1 Timothy through Philemon are Paul's personal letters to young Christian leaders containing instructions on church matters.  In the chart, "prison" refers to Paul's first Roman imprisonment (house arrest, around A.D. 60-62) and "dungeon" refers to Paul's second Roman imprisonment.

9. General letters

Each of these letters (except Hebrews) bears the name of its author.  Most were open ("general") letters circulated among Christian churches in various locations during the middle and latter part of the first century.

10. Prophetic vision

The book of Revelation contains prophetic visions of future events phrased largely in symbolic style.

C. Translations of the Bible

1. Need for Modern Translations

Many people have grown up with a certain translation of the Bible.  It may have been the King James Version (1611), the combined Douay-Rheims Version (Douay Old Testament 1609, Rheims New Testament 1582), or some other widely accepted translation.  For younger generations it may be the RSV or the NIV.  It is tempting for these people to think of this particular translation as the Bible, forgetting that it is merely a translation made in a specific language for a specific time.

As time progresses, new translations are needed for three reasons:

a.  Very early copies of biblical writings are occasionally discovered.  These discoveries shed light on the original wording of certain passages.  Samples of such discoveries include the Chester Beatty papyri which contain Paul's letters and were published in 1930, the Bodmer II manuscript which contains the Gospel of John and was published in 1956, and the Dead Sea Scrolls which contain much of the Old Testament and were discovered in 1947 and following years.

b.  Non-biblical writings (which use words found in the Bible) are also discovered.  These writings range from personal correspondence to business transactions to legal documents and can shed light on the possible meanings of certain words.  For example, see the NIV footnote to the word “leprosy” in Mark 1:40.

c.  The English language changes from generation to generation.  Some words change their meanings, new idioms replace old ones, etc.  For example, “prevent” used to mean “precede” (see 1 Thessalonians 4:15 King James Version), and “bowels” used to refer to the seat of the emotions, what we would now call the “heart” (see Song of Solomon 5:4 King James Version).  See the introduction to the New Scofield Reference Bible for additional examples.

2. Committee Versus Individual Translations

Many versions of the Bible were translated by committees.  When a committee represents a wide variety of backgrounds, the resulting translation should be fairly balanced.  However, some translations are done by individuals, or by committees representing only one denomination or cult.  While such translations can be excellent, they can also be subjective and narrow.  Some good individual translations include:

• Charles B. Williams' New Testament (Moody Press)
• William F. Beck's New Testament (Concordia)
• Gerrit Verkuyl's New Testament, part of The Holy Bible, Berkeley Version (Zondervan)

3. Translation Styles

Every translator's goal is to transfer meaning from one language to another.  However, various Bible translators use different approaches, which results in various translation styles.  These translation styles can be placed along a continuum with the most literal style at the left and the least literal style at the right.

A translator who is operating at the left extreme will attempt to make his translation faithful to the syntax of the original text (the vocabulary, sentence structure, tenses, active/passive voice, etc.).  This translator will sacrifice smooth, flowing English in order to make the translation reflect the original syntax.  On the other extreme, a translator who is operating at the right end of the continuum will attempt to convey the meaning and intent of the original language in the most fluent and idiomatic English possible.  This translator wants to convey the ideas and impact of the original, but is not concerned about retaining the syntax of the original.

The following four translation styles are listed from the most literal to the least literal.

a.  Interlinear “translations,” which adopt a mechanical, word-for-word and phrase-for-phrase method of translation which preserves as much of the original word order and syntax as possible, whether the English makes good sense or not.  (Interlinear versions are usually considered aids to Bible study rather than actual translations.)  Samples include:

Old Testament

• The Interlinear NIV Hebrew-English Old Testament by John R. Kohlenberger III (Zondervan, 1987)
• The Old Testament Study Bible, translation by Gregory Lint and Stanley Horton (World Library Press, 1994)

New Testament

• Greek and English Interlinear New Testament (NASB/NIV), edited by William Mounce and Robert Mounce (Zondervan, 2011)
• The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament by Alfred Marshall (Zondervan, 1958)
• The Interlinear Literal Translation of the Greek New Testament by George Berry, based on the Textus Receptus, (Zondervan, 1958)

b.  Literal translations, which tend to reflect the word order and syntax of the original languages sometimes resulting in “wooden” English readings, such as:

• New American Standard Bible (Lockman Foundation)
• The New American Bible (Catholic Book Publishing Co.)

c.  Literary (idiomatic) translations, which attempt to transfer meaning thought-by-thought in well worded English readings, such as:

• The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers)
• The Holy Bible, New Revised Standard Version (Zondervan)
• The Holy Bible, New International Version (Zondervan)

d.  Paraphrase “translations,” which are similar to literary translations, but take more freedom with the translation.  They tend to use more modern idioms and add extra phrases to amplify the original text.  The result is that they are more interpretive than either literal or literary translations.  Samples include:

• The Holy Bible, Contemporary English Version (American Bible Society)
• New Living Translation (Tyndale)
• The New Testament in Modern English, translated by J. B. Phillips (Macmillan)

If you compare particular passages (such as John 4:7-8, Ephesians 6:10-11, Philippians 2:5-6 or Luke 1:1-3a) in each of these types of translations, you will see the results of the different approaches to translation.

Recommendation:  Use a literary translation (such as the New International Version) for survey reading and general Bible study.  Use a more literal translation (such as the New American Standard Bible) for more detailed study.

4. Verse by Verse Comparison

Below is a chart which compares a few selected New Testament passages from several translations.  In general, the most literal translations are placed at the left and the least literal at the right, with the last three columns containing paraphrases (paraphrased "translations").

Interlinear Greek-English N.T. (Marshall)	New American Standard Bible	New Revised Standard Version	New International Version	Contemporary English Version	The N.T. in Modern English (J. B. Phillips)	The Living Bible (Ken Taylor)
Acts 1:8 but ye will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and ye will be of me witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and unto the extremity of the earth.	but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.	But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.	But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.	But the Holy Spirit will come upon you and give you power.  Then you will tell everyone about me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and everywhere in the world.	But you are to be given power when the Holy Spirit has come to you,  You will be witnesses to me, not only in Jerusalem, not only throughout Judea, not only in Samaria, but to the very ends of the earth!	But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power to testify about me with great effect, to the people in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, about my death and resurrection.
Eph 2:10 For of him we are a product, created in Christ Jesus unto works good, which previously prepared God in order that in them we might walk.	For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.	For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.	For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.	God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live.  That's why he sent Christ to make us what we are.	The fact is that what we are we owe to the hand of God upon us.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do those good deeds which God planned for us to do.	It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.
1 Cor 2:14 But a natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God; for folly to him they are, and he cannot to know, because they are spiritually discerned.	But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.	Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God's Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.	The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.	That's why only someone who has God's Spirit can understand spiritual blessings.  Anyone who doesn't have God's Spirit thinks these blessings are foolish.	But the unspiritual man simply cannot accept the matters which the Spirit deals with--they just don't make sense to him, for, after all, you must be spiritual to see spiritual things.	But the man who isn't a Christian can't understand and can't accept these thoughts from God, which the Holy Spirit teaches us.  They sound foolish to him, because only those who have the Holy Spirit within them can understand what the Holy Spirit means.  Others just can't take it in.
1 Cor 11:17 But this charging I do not praise because not for the better but for the worse ye come together.	But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse.	Now in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse.	In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.	Your worship services do you more harm than good.  I am certainly not going to praise you for this.	But in giving you the following rules, I cannot commend your conduct, for it seems that your church meetings do you more harm than good!	Next on my list of items to write you about is something else I cannot agree with.  For it sounds as if more harm than good is done when you meet together for your communion services.

