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Evidence for the Reliability of the Biblical Text. Three Kinds of Primary Evidence. General Principles. What makes a text ‘genuine’. The Making of Early Books. Early Books. Early Text Production . Papyrus Inks Copying Copyist errors and practices
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Early Text Production • Papyrus • Inks • Copying • Copyist errors and practices • Jewish scribal tradition and library science • Storage and archival practices
Types of “text” • PAPYRUS made from Reeds, woven and pressed • Was organic and had tendency to break down and dry out • PARCHMENT: skins of animals tanned and mass produced in Pergamum • VELLUM: calfskin dyed purple • Ostraca or ‘potsherds’ • Stone, clay and other tablets with inscriptions
The Nature of Variations • There are variant in the biblical text (death of Saul 1 Sam 31/2 Sam 1) • Seemingly conflicting stories or details do not imply error • Difference in experience can lead to inclusion and exclusion of details without error • Three blind men and an elephant…
Three Blind Men and an Elephant Will have different pachydermal experiences! Will relate data to personal experience Disparate conclusions do not imply error, but only ignorance or limited information
Church Fathers as Witness to Text • The NT text is included in the thousands of quotations found throughout the writings of the Church Fathers [100-450 AD] • It is possible to reconstruct the nearly the entire NT with quotes from the Church Fathers alone.
Church Father Quotes • Ignatius d. AD 115 Quotes from Matthew, John and Luke. • Polycarp, writing to the Philippians in AD 120 quotes from Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, 1,2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, 1,2 Thessalonians, 1,2 Timothy, Hebrews, 1 Peter, and 1,3 John • Clement of Rome AD 95 or 96 quotes from ten of the twenty-seven New Testament books. • Nearly the entire New Testament can be reconstructed from quotes of the church fathers in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. • None of these ever quoted from a Gnostic gospel, ever!
NT witness to inspiration • Peter and Paul 2 Peter 3:15-16 • Paul quotes Luke; Luke 10:7 and 1 Tim 5:18 • Revelation Rev 22:18-19 • Paul is aware of his authority • 1 Cor 2:12, 14:37; • Gal 1:11-12; • 1 Thess 2:13
The text as witness to itself • Significant internal references to text as scripture across many centuries • References to events and the historical record as divine (Stephens speech and others) • Apostles reference to one another's works as sacred text even while they lived • The commands to circulate the letters of Paul to other congregations as evidence of their applicability and authority
Scientific Evidence • The Earth is suspended in ‘nothing ‘ • (Job. 26:7, NIV). • The Existence of Valleys in the Seas • (2 Sam. 22:16, NIV). • The Existence of Springs and Fountains in the Seas • (Genesis 7:11, NIV). • The Existence (Ocean Currents) in the Seas • (Psalm 8:8, NIV). • The Hydrologic Cycle • (Job. 26:8, NIV). • (Job. 36:27-28, NIV) • (Ecclesiastes 1:6-7, NIV).
Biblical vs. Syncretistic View of Nature An ‘explanation’ of the flood Biblical View The water cycle... Job 36:27: 27 "He draws up the drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams; the clouds pour down their moisture and abundant showers fall on mankind. Amos 5:8; he who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns blackness into dawn and darkens day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land— the LORD is his name- “The flood was produced by a union of the male waters, which are above the firmament, and the female waters issuing from the earth. The upper waters rushed through the space left when God removed two stars out of the constellation Pleiades. Afterward, to put a stop to the flood, God had to transfer two stars from the constellation of the Bear to the constellation of the Pleiades. T that is why the Bear runs after the Pleiades. She wants her children back, but they will be restored to her only in the future world.” A Jewish manuscript of New Testament times.
Inerrancy • Biblical inerrancy is the doctrinal position that in its original form, the Bible is totally without error, and free from all contradiction; "referring to the complete accuracy of Scripture, including the historical and scientific parts". • Inerrancy is distinguished from Biblical Infallibility (or limited inerrancy), which holds that the Bible is inerrant on issues of faith and practice but not history or science.
