THE BIBLE
( AN INTRODUCTION )
Names of the Bible
The word Bible is not in the English version of Scripture. It is the equivalent of the Gr. word biblia, meaning books. The term the books (tabiblia in Gr.) occurs in Daniel 9:2 of the Septuagint, referring to the prophetic writings; similarly in 1 Macc. 12:9, the holy books. The usage was taken up by the Christian church for the O.T., and later was extended to mean the whole of the Scriptures. The Bible came to be termed such by Clement in the middle of the 2nd century; he called the sacred writings tabiblia-The Books. Jerome's name for the Bible (4th century) was The Divine Library. Afterward there was an important change from the plural to the singular meaning. In the 13th century The Books by common consent became The Book-The Bible.
How the Bible Was Given
See
Languages of the Bible
1. The O.T., with the exception of Ezra 4:8-6:18; Ezra 7:12-26; Jeremiah 10:11; Daniel 2:4-7:28, was written in Hebrew. These passages were written in Aramaic (the so-called Chaldee), a dialect related to Hebrew which gradually took its place as the spoken language after the exile.
2. The language of the N.T. was the common (Hellenistic) Greek or Hebrew-Greek, so-called because the Jews introduced so many of their own idioms into the Greek which became well known through the influence of the Septuagint and Jewish businessmen who traveled everywhere. This was the commercial language spoken throughout the
Divisions of the Bible
1. The O.T. Five divisions-Thirty-nine books:
(1) The Pentateuch-5 books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
(2) The twelve historical books: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
(3) The five poetical books: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon (Canticles)
(4) The five books of the major prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel
(5) The twelve books of the minor prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
2. The N.T. Five Divisions-Twenty-seven Books:
(1) The Four gospels-History of the Messiah: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
(2) The historical book: Acts of the Holy Spirit and the apostles
(3) The fourteen Pauline epistles: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews
(4) The seven general epistles: James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude
(5) The Prophetical book: Revelation
What the Bible Is Not
1. The Bible is not an amulet, charm, fetish, or anything to work wonders by its very presence alone, and it does not claim to be such. It does claim that if one will study and practice its teachings he will see wonders worked in his life both now and in the hereafter.
2. The Bible is not a book of chronological events or an unbroken series of divine utterances. It was given, here a little and there a little, to many men through 18 centuries (Isaiah 28:9-11); but regardless of this, it forms a perfect unity.
3. The Bible is not a book of heavenly utterances in supernatural language; it is God's revelation in the most simple human language possible.
4. The Bible is not a book of mysteries; it explains its so-called mysteries, and is so self-interpreting that no mystery remains.
5. The Bible is not a book that says one thing and means another. Generally, the passages have one simple meaning. In the few which have a double meaning, this fact is quite clear, either from the verses themselves or from parallel passages. One cannot, as is sometimes said, get a thousand different meanings from the Scriptures.
6. The Bible is not a specimen of God's skill as a writer or logician. It is a book written by men whom He used to record His revelation. The method was by giving them ways of expressing truth, and freedom in the use of their own language. What inspiration guarantees is unity of truth, not sameness of words and expressions.
7. The Bible is not a book of systematic discourses on any one subject, but it does give divine information on practically every subject. One must collect together, from here and there, all God's information through various writers, in order to know the whole truth. When this is done there is perfect harmony, and everything which a man really needs to know about a subject is clear.
8. The Bible is not a book adapted to the tastes, customs, and habits of any one nation or people; it is not for any one age or period of time. It is a book to which all people in all ages can conform, and yet retain their own lawful customs and habits which are not contrary to the will of God.
What the Bible Is
1. The Bible is God's inspired revelation of the origin and destiny of all things. Here heaven is opened and the gates of hell disclosed. It is the traveler's map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's sword, and the Christian's charter.
2. The Bible is the power of God unto eternal salvation and the source of present help for body, soul, and spirit (Romans 1:16; John 15:7). Christ is its grand subject, man's good its design, and the glory of God its end. It is a mine of wealth, the source of health, and a world of pleasure.