As you compare passages, moving from left to right, you will notice less and less fidelity to the exact word order and syntax of the original, and more freedom of expression, even to the point of adding ideas to make the passage more readily understood.  In particular, the paraphrases contain words and phrases which lack direct textual support (they have no corresponding words or phrases in the Greek or Hebrew text).  In some cases, these words and phrases, which have been added by the translator, may come from the immediate context.  In other cases they may come from the general teachings of the Bible.  And in still other cases they may come solely from the mind of the "translator" and may represent unbiblical ideas.

It should be remembered that paraphrases (paraphrased "translations") are in reality a combination of Bible and brief commentary.  They are thus a mixture of God's word and man's word.  It is for this reason that the more literal translations are recommended for detailed Bible study.

D. Multiple interpretations

Many people say “you can interpret the Bible any way you want.”  Granted, people have interpreted the Bible as they please, but that does not mean that their interpretations have been correct.  Most multiple interpretations are misinterpretations which arise from a mistreatment of the Bible, either by (1) taking a passage out of context, or (2) forcing preset beliefs onto a passage.

1. Context guides interpretation

Of course, some sections of the Bible are poetic or highly symbolic.  These types of literature are always open to greater latitude in interpretation.  But the bulk of the Bible is standard prose (historical narrative, letters, etc.).  Like any other prose literature, each of these Bible passages has only one correct interpretation when interpreted in context.  When a sentence is separated from its context, we can assign a variety of meanings to that sentence.  But when it is placed back in its context, the context limits the sentence to a single meaning.  It is a serious mistreatment of the Bible, or any literature, to try to interpret words out of context.

2. Preset beliefs blind us to the correct interpretation of the Bible

We cannot expect to arrive at the correct interpretation of a passage if we force certain assumptions and prejudices onto the biblical text, or if we try to build a system of belief based on a partial reading of the Bible.  Instead, we need to approach the Bible honestly as we would any other serious literature.  We need to let it speak for itself by using an inductive rather than a deductive procedure.

The basic teachings of the Bible are straightforward and clear.  When we are willing to let the Bible speak for itself and we interpret each passage in context, we find that the meaning of each passage is singular rather than multiple.  Of course, that one interpretation may have many applications at different times and in varying circumstances.  But that does not change the fact that the passage has only one correct interpretation.

E. Supposed contradictions

Many people believe that the Bible is full of contradictions.  On the one hand, we might expect to find many contradictions in such a large book that was written over many centuries by dozens of different authors.  On the other hand, we should not find even one contradiction in the Bible if, as it claims, it was ultimately written by just one author, God.  So the question of contradictions in the Bible is quite crucial.  If we find just one real contradiction in the Bible, then its claim of divine inspiration falls flat on its face.

Let's make a short philosophic digression here.  This matter of contradictions is considered very serious because of a basic philosophic notion called the law of contradiction and the fact that the law of contradiction is a prerequisite for truth.  In fact, all religions (including Christianity), in claiming to have the truth, rely on the law of contradiction.  The law of contradiction applies to simple factual statements and is as follows:  A statement and its opposite cannot both be true.  If both a statement and its opposite could be considered true, then the concept of truth-as-opposed-to-error would have lost all meaning.  Whenever two statements contradict each other, one of them must be false, or perhaps both are false.  But they cannot both be true.  This law of contradiction is applied in all practical situations.  Consider, for example, how a court of law evaluates conflicting testimony. Only in the mind of certain philosophers and other deluded individuals is the law of contradiction ignored.  This is why the question of contradictions in the Bible is considered extremely important.

Regarding Bible difficulties in general, various authors who have written on this subject have made several helpful observations.  First, the Bible never claims to be an easy study.  In fact, Peter said that Paul's letters “contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16).  Second, the very nature and depth of the subject would suggest that difficulties should be expected.  Third, the fact that you cannot solve a difficulty does not mean that it cannot be solved.  Fourth, whether or not a passage is seen as a difficulty often depends on the assumptions the individual brings to the discussion.  Fifth, most difficulties disappear with careful investigation.

Like any other serious literature, the Bible must be read according to the normal rules of interpretation.  Two of the most basic rules of interpretation are

1. Pay attention to context
2. Note who is speaking or writing as well as the intended audience

In addition, because of the nature of the Bible (being both a translation and a collection of ancient writings) several other factors come into the picture, such as

3. Be aware of the meanings of the words in the original language
4. Take cultural factors into account
5. Be aware of different calendars and counting systems used by various groups
6. Recognize the abbreviated nature of many of the historical accounts
7. Pay attention to parallel accounts
8. Allow for some copyist errors due to the nature of the Hebrew language

When these factors are kept in mind, the supposed contradictions in the Bible nearly all disappear.

Here we will examine two examples of supposed contradictions in order to illustrate that careful study, keeping the above factors in mind, leads to a satisfactory resolution.

Example one — Killing

Some have thought that the Bible contradicts itself on the subject of killing.  They claim that the sixth commandment, “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13), obviously disallows killing, yet killing is required by passages such as the following.

Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed.  (Genesis 9:6)
He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. (Exodus 21:12)

There would be a contradiction here only if the sixth commandment were a general statement covering all types of killing.  It appears to be such a general statement partly due to the unfortunate use of the word “kill” in several excellent translations (including the King James Version, the American Standard Version, and Revised Standard Version).  However, other translations (including the New American Standard Bible, the New International Version, and the New Revised Standard Version) use the word “murder” instead.

This example is a good illustration of the importance of knowing the words in the original language.  The Hebrew word used in Exodus 20:13 is rasah, which is not the general word for killing.  The general word for killing in Hebrew is harag, which applies to a wide range of types of killing, including personal killing in anger, judicial executions, killing in war, and divine judgment carried out through a prophet as in 1 Kings 18:40 and 19:1.  In contrast, rasah is much more limited in scope and applies to personal killing.  It is never used in the Bible to refer to judicial executions, killing in war, or divine judgments.  This means that “murder” is a better translation of rasah in Exodus 20:13.

The sixth commandment is really “You shall not murder.”  It is not a blanket statement condemning all killing, and there is no conflict with other passages in which killing is commanded.

Example two — Seeing God

The following passages favor the idea that God cannot be seen.

God is spirit  (John 4:24)
No man has seen God at any time  (John 1:18)
The King, . . . invisible, the only God  (1 Timothy 1:17)
He . . . who . . . dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see  (1 Timothy 6:15-16)

But there are other passages which claim that people saw God, such as

They [Moses and others] saw the God of Israel  (Exodus 24:10)
What was from the beginning . . . we have seen with our eyes  (1 John 1:1)

If we limit our thinking to absolutes, then these passages constitute a clear contradiction.  But we need to be a bit more realistic and allow the biblical writers the same freedoms we allow everyone else, including the freedom to use the same word in different senses, and the freedom to speak in “degrees.”

In addition we must allow the Bible to provide its own explanation.  Various biblical teachings bear on this subject including the power of God and the trinity.  It would be a mistake to think that the concern here is with a simple physical object and the question is simply whether or not that object is visible to the human eye.  Rather, we are concerned with the powerful triune God who communicates with man in various ways (Hebrews 1:1-2).

The Bible consistently describes God as invisible spirit, but also teaches that God reveals himself to mankind.  This revelation is necessary because mankind's senses are limited to the detection of the physical world.  If a human being is ever to see, or hear, or touch God, it will only be because God chooses to bridge the gap between the non-physical and physical realms and reveal himself to mankind.

