A Time Line of Key Events in the History of the Bible

1. ow We Got the ible A Time Line of Key Events in the History of the Bible

2. How We Got The BibleThe Canon • In classical Greek the world "canon" signifies properly, "a straight rod," or "a carpenter's rule." In the early ages of the Christian religion it was used with considerable indefiniteness of meaning, though generally denoting a standard of opinion and practice. Later it came to be used as a testing rule in art, logic, grammar, and ethics. Still later the sacred writings received the name of the "Canon of the Scriptures."

3. AD 200-300 The Canon The Canon refers to the authoritative books that are officially accepted and approved as Holy Scripture. These books are based on a standard or “rule of faith.” Some of these standards include: divine inspiration, accuracy, doctrinal truth, consistency, power, and acceptance by the people of God. 1500 BC 500 BC AD 1 AD 500 AD 1000 AD 1500 AD 1900 AD 2000 1500 BC 500 BCAD1 AD 500 AD 1000 AD 1500 AD 1900 AD 2000

4. The Bible is inspired by God. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 2 Peter 1:20-21

5. The inspiration of Scripture • The term is adopted from the Vulgate’s translation of 2 Timothy 3:16: “omnis scriptura divinitus inspirata.” • Literally of course, the term θεοπνευστος means “breathed by a god,” • “God-breathed” is a better term than “divinely inspired.”

6. The inspiration of Scripture • Let me offer this theological formulation then: when we say that Scripture is “inspired,” we mean that God himself breathes out the message of Scripture. • John MacArthur • The concern here is not with an event of “inspired authorship” at a specific moment in the past, but rather with the fact that the biblical writings, right here and now among us, are “God-breathed.”

7. The Inspiration of Scripture • The message of Scripture comes to us here and now by the very breath of God. This has nothing to do with a static concept of how Scripture originated in the past, but it has everything to do with how Scripture functions among us in the present.

8. Biblicism: A danger to Protestant theology • Hans Kung words: • Biblicism remains a permanent danger to Protestant theology. The real foundation of faith is no longer the Christian message, nor the proclaimed Christ himself, but the infallible Biblical word. Just as many Catholics believe less in God than in “their” church and “their” pope, many Protestants believe in “their” Bible. The apotheosis of the church corresponds to the apotheosis of the Bible!

9. Theopneustia: The Plenary Inspiration of the Holy Scriptures • Biblical Basis of the Doctrine • There are several Scriptures which seem to indicate the holy character of the individual words of the Bible: • … Man shall not live on bread alone, but on  every word  that proceeds out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4, NASB) The  words of the LORD are pure words; As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times. (Psalm 12:6, NASB)

10. My Theology of Inspiration • This discussion does NOT call into question the historical occurrence  of different Biblical events (such as the Creation, the Flood, etc).  • I do not question the divine inspiration of the Scriptures, which the Scriptures themselves repeatedly affirm. • Psalm 138:2 says, "God has exalted the Word to the very level of His own name." It is impossible to separate the glory of the Word from God Himself because this is indeed His own Word. 

11. My Theology of Inspiration • I only object to the view that divine inspiration imparts a  wholly inerrant character to each individual letter and pen stroke of the original manuscripts.  • This view, in my opinion, is a long step down the road to Bibliolatry, and away from the worship of God "in spirit and in truth".

12. Why a Canon of the Bible • So long as the living voice of prophets and apostles was to be heard, there was no pressing need of a canon of Scripture. But as soon as these men were dead--and with them inspiration ceased--it became necessary that their writings be gathered together, and to preserve those writings from corruption. • Another reason why a canon was necessary was to preclude the possibility of additions to the number of inspired works. Already numerous writings were extant purporting to be inspired. Hence the question arose, Which of these are really inspired? • Emperor Diocletian issued in A.D. 302 an edict that all the sacred books should be destroyed by fire. hence the question arose as to which books rightly deserved the name of inspired and sacred.

13. Key Terms • AUTOGRAPHSMany believe that the original autographs of Holy Scripture are completely free from any human error or inconsistency?? While the church no longer possesses these "original autographs" of Scripture, the many manuscripts (copies/apographs) of Scripture or portions of Scripture that we do possess are remarkable for their consistency (especially when compared to other ancient books), which is a testimony to God's miraculous providence and or process.

14. Key Term • EXTANT • Definition: Surviving / still in existence. In the study of history, 'extant' usually refers to manuscripts and other documents which have survived the ages and are still in existence, and thus available to historians as evidence. • Pronunciation: ex-stant • Examples: A Greek translation of the Jewish scriptures was certainly made – indeed, the Greek is now the earliest complete version of Jewish lore extant – but the origins were very different.

