Old and New Testament Manuscript History

Excerpted from Findley Family Video Biblical Studies Student Edition

by

Michael J. and Mary C. Findley

copyright Michael J. and Mary C. Findley 2011

Findley Family Video Publications Smashwords Edition

Old and New Testament Manuscript History

Excerpted from Findley Family Video Biblical Studies Student Edition

copyright Michael J and Mary C. Findley 2011

Findley Family Video Publications Smashwords Edition

No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. Exception is made for short excerpts used in reviews.

"Speaking the truth in love."

Scripture references are as follows: The Bible: The king James Version, public domain. RV (English Revised Version), also public domain. (Please see the Authors' Note within the doctrinal study materials on Evans' language, Style and Content for information concerning this translation.) The New International Version, from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION registered NIV registered. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. The New American Standard Version: Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible registered, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission.

History of the Bible Part One: Authority, Old Testament and Translations

Table of Contents

Quotes by Sir Isaac Newton, William of Occam, and from the Scriptures

Scriptural Accuracy

from Chapter Six of Antidisestablishmentarianism on the Oral Tradition

Preservation of the Word through the Old Testament Period

Table of Appendixes

Appendix on the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings

Appendix on Ugaritic and Ancient Hebrew

Appendix on the Septuagint

Appendix on the Masoretic Text

Appendix on the Syriac Peshitta

Appendix on the Dead Sea Scrolls

Appendix of Manuscripts related to (or claimed to be related to) the Scriptures

Jerome's Latin Vulgate

The Cairo Genizah

The Nash Papyrus

The Nag Hammadi Library

Church Fathers Writings

Elephantine Papyri

Table of Illustrations

Isaac Newton and William of Occam with 2 Timothy 3:16

Thoth and Amun on Writing

Ugaritic Cuneiform and Hezekiah's Tunnel Inscription

Ancient Manuscripts I

Ancient Manuscripts II

“Truth is ever to be found in simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.”

Sir Isaac Newton

“The simplest explanation or strategy tends to be the best one.”

Occam’s Razor

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”

2 Timothy 3:16 KJV

Today, the simple statement of the Scripture above is denied in every conceivable way. However, it is still a very simple statement. We only have two choices, accept it or reject it. In both Hebrew and Greek, the word for "breath" can be translated as wind or spirit. Theopneustost is the Greek word translated inspired and literally means God breathed. The Bible is the breath, wind or spirit of God.

God uses marriage to illustrate the relationship between the human authors of the Bible and Spirit of God. From Adam and Eve to the New Jerusalem with the Bride of Christ, the relationship is always a 100/100 %, not a 50/50 % relationship. The words in the Bible, except the rare times God dictates his words, are the words of the human authors. Yet the final result is the very Word of God.

A poor analogy is a king giving orders and his subjects carrying out the orders. The subjects do the actual work, but the results are completely the responsibility of the king.

The Bible is accurate. It accurately records lies, rebellion, murders, rapes and every other kind of sin immaginable. It also clearly shows the results of and who is responsible for those sins. It shows us the origin of sin, the atonement for sin and the ultimate judgment of sin.

The chronologies in the Bible are presented as accurate historical records. Though there are discrepencies with our current imperfect Gregorian calendar and ancient dating systems, we can be accurate to about a decade. The World was created about 4000 BC, the Flood of Noah happened about 1650 years later, the Exodus from Egypt took place about 1446 BC and Jerusalem fell to Babylon about 586 BC.

Moses, the first man mentioned as writing down the Word of God, lived from about 1526 BC to around 1406 BC and was trained in the learning of Egypt (Acts 7:22). He had access to records which no longer exist.

The following is from Chapter Six of Antidisestablish-mentarianism, “What Is Secular Humanism?”

The Exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt is told in the Bible as a straightforward, factual, historic event. Charlton Heston, in his narration of the picturesque Bible video series, presents the Bible as part of the “oral tradition in storytelling” as if teachings passed on orally were understood to be less accurate or reliable and therefore merely legends and myths. Socrates, in Plato’s Dialogue “Phaedrus,” addresses the subject of oral versus written history.

“Theuth [Thoth] … was the inventor of many arts, ... but his great discovery was the use of letters. ... Thammus [the god Ammon] was the king of ... Egypt; …To him came Theuth ... desiring that the other Egyptians might be allowed to have the benefit of [his inventions]; … when they came to letters, This, said Theuth, will make the Egyptians wiser and give them better memories; ... Thamus replied: ... you ... attribute to them a quality which they cannot have; for this ... will create forgetfulness in the learners’ souls, ... they will trust to the external written characters ... This is an aid not to memory, but to reminiscence, ... not truth, but only the semblance of truth; they will be hearers of many things and will have learned nothing; they will appear to be omniscient and will generally know nothing; they will be tiresome company, having the show of wisdom without the reality.”

Plutarch, in his discourse on the life of Lycurgus and his rule in ancient Greece, expresses the belief that oral tradition is a way of making the law more firmly fixed in the mind.

“None of his laws were put into writing by Lycurgus, indeed, one of the so-called “rhetras” forbids it. For he thought that if the most important and binding principles which conduce to the prosperity and virtue of a city were implanted in the habits and training of its citizens, they would remain unchanged and secure, having a stronger bond than compulsion in the fixed purposes imparted to the young by education, which performs the office of a law-giver for every one of them.”

There is considerable disagreement about whether the Scriptures were in some part orally communicated before being written down. The point is that even if they were it does not make them less authoritative or reliable. Socrates may not be entirely justified in discounting the value of written records but he reinforces the point that oral communication of history does not make it unreliable or inaccurate. Memorizing and passing on history demands great discipline and does not result in a form of the child’s game “gossip.”

Gossip, sometimes called Telephone or other names, consists of a group made to stand in a line. The first person in line is given a piece of paper on which is written a phrase to whisper into the ear of the second person. Frequently there is only one opportunity to whisper the message. The second person whispers what he heard to the third, and so on down the line. The last person is to write down or speak aloud what he heard the person before him say. When the final form of the “gossip” message is made public, frequently it bears little resemblance to the original phrase. The distortion of the oral message in the game gossip is simply due to the indifference of the people playing the game. In fact, one simple change in the rules of the game of gossip produces correct transmission of the message even by children. Simply offer everyone who is playing a large enough reward, or punishment, if the final message is correct or incorrect.

Modern prisoners of war, inmates in prison, gang members, spies and others today pass on important information without writing it down and without changing the message. Most American Indian tribes had no written language and saw no need for one, until Europeans demonstrated the ability to talk to people far away. In the popular TV series Mission: Impossible, the leader of the team received his orders on a recording that self-destructed after he had heard it one time. He was forced to memorize the mission immediately or he would be unable to complete it.

Plato’s Dialogue “Phaedrus,” Translated by Benjamin Jowett, 1871.

Plutarch, from his Life of Lycurgus, translated by John Dryden and others, 1683.

(This ends the Chapter Six Antidisestablishmentarianism material)

Even if some parts of the Bible were handed down through oral transmission, they are still accurate. Incredibly, some people who dare to call themselves “scholars” claim that Hebrews of the Kingdom period did not have a written language. The only reason for making this outrageous claim is to manufacture doubt about the reliability of the Old Testament. They can claim it had to be written later, undermining the possibility of correct chronology and accuracy of prophecies.

A Terra cotta tablet list of gods of Ugarit was excavated at Ras Shamra. It is in the Louvre, Paris, France.

(Ugarit is written in cuneiform but is almost identical to ancient Hebrew and unlike other cuneiform languages. See Appendix for more information.)