The story of Moses' request to see God's glory (Exodus 33:18-23) makes it clear that whether or not God can be seen is basically a question of how God chooses to reveal himself.  No human, in his own initiative, can see the invisible.  In order for any human to see God, God must reveal himself.  Full, direct revelation of God in all his glory would be too much.  So God reveals himself indirectly through physical objects such as the burning bush (Exodus 3:2-6), the cloud and fire (Exodus 40:38), messengers (Genesis 32:24-30), a bright light from heaven (Acts 9:3-6), and even through the physical body of the incarnate Christ (1 John 1:1-3; John 1:18).  Certainly God has a wide range of methods at his disposal for self-disclosure, some more direct than others.  When God uses an indirect method to reveal himself, it is still legitimate for the observers to say they saw God.

Thus there is no contradiction in the above passages.  Because of the nature of God and mankind, there is a sense in which it can be truthfully said that it is completely impossible for mankind to see God.  Yet, because of the initiative of God in revealing himself to human beings, there is also a sense in which it can be truthfully said that many have seen God.

Maturity of approach

It is quite juvenile to approach the Bible by simply looking at the words and saying “that's a contradiction.”  Every serious use of language (spoken or written, religious or not) deserves a more mature, thoughtful interpretation, not a mere fixation on the words.  Thoughtful interpretation involves a consideration of context, intent, idioms, figurative speech, and other things which are part of the flexibility of human language.  When we take this more mature approach, we find that the Bible is remarkably consistent in its basic teachings as well as its facts and historical details.

Conclusion

Gleason Archer's conclusion, given in the preface of the work listed below, is worthy of note:

As I have dealt with one apparent discrepancy after another and have studied the alleged contradictions between the biblical record and the evidence of linguistics, archaeology, or science, my confidence in the trustworthiness of Scripture has been repeatedly verified and strengthened by the discovery that almost every problem in Scripture that has ever been discovered by man, from ancient times until now, has been dealt with in a completely satisfactory manner by the biblical text itself — or else by objective archaeological information.  The deductions that may be validly drawn from ancient Egyptian, Sumerian, or Akkadian documents all harmonize with the biblical record; and no properly trained evangelical scholar has anything to fear from the hostile arguments and challenges of humanistic rationalists or detractors of any and every persuasion.

Hundreds of supposed contradictions and other difficulties have been explained quite adequately in such sources as

Gleason Archer's Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties (Zondervan, 1982)
Larry Richards' Bible Difficulties Solved (Revell, 1993).

F. Inspiration of the Bible

1. Divine Inspiration

Although the Bible was written directly by various human beings, they repeatedly claimed to be reporting a message they had received from God.  The Bible claims to be a record, not only of God's acts, but of God's statements.  Even though certain modern theologians play down or completely ignore this “divine message” aspect of the Bible, the Bible makes the claim of inspiration in many places and in many ways.

Throughout the Bible the prophets use phrases such as “the Lord spoke.”  Such phrases occur more than 1600 times in the Old Testament.  For example, David claims that

The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me; his word was on my tongue.  (2 Samuel 23:2)

And Jesus confirmed that David spoke by the Spirit (Matthew 22:43, Mark 12:36).  Peter repeats David's claim (Acts 1:16).

Both Isaiah and Jeremiah quote the Lord as saying that he had placed his words in their mouths (Isaiah 59:21, Jeremiah 1:9).  Paul repeats Isaiah's claim (Acts 28:25) and the writer of Hebrews repeats Jeremiah's claim (Hebrews 10:15-16).

Jesus confirmed the validity of their claims and the resultant durability of their words when he said

Until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, nor the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.  (Matthew 5:18, compare Luke 16:17)

After quoting from a psalm written by Asaph (Psalm 82), Jesus said that

The Scripture cannot be broken  (John 10:34-35)

Besides these very strong statements of Jesus about the Old Testament as a whole, Jesus also treated certain unique Old Testament events as historical, which modern skeptics are quick to ridicule.  These include the creation of man (Matthew 19:4-5), Noah's flood (Matthew 24:37-39, Luke 17:26-27), Jonah's experience with the “whale” (Matthew 12:40), and the use of manna to feed Israel for 40 years in the desert (John 6:49).  Jesus speaks of these events, not as myths created to support religious belief, but as historical facts.

Besides Jesus' very high opinion of the reliability of the Old Testament, various New Testament writers refer to the inspiration of the Scriptures.  For example, the writer of Hebrews attributes Psalm 95 to the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 3:7-11).  And Paul and Peter both say that the Scriptures originated from God rather than man.

All Scripture is God-breathed .... (2 Timothy 3:16, “given by inspiration” KJV)

No prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation.  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.  (2 Peter 1:20-21, see verses 16-21, compare 1 Peter 1:10-12)

But all this applies to the Old Testament.  What about the New?  The New Testament writers also claim inspiration for their own writing.  Paul claims

This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit .... (1 Corinthians 2:13, compare Galatians 1:11-12,  1 Corinthians 14:37, 1 Thessalonians 2:13)

In addition, Paul quotes both Moses and Luke as “Scripture” (1 Timothy 5:18), and Peter refers to Paul's letters as part of the “Scriptures” (2 Peter 3:16), placing the New Testament in the same category as the Old Testament.

In short, the entire Bible claims to be divinely inspired — God's word to mankind.  Furthermore, notice that the only passage which speaks explicitly of inspiration (2 Timothy 3:16), says that the writings, not the writers, are inspired.  And other passages (Matthew 5:18, John 10:34-35, and 2 Peter 1:19-21) have a similar emphasis.

Of course, the claim of inspiration needs to be thoroughly examined because anyone can claim to be divinely inspired.  An entire separate discipline, known as apologetics, examines this biblical claim.  Unfortunately, the field of apologetics is beyond our present purpose.  However, here is my personal conclusion in this matter after considerable study in the field of apologetics:  Whether you critically examine the philosophical and logical consistency of the Bible's teachings, test the Bible's historical accuracy against archeology and other historical sources, check up on the Bible's ability to predict the future in detail, or look into any other aspect of biblical apologetics, the conclusion is the same: the Bible lives up to its claim to be the inspired word of God.

For many people, their acceptance or rejection of the divine inspiration of the Bible is already predetermined by their acceptance or rejection of the existence of God.  So there is a larger issue which must be considered here, but which is also beyond the purpose of this paper.

2. Method of Inspiration, Not Dictation

There have been many people who have rejected the notion of divine inspiration of the Bible because they have a faulty definition of inspiration.  They assume that divine inspiration is the same as dictation.  They picture a scenario in which God places a prophet in a trance and then speaks certain words through the prophet's voice, or moves the prophet's hand to write certain words.  But when they observe the various writing styles used by the various authors, and the cultural sensitivities of the various writings, they conclude that such writings could not be dictated by God, and in turn conclude that the Bible cannot be inspired.

However, inspiration is not dictation.  Notice that none of the passages referring to inspiration says anything about either a trance or dictation.

Inspiration is best understood simply as God producing the Bible, or the Bible being God's output.  Certainly God could use various methods, some more direct than others, but the focus of inspiration is on the reliability of the results, not on the method of writing.  This allows for various writing styles.  For example, in the New Testament alone,

• John's Gospel and three letters (1, 2, and 3 John) are written in a very simple Greek style.  The sentences are short, the vocabulary is relatively limited, and the ideas are often phrased in sharp contrasts.
• Luke's Gospel and his history of the early church (the book of Acts) are written with a much larger vocabulary and an attention to details as would be expected of a physician.
• Paul's letters (Romans through Philemon) tend to use longer and more complex sentences and typically build well developed arguments that involve close reasonings and illustrations.

How can there be such variety in the biblical writings if they were all inspired by God?  Such a question does not give God much credit as a writer.  Even human writers can employ different styles at different times or for specific purposes.  In Hebrews it is claimed that God spoke through the Old Testament prophets “in various ways” (Hebrews 1:1).