15. Key Terms • The Witness of History for Scripture • Deuterocanonical, meaning later canon (Apocrypha ) • Homologoumena and Antilegomena • Antilegomena (from Greek ἀντιλεγομένα, meaning things contradicted or disputed, literally spoken against) was an epithet used by the Church Fathers to denote those books of the New Testament which, although sometimes publicly read in the churches, were not for a considerable amount of time considered to be genuine, or received into the canon of Scripture. • They were thus contrasted with the Homologoumena (from Greek ὁμολογουμένα), or universally acknowledged writings.

16. Key Term Textual Criticism?Textual criticism is the method Bible scholars use to discover what the original manuscripts of the Bible most likely said. Textual criticism is necessary because the original manuscripts of the Bible are no longer in existence. There are thousands of copies of the Bible dating from the 4th century B.C to the 15th century A.D. In these thousands of copies, there are some differences. The vast majority of the differences are minor, i.e. the word order being a little different, a missing "the," a name spelled differently. Textual criticism attempts to determine what the original actually said.

17. How was the Canon of the Bible formed? • Moses commanded that the books of the law be placed in the ark. This--with the addition of the book of Joshua--was done, and the sacred books were kept there during the wilderness journey, and also were in the ark during its permanent residence in Jerusalem. (Deuteronomy 31:9,26, cf. 2 Kings 22:8; Joshua 24:26; 1 Samuel 10:25.)

18. Four Classifications • Homologoumena – those books which were accepted by all • Antilegomena – those books which were questioned • Pseudopigrapha – those non-biblical works rejected by all • Apocrypha – those non-biblical works accepted by some • Protocanonical - considered canonical • Deuterocanonical books – sometimes doubted

19. Old Testament 1500-400 BC Events are written down in Hebrew (with portions in Aramaic) over many centuries. In Exodus, the LORD tells Moses to write in a book. Other writers, inspired by God, include leaders, kings and prophets. Together, these writings on leather scrolls and other materials are called the Hebrew Scriptures or Old Testament. 1500 BC 500 BC AD 1 AD 500 AD 1000 AD 1500 AD 1900 AD 2000 1500 BC 500 BCAD 1 AD 500 AD 1000 AD 1500 AD 1900 AD 2000

20. How was the Canon of the Bible formed? • Then were gathered and placed in the temple the historical and prophetical books from Joshua to David's time. On the construction of the temple Solomon deposited in it the earlier books (2 Kings 22:8, Isaiah 34:16), and enriched the collection with inspired writings from his own pen, and also some prophetic writings. So we find Daniel (9:2, R.V.) referring to "the books," Isaiah to "the book of the Lord" (29:18, 34:16).

21. How was the Canon of the Bible formed? • After Solomon's day a succession of prophets arose, Jonah, Amos, Isaiah, Hosea, Joel, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Obadiah, and Habakkuk. These all flourished before the destruction of the temple, and enlarged the collection of existing sacred books by valuable additions. • After the Babylonian capture, when the temple was rebuilt and worship re-established, then doubtless were added the writings of Haggai and Zechariah.

22. How was the Canon of the Bible formed? • About fifty years after the temple was rebuilt Ezra made a collection of the sacred writings (Neh. 8:2,3,14). • To this collection were added the writings of Nehemiah, Malachi, and Ezra. • It is a fact of history that Nehemiah gathered the "Acts of the Kings and the Prophets, and those of David," when founding a library for the second temple, 432 B.C. (See 2 Maccabees 2:13).

23. Evidence of a Canon? • Some manuscript texts date to the early second and third centuries, with the time between the original autographs and our earliest existing fragment being a remarkably short 40-60 years.

24. Clay 39 books Written approximately 1500-400 BC Old Testament: Stone Leather

25. The Old Testament was written mainly in Hebrew, with some Aramaic. A sample of Aramaic letters. The letter “aleph” in Hebrew script.

26. 450 BC Ezra According to Jewish tradition, Ezra, a priest and scribe, collects and arranges some of the books of the Hebrew Bible, around 450 BC. 1500 BC 500 BC AD 1 AD 500 AD 1000 AD 1500 AD 1900 AD 2000 1500 BC 1000 BC 500 BC AD1 AD 500 AD 1000 AD 500 AD 2000

27. The Massoretic Text • The Massoretic text is named for a group of Hebrew scholars called the Massoretes. • They had schools in Babylon and Tiberius by the Sea of Galilee. They flourished from 500 to 1,000 A.D. The word "Massoretic" comes from the Hebrew word "massorah" which means "tradition". • The idea is that of both preserving something and passing it down to the next generation. • The Masoretes both preserved the Hebrew text and made accurate copies to hand down to succeeding generations.

