Most of us do not stop to think of the tremendous amount of preservation and translation that has gone into the Bible as we know it today. At times in the past it was deliberately destroyed, and at other times treasured on papyrus scrolls and on beautifully illustrated manuscripts. People have been burned for owning a Bible, but today it has been translated into more languages than any other book and is available to most (but not yet all) who wish one. How did this come to be? The Bible’s history is a fascinating study, and the one you hold in your hand is indeed a miracle — a gift from God.
Its Divine Inspiration
Here we have a book which claims divine inspiration from God and is addressed with all authority from God to man. Because it comes from an infinite God, it deals with and communicates truth which is also infinite. Yet it is addressed to man who is finite in his thoughts and is written in words which, insofar as they are human language, are able to be read by man. Although he can read the words and understand them, yet the truth revealed in the Bible is ultimately beyond man’s learning and understanding, for it takes him into areas where he is totally dependent on divine revelation. Yet, in dependence upon God, man can enjoy and live in the good of what is revealed in His Word. More than this, although the Bible claims divine inspiration, yet the human touch is still there. Not only the personalities of the writers, but also the character and personalities of those about whom they wrote are portrayed vividly for us. Each writer has his own style, and some books are historical, others poetical, while still others prophesy the future. Yet all hangs together and flows together in perfect harmony. There is no explanation for all this, except that it is what it claims to be — the Word of God.
The First Five Books
Before Moses and the exodus of Israel from Egypt, it does not seem that there was any written Word of God. No doubt there were oral communications from God, and these were likely passed down through various generations. Then God gave Moses the inspiration to write the first five books of the Bible, often called the Pentateuch. Other writers followed, probably close to forty of them, until John wrote the Revelation about 97 A.D. Thus the writing of the Bible from the human standpoint took about 1600 years.
The Original Languages and Translations
The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew, an ancient language that likely originated in the land of Canaan. This was spoken by the nation of Israel up until the time of the Babylonian captivity, when the language changed by being mixed with Mesopotamian languages such as Chaldee and Syrian. This modified language was called Aramaic. When they came back from the captivity, the Jews continued to use this language, and it was commonly spoken when our Lord was on earth. However, at that time Greek was the common language in many parts of the Roman world, and it became more and more generally used as time went on. Thus, when the New Testament came to be written, it was written in Greek, a language in which it would be more widely read and understood. By this time, too, the Old Testament had been translated into Greek (about 280 B.C.). This translation was called the Septuagint, so named because the work had allegedly been done by seventy scholars. It enjoyed a wide usage during the time of our Lord, and it seems that both He and the apostles quoted freely from it when referring to the Old Testament. However, the Jews also continued to speak Aramaic, especially those still living in the land of Israel, and rabbis often then read the Old Testament in pure Hebrew in their synagogues. In such cases an interpreter might be available to translate for those who knew only Aramaic.
Since the canon of Scripture was completed, many translations of it have been made — some good and some rather defective. Because it is God’s Word, accuracy in translation is important, and we appreciate those who, in dependence on God, have sought to make translations which give the original wording as exactly as possible. We can be thankful, though, for every attempt to make the Word of God available to people in their own language. Even less accurate translations (such as Martin Luther’s, for example) have been used of God in much blessing to souls.
The Complete Canon of Scripture
Many times the question has been raised, “How do we know that we have the exact canon of Scripture? How do we know that the books which have been put together form the Word of God, and that it is complete? Since the work was done by men, is it not possible that some book was inadvertently left out, or possibly one included that does not belong there?”
Some of the books, particularly the Pentateuch, were regarded by Israel right from the beginning as the very utterances of Jehovah, and they were treated as such. Later inspired books were not always recognized at once for their true character, but as time went on, they were ultimately shown to have come from God. Likewise, those that were not inspired were identified as such and left out of the Word of God. In this connection, Martin Luther made a wise statement when he said, “The church cannot give more force or authority to a book than it has in itself. A council cannot make that to be Scripture which in its own nature is not Scripture.” No doubt he was referring to a council of the Roman Catholic Church, perhaps the council of Trent, that took upon itself to decide that the uninspired books of the Apocrypha should be included in the canon of Scripture. But from the very beginning the inspiration or otherwise of various writings was always decided by the internal testimony and intrinsic value of the writings themselves. Because the writings were found to be “living and operative” (Heb. 4:1212For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12) JND), they were recognized as the Word of the Lord. Other books, even those written by writers who were used of God to pen some of the inspired writings, have passed away, having served their purpose. Even Scripture itself refers to some of these writings, such as “the book of Nathan the prophet” (1 Chron. 29:29) and “the epistle from Laodicea” (Col. 4:1616And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. (Colossians 4:16)). Such writings have long since been lost, but those given by inspiration will endure forever.
Various Apocryphal Books
In recent years there has been a great deal of interest in certain writings alleged to be inspired. In 1945 an archive of 57 Christian writings was discovered in central Egypt. Among them were a so-called “Gospel of Thomas,” a “Gospel of Mary,” and a “Gospel of Judas.” There are other additional books (such as the “Gospel to the Nazareans”) which the church fathers cited occasionally, but which are not included in the canon of Scripture. Those who want to discredit the Word of God have made much of these writings. In fact, it is quite possible that Dan Brown was motivated to write his blasphemous novel, The Da Vinci Code, from reading this material found in Egypt, for some of his claims are found in at least two of these apocryphal books.
Several aspects of these writings prove conclusively that they were not inspired. First of all, their naming is misleading. For example, even the most liberal scholars admit that the so-called “Gospel of Judas” has nothing to do with Judas and was not written by him. Second, their dating is very speculative and the timing of their being written is only conjecture. It is unlikely that they were written until at least the second century A.D. Third and most important, their teaching is often blasphemous and at variance with the truth given in the books known to be the Word of God. This explains why they were originally excluded from Scripture. For example, many of them deny the perfect divinity and humanity of the Lord Jesus, and they deny that the work of Christ is necessary for salvation.
Be Thankful
Let us be thankful for the Word of God which we hold in our hands and which God has preserved to us. Surely the One who inspired men to write it was able to see to it that it was preserved for us, even amid the taints of human carelessness and weakness that occasionally entered into its text during its journey through the ages. Several times in the Word of God we find a warning about adding to it, and we are warned about taking away from it. Such warnings would not be there if there were no danger of such things, but God well knew how the heart of man would seek to undermine His divine revelation. May we have faith in God and His Word, and resist every effort to corrupt it. W. J. Prost