It is possible to suggest various methods that would result in inspired writings, based on different types of subject matter and the source materials available.  For example, some subjects such as creation or distant prophecies require God to supply original information to the writer.  (Some might think of this as dictation, although God could easily use other methods as well.)  Peter claimed that there were times when the prophets did not understand all the details of what they were predicting — details that would be understood later when the prophecies were fulfilled (I Peter 1:10-12).  In such cases it would be necessary for God to supply original information to the prophet.  On the opposite extreme is Luke, who had many manuscripts in front of him which he compiled into the books of Luke and Acts (Luke 1:1-4).  In this case, God would not have to supply original information, but simply superintend the research and compilation of existing information and thus guarantee the reliability of the result.

Most of the Bible's subject matter falls somewhere between the two extremes mentioned above.  In most cases, divine inspiration would involve a combination of both methods, supplying some original information and superintending the human processes involved in integrating that information with the prophet's existing knowledge, and recording it.  (This is a much more sophisticated process than mere dictation.)  Regardless of the method, inspiration claims that the resulting written document is God's product and is reliable.

3. Views of Inspiration

The table below can be used to compare various views of inspiration.

	View 1	View 2	View 3	View 4	View 5
What is God's part?	Dictate words	Reveal, teach, guide, superintend	(same as view 2)	(same as view 2)	None
What is man's part?	Passive channel	Receive revelation, observe, analyze, research, compose speech/writing	(same as view 2)	(same as view 2)	Observe, analyze, research, compose ...
Who or what is inspired?	Document	Document	Document and person	Person	Person
How much is inspired?	Canonical writings only	Canonical writings only	Canonical writings plus some other speech	All speech & writing (& behavior)	All speech & writing (& behavior)
What is the Bible's evaluation?	Denied by the phenomenon of scripture	Affirmed: Matt 5:18 John 10:34-35 2 Tim 3:16 2 Pet 1:20-21 1 Pet 1:10-12 cf.     Luke 1:1-4	Affirmed: OT prophets   "the Lord    spoke" Paul   1 Cor 2:12-13	Denied by examples: Moses   Num 20:7-12 Peter   Gal 2:11-16	Denied: 2 Pet 1:20-21

4. Views of the Nature of the Bible

The following table compares different views of the nature of the Bible as they line up with corresponding theological and hermeneutical views.  It should be noted that the resulting beliefs (next to last column) are determined by the assumptions and approaches in the earlier columns.

	Does God exist?	Nature of the Bible & method of inspiration	Method of interpretation	Resulting beliefs	Responses
Mystic (view 1)	Yes	The Bible is divine only. Human authors were passive as the words were dictated.	Specialized hermeneutics such as allegorical interpretation, codes, numerology, and other secret meanings.	Anything, since there are no standards.  Often tends toward prophetic calamities.	Depends on "discovered" information. Binding.
Conser- vative (view 2)	Yes	The Bible has God as its ultimate source, and has human authors who were guided by God as they wrote using their own styles and skills.	Hermeneutics based on human language.	Supernatural Christianity accomplished in history.	Moral absolutes that are binding. Need for salvation. Provision of salvation through Christ.
Neo- ortho- dox (view 3)	Yes (God is assumed to be wholly other)	The Bible records God's acts and man's encounters with God, but does not record God's statements. Truth about God cannot be expressed in human language.	(same as above)	Beliefs and convictions based on subjective, supposed encounters with God.	Personal search to experience God.
Liberal (view 4)	No (assumed)	The Bible is human only. It records the developing insights and religious devotion of the Hebrew prophets and apostles.	(save as above)	Naturalistic (humanistic) "Christianity" developing through the "evolution of religion."	It is interesting history, but nothing is binding.

G. Manuscripts of the Bible

There are many people who believe that the Bible has changed over the years since its writing, and because we do not have the original manuscripts, we can only guess what the original authors wrote.  It is true that, as far as we know, none of the original manuscripts of the Bible books has survived.  However, thousands of copies of various Bible books and portions of books have survived.  Scholars in the field of textual criticism have compared these copies and have compiled Hebrew and Greek texts which are considered very reliable representations of the original manuscripts.  In fact, our current Biblical texts are faithful to the original manuscripts to a degree that far exceeds that of any other ancient literature.

1. Abundance of Copies

The number of copies available is far greater than for any other ancient literature.  For example, Enuma Elish, the Babylonian creation story which was discovered in 1848, is only about 90% complete.  Besides the fact that there are no single complete copies of Enuma Elish, there are significant portions that are completely missing from all copies.  And it is even worse for another ancient Babylonian writing, the Gilgamesh Epic.  This is a long story which includes an account of the flood, but it is only approximately 60% complete.

But with the Bible the problem is just the opposite.  Instead of a scarcity of material, there is an over abundance of material — thousands of copies for the textual critics to compare and compile.

The principal manuscripts for the Old Testament include

• The Masoretic Text, dates from approx. AD 900
• The Septuagint (translation into Greek made approx. 200 BC)
• The Dead Sea Scrolls (the Qumran manuscripts, discovered in the late 1940's), from BC

The principal manuscripts for the New Testament include

• Uncial manuscripts (upper case, up to A.D. 900) hundreds including

• Cursive manuscripts (after A.D. 900), thousands
• Early translations into Latin, Syriac, and Coptic, all around AD 200
• Quotations in early church fathers (usually in Greek or Latin)

2. Variant Readings

With this abundance of material comes many variations between copies due to copyist errors.

The types of copyist errors are the same for the Bible as for any other literature.  They stem from normal human inattention and inaccuracy.  They are the types of errors we make today when we copy down what we hear or read.  Here is a list of some of the types of mistakes which appear in the various manuscripts.

• Omitting a letter
• Substituting a letter that looks like the original letter
• Substituting a different word that sounds like the original word
• Reversing the order of letters in a word
• Writing a single letter, syllable, or word twice
• Writing a double letter, syllable, or word once
• Faulty division of words (combining two words into one or dividing a single word into two due to the lack of separation of words in the source copies)
• Misinterpreting abbreviations
• Skipping a section because the eye returns to the same word which occurs later

Such copyist errors result in variant readings between different manuscripts and between different families of manuscripts.

How much of the Bible is made up of variant readings?  Considering all types of variations in just the New Testament, the amount is somewhere in the neighborhood of 10%.  This might seem rather high, but remember that much of this 10% is differences in word order or in spelling.  Actual variations in words and phrases makes up closer to 2%, while meaningful variations (which affect the interpretation of a passage) make up less than 1% (and this includes the two lengthy recensions found in Mark 16 and John 8).  The more significant variations appear in the margins or footnotes of all good translations.

3. Textual Criticism

Textual criticism is also called lower criticism, which distinguishes it from higher criticism.  It is called lower not because it is less importance, but because it is basic to higher criticism.

Higher criticism is concerned with the date, authorship, circumstances of writing, purpose, and interpretation of a book.  These are all important issues, but the field of higher criticism has been a playground for those who take a liberal approach to the Bible.  Often they apply naturalistic assumptions with the goal of explaining away the miraculous elements of the Bible.  For example, higher critics like to assign a late date for the writing of Daniel.  They also like to divide up Genesis on the basis of hypothetical proto-genesis documents.  And many passages are re-interpreted to play down the supernatural.  This higher-critical approach had its hay day during the 1800's, but its influence is still widespread today.