3. The Bible is God's will or testament to men in all ages, revealing the plan of God for man here and now, and in the next life. It will be opened at the judgment, and it will last forever. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward for the least to the greatest of labor, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.
4. The Bible is the record of God's dealings with man in the past, present, and future. It contains His message of eternal salvation for all who believe in Christ, and eternal damnation for all who rebel against the gospel.
5. As a literary composition, the Bible is the most remarkable book ever made. It is a divine library of 66 books, some of considerable size, and others no larger than a tract. These books include various forms of literature-history, biography, poetry, proverbial sayings, hymns, letters, directions for elaborate ritualistic worship, laws, parables, riddles, allegories, prophecy, and all other forms of human expression.
6. The Bible is the only book that reveals the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts binding, its histories true, and its decisions immutable. It contains light to direct, spiritual food to sustain, and comfort to cheer. Man should read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. He should read it that it might fill his memory, rule his heart, and guide his feet in righteousness and true holiness. He should read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully, meditatively, searchingly, devotionally; and study it constantly, perseveringly, and industriously-through and through, until it becomes a part of his being, generating faith that will move mountains. See Twelve Symbols of the Word of God, §Hebrews 4:12, note.
How to Read the Bible
1. Frequently, daily (Joshua 1:8)
2. Not for controversy, but for profit (Proverbs 3; 2 Tim. 3:16-17)
3. Meditatively (Psalm 1:3)
4. In love (Psalm 119:97-104)
5. With consciousness of need (Matthew 5:6; John 7:37-39; 2 Peter 1:1-10; 2 Peter 3:18)
6. In faith (Romans 10:17; Hebrews 11:6)
7. Searchingly (John 5:39)
8. Openness to all of it (2 Tim. 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12; Jude 3)
9. By comparing scripture with scripture (2 Cor. 2:13)
10. In the Spirit (John 14:16-17; John 15:26; Galatians 5:16,26)
11. Through, and over and over again (Matthew 5:18)
12. In obedience (Romans 1:5; Romans 16:26).
How to Interpret the Bible
See Ten Classes Who Find the Bible Hard to Understand; Seven Reasons Why the Bible Is Simple; and Seven Reasons Why the Bible Is Not Understood. For hints on understanding the Bible, see note, §Mark 10:49; note, §Mark 11:17; note, §Mark 14:21; and note, §Mark 15:28. That the Bible is easy to understand, see notes, §Hebrews 5:11-6:1; note, §2 Peter 3:16; and note, §Matthew 15:10. The law of interpretation is stated in note on §2 Cor. 13:1; Twelve Rules of Interpretation; and the secret of understanding in note on §Mark 4:24. The Bible is to be taken literally as other books (see note, §Mark 9:10). See also Rightly Dividing Truth.
The Apocryphal Books
In some large family Bibles there is a section of 14 books called the Apocrypha-a group of spurious books that were rejected from our present canon of Scripture because they did not pass the tests required of inspired books:
1. They were not written or approved by a prophet.
2. They were not recognized by the Jews as inspired and a part of Scripture.
3. They were not recognized or quoted by Christ and the apostles, a fact that is more striking when we realize that Paul even quoted twice from heathen poets.
4. The last O.T. prophet predicted that the next messenger coming to
5. Divine authority is not claimed by their authors, and by some it is virtually disowned (2 Macc. 2:23; 2 Macc. 15:38).
6. The books contain statements at variance with the Bible history.
7. They are self-contradictory and in some cases opposed to doctrines of Scripture.
8. Josephus, who lived at the time of the apostles, did not regard the Apocryphal books as Scripture. He stated that the O.T. books (the ones in our present version) were the only inspired writings (Josephus, Against Apion, I:8).
9. The Apocryphal books were not a part of the ancient versions of Scripture. They were first added after A.D. 300. The Laodicean Council in A.D. 363 rejected them as being uninspired, thus proving that by that time some were claiming inspiration for them. (They first appeared in the Vatican Version of the 4th century. At the Council of Trent in A.D. 1546 Catholics accepted 6 of these books as inspired and added them to their modern versions of Scripture. They are: Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees).