Not even the discovery of actual kingdom period written Hebrew could convince some people. The Hebrew alphabet from the kingdom period used something like a Phonician alphabet. The illustration shows a copy of the Siloam Inscription which was placed at the mouth of Hezekiah’s Tunnel, August 2010. It is written in Paleo-Hebrew, Phoenician alphabet. The original was found in the tunnel and removed in 1891 to the Istanbul Archaeology Museum, Turkey.

Before these discoveries this type of bigotry could at least be excused. Now the evidence demands that the Hebrews were at least capable of writing the Old Testament.

Ezekiel and Daniel both had the Word of God during the exile. Though many Jews abandoned the Word of God during the exile in Assyria, Babylon and Persia, believing Jews spread it throughout these empires.

When the exiles returned to Judah, Ezra read the Word of God to the people. The way the people repented showed that most of them were unfamiliar with the Word of God. Ezra and Nehemiah returned the Word of God to the people. Ezra arranged the documents available to him into the Old Testament we are familiar with.

The Word of God spoke the universe into existence. (“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” John 1:1, KJV)

Everything we know about the antediluvian world was given to us by Noah, his wife, his sons and their wives or by direct revelation from God. This information was handed down through many generations. The book of Job was probably written down before the writings of Moses. Moses had this information plus the traditions of his people, plus the information he learned from Egypt plus what God directly spoke to him. He combined these to write what we know as the Law. Joshua continued record keeping after the death of Moses. Record keeping during the period of the Judges was less centralized. When Samuel founded the school of the prophets, these men preserved the works of Moses and Joshua and recorded the works of the Judges. They had the responsibility of sifting through the information they had to be certain that they had the very Word of God. Samuel and the prophets also taught the law to the people and recorded the events of the Kingdom period.

Throughout the kingdom period, good kings proclaimed God’s Word and evil kings attacked and destroyed it. The lowest point came during the reigns of Manasseh and his son Amon when every known copy of the Word of God was destroyed. Amon was assassinated and his son Josiah came to the throne. Then a copy of the Word of God was found in the temple. It seems that this was the only copy of God's Word left on earth. Josiah caused the Word of God to be copied and taught throughout Judah and whatever was left of the northern kingdom. Though the thorough destructions by the Assyrians and Babylonians destroyed copies of the Word of God as well as destroying the Hebrew culture, the revivals under Josiah provided many copies of the Word of God throughout the Diaspora.

Men such as Isaiah and Jeremiah were called by God to be writing prophets. Other prophets, such as Elijah and Elisha, performed the office of prophet while leaving the record keeping to others. Men who did not have the office of prophet were also used to write the Word of God. David, Asa and others wrote Psalms. Solomon and others wrote wisdom literature.

After returning from the exile, the priest Ezra collected and edited these documents into the book which we know as the Old Testament. The complete Old Testament was translated into Syriac (Peshitta) as well as Greek (The Septuagint). Both of these are translations and no translation is inspired, though both are helpful in giving insight into the meanings of words and cultures. (see Appendices on Peshitta and Septuagint)

The existing Hebrew texts which God has preserved for us today are known as the Masoretic text. Hebrew scribes who counted every character of every copy preserved these texts. Since pronunciation and spelling change through time and the existing Hebrew text has no vowels, these men created a system of vowel points and accents to pass on the Word of God to future generations. Various Jewish groups all over the globe used copies of the Masoretic text for centuries without so much as the change in a single character.

Malachi is the last Old Testament book. Four hundred years passed without any written revelation from God.

Appendix on the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings  Appendix on Ugaritic and Ancient Hebrew  Appendix on the Septuagint  Appendix on the Masoretic Text  Appendix on the Syriac Peshitta  Appendix on the Dead Sea Scrolls  Appendix of Manuscripts related to (or claimed to be related to) the Scriptures

Appendix on the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings

The Divisions of the Hebrew Bible, known by the acronym TaNaKh, or Tanakh, are based on the Masoretic Text. The Masoretic Text was first the torah, or instruction, the first five books of Moses, the second the Neviim or Prophets, and the third the Ketuvim or Writings.

"Now he said to them, 'These are my words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.'" (Luke 24:4). Christ appeared to the disciples shortly after His resurrection and He spoke about the scriptures dealing with Himself. He began with the Torah (The Law of Moses), went next to the Prophets, then on to the Writings, which begins in the Hebrew Bible with Psalms. The books in these categories are as follows:

Torah (Law or Instruction)

Bereishit (In the Beginning) Genesis, Shemot (Names) Exodus, Vayikra (And He Called) Leviticus, Bamidbar (In the Desert) Numbers, Devarim (Words) Deuteronomy

Neviim (Prophets) Joshua, Judges, Samuel (I and II are counted as one book), Kings (I and II are counted as one book), Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Trei Asar (The Twelve) Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

Ketuvim (Writings) Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra (Includes Nehemiah), Chronicles (I and II are counted as one book).

Appendix on Ugaritic and Ancient Hebrew

Cuneiform is a script made of wedge-shaped impressions in clay tablets. Archaeologists have found tablets written in Sumerian, Akkadian and Eblaite. Cuneiform is usually a one-sign, one-word script like Chinese. Scholars think it developed from pictogram writing like Egyptian hieroglyphics.

French Archeologists in 1928 found cuneiform tablets at Ras Shamra in Syria near the Mediterranean Sea. Ugarit, an ancient Canannite city, was built on this site. Ugarit cuneiform used one sign to represent one letter of an alphabet, unlike other cuneiform writings. The Ugarit Alphabet was the same as the Hebrew alphabet, as was its language. Hebrew scholars have found studying Ugaritic helpful in understanding some difficult Hebrew Scriptures.

Ugarit's tablets are dated by mainstream scholars at about 1300 to 1200 BC. The tablet pictured in the Bible History text lists gods the people worshipped. El, Baal, Asherah and even Yahweh are named among their gods. Studies of the culture shows it is similar to that of the Hebrews.

because Ugaritic seems to have a common source with Hebrew, its discovery is evidence that Semitic Script, and especially Hebrew writing, is older than scholars originally believed.

(Adapted from “The History of Ugarit,” by Jeff A. Benner, from the Ancient Hebrew Research Center website ancient-hebrew.org.)

Appendix on the Septuagint

The Septuagint or LXX is a translation of the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek, according to tradition, by seventy scholars (it was named for the Roman numeral 70, LXX) between the 3rd and 2nd centuries in Alexandria, Egypt. Apparently paid for by the Ptolemeic Dynasty along with many other Greek translation works for the library at Alexandria. The Septuagint is quoted from extensively in the New Testament. The writer of Hebrews quoted from it exclusively. In the Septuagint book of Esther Ahasuerus is Artaxerxes. The apocryphal book Bel and the Dragon is incorporated into Daniel in the LXX and the book of Esther is considerably longer. The Septuagint may have been based on a different Hebrew text than the Masoritic. This idea is supported somewhat by passages in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Different Codexes of the Septuagint have different books of the Apocrypha included, though almost all have the Maccabees included as Scriptures. Many differences in translations have been found, but this could be because we are translating a translation. The Greek is different from both Koine and Classical. Some of the things we look at as differences may simply be lack of familiarity with the types of Greek used to make the translation.

The order of books in the Septuagint is as follows. Note that some books considered apocryphal today are among those included.

Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth Kings I (1st Samuel) Kings II (2nd Samuel) Kings III (1st Kings) Kings IV (2nd Kings) Paralipomenon I (1st Chronicles) Paralipomenon II (2nd Chronicles) Esdras  I Esdras II (Ezra) Nehemiah Psalms Prayer of Manasseh Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon Job Wisdom of Solomon Wisdom of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) Esther Judith Tobit Hosea Amos Micah Joel Obadiah Jonah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi Isaiah Jeremiah Baruch Lamentations (of Jeremiah) Epistle of Jeremiah Ezekiel Daniel Song of the Three Children Susanna Bel and the Dragon I Maccabees II Maccabees III Maccabees (Some texts also include IV Maccabees and Psalms of Solomon).

Appendix on the Masoretic Text

The Masoretic text is the authoritative Hebrew Text of the Old Testament, the “official” version of the Hebrew Bible. It established what books are included in the Hebrew Canon and precisely defines the letter-text, plus the proper method of chanting, speaking or singing the text in public readings. The Masorah is the name for this system of preserving the exact text and oral guides. It was copied by Jews known as Masoretes between the 7th and 10th centuries A.D in the cities of Tiberias, Jerusalem and Babylonia. It has few differences from the accepted texts of the 2nd century and the Qumran (Dead Sea Scrolls) texts but differs in many places from the Septuagint.

Mesorah refers to the passing down of traditions, but in the case of the Masoretic Text it specifically means the diacritic markings in the text and marginal notes intending to preserve an accurate text.

When the Dead Sea Scrolls of Qumran (see appendix below) were discovered, 60% of the scrolls agreed to a significant degree with the Masoretic texts. One cave, known as Cave Four, contained less-well-preserved scrolls, not kept in jars. In that cave were found most of the variations from the Masoretic text, such as Septuagint-supporting texts, but also some fragments which conformed most closely to it.

Appendix on the Syriac Peshitta

The Syriac Peshitta is a translation of the Bible into Syriac, or Aramaic. Origen, an early biblical scholar, made a translation/commentary work including the Hebrew Old Testament and his revision of the Septuagint around 200 AD, called the Hexapla. Later a Syriac translation of the Old Testament called the Syrohexapla was done from Origen’s Septuagint. The Peshitta (which means simple or clear) came into use in the late 800’s AD but no one knows for certain where or when the translation work was done. The Old Testament was done separately and much earlier than the New Testament, probably by Jews, but scholars are uncertain when or where for either Old or New Testaments. It may be that some New Testament quotes of Old Testament verses are from the Peshitta. The Old Testament Syriac contains the same books as the Hebrew but in a different order.

This translation is, like all translations, not inspired, but it is very helpful in studying the Scriptures for understanding culture, for textual comparison purposes, and for aids to meaning. It is a very old and accurate translation.

Appendix on the Dead Sea Scrolls

Between 1947 and 1956, almost 900 scrolls written on parchment or papyrus were discovered in 11 caves near Qumran on the West Bank of the Jordan River. Theories about who lived there vary based on archaeological studies. Some areas of habitation at the site are simple and Spartan but there are also evidences of wealth and worldly relationships. Some archaeologists think it was a fort, part of a series of forts throughout the area. Theories about the Essenes, a Jewish sect of ascetics written about by Josephus, Pliny the Elder, and Philo, have been questioned. The Scrolls themselves mention a group called the Yahad about which nothing is really known. Some say a wealthy villa-owner gave sanctuary to those fleeing Jerusalem and offered hiding places for the scrolls formerly kept there. Clearly they made pottery and stored and copied scrolls. Phylacteries, Mezuzahs, (items containing portions of the Scriptures worn on the body or placed on the door of a house by Jews) inscribed pottery, and unidentifiable document fragments have also been found in the caves. Little else is known for certain about who lived or worked there.

Many of the scrolls are very detailed, with strict rules and regulations for conducting worship and living in a Jewish community. These differed from the way most Jews were living at the time. Some are commentaries on biblical books. Some are hymns and additions to the biblical feasts and ceremonies. Some may deal with eschatology (the end times, like Revelation), and others are considered apocryphal today.

One item is a copper scroll, very different from all the others, which seems to be a kind of treasure map, mentioning large amounts of gold, silver and coins, but it cannot be shown to have any biblical importance. Some have speculated that it may be the treasures from the Temple at Jerusalem and even include the Ark of the Covenant. Most of the directions are very detailed but concern structures or places that cannot be identified and seem no longer to exist.

The important point is that other scrolls include some of the oldest known manuscripts of the Holy Scriptures. Here is a list of partial or complete Scripture texts found in the caves. Many of these are just fragments, especially the ones found in Cave Four. See other appendixes for their importance. The Book of Isaiah is the only one that exists as one complete copy.

Some copies of books are called “Paleo” versions because they are written in a different, supposedly earlier form of Hebrew script. Some copies are Septuagint versions.

All the Old Testament books, with the possible exception of Esther, are represented in some portion among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Below is an example of how many copies or partial copies of some of the books are among the collection.

Psalms--39 Deuteronomy--33 Genesis--24 Isaiah--22 Exodus--18 Leviticus--17 Numbers--11 Minor Prophets--10 Daniel--8 Jeremiah--6 Ezekiel--6 Job--6 1&2—Samuel -- 4

Appendix of Manuscripts related to (or claimed to be related to) the Scriptures

(Author’s note. There are too many false and heretical manuscripts presented as "significant" in the study of the Scriptures to list and describe here. This is only a list of some of the ones that actually have a claim to authority or have people who persist in pushing them as authoritative but are false.

Jerome’s Latin Vulgate In 382, Pope Damascus commissioned Jerome to translate the Bible into Latin, which had become the language of European scholarship. For the Versio Vulgata (common translation) Jerome worked from Hebrew and from the Septuagint for the Old Testament. His work took twenty years. He did not complete the New Testament. That work was done later by others and incorporated into his work. It became the standard translation for the Western church after Jerome’s death but was not popular during his lifetime.

Augustine protested the Hebrew basis for the translation. He said it would divide the Eastern and Western churches because the Septuagint was preferred in the East. He pointed to an incident where a bishop in Tripoli preached on Jonah from the Vulgate and people rioted in the streets. The Vulgate was the first book printed in moveable type on Gutenberg’s Printing Press. The translation into Latin may have been commissioned or later used with the idea of preventing people from reading and understanding the Bible for themselves, forcing them to go to a priest for interpretation. It has flaws, and it is not inspired. However, the Latin Vulgate may be the translation through which more people have come to Christ than any other.

The Cairo Genizah was a storage building of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Fustat (Old Cairo) Egypt. Hundreds of thousands of manuscripts were stored there because of the custom of Jews not to discard any documents related to the Scriptures or their study without a special burial ceremony. 25,000 Hebrew Bible fragments were stored there along with many records in many languages, religious, historical and simple business transactions. Many have yet to be catalogued or studied.

The Nash Papyrus was found in Egypt in 1898. It is believed to date to about 150-100 B.C., making it the oldest known Hebrew manuscript before the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. It consists of four sheets containing the Ten Commandments with portions drawn from Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, followed by Deuteronomy 6:4’s “Hear O Israel, the Lord Our God is One,” called by Jews the “Shema.” It follows the Septuagint in this method of presentation. The Talmud records this manuscript as representing the worship practice of Egyptian Jews at that time. It is important because it gives support to the Septuagint translation in one respect where it differs from the Masoretic text. It currently resides in the Cambridge Library.