In contrast, textual (lower) criticism is the study of the many ancient copies of the biblical books with a goal of establishing the exact wording of the original manuscripts.  It has been going on for a very long time.  The “sopherim” (scribes), beginning with Ezra and running through the time of Christ, were the earliest keepers of the Word.  In a sense, they served both as the textual critics and as the Bible publication society of their time.  Later, between AD 500 and 900, the Masorites adopted a similar role, preserving even the pronunciation of the Hebrew text by adding vowels to it (explained below).

How do textual critics decide which of two variant readings best represents the original?  Quantity alone cannot be used to favor one reading over another.  Suppose a particular reading appears in forty manuscripts while a different reading appears in only two.  But the forty could easily have been copied from a late copy containing an error, while the two could have been copied from a much earlier copy containing no error in the passage under consideration.

Also, date alone cannot be used to favor one reading over another.  We cannot assume that a manuscript dated in the 300's AD is always more accurate than one dated in the 600's AD.  It is possible that the earlier one is a fourteenth generation copy, while the later one is only a fourth generation copy.  But even if the manuscript's generational history could be known, relative accuracy would still not be determined, because even the fourth generation copy could include copyist mistakes made in the first or second generation.

Textual critics have adopted certain rules for evaluating variant readings.  These rules (or “canons”) cannot be applied in a mechanical fashion.  Often several rules will apply to the same situation, and the weight given each rule is a matter of judgment requiring years of experience analyzing the variations and the languages involved.  Here are some of the rules that are applied to variant readings to determine the preferred reading.

1. Favor the reading with the widest geographical support.
2. Favor the older reading.
3. Favor the more difficult reading.
4. Favor the shorter reading.  (Copyists are more likely to insert material than leave material out.)
5. Favor the reading which best explains the other variations.
6. Favor the reading which conforms most to the style of the author.
7. Favor the reading which reflects no doctrinal bias.

4. Hebrew Letters and Copyist Errors

All languages are prone to two types of copyist errors, proper names and numbers.  This is probably due to the fact that the copyist is not helped by the context when it comes to these two items.

In addition, each language has its own unique characteristics which will give rise to common copyist errors.  For example, in English certain letters are similar to certain numbers, such as O and 0, l and 1.  Ancient Hebrew is no exception, so it is helpful to know some of its idiosyncrasies and how they might lead to copyist errors.

a.  Hebrew Vowels.   Hebrew was originally written in consonants only.  Spoken Hebrew, of course, included vowel sounds, which contributed to the meaning of a statement, but only the consonants were written.  As long as Hebrew remained a living (spoken) language, this method of writing was adequate.  But as ancient Hebrew became a dead language, Jewish scholars known as Masorites felt the need to preserve the Old Testament writings in a form that indicated the proper pronunciation and thus the proper meanings of the words.  This was done by adding “vowel points” to the consonantal text, a very laborious process which extended from roughly AD 500 to 900.  The resulting text is known as the Masoretic text and for many centuries has been considered the standard text of the Hebrew Old Testament.  The Masorites are often praised for their very high regard for the Hebrew text and for their meticulous attention to detail.  Yet, current scholars believe that the Masoretic text is in error in certain passages, and they favor different readings of those passages based on other early textual evidence.

b.  Letter Shapes.  Certain of the Hebrew consonants are so similar in shape that they can be easily confused by copyists.  For example, the letter daleth looks much like the letter resh.  Also, yodh looks much like waw.

c.  Method of Writing Numbers.  The Hebrew method of writing numbers differed from time to time.  At one time certain numbers were written by combining vertical and horizontal strokes.  Vertical strokes were used for units, while horizontal strokes were used for tens or decades.  Since the horizontal strokes were sometimes placed above the vertical strokes, and other times beside them, they were vulnerable to being misread.  It is probably significant that several number discrepancies in the Old Testament involve differences of multiples of ten (for example, 22 years in 2 Kings 8:26 cf. 42 years in 2 Chronicles 22:2, also 18 years in 2 Kings 24:8 cf. 8 years in 2 Chronicles 36:9).  During a later period, numbers were indicated by letters.  The problem is that some of those letters, when altered only slightly, change their numeric value drastically.  For example, the Hebrew letter aleph indicated one, but it indicated one thousand when two very small dots are placed above it.  And heth indicated eight while taw, which looks very similar, indicated four hundred.

5. Conclusion

F. F. Bruce, a highly respected New Testament scholar, says that

the variant readings about which any doubt remains among textual critics of the New Testament affect no material question of historic fact or of Christian faith and practice.  (The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?, Inter-Varsity Press, 1960, pp. 19-20)

Gleason Archer, a highly respected linguistic scholar, makes the same point by asking

Is there objective proof from the surviving manuscripts of Scripture that these sixty-six books have been transmitted to us with such a high degree of accuracy as to insure us that the information contained in the originals has been perfectly preserved?  The answer is an unqualified yes. . . .  Collation of many hundreds of manuscript copies from the third century BC to the sixth century A.D. yields an amazingly limited range of variation in actual wording.  In fact, it has long been recognized by the foremost specialists in textual criticism that if any decently attested variant were taken up from the apparatus at the bottom of the page and were substituted for the accepted reading of the standard text, there would in no case be a single, significant alteration in doctrine or message.  (Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, Zondervan, 1982, pp. 29-30)

This can be verified easily by looking at the variant readings included in your Bible.  For example, when you compare the variant reading in Mark 1:1 with verses 9-11, you can easily see that what Mark says about Jesus remains the same, no matter which reading is used.  Even if all the variant readings were used in place of the standard readings, the message and teachings of the Bible would remain the same.  Even the three most noteworthy recensions since the King James Version (Mark 16:9-20, John 7:53 - 8:11, and 1 John 5:7-8a) illustrate the above point.  What these passages teach is already taught in other passages, and these passages do not contradict anything taught elsewhere.

Remember that basic biblical doctrines never rest on a single passage.  Every major teaching of the Bible (such as the nature of God, the sinfulness of man, the deity of Christ, salvation by grace through faith, etc.) is grounded in many passages spread over many books of the Bible.  In a few cases, variant readings may affect the interpretation of one particular passage, but they do not change the overall message of the Bible in the slightest.

H. Canon of the Bible, and apocrypha

Why were certain books included in the Bible and others not?  This is the question of the biblical canon.

1.  The canon and inspiration

Our word "canon" can be linked with the Hebrew word qaneh, which was the rod used for measuring in Ezekiel's vision of the temple (Ezekiel 40:3-7;  42:16-19).  It can also be linked to the Greek word kanon (κανων), which refers to a rule or principle (Galatians 6:16) or to a designated boundary (such as the field, area, or territory of Paul's ministry in 2 Corinthians 10:13-16).  When applied to literature rather than a piece of ground, "canon" thus designates a measuring standard against which books are judged for inclusion in or exclusion from a certain class, ultimately a list which names the approved books.

Unfortunately, the common understanding of the word "canon," as reflected in Webster's dictionary, is that it refers to an "authoritative list" of books accepted as Holy Scripture.  But this places the authority outside the Bible, as though some human religious body or church council could, by its own pronouncements, actually make some books authoritative and others not.  The better application of the measuring standard concept is to recognize that certain writings themselves, because of their divine inspiration, are the measuring standard.

In other words, inclusion in the canon is directly related to divine inspiration.  If a book is inspired, it is in the canon.  If it is not inspired, it is not in the canon.  Inspired books are automatically and immediately in the canon as soon as they are written, solely because they are inspired.  This means that the canon of biblical books is not something that a church group created, thereby passing on its authority to those particular books.  Rather, each book, by virtue of its divine inspiration, is already authoritative and included in the canon.  In short, the canon is not an authoritative list of books, but a list of authoritative books.  Individuals or groups can do no more than recognize books as inspired (canonical); they cannot create canonicity after the fact.

