Authenticity of the Bible

Authenticity

of the Bible Prepared By:

Rafik Nassif

Authenticity of the Bible Our Belief in the Bible  The Holy Bible in its entirety is the word of God: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” [2 Tim 3:16]

“For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” [2 Pet 1:21]

Authenticity of the Bible Our Belief in the Bible We also believe that the Bible we have today is the same Bible that was first written by the Prophets and the Apostles‌ And, that every word written in the Bible is True and Historically Accurate‌

Are there any evidences to support our belief?

Authenticity of the Bible Self-Evidence  In the Bible, God assured us that His word will never be altered or changed: “The words of the LORD are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times.

You shall keep them, O LORD, You shall preserve them from this generation forever” [Psa 12:6-7] “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” [Mat 24:35]

Authenticity of the Bible Self-Evidence  Although the Bible was written over a long period of time and by different authors with different cultural and intellectual background, there are no contradictions or conflicts between its parts.

 The Bible has prophecies that