The Nag Hammadi Library are texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi. In 1945 twelve leather bound papyrus codices were found buried in a sealed jar. This collection included Coptic works translated from Greek. Some are pagan, one combining the worship of Hermes and Thoth. One is part of Plato’s Republic. It also has an apocryphal work called the “Gospel of Thomas.” The collection is kept at the Coptic Museum in Cairo. The Gospel of Thomas exists in partial copies in other places and is used by liberals to discredit the authority of the true Canon of Scriptures as proof of the existence of the “Q” document. These texts are believed to have been buried in response to the preaching of Eusebius and Athanasius against unscriptural texts.

The Letter of Clement I, the Didachae (The Lord’s Teaching to the Twelve Apostles Through the Nations) and The First Apology of Justin Martyr were on some lists to be included in the New Testament Scriptures, but are now considered part of a group of writings called “Early Church Fathers.” These are Christian writings of people who lived or wrote just after the time Christ was alive on earth, but are not considered eyewitness or first-person recordings of His earthly life and teachings. Some knew the Apostles or other followers of Christ personally. Their works are good teaching but not Scriptures.

There are many works that are considered religious, related in some way to Judaism or Christianity, or sects or cults of these religions, and it is impossible to list or explain them all. Jewish literature includes such works as the Talmud, the Midrash, the Kaballah, and others which are sometimes commentaries, sometimes historical or scribal records of customs and traditions which become revered, sometimes mystical works promoting false belief. The Apocrypha usually refers to specific books related to the Old or New Testaments. Some of these have factual history, some are fiction, some were prayerfully excluded from the canon after much consideration by godly men. Other works have been proved to be forgeries (Like the Book of Jasher). Many works promote erroneous views or heresies. Some are used to undermine the authority of true Scriptures.

Elephantine Papyri were manuscripts found on the island of Elephantine in the Nile River. A community of Jews lived there around the time others were returning to Israel to rebuild the temple in Ezra and Nehemiah’s time. These Jews did not seek to return to the land and seemed to have had many corrupt worship practices, even to building their own temple on the island. Although none of the manuscripts found there actually contain parts of the Scriptures, there are letters addressed to Persian rulers and even to Sanballat the Horonite (mentioned in the Scriptures as persecuting the returning Jews). These confirm the Aramaic of Ezra was being used at least as early as the fifth century BC. Liberal scholars have tried to put Ezra as late as the third century.

Old Testament Review Questions

(Note that for the Multiple choice there may be more than one correct answer.)

True or False

_____ 1. The two quotations beginning this study by Sir Isaac Newton and William of Occam have the same meaning.

_____ 2. We must either accept or reject the statement made in 2 Timothy 3:16.

_____ 3. Marriage is a poor illustration of inspiration of the Scriptures.

_____ 4. A king giving orders and his people carrying them out is a good illustration of inspiration.

_____ 5. Because the Bible is the Word of God, it cannot contain lies.

_____ 6. Events recorded in the Bible are based on the Gregorian Calendar.

_____ 7. Moses is the first man God records as writing down His Word.

_____ 8. Moses had access to documents that no longer exist.

_____ 9. The Oral Tradition in Literature means teachings passed on by memorization and word-of mouth.

_____ 10. Ammon said the invention of writing was not an aid to memory.

Multiple Choice

_____ 1. Inspired means

A. Accurate  B. Spirit-filled  C. God-breathed  D. Religious

_____ 2. A good illustration of inspiration is

A. Husband & Wife  B. King & Subjects  C. Boss & Secretary  D. Parent and Child

_____ 3. The Bible is God’s Word. Therefore it

A. Records Sins  B. Records Consequences  C. Records Remedy for sin D. All of the above

_____ 4. Dating biblical chronology is close but not be exact because

A. The Earth is older than any calendar can date  B. The Calendar we use today is different  C. Oral tradition is not accurate D. Bible writers didn’t have records to work from

_____ 5. Ammon said writing was not an aid to memory because

A. It creates forgetfulness B. It can’t record truth C. Those who use it know nothing D. A and C

_____ 6. The oral tradition in literature is

A. Just for storytelling  B. Passing on important teachings  C. Reading things aloud  D. Only for people who have no writing

_____ 7. An ancient language in which the Bible has been written is

A. Hittite  B. Syriac  C. Ugaritic  D. Egyptian

_____ 8. ______ was the king given the last copy of God’s Word.

A. Josiah  B. Ammon  C. Hezekiah  D. Manasseh

_____ 9. ______ collected the books into the Old Testament .

A. Elijah  B. Ezekiel  C. Ezra  D. Elimelech

_____ 10. The Diaspora was

A. Jews scattered into other countries B. A translation of the Scriptures  C. A heretical teaching  D. A priestly garment

Matching (Some answers are in the Bible History Appendixes)

A. Vulgate  B. Septuagint  C. Tunnel Inscription  D. Egyptian  E. Jewish  F. Oldest Writing  G. like Hebrew  H. Peshitta

_____ 1. Phonecian Script

_____ 2. Ugaritic

_____ 3. Syriac

_____ 4. Greek

_____ 5. Cuneiform

_____ 5. Coptic

_____ 6. Hebrew

_____ 7. Latin

Short Answer:

1. What are the three divisions of the Hebrew Bible mentioned by Jesus Christ?

________________________________________________

________________________________________________

________________________________________________

2. Using a separate computer file or sheet of paper, arrange the books of the Old Testament into the three divisions, using a Bible's Table of Contents if needed.

3. What makes the Cuneiform tablets found at Ras Shamra good Bible study aids?

________________________________________________

________________________________________________

4. Where was the Septuagint supposedly translated, and by how many people?

________________________________________________

________________________________________________

5. Which book in the New Testament quotes only from the Septuagint version of the Old Testament?

________________________________________________

True or False

_____ 1. The Ptolemaic Dynasty commissioned the Septuagint translation.

_____ 2. Many Old Testament books have apocryphal books added to them in the Septuagint.

_____ 3. The Dead Sea Scrolls help support the Septuagint's translations.

_____ 4. The Masoretic text includes markings to aid proper pronunication in oral reading.

_____ 5. Mesorah means only traditional customs.

From the Septuagint Appendix: Apocrypha or Scriptural Canon?

Put an A next to Apocryphal books and a C next to Scriptural Canon Books (Warning! Some titles are not from the English version.)

_____ 1. Paralipomenon I

_____ 2. Esdras II

_____ 3.  Wisdom of Solomon

_____ 4. Daniel

_____ 5. Ecclesiasticus

_____ 6. Tobit

_____ 7. Haggai

_____ 8. Joel

_____ 9. Wisdom of Solomon

_____ 10. Judith

Multiple Choice

_____ 1. The Jews who copied the authoritative Hebrew Old Testament texts were known as

A. Tiberians  B. Qumrans  C. Masoretes  D. Mesorahs

_____ 2. What percentage of the dead Sea Scrolls agree with the authoritative Hebrew Old Testament texts?

A. 30%  B. 60%  C. 90%  D. 100%

_____ 3. The word Peshitta means

A. simple or clear  B. having six parts  C. made by Origen  D. written in Syria

_____ 4. As a translation, the Syrica Peshitta is

A. Relatively recent  B. Not inspired  C. very old, very accurate  D. B and C

_____ 5. Qumran is

A. on the East Bank of the Jordan River  B. Where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found  C. a system of fifty caves  D. All of the above

_____ 6. Who mentioned the Essenes (there may be more than one correct answer)?

A. Josephus  B. Pliny the Younger  C. Pliny the Elder  D. Philo

_____ 7. We know for certain that the caves at Qumran were occupied by (more than one correct answer is possible)

A. Copyists  B. Essenes  C. Yahad  D. Potters

_____ 8. The Copper Scroll is

A. different from all others  B. uncertain biblical importance  C. possibly a treasure map  D. all of the above

_____ 9. Why is it important to find the oldest manuscripts of the Scriptures?

A. To keep archaeologists busy  B. To better refute heresies  C. To ensure our Bible is as accurate as possible D. To improve study of ancient languages.