This recognition of inspiration is not always simple and straightforward, for God used fallible human beings to produce his infallible Word.  Nevertheless, two key factors play an important part in helping God's people recognize the inspired books.  First is the matter of authorship.  When a book comes from one of the proven prophets (such as Moses, Samuel, or Isaiah), divinely approved leaders (such as David), or from Christ's apostles, we must seriously considered it as possibly inspired.

But there is also a second consideration – the matter of doctrinal consistency.  If several books come from one God, those books will agree with each other.  If two books disagree on any matter of fact or doctrine which they assert, at least one of them must be in error.  Thus, harmony of teaching is one of the requirements of canonicity.  Paul emphasized the necessity of consistent teaching when he stated:

even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!  (Galatians 1:8)

Fortunately, we have two very significant guides which help us recognize the canon.  First, Jesus demonstrates his approval of the Hebrew Old Testament canon which was in use during his earthly life.  Second, regarding inclusion in the New Testament canon, the writings of Jesus' apostles (along with the Old Testament) serve as the standard against which all other writings must be compared.  We discuss the Old Testament and New Testament canons separately after discussing the apocrypha.

2. The Apocrypha

The term "apocrypha" (from the Greek apokryphos, which means obscure) refers to books of questionable authority.  That is, their canonicity has been accepted by some persons or groups, but rejected by others.  Today, Protestants consider a long list of literary items (books and short sections) apocryphal.  In some editions of Protestant Bibles certain of these items may be included but they are in a separate section in order to clearly indicate their apocryphal status.  The following list includes only those apocryphal items related to the Old Testament.

1. 1 Esdras
2. 2 Esdras
3. Tobit*
4. Judith*
5. Additions to the book of Esther*
6. Psalm 151
7. Wisdom (of Solomon)*
8. Psalms of Solomon
9. Odes of Solomon
10. Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)*
11. Baruch*
12. Letter of Jeremiah*
13. The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Hebrew Children*
14. Susanna*
15. Bel and the Dragon (Snake)*
16. Prayer of Manasseh
17. 1 Maccabees*
18. 2 Maccabees*
19. 3 Maccabees
20. 4 Maccabees

These items are considered apocryphal both by Protestants and by Jews.  And this was the prevailing opinion of the Christian church during its first 1500 years.  For example, when Jerome translated the Latin Vulgate of the Old Testament in the early 400's, he placed the apocryphal items in a separate section.  It was not until the Council of Florence in 1451, and again shortly after the Reformation at the Council of Trent which began in 1545, that the Roman Catholic Church officially recognized twelve of the apocryphal items as canonical (marked with an asterisk in the above list), placing them in among the other canonical books as indicated in the chart below.

Law (also O.T. History)	O.T. History	Poetry & Wisdom	Major Prophets	Minor Prophets
	Tobit Judith 1 & 2 Maccabees Additions to Esther (six sections interspersed)	Wisdom (of Solomon) Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)	Additions to Daniel, including Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three ... (in ch. 3), Susanna (ch. 13), and Bel and the Dragon (ch. 14)	Baruch (ch. 6 is the Letter of Jeremiah)

The Eastern Orthodox Church includes six additional books or sections beyond the Roman Catholic canon, namely, Psalm 151, 1 Esdras, 3 Maccabees, 4 Maccabees, Psalms of Solomon, and Odes of Solomon, because they are included in the Greek Septuagint (LXX).

See Boettner's informative discussion of the apocrypha, its nature, content, and shortcomings  (Loraine Boettner, Roman Catholicism, 5th ed., Presbyterian & Reformed, 1962/65, pages 80-87).

3. Old Testament Canon

The Palestinian Jews of the first century A.D. spoke Aramaic as their mother tongue.  Greek was also commonly used in the marketplace and in commercial transactions.  Latin was the language of legal and military matters since it was the language of the occupier, Rome.

But in the synagogue a fourth language was used for the reading of the scriptures, for the reading was always done directly from Hebrew scrolls.  In order for the Palestinian Jews to better understand the scripture reading, it was accompanied by an oral translation and explanation in Aramaic, known as a Targum (which means interpretation).  These Targums were committed to writing several hundred years later.

First century Jews also had the Septuagint, the translation of the Old Testament into Greek that was completed approximately 200 years earlier.  Since the New Testament was written mostly in Greek, the Septuagint is the version often used by the New Testament writers when they quote the Old Testament.

Nevertheless, when it comes to the issue of the Old Testament canon used by Jesus, we are particularly concerned with the Hebrew scriptures rather than any translations of the scriptures such as the Aramaic Targums or the Greek Septuagint.  The Hebrew Bible was considered the official and authoritative scriptures, and that is why it was used for scripture readings in the synagogue in spite of the fact that the native tongue of the Palestinian Jews was Aramaic.  It was the Hebrew scriptures that Jesus read from (Luke 4:16-21) and about which he spoke when he made the strong statements on the durability of the scriptures cited earlier (Matthew 5:18; Luke 16:17; and John 10:34-35, among others).  When Jesus said that the smallest letter would not disappear, he was referring to the Hebrew letter yodh, the tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  When he said that the least stroke of a pen would not disappear, he was referring to a horn-shaped accent mark used in Hebrew.  The acceptance of the Hebrew scriptures by Christ goes a long way to settle the question of the Old Testament canon.  So the obvious question is:  What books were included in the Hebrew scriptures about which Christ spoke?

The Hebrew canon was established long before the time of Christ.  The Jewish historian Josephus, writing near the end of the first century A.D., stated concerning the Hebrew canon,

We have not tens of thousands of books, discordant and conflicting, but only twenty-two containing the record of all time, which have been justly believed to be divine.  (Contra Apionem, I:8; italics added)

In the Hebrew canon of that time, shorter books were often placed together on the same scroll and were counted as one book.  I and II Samuel were combined, as were I and II Kings, I and II Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, Judges and Ruth, and Jeremiah and Lamentations.  Also, the twelve minor prophets were combined on one scroll.  See the chart below.

Hebrew Scriptures of Jesus' time 22 books (scrolls) per Josephus	Our present Old Testament 39 books
1 — Genesis	Genesis — 1
2 — Exodus	Exodus — 2
3 — Leviticus	Leviticus — 3
4 — Numbers	Numbers — 4
5 — Deuteronomy	Deuteronomy — 5
6 — Joshua	Joshua — 6
7 — Judges-Ruth	Judges — 7 Ruth — 8
8 — 1 & 2 Samuel	1 Samuel — 9 2 Samuel — 10
9 — 1 & 2 Kings	1 Kings — 11 2 Kings — 12
10 — 1 & 2 Chronicles	1 Chronicles — 13 2 Chronicles — 14
11 — Ezra-Nehemiah	Ezra — 15 Nehemiah — 16
12 — Esther	Esther — 17
13 — Job	Job — 18
14 — Psalms	Psalms — 19
15 — Proverbs	Proverbs — 20
16 — Ecclesiastes	Ecclesiastes — 21
17 — Song of Solomon	Song of Solomon — 22
18 — Isaiah	Isaiah — 23
19 — Jeremiah-Lamentations	Jeremiah — 24 Lamentations — 25
20 — Ezekiel	Ezekiel — 26
21 — Daniel	Daniel — 27
22 — The Twelve	Hosea — 28 Joel — 29 Amos — 30 Obediah — 31 Jonah — 32 Micah — 33 Nahum — 34 Habakkuk — 35 Zephaniah — 36 Haggai — 37 Zechariah — 38 Malachi — 39

This makes Josephus' count of 22 canonical books equivalent to our count of 39.