28. Jewish Tradition • Just when this group of books was completed, and set apart as the definitely recognized Word of God, is involved in obscurity. • The Jews' tradition was that it was done by Ezra. We believe that, as these books were written, beginning with Moses, they were, at the time, recognized as Inspired of God, and placed in the Tabernacle or Temple along with the accumulating group of Sacred Writings. • Copies were made as needed. In the Babylonian Captivity they were scattered, and many copies destroyed. Ezra, after Return from the Captivity, re-assembled scattered copies, and restored them as a complete group to their place in the Temple. • From Temple copies, other copies were made for Synagogues. • Question? Autographs – Copies – Inspiration?

29. Formation of the Book • Early in history God began the formation of the Book which wasto be the medium of His revelation of Himself to man: • Ten Commandments, written on stone (Deuteronomy 10:4, 5). • Moses' Laws, written in a book (Deuteronomy 31:24-26). • Copies of this book were made (Deuteronomy 17:18). • Joshua added to the book (Joshua 24:26) . • Samuel wrote in a book, and laid it up before God (I Samuel 10:25) . This book was well known 400 years later (II Kings 22:8-20) . • Prophets wrote in a book (Jeremiah 36:32; Zechariah 1:4; 7:7-12) . Ezra read this book of God publicly (Ezra 7 :6; Nehemiah 8: 5) . • In Jesus' day this book was called "The Scriptures," and was taught regularly and read publicly in synagogues. It was commonly regarded among the people as the "Word of God." Jesus himself repeatedly called it the "Word of God."

30. Formation of the Book • These "Scriptures" were composed of the 39 books which constitute our Old Testament, though under a different arrangement. They were spoken of as the "Law," 5 books; the "Prophets," 8 books; and the "; thus: Writings," 11 books • Law: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. • Prophets: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, The Twelve. • Writings: Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles. • Thus combining the 2 books each of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles into 1 • Ezra and Nehemiah into 1 • 12 Minor Prophets (which were written on one roll) into 1 • These 24 books are exactly the same as the 39 books of our Old Testament.

31. Josephus Old Testament CanonJosephus was a historian who lived from 37 A.D. to about 100 A.D. • Josephus considered the Old Testament Canon as fixed from thedays of Artaxerxes, time of Ezra. Here are his words: "We have but 22 books, containing the history of all time, books that are believed to be divine. Of these, 5 belong to Moses, containing his laws and the traditions of the origin of mankind down to the time of his death. From the death of Moses to the reign of Artaxerxes the prophets who succeeded Moses wrote the history of the events that occurred in their own time, in 13 books.

32. Josephus Old Testament Canon The remaining 4 books comprise hymns to God and precepts for the conduct of human life. From the days of Artaxerxes to our own times every event has indeed been recorded; but these recent records have not been deemed worthy of equal credit with those which preceded them, on account of the failure of the exact succession of prophets.

33. Josephus Old Testament Canon • There is practical proof of the spirit in which we treat our Scriptures; although so great an interval of time has now passed, not a soul has ventured to add or to remove or to alter a syllable; and it is the instinct of every Jew, from the day of his birth, to consider these Scriptures as the teaching of God, and to abide by them, and, if need be, cheerfully to lay down his life in their behalf."

34. Who Was Josephus? • Josephus was born A.D. 37 in Jerusalem, of priestly aristocracy. He received an extensive education in Jewish and Greek culture. He was governor of Galilee and military commander in the wars with Rome, and was present at the destruction of Jerusalem. • These words of Josephus are unquestionable testimony to the belief of the Jewish nation of Jesus' day as to what books comprised the Hebrew Scriptures, and that that collection of books had been completed and fixed for 400 years preceding his time.

35. The Apocrypha • The word Apocrypha comes from the Greek word, meaning “hidden” or “concealed”.   The term generally refers to religious writings found in the Septuagint and Latin Vulgate, but not in the Hebrew Bible.  • The names for these writings can differ between Protestants and Catholics. • The Catholics consider these writings as canonical, while Protestants do not, and Orthodox churches consider some as canon to a lesser extent then Catholics. 

36. Apocrypha: King James BibleAuthorized 1611 • Additions to Daniel • Judith • Esdras • Additions to Esther • Susanna • 2 Maccabees • 4 Ezra • Sirach • Prayer of Manassheh • Wisdom of Solomon • Baruch (incl Epistle of Jeremiah) • 1 Maccabees • Tobit • Bel

37. The Apocrypha • Since Catholics consider these books canon, therefore they do not call them Apocrypha but deuterocanonical, meaning later canon • The Apocrypha was officially removed by the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1885 leaving only 66 books. • Judaism treats these books as we would treat a commentary on the Bible. They are viewed as useful but not inspired, or simply as a book that records history. For example the story of Hanukkah comes from the apocrypha and is accepted as a historical document but nothing else. 1 Mac.4:56-59

38. The Apocrypha