_____ 10. The word Vulgate means

A. from Damascus  B. Common  C. Latin  D. Translation

_____ 11. Genizah is

A. A city in Egypt  B. A type of papyrus  C. A Hebrew house  D. A storage building

_____ 12. The oldest bible manuscript before the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls was

A. the Nash Papyrus  B. the Nag Hammadi Library  C. The Elephantine Payrus  D. the Septuagint

_____ 13. The Nag Hammadi Library is written in

A. Hebrew B. Greek  . C. Athenasian  D. Coptic

_____ 14. The Gospel of Thomas is

A. Part of the New Testament  B. Part of the Apocrypha  C. possibly a forgery using the Apostle Thomas' name D. B and C

_____ 15. Which of the following are part of the Hebrew Old Testament Scriptures?

A. Talmud  B. Midrash  C. Kaballah  D. Ketuvim

_____ 16. What makes the Elephantine Papyri important?

A. Documents contemporary with Ezra  B. Written in Egyptian Hieroglyphics C. showing Jewish idolatry  D. Confirms the Diaspora

History of the Bible Part Two:The New Testament and Inspiration

As the Old Testament was not pieced together by redactors long after the recorded events, so the New Testament did not “develop” from a mysterious “missing” document misnamed “Q.” The events of the New Testament happened when the authors said they happened. The people who claimed to write them actually wrote them. They were not forgeries written later. With the exceptions of Hebrews, Matthew, John and Mark, the actual authors are named in the letters or book. Though we might not know the exact time and place these books and letters were written, they are not “cleverly devised fables.” They were written during the lifetime of the author and the details written in the various books are accurate. These details help us determine the time and place they were written.

Jesus of Nazareth was born to a virgin. The records of Matthew and Luke are accurate. Jesus was crucified on the Passover between 28 and 33 AD (Anno Domini, the Year of Our Lord). If Jesus was born in 4 BC (Before Christ) and crucified in 33AD, He was 37 years old when crucified. If the Gregorian calendar is correct and He was born in 1 AD and crucified in 28 AD, He was crucified when He had just turned 28 years old. The Herods and Pontius Pilate are mentioned in Roman records. Thousands of places, events, people and objects mentioned in the New Testament are verified and help us place the New Testament in order.

While the exact dates are impossible to determine and good men differ, the gospel according to Matthew was probably the first written of the New Testament books. Written around 35 AD, many believe that an Aramaic version was in widespread circulation, since Jesus spoke Aramaic. The two books of Luke (his gospel and Acts) were penned next, followed by the majority of the epistles. These were written over three decades. The Gospel of Mark followed about the same time Peter wrote his epistles. The Apostle John wrote the last books of the New Testament around 90 AD. We do not know what order, but Church tradition says that John’s epistles were written after Revelation and the Gospel of John.

Before all the books of the New Testament were even written, the Roman government ruled that Christians were atheists. Christian writings were burned, Christians were persecuted and their property confiscated. Though some emperors severely persecuted Christians, others did not. The last persecuting emperor, Diocletian, was also the most severe. He executed anyone found with a copy of the New Testament. It is a miracle that anything still exists from the time of Diocletian or earlier. There are many Roman records of these book burnings. During the later Middle Ages, the Church of Rome also burned copies of the New Testament if they were not in Latin.

One of the earliest surviving pieces of New Testament Scripture, is a fragment of a papyrus codex containing John 18:31-33 and 37-38, called the Rylands Papyrus (P52). This papyrus was found in Egypt, and has been dated at about 125 A.D. It currently resides at the John Rylands Library in Manchester, England. The Chester Beatty Papyri are various papyri collected over a lifetime by Chester Beatty. Though they include medical texts and other non-Biblical texts, the six fragments of the Septuagint and the three fragments of the New Testament are the most important. The total recovered by Chester Beatty of the New Testament were about 300 leaves in three separate papyri. Dated from 200 to 250 AD, these various fragments make up roughly twenty percent of the New Testament. Other tiny fragments of the New Testament from about 200 AD to 325 AD also exist.

When Emperor Constantine reversed Diocletian and stopped destroying the Word of God, entire copies could be preserved. Sadly, many heresies have arisen, falsely claiming that the first ecumenical council called by Constantine and chaired by Eusebius “invented” or “created” the New Testament. All this council did was formally recognize what the persecuted Christian Church understood from the days of John. The twenty-seven books the first ecumenical council “recognized” as the New Testament are the same books we have in our New Testaments today. The process of canonization was not, as Wikipedia and other liberals proclaim “complex and lengthy.” Wikipedia adds to this error by continuing “Contrary to popular misconception, the New Testament canon was not summarily decided in large church council meetings, but rather developed over many centuries.” It is true that the first ecumenical council did not decide what was the New Testament canon, but neither did the canon develop over centuries. Though the canonicity of several apocryphal books such as the Shepherd of Hermas or the Epistle of Barnabas, and several canonical books such as James were questioned for centuries this is not because the Church was “developing” the canon. These questions arose because of Satanic deception and the inability of the Church to examine the Scriptures due to persecution.

From the time of Constantine to the present there was, however, an explosion of Greek texts and translations. Early Christian sermons and commentaries were also copied. Piecing together fragments of Scriptures quoted in these sermons and commentaries with actual Scripture manuscripts, we have almost the entire New Testament. Though we only have copies, the original sermons date back to the late first century.

The legalization of Christianity also allowed scribes to copy down complete New Testaments without fear that they would be destroyed. The earliest complete manuscripts in existence are Vaticanus and Sianaticus. These are complete MSS, not just pieces or fragments. The Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, spoke Greek and used Greek New Testaments until Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1626? These Greek New Testaments are called the Byzantine family. These were standardized when Erasmus published The Novum Instrumentum Omne ("All of the New Teaching"), the first published New Testament in Greek (1516). It later became known as the Textus Receptus. In 1626 the Archbishop of Constantinople, Cyril Lucar, gave the oldest complete New Testament manuscript in the church's possession to the Church of England to keep it from being destroyed by the Turks. Today we call this copy Alexandranus. It was used by some of the original King James translators to make a 1629 revision to the KJV. When the Cambridge (1760) and Oxford (1769) editions were published, many of the 1629 revisions were edited out because the editors attempted to go back to the 1613 original.

Jerome’s Latin Vulgate

In 382, Pope Damascus commissioned Jerome to translate the Bible into Latin, which had become the language of European scholarship. For the Versio Vulgata (common translation) Jerome worked from Hebrew and from the Septuagint for the Old Testament. His work took twenty years. He did not complete the New Testament. That work was done later by others and incorporated into his work. It became the standard translation for the Western church after Jerome’s death but was not popular during his lifetime.

Augustine protested the Hebrew basis for the translation. He said it would divide the Eastern and Western churches because the Septuagint was preferred in the East. He pointed to an incident where a bishop in Tripoli preached on Jonah from the Vulgate and people rioted in the streets. The Vulgate was the first book printed in moveable type on Gutenberg’s Printing Press. The translation into Latin may have been commissioned or later used with the idea of preventing people from reading and understanding the Bible for themselves, forcing them to go to a priest for interpretation. It has flaws, and it is not inspired. However, the Latin Vulgate may be the translation through which more people have come to Christ than any other.