Josephus also identifies the beginning and end of the time during which the prophets wrote, namely, from the death of Moses through the reign of the Persian king Artaxerxes (that is, through 424 BC), which would include the last Old Testament prophet, Malachi.  In effect, Josephus is stating that the Old Testament canon has remained the same since 424 BC.  So when Jesus spoke of the “scriptures,” everyone knew that he was referring to a well established body of sacred literature, equivalent in content to our 39 book Old Testament.

4. New Testament Canon

The question of the New Testament canon is somewhat more involved.  The majority of our twenty-seven books were quickly recognized by large groups of believers in the early church.  To be recognized, a book had to have the authority of an apostle behind it.  Most of the New Testament books are authored directly by an apostle.  Mark, Luke, and Jude, who were not apostles, had very close connections with an apostle and wrote under his direction.  Also, a book had to be doctrinally consistent with the Old Testament and other apostolic writings.

Some books which were less widely circulated during the first two centuries after Christ were not recognized as part of the canon until the third or fourth century.  As early as approximately A.D. 140 Valentinus' treatise “The Gospel of Truth” cited the various New Testament books in such a way that it is fair to conclude that the canon in use at that time in Rome was very close to our present New Testament.  Also, in approximately A.D. 170 the Muratorian canon included all of our present New Testament books except Hebrews, James, and 1 & 2 Peter.

Metzger summarizes the situation during the first two centuries.

At first a local church would have only a few apostolic letters and perhaps one or two Gospels. During the course of the second century most churches came to possess and acknowledge a canon which included the present four Gospels, the Acts, thirteen letters of Paul, I Peter, and I John. Seven books still lacked general recognition: Hebrews, James, II Peter, II and III John, Jude, and Revelation. It is hard to say if this was the cause or the effect of the divergent opinions concerning their canonicity. On the other hand, certain other Christian writings, such as the first letter of Clement, the letter of Barnabas, the Shepherd of Hermas, and the Didache, otherwise known as the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, were accepted as scriptural by several ecclesiastical writers, though rejected by the majority.  (Bruce Metzger, The New Testament: Its Background, Growth, and Content, Abingdon Press, 1983, pages 274-275)

Later, during the middle 300's,

the fluctuations in the canon are very slight  (Metzger, loc. cit.)

Then in A.D. 367 Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, in his 39th Festal Epistle cited the same twenty-seven books that are in our present New Testament, stressing that they were “God-inspired scriptures.”  Then, in A.D. 397 the Third Council of Carthage confirmed as canonical the same twenty-seven books.  And around the same time Jerome's Vulgate (Latin translation) included the same twenty-seven books.  There remained plenty of controversy regarding particular books, but it is safe to say that there was widespread recognition of the New Testament canon as we have it today.

Metzger's conclusion is instructive:

When, toward the close of the fourth century, church synods and councils began to issue pronouncements concerning the New Testament canon, they were merely ratifying the judgment of individual Christians throughout the church who had come to perceive by intuitive insight the inherent worth of the several books. In the most basic sense neither individuals nor councils created the canon; instead they came to perceive and acknowledge the self-authenticating quality of these writings, which imposed themselves as canonical upon the church.  (Metzger, op.cit., page 276)

As far as general recognition is concerned, the New Testament canon has remained the same for more than sixteen centuries.  There have been some individuals who questioned certain books.  Luther rejected Hebrews, James, Jude, and Revelation as canonical and placed them last in his translation, although he considered them suitable devotional reading.  Calvin expressed doubts about II Peter.

The church as a whole has recognized the same New Testament books ever since the fourth century.  As far as the New Testament is concerned, it is significant that the three major groups claiming the name "Christian" (Protestants, Roman Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox) all consider as canonical the same 27 books.  In contrast, it is the liberal element (partly inside and partly outside the organized church) which feels free to toss aside centuries of scholarship and, based on naturalistic assumptions and speculation, remove certain portions from the traditional New Testament canon and add others.  For example, in 1993, the Jesus Seminar declared the Gospel of Thomas one of the "Five Gospels."

I. Time line of the Bible

1. Time Line

Following is a list of the key events recorded in the historical sections of the Bible (in bold type) along with other events for comparison.  For an explanation of these dates, see the papers Ancient Israel, and Chronology of Biblical Events.

   ???? BC — Creation of the Universe
   ???? BC — Creation of Mankind
   ???? BC — Fall of Mankind
   ???? BC — The Flood
   ???? BC — The Tower of Babel
c. 4500 BC — Egyptian calendar regulated by sun and moon, 360 days, 12 months
c. 3000 BC — Invention of the wheel
c. 3000 BC — Sumarians invent writing
c. 2800 BC — Systematic astronomical observation begins in Egypt, Babylon, India, and China
c. 2000 BC — "Book of the Dead", collection of Egyptian burial spells and formulas
c. 1951 BC — Birth of Abraham
c. 1800 BC — Geometry developed as aid for astronomical measurements in Babylon
c. 1800 BC — Stonehenge “observatory,” (first phase) built north of Salisbury, England
c. 1780 BC — Code of Hammurabi, king of Babylon, early legal system included medical guidelines and permissible fees, criminal laws, lines of inheritance, etc.
c. 1750 BC — Horses used to draw vehicles
c. 1750 BC — Decimal system in Crete
c. 1660 BC — Jacob and family (Israel) into Egypt
c. 1600 BC — In India, belief in four basic elements: earth, air, fire, water
c. 1526 BC — Moses born
c. 1446 BC — Israel's Exodus from Egypt and Giving of Law through Moses
c. 1406 BC — Joseph and the conquest of Canaan
c. 1250 BC — Beginning of iron age in Palestine
c. 1200 BC — Advanced knowledge of shipbuilding in Mediterranean and Scandinavian countries
c. 1200 BC — Gilgamesh Epic recorded (oral tradition several hundred years prior)
c. 1193 BC — Destruction of Troy (Trojan war)
c. 1116 BC — Tiglath-pileser I founds Assyrian Empire
   1050 BC — Saul becomes Israel's first king
 c. 950 BC — Chaldeans use water-filled cube for measuring time, weight, length
    930 BC — Division of Israel into Northern and Southern Kingdoms
 c. 780 BC — Homer writes "Iliad" and "Odyssey"
    753 BC — Legendary founding of city of Rome
 c. 750 BC — Planetary movements understood in Babylonia and China
    776 BC — First recorded Olympic Games (probably begun several hundred years earlier)
    722 BC — Northern Kingdom captured by Assyria
    624 BC — Birth of Thales, early Greek philosopher
    586 BC — Southern Kingdom captured by Babylonia
 c. 580 BC — Papyrus introduced into Greece
 c. 570 BC — Regular courier service by messengers on horseback
 c. 570 BC — Banking business practiced in Babylon
 c. 563 BC — Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) born
 c. 560 BC — Anaximander taught that all life develops from amphibians
    551 BC — Confucius born (Chinese philosopher)
 c. 550 BC — Greeks believe earth is disk, sky is dome
 c. 550 BC — Invention of ore smelting, metal casting, water level, lock and key, carpenter's square, turning lathe
 c. 550 BC — Magnetism understood in Greece
 c. 540 BC — Alcmaeon, Greek anatomist, discovers difference between veins and arteries; also discovers connection between brain and sensing organs, and Eustachian tubes
    538 BC — First group of Israelites returns from exile to Jerusalem under Zerubbabel
 c. 530 BC — Pythagoras, or his followers, develop right-triangle theorem
 c. 509 BC — Rome declared a republic
 c. 480 BC — Coins used as legal tender
    470 BC — Socrates born (Greek philosopher)
 c. 460 BC — Hippocrates born (Greek mathematician and physician, oath)
    458 BC — Second group of Israelites returns from exile under Ezra
    432 BC — Last group of Israelites returns from exile under Nehemiah
    427 BC — Plato born (Greek philosopher)
    384 BC — Aristotle born (Greek philosopher, author)
 c. 360 BC — Heracleides teaches sun as center of solar system
    323 BC — Euclid writes "Elements" (text on geometry)
    287 BC — Archimedes born (Greek mathematician and founder of hydrostatics)
 c. 280 BC — In Palestine, Aramaic starts replacing ancient Hebrew
    264 BC — Beginning of gladiator combat in Rome (continued until AD 325)
 c. 250 BC — Septuagint (Greek translation of Hebrew Old Testament)
 c. 230 BC — Eratosthenes teaches that earth circles the sun
 c. 230 BC — Oil lamps first use in Greece
 c. 215 BC — Great wall of China built to keep out the Huns
 c. 200 BC — Inscriptions engraved on Rosetta Stone (basis for deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics)
 c. 170 BC — First paved streets in Rome
 c. 160 BC — Hipparchus invents trigonometry
 c. 160 BC — Rise of Pharisees and Sadducees in Palestine
 c. 105 BC — First college of technology founded in Egypt
    100 BC — Julius Caesar born (Roman general, conqueror of Gaul)
     46 BC — Adoption of Julian calendar of 365.25 days with leap year
     37 BC — Herod the Great appointed king of Judea
   c. 5 BC — Birth of Jesus Christ
      4 BC — Herod the Great dies
  c. AD 26 — Baptism of Jesus Christ
  c. AD 30 — Death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ
  c. AD 43 — London founded
  c. AD 46 — Paul begins missionary journeys
  c. AD 50 — Romans learn to use soap from the Gauls
     AD 54-68 — Nero, emperor of Rome
  c. AD 67 — Paul dies under Roman imprisonment
     AD 70 — Jerusalem destroyed
  c. AD 95 — John writes Book of Revelation
 c. AD 105 — Invention of paper
 c. AD 200 — Roman bishop gains prominent position as Pope
 c. AD 250 — First book on algebra
 c. AD 271 — First form of a compass used in China
    AD 313 — Last persecution of Christians in Rome
    AD 313 — Constantine's Edict of Milan which tolerates Christianity
    AD 325 — Council of Nicea (first ecumenical council) favors Athanasius over Arians who denied the deity of Christ
 c. AD 360 — Books begin to replace scrolls
 c. AD 410 — Alchemy begins (search for Philosopher's Stone and Elixir of Life)
 c. AD 570 — Muhammad born (founder of Islam)
 c. AD 600 — Masorites begin adding vowel points to Old Testament
c. AD 1100 — Invention of magnetic compass in China
c. AD 1440 — Invention of movable type
c. AD 1608 — Invention of the telescope
   AD 1914-1918 — World War I
   AD 1939-1945 — World War II
   AD 1969 — Man lands on the moon
   AD ???? — Return of Jesus Christ to Earth