10. Philo and others did not regard the Apocryphal books as inspired.
11. There is a lack of prophetic element in them; and there is an apparent imitation of the inspired O.T. books.
12. They show too free use of the imagination which has given rise to silly stories and the lack of spiritual force and power.
Inspiration of the Bible
God-Breathed.
The Bible a Revelation
Christianity is a revealed religion, the record being contained in the sacred Scriptures. See Revelation; the source of revelation, §Matthew 16:17, note; and Six New Revelations.
Much of the Bible is a revelation. Man could never have known about ages of eternal past, the pre-Adamite world, Lucifer's past, the creation of the spirit and material worlds, the future eternal ages, and many other things related to God's plan for man except by direct revelation of these things through the Holy Spirit (Romans 16:25; Ephes. 3:3; Col. 1:26; Col. 2:3; Rev. 1:1). The many hundreds of prophecies are a direct revelation of things to come, which God alone could give (Acts 15:18; Ephes. 2:7; Ephes. 3:9-10; Rev. 1:1).
Revelation discovers new truth while inspiration superintends the communication and recording of it. Revelation guarantees that what God has revealed is truth; inspiration guarantees that not only all revelation, but all other records of Scripture are truth-that what is recorded actually happened, as recorded. All the Bible is inspired whether each passage is a revelation or not (2 Tim. 3:15-17). Furthermore, inspiration records with equal accuracy the language of God, Satan, angels, demons, and men; but it does not place all that is said on the same level. For example, when Satan, evil spirits, or men are recorded as speaking lies to deceive, inspiration only records what was actually said; it does not affirm what was said was truth. No lie can be truth, but inspiration can faithfully record both.
The ignorance of man regarding his origin, past, and eternal future; his lack of knowledge concerning the will of God; and the fact that all philosophers have failed to construct a complete, coherent, and adequate religion-these things make revelation absolutely necessary.
How We Got Our English Bible
Our English Bible is the result of 1200 years of work by all kinds of learned men. Portions were translated from the Vulgate, the Latin version, beginning as far back as A.D. 700 when Aldhelm translated the Psalms into Saxon. Egbert translated the 4 gospels sometime later. In A.D. 735 Bede translated parts of the Scriptures into Saxon. King Alfred undertook a translation of the Psalms but died in A.D. 900 before it was finished. Elfric translated the Pentateuch and some of the historical books in the 10th century. Nothing else was done about translation from then to the time of John Wycliffe, who made the first complete English Bible from the Vulgate in A.D. 1380. The next was a N.T. by William Tyndale in 1535 and the Pentateuch in 1530. In 1535 Miles Coverdale made the first complete printed English Bible. Then came the Geneva Bible in 1560, followed by Bishop's Bible in 1563 and revised in 1568. The Roman church came out with Douay version of the N.T. in 1582 and the whole Bible in 1609 which has been used by that church up until now. In 1604 King James authorized 47 men to make a complete translation of the Bible from the original languages. It was finished in 1611 after 7-8 years of diligent work. It has been the most popular and accepted version of the English speaking world from that day until now. There have been several revised versions since then, and a number of Bibles in modern English, but none have been as well accepted and as lasting as the King James version and perhaps never will be.
Bible Chronology
The length of certain periods is definitely stated in Scripture which, added to the years of doubtful dates given in the most widely accepted encyclopedias, give a total of 6,258 years between the creation of Adam and 2007, as follows:
| Adam to the flood of Noah (Genesis 5) | 1,656 |
| Flood to call of Abraham at 75 yrs. age (Genesis 11:10-12:5) | 0,427 |
| Abraham to exodus (Exodus 12:40; Galatians 3:17; note, §Genesis 15:15) | 0,430 |
| Exodus to Christ's ministry (see Dispensation of Law) | 1,718 |
| From Christ's ministry (about A.D. 30) to 2007 | 2,007 |
| | _______ |
| Total-Adam to 2007 | 6,258 |
No comments:
Post a Comment