Wycliffe

Wycliffe's translation of the Scriptures from the Latin Vulgate occurred between 1382 and 1395. Wycliffe was an early reformer. Little is known about the translation work because the Council of Constance (1414 to 1418) ordered the destruction of all records concerning the work and tried to destroy all copies, burning heretics with fragments of Scriptures around their necks and digging up the bones of Wycliffe to burn them. It is unknown how many people may have been involved in the work, though Wycliffe and Nicholas of Hereford were certainly involved. It was orthodox according to Roman Catholic belief, but produced without the church's sanction or control, and therefore declared heretical. Thomas More, Lord Chancellor of England under Henry VIII (1478-1535), who was beheaded for opposing Henry's installation of himself as head of the Church of England, used portions of Wycliffe's Bible because it could not be distinguished from "approved" translations.

Martin Luther

Martin Luther published his German translation of the New Testament in 1522. In 1534 he and his helpers finished the Old Testament and the entire Bible was published. He revised the translation throughout his life. When he was criticized for inserting the word "alone" after "faith" in Romans 3:28, he replied in part: "[T]he text itself and the meaning of St. Paul urgently require and demand it."

Luther used Saxon chancellery German to make the translation understandable to northern and southern Germans. He wanted the Bible accessible to ordinary Germans, "for we are removing impediments and difficulties so that other people may read it without hindrance."

Luther's version quickly became a popular and influential Bible translation, especially since it was produced at a time of great demand for German translations. Like Wycliffe's English in his own country, it contributed to the development of the German language and literature. Luther included notes and anti-papal woodcuts by Lucas. The Luther Bible influenced William Tyndale's translation, a precursor of the King James Bible.

Tyndale

William Tyndale was the first to translate the Bible into English from the original Greek and Hebrew. In 1523 Tyndale asked Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall for help to translate the Bible into English. Tunstall had worked with Erasmus on a Greek New Testament. Tunstall disapproved of an English translation in accordance with the official position of the Church at this time. Tyndale worked and lectured with the help of merchant Humpfrey Monmouth.

Tyndale is believed to have gone to Wittenberg about 1524 and to have completed his New Testament translation in 1525 with the help of friar William Roy. Peter Quentell in Cologne attempted to publish it but was delayed by anti-Lutheran sentiment. Peter Schoeffer produced a full edition in 1526 in Worms. Tunstall condemned the book, threatened booksellers and burned copies when it was smuggled into England and Scotland. Cardinal Wolsey condemned Tyndale as a heretic according to court records from 1529. Tyndale worked on revisions, between Worms, Hamburg, and his finally settling in Antwerp.

His condemnation of Henry VIII's proposed divorce and remarriage enraged the king. Tyndale was seized in Antwerp in 1535 and condemned to death on a charge of heresy in 1536. Thomas Cromwell's intercession failed to save him. Foxe's Book of Martyrs gives details of his execution. Tyndale "was strangled to death while tied at the stake, and then his dead body was burned" Tyndale's final words, spoken "at the stake with a fervent zeal, and a loud voice", were reported as "Lord! Open the King of England's eyes." Within four years Henry VIII sanctioned the publication of four English translations of the Bible. All, including Henry's official Great Bible, were based on Tyndale's work.

Coverdale

Myles (or Miles) Coverdale in 1535 published the first complete English Bible in print, known as the Coverdale Bible. He relied on Latin, English and German translations since he did not know Greek or Hebrew. He referenced Tyndale's November 1534 Antwerp edition New Testament plus his Pentateuch and Jonah in English. Jacobus van Meteren helped pay for the Antwerp publication. The Matthew Bible of 1537 included his translations. He oversaw the Paris printing of the "Great Bible" in 1538. London and Paris produced in the same year his Latin New Testament and Coverdale's English. The 1538 Bible compared the Latin Vulgate with his own English translation. He also edited the 1540 Great Bible. Henry VIII placed a Coverdale Bible in every English Church. Though it was chained to the bookstand to prevent theft, every citizen could have access to a Bible.

The Geneva Bible

The Geneva Bible came 51 years before the King James translation. It was used by the 16th century Protestant movement, William Shakespeare, Oliver Cromwell, John Milton, John Knox, John Donne, and John Bunyan (Pilgrim's Progress). It went to America on the Mayflower. Many English Dissenters relied on it. It was the first mechanically printed, mass-produced Bible offered directly to the general public accompanied by an "apparatus" of scriptural study guides and aids. This included verse cross-references, introductions summarizing each book of the Bible, maps, tables, woodcut illustrations and indexes. The Geneva Bible was history's very first study Bible.

The persecutions under Queen Mary I of England (1553 – 1558) drove Protestant scholars out of England to Geneva in Switzerland. John Calvin had created a spiritual and theological republic. William Whittingham was in charge of the translation of the Geneva Bible. Myles Coverdale, Christopher Goodman, Anthony Gilby, Thomas Sampson, and William Cole all participated in the work. The New Testament was complete and published in 1557. Gilby oversaw the Old Testament.

The first full edition with a revision of the New Testament, appeared in 1560. The New Testament was not printed in England until 1575. The complete Bible came out in 1576. It went through over 150 editions, the last probably in 1644. The very first Bible printed in Scotland was a Geneva Bible, in 1579. In fact, the involvement of Knox and Calvin in the creation of the Geneva Bible made it especially appealing in Scotland, where a law was passed in 1579 requiring every household of sufficient means to buy a copy.

Some editions from 1576 included Tomson's revisions of the New Testament. Some editions from 1599 onwards used a new "Junius" version of the Book of Revelation, in which the notes were translated from a new Latin commentary by Junius on Revelation.

The Calvinist and Puritan annotations angered pro-government Protestants of the Church of England, as well as King James I, who commissioned the "Authorized Version", or King James Bible, in order to replace it. The Bishops' Bible under Elizabeth I sought to replace it, as did the Rheims-Douai edition by the Catholic community. The Geneva Bible remained popular among Puritans and in widespread use until after the English Civil War. Geneva notes were included in a few editions of the King James version as late as 1715.

Like most English translations of the time, the Geneva Bible was translated from scholarly editions of the Greek New Testament and the Hebrew Scriptures. More than 80 percent of the language in the Geneva Bible is from Tyndale. However, the Geneva Bible was the first English version in which all of the Old Testament was translated directly from the Hebrew.

The Geneva Bible was the first English Bible to use verse numbers based on the work of Stephanus (Robert Estienne of Paris).

The 1560 Geneva Bible was printed in Roman type—the style of type regularly used today, although many versions were produced in the more common Blackletter type. In the late sixteenth century it is likely that the Geneva New Testament cost less than a week's wages even for the lowest-paid labourers.

The 1560 Geneva Bible contained a number of study aids, including woodcut illustrations, maps and explanatory 'tables', i.e. indexes of names and topics, in addition to the famous marginal notes.

Douay Rheims Bible

Douai, France was a haven for exiled English Catholics. An English College was founded there, and in 1582 a New Testament translated from the Latin Vulgate was produced. The college moved temporarily to Rheims and both towns gave their names to the translation once the Old Testament was incorporated. Gregory Martin, former fellow of St. John's College, Oxford, was the principle translator. William Allen, Richard Bristow and Thomas Worthington proofed and provided notes and annotations. Limited funds prevented the publication of the Old Testament until 1609 and 1610. It had some influence on the King James translators but none in Anglican England after that.

"The Holy Bible, faithfully translated into English out of the authentic Latin. Diligently conferred with the Hebrew, Greek and other Editions." Completion of the work required revisions to the Vulgate. Though the English text most used by the translators seems to have been a Tyndale revision in an English and Latin version New Testament, published by Miles Coverdale in Paris in 1538, they had a very different philosophy of translation.

These translators considered Protestant versions to be inaccurate because they claimed to make clear the meanings of texts the Catholic translators believed were unclear. The Catholic translators claimed they used heavily latinized vocabulary to emphasize that these passages were not so easily understood. The effect was a translation few people could hope to understand.

In 1589 William Fulke printed the Rheims New Testament in parallel columns with the Protestant Bishops' version of 1572 with the stated purpose of exposing its errors. The Rheims annotations and his own refutations of them were included. This was probably the most popular version of the Douay-Rheims translation produced and was reprinted up until 1633.

Between 1749 and 1752 Richard Challoner, English bishop of the see of Debra, revised the translation. As a former Protestant he relied on the King James Version. Challoner improved readability and removed ambiguities of meaning that the original Rheims–Douay translators had intended to remain.

The Great Bible

The Great Bible was the first authorized edition of the Bible in English. King Henry VIII intended it to be read aloud in services of the Church of England. It was prepared by Myles Coverdale, commissioned by Sir Thomas Cromwell, Secretary to Henry VIII and Vicar General. In 1538, Cromwell directed the clergy to provide "one book of the Bible of the largest volume in English, and the same set up in some convenient place within the said church that ye have care of, whereas your parishioners may most commodiously resort to the same and read it."

Tyndale's books were banned by royal proclamation in 1530. Henry promised an officially authorized English Bible being prepared by "learned and catholic scholars." In 1534, Thomas Cranmer compelled ten diocesan bishops to work together on an English New Testament, but most delivered their draft portions late, inadequately, or not at all. By 1537 Cranmer was saying that the proposed Bishops' Bible would not be completed until the day after Doomsday. The King was becoming impatient with the slow progress.

Therefore, the Great Bible relies on the portions of the Bible Tyndale completed but revises parts that English Bishops and the king objected to. Coverdale translated the remaining books of the Old Testament from the Latin Vulgate and German translations, rather than working from the original Greek and Hebrew texts.

The first edition was a run of 2,500 begun in Paris in 1539. Much of the printing was done at Paris but printed sheets were seized by the French authorities on grounds of heresy. The publication was completed in London in 1539. It went through six revisions between 1540 and 1541.

Although called the Great Bible because of its large size, it is also known as the Cromwell Bible after its commissioner, the Whitchurch's Bible after its first English printer or the Chained Bible, since it was chained in place to prevent theft.

The Authorized or King James Version

In 1604, King James I convened the Hampton Court Conference. English Puritans wanted King James I to agree to a new translation of the Scriptures that would address their concerns about the accuracy of previous versions. James demanded support for the Divine Right of rulers and the episcopal church structure. The translation was done by 47 scholars, all members of the Church of England. The New Testament was translated from Greek. The Old Testament was translated from Hebrew text. The Apocrypha were translated from the Greek and Latin. The translation was completed in 1611, though almost immediately replaced by the 1613 version as typographical errors were corrected. The original printing of the Authorized Version was published by Robert Barker, the King's Printer, in 1611 as a complete folio Bible.  By the 18th century it had become the standard English version, even surpassing the Latin Vulgate's use among biblical scholars. A standard text was produced in 1769 and the KJV or Authorized Version remained the unchallenged favorite English version for 250 years.

Revised Version

The Revised Version (or English Revised Version) is a late 19th-century British revision of the King James Version of 1611. The New Testament was published in 1881, the Old Testament in 1885, and the Apocrypha in 1894. It is the only officially authorized and recognized revision of the KJV. There were over 50 scholars from various denominations on the team. American scholars participated by correspondence. The best known of the translation committee members were Brooke Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort.

American religious scholars were invited to work on the RV project. 30 scholars were chosen by Philip Schaff and began work in 1872. The American team's suggestions required two-thirds acceptance by the British. Their agreed-upon suggestions were put into the appendix of the RV.

The American team agreed not to publish their version for 14 years. 300 suggestions went into the appendix. The American Standard Version is the American version, published in 1901 after the agreement between the British and American translation teams had expired.

Revised Standard Version

This is a twentieth-century translation (NT 1946, complete Bible in 1952) which states that it derives from Tyndale's 1525 New Testament. It is an authorized revision of the American Standard Version of 1901. It has had a few modified versions, a Catholic edition, and formed the basis for the 1982 Reader's Digest Bible, which removed 55% of the Old Testament and 25% of the New Testament. Its translation of The Hebrew equivalent of the Greek word for "Virgin" as "Young Woman" came under fire from conservatives as undermining the doctrine of the Virgin Birth of Christ. The New Revised Standard Version published in 1989 began the practice of "translating" to promote a gender-neutral agenda.

New American Standard Version

This translation is based on the 1901 American Standard Version. The stated purpose was fourfold:

1. These publications shall be true to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.

2. They shall be grammatically correct.

3. They shall be understandable.

4. They shall give the Lord Jesus Christ His proper place, the place which the Word gives Him; therefore, no work will ever be personalized.

The New Testament translation was published in 1963, the complete Bible in 1971, and a new edition in 1995. It is considered the most accurate English translation of the Bible and follows the word-for-word, literal philosophy of translation.

New International Version

The New International Version resulted from co-operation between the Christian Reformed Church, the National Association of Evangelicals, and a group of international scholars. The New York Bible Society (now Biblica) did the translation, releasing the New Testament in 1973 and the full Bible in 1978. It underwent a minor revision in 1984. Today's New International Version was a revision producing a New Testament in 2002 and the complete Bible was published in 2005.

The manuscript base for the Old Testament was the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia Masoretic Hebrew Text. Other ancient texts consulted were the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion, the Latin Vulgate, the Syriac Peshitta, the Aramaic Targum, and for the Psalms the Juxta Hebraica of Jerome. The manuscript base of the NIV was the Koine Greek language editions of the United Bible Societies and of Nestle-Aland for the New Testament. The deuterocanonical books (Apocrypha) are not included in the translation.

Fifteen main Biblical scholars spent ten years with a team of up to 100 scholars from the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa to produce the original translation. Anglicans, Assemblies of God, Baptist, Christian Reformed, Lutheran and Presbyterian all participated. Translators claimed to balance word-for-word and thought-for-thought translation philosophies. Recent archaeological and linguistic discoveries were said to bring more clarity to traditionally difficult passages.

Later versions have attempted to incorporate so-called "inclusive" language such as gender-neutral elements which have not been well-received by readers. The latest version disregards what Keith Danby, president and chief executive officer of Biblica, called the "underestimated" readers' loyalty to the 1984 NIV and increases the "inclusive" elements.

Spanish versions

Medieval Spanish Jews created oral translations of the Scriptures and some of these were written down, but the Roman Catholic Church restricted ownership of written Scriptures to persecute Protestants and those who practiced Judaism secretly.

The Reina-Valera Spanish translation of the Bible was attributed to Casiodoro de Reina. It was printed in Basel in 1569. Some believe that monks in San Isidoro assisted in this work while avoiding the Inquisition's persecutions. A revision by Cipriano de Valera was printed in London 1596. It was for the use of the incipient Protestant movement and is widely regarded as the Spanish equivalent of the King James Version.

After the publication of the whole Bible by Reina, there was a version from Cipriano de Valera which became part of the first Reina-Valera print (Amsterdam 1602). Many sources have been cited upon which the complete work may have been based, and many revisions were made, including one in 1960, called the "Monterrey Revision Project," aiming at a revision of the original version of 1602 according to the Textus Receptus.