2. Type of history

In what sense are the above biblical events special.  Are they real history, in the same way that the above “secular” events are real history?  Or are they a different type of history — spiritual history, in some way above regular history.

Neo-orthodox theologians claim that events such as the creation and fall of man and the incarnation and resurrection of Christ are supra-historical.  They are not datable events that can be experienced.  (Their claim stems from the unfounded belief that modern science has disproved the miraculous element of the Bible.  Yet they desire to retain a form of faith and spiritual encounter.)  When Karl Barth (founder of neo-orthodoxy) was asked if the serpent really spoke in Eden, he replied that it was more important to pay attention to what the serpent said.  Thus, according to him, the fall is not a record of an actual historical event, but a way of making us aware of our own fallen condition.

The neo-orthodox approach to biblical history (widely held in religious circles today) completely removes any basis for belief, or faith.  It makes belief support itself.  It is ultimately a humanistic approach to religion which makes the human act of belief more important than the object of belief.  But belief without a reliable object for that belief is worthless according to Paul.

If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. . . .  If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile.  (1 Corinthians 14-17)

The biblical events, while not special in the neo-orthodox sense, are special in three senses:  (1) God's involvement, making many of them miraculous, (2) their being recorded reliably in the inspired scriptures, and (3) their significance for all human beings.  But they are not special in the sense of being different types of events compared to “secular” events.  Both are the same kind of history.  They all happened in the same “space-time” real world.

J. Theme and teachings of the Bible

1. Central Theme

The Bible centers around mankind's spiritual problem and God's solution.  Our need is established very early with the record of the fall of mankind (the first sin) in Genesis chapter 3.  Most of the rest of the Old Testament is devoted to the establishment and preservation of the nation Israel through which the savior, Jesus Christ, would come.  The  Gospels record the life, substitutionary death, and resurrection of Christ, and the New Testament letters explain how those events apply to our lives.  In a phrase, the central theme of the Bible is Christ our savior.

2. Key Passages Related to the Central Theme:  Christ Our Savior

Subject	Reference	Teaching
Creation of Adam & Eve	Genesis 1:26-27,31;   2:7-9, 15-17	Adam and Eve were created by God.  They were created in God's image and were created good.  God told them what they could and could not do, and what would happen if they disobeyed.
Mankind's fall (first sin)	Genesis 3:1-6,23	Both Adam and Eve disobeyed God's direct command, and were banished.
Mankind's spiritual situation	Psalm 14:2-3 Romans 3:10-12 Isaiah 59:2a Habakkuk 1:13a Romans 6:23 2 Thes. 1:8-9	All individuals sin and thus are separated from God.
Prediction of a coming savior	Luke 4:16-21    (cf. Isaiah 61:1-2a) Daniel 9:24-27 Isaiah 53:4-6   (cf. verses 7-8 with   Acts 8:30-35, see   also Luke 24:25-27)	Salvation will come (did come in Jesus) 483 years after the decree of Artaxerxes to rebuild Jerusalem (458 BC).  The messiah will take the punishment we deserve for our sins.
Jesus' birth and sinless life	Matthew 1:18-21 Hebrews 4:15 I Peter 2:22	Jesus was born of a virgin.  Jesus lived a sinless life.
Jesus' message	Mark 1:14-15 John 3:16-18	Repent and believe the gospel. God loved mankind; sent Christ to save mankind; but individuals must believe (trust).
Jesus' death (the event)	Matthew 27:46,50	Jesus died both physically and spiritually (was separated from the Father).
Jesus' death (the purpose)	I Peter 2:24; 3:18a Col. 1:13-14,  21-22	Jesus suffered spiritual separation from the Father in our place so that we can be brought back to God (redeemed, forgiven, reconciled).
Jesus' resurrection	Matthew 28:2-6 Acts 1:3; 2:32 1 Cor. 15:3b-8	Christ returned to life and proved his resurrection by presenting himself to the apostles and others.
Paul's central message	I Cor. 15:3-4	Christ died for our sins and rose from the grave.
John's central message	John 20:30-31;  1:12	Believe in Christ (receive him) and you become a child of God with eternal life.

3. Logical Relationships of Key Biblical Teachings and Competing Ideas

The chart below is intended to show only logical relationships, that is, the interdependence of certain biblical teachings.  Each box represents a teaching which is absolutely essential for the teachings in the boxes above it to stand.  The Bible's teachings are not isolated.  Rather, they form a tightly connected framework of ideas.  In the chart, biblical ideas are placed in the boxes while contrary ideas are placed along the left and right sides.

Notice that “Good works” is based on eleven other teachings. This points up the futility of trying to produce good works in society through education, counseling, reform, etc. if it neglects the prerequisites for lasting inner change – including a recognition of the fall, personal sin, the deity and substitutionary death of Christ, and repentance and faith in Christ for salvation.