Dating 101 • Material from which the text is made • Letter size and formation • Punctuation and grammatical characteristics • Textual divisions • Ornamentation on MSS • Color and nature of the ink • Texture and color of Parchment
Important Early Documents • John Ryland Papyrus AD 130 • Chester Beatty Papyrii AD 200 • Bodmer Papyrus II AD 150-200 • Codex Vaticanus AD 325-250 • Codex Sinaiticus AD 350 • Codex Bezae AD 300
Blow-up of text from Codex Sinaiticus Showing uncial manuscript type
The Rylands Fragment John 18:31-33, 37 AD 130
Dead Sea Scrolls DSS • Enormous find in Qumran caves • 40,000 inscribed fragments • Most important are OT documents dated more than 100 years before Jesus • Prior oldest MSS were from around 900 AD • In IS 53 of the 166 words, only 16 letters are in question
Qumran Cave #4
Author Date Oldest Copy Interval Copies Aristophanes 400 BC AD 900 1,300 years 45 Aristotle 340 BC AD 1100 1,450 years 5 Demosthenes 300 BC AD 1100 1,400 years 200 Julius Caesar 50 BC AD 900 950 years 10 Herodotus 435 BC AD 900 1,350 years 8 Homer 800 BC AD 100 900 years 643 Plato 360 BC AD 800 1,150 years 15 Sophocles 415 BC AD 1000 1,400 years 7 Thucydides 410 BC AD 900 1,300 years 8 Old Testament 1500 BC – 500 BC 200 BC 200-400 years 5,000 New Testament AD 50-90 AD 125 50 years 8,000 Textual Evidence for Ancient Manuscripts
Pagan Sources • Thallus (Pagan, 55) – Historical documentation of solar eclipses after crucifixion (Mt 27:45) • Matt 27:45 From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. • Mara Bar Serapion (Syriac, ca. 70) – Jesus a wise teacher killed by the Jews, teaching lives on
Romans • Tacitus (Roman, 100) – Execution of Jesus by Pilate during reign of Tiberius • Pliny (Roman, 110) – documented various Christian practices and fact that Jesus was worshipped as God • Suetonius (Roman, 120) – Deportation of Jews from Rome during Claudius’ reign because of Christian practice (Acts 18:2 Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome.)
Jewish Extra Biblical References to Events in Scripture • Josephus (90) – Jewish historian gave independent testimony to Jesus fame as a teacher, wonder-worker & martyr during the time of Pilate. He also gave other details of the Gospel story • Talmud (2nd Century) – Gives the timing & method of Jesus, a wonder-worker’s execution by the Sanhedrin.
Summary • The New Testament canon was selected by consensus of the church in the second century as those books with apostolic authority. • The evidence is conclusive that the Greek New Testament we have is virtually identical to the original writings of the inspired writers.
Predictive Prophecy • Method of Jesus’ execution Psalm 22 • Exact ransom for Jesus Zech 11 • Rise and Fall of Kingdoms Daniel 2 • Secular rulers named; Cyrus the Mede Is 45 • Destruction of Temple AD 70 Mt 24 • Permanent destruction of certain cities: • Nineveh (Nah. 1:10; 3:7,15; Zeph. 2:13-14) • Babylon (Isaiah 13:1-22) • Tyre (Ezek26)
Prophecy Against the Nations Destruction of Pagan Cities • Nineveh (Nah. 1:10; 3:7,15; Zeph. 2:13-14) • Babylon (Isaiah 13:1-22) • Tyre (Ezek. 26:).
The Nature of Eyewitness Testimony • Eyewitness testimony is impossible to refute • Apostles often challenged their critics saying “you saw this too” or “ you recall when Jesus…” • Paul challenged Agrippa with the same logic ad even as an enemy of the message could not refute the facts about Jesus • Other ancient ‘mythical’ stories about the miraculous are only ascribed to fictional characters, never to real people whom the author knew personally
Black Obelisk • Jehu severed Israel’s alliances with Phoenicia and Judah, and became subject to Assyria. • The caption written in Assyrian cuneiform, can be translated: • “The tribute of Jehu, son of Omri: I received from him silver, gold, a golden bowl, a golden vase with pointed bottom, golden tumblers, golden buckets, tin, a staff for a king [and] spears."