The Nueva Versión Internacional is a Spanish translation begun in 1979 and revised in 1999 by Biblica following the same principles and philosophy as the New International Version English Bible.

Other Translations

Many organizations have sought to make translations into every language spoken by man. Missionaries nearly always seek to make a translation into the language of the people they work among if one does not already exist. Wycliffe Bible Translators has carried on this work, and individual missions groups make this a priority. The online Bible resource Bible Gateway says it has over one hundred Bible versions on its site. Not all translations are good translations. Many are imperfect but useful. Our website has an article "What Is a Pig Translation?" exploring some of the problems of translation work. We also have an exhibit in our Virtual Museum on Ancient Manuscripts related to the Bible and Bible translations.

Review Questions New Testament and Inspiration

Fill in the Blank

1. Which four books of the New Testament do not have authors named within them?

________________________________________________

2. Details in books of the New Testament help determine

______________________ and

__________________________ they were written

3. Anno Domini is a Latin phrase meaning ________________

_____________________________.

4. Rulers mentioned in Roman historical records include

_______________________ and

________________________.

5. The book of Matthew may have first been written in what language spoken by Jesus Christ?

____________________

6. Which New Testament book was most likely written first?

____________________________

7. Two books, one of them a gospel, were likely written next.

What were they, and who wrote them? ____________________

and ______________________  by

_______________________

8. Who wrote his gospel probably at the same time Peter

wrote his epistles? __________________________

9. Who was the last author to contribute to the New Testament

and about what time was it completed?

____________________

_____________________________

10. What did the Roman government call Christians?

___________________

Matching

Match the lettered items with the numbered items below them by writing the correct letter in the blank beside the number. (More than one lettered item may fit with the same numbered item.)

A. Epistle of Barnabas

B. Rylands Papyrus

C. Sinaticus

D. Eusebius

E. Alexandranus

F. Shepherd of Hermas

G. Vaticanus

H. Novum Instrumentum Omne

I. Chester Beatty Papyri

J. Book of James

_____ 1. One of the earliest complete manuscripts in existence

_____ 2. An early church father who confirmed the canon of the New Testament already established by first and second century Christians.

_____ 3. An apocryphal book from the early church era.

_____ 4. A book some questioned as to whether it should be part of the New Testament.

_____ 5. Found in Egypt, dated 125 A.D

_____ 6. The name of the Textus Receptus when first standardized and printed by Erasmus.

_____ 7. Manuscript given to the Church of England to protect it from the Turks at the fall of Constantinople.

_____ 8. Manuscript fragments dated from 200 to 250 AD, comprising 20% of the New Testament.

Multiple Choice

_____ 1. Translated the Bible into Latin

A. Augustine  B. Jerome  C. Pope Damascus  D. Gutenberg

_____ 2. Wycliffe translated the Scriptures into English from

A. Hebrew  B. Greek  C. Latin  D. Syriac

_____ 3. The Council of Constance

A. Burned Wycliffe's bones  B. Burned anyone with copies of Wycliffe's translation and the copies  C. Burned Thomas More for using Wycliff's translation  D. A and B

_____ 4. Martin Luther's translation

A. was criticized for Romans 3:28  B. became very unpopular  C. Removed hindrances to people reading the Scriptures for themselves  D. A and C

_____ 5. Tyndale's English translation differed from Wycliffe's in that it

A. came from Greek and Hebrew  B. it was partly based on Luther's German  C. resulted eventually in his execution  D. All of the above

_____ 6. Tyndale's translation work

A. formed the basis of four sanctioned English translations  B. exposed errors in the Great Bible  C. was destroyed with no remaining copies  D. attacked Henry VIII's divorce and remarriage

_____ 7. Myles Coverdale had a part in all the following English translations except

A. Coverdale Bible  B. Sinner' Bible  C. Matthew Bible  D. Great Bible

_____ 8. What made the Geneva Bible different from all other translations was

A. It was printed in the Swiss language  B. It was printed only in America  C. It had study notes and cross references  D. It was supported by the Church of England

_____ 9. The Geneva Bible influenced all of the following except

A. Martin Luther  B. John Donne  C.John Bunyan  D. William Shakespeare

_____ 10. All of the following people were involved in the translation except

A. William Shakespeare  B. Miles Coverdale  C. John Knox  John Calvin

_____ 11. All of the following are characteristics of the Geneva Bible except

A. 80% based on Tyndale  B. O.T. completely translated from Hebrew  C. Roman Type  D. cost a year's wages

_____ 12. All of the following are characteristics of the Douai-Rheims Bible except

A. It was a French translation  B. It used latinized language  C. It was translated from Latin  D. the most popular version was in a work exposing its errors

_____ 13. The Great Bible relied on the condemned Tyndale translation because

A. The Bishops assigned delayed too long in their parts of the work  B. Miles Coverdale had been executed  C. Thomas Cranmer told the king otherwise it would not be ready until "the day after doomsday."  D. A and C

_____ 14. The Great Bible was called the "Chained Bible" because

A. It was chained in place to prevent theft  B. It was dedicated to martyrs imprisoned for their faith  C. It was locked shut when the church was closed  D. Henry VIII kept a copy chained to his throne

_____ 15. All of the following are characteristics of the Authorized or King James Version Bible except

A. Puritans requested a new translation  B. only Church of England Bishops worked on it  C. no printer was specially designated to print it  D. It remained the most popular English version for 250 years

_____ 16. All of the following are characteristics of the Revised Version Bible except

A. Americans had to wait fourteen years to publish differing revisions  B. It is the only authorized revision of the King James  C. Scholars from all over the world participated  D. Many denominations participated

_____  17. All of the following are characteristics of the Revised Standard Bible except

A. The word for virgin in the O.T. was translated "young woman"  B. It formed the basis of the Reader's Digest Bible  C. It pursued a gender-neutral agenda  D. It replaced the King James Version in popularity

_____ 18. All of the following are characteristics of the New American Standard Bible except

A. It was a word-for-word translation  B. It was based on the American Standard Version  C. It followed a literal translation philosophy.   D. It replaced the King James Version in popularity

_____ 19. All of the following are characteristics of the New International Bible except

A. Scholars from many parts of the world participated  B. Scholars from many denominations participated  C. It follows a literal, word-for-word translation philosophy  D. It relies on recent archaeological and linguistic findings for traditionally difficult passages

_____ 20. The Reina-Valera translation is significant for all the following reasons except

A. It is the equivalent of the KJV in Spanish  B. It was made in defiance of the Spanish Inquisition  C. It is partly based on translation work by Spanish-speaking Jews.  D. The Monterrey Revision was declared heretical

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Table of Contents

copyright

Ancient Manuscripts II

Appendix on the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings Appendix on Ugaritic and Ancient Hebrew Appendix on the Septuagint Appendix on the Masoretic Text Appendix on the Syriac Peshitta Appendix on the Dead Sea Scrolls Appendix of Manuscripts related to (or claimed to be related to) the Scriptures

Old Testament Review Questions

History of the Bible Part Two:The New Testament and Inspiration

Review Questions New Testament and Inspiration

Table of Contents

copyright

Ancient Manuscripts II

Appendix on the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings Appendix on Ugaritic and Ancient Hebrew Appendix on the Septuagint Appendix on the Masoretic Text Appendix on the Syriac Peshitta Appendix on the Dead Sea Scrolls Appendix of Manuscripts related to (or claimed to be related to) the Scriptures

Old Testament Review Questions

History of the Bible Part Two:The New Testament and Inspiration

Review Questions New Testament and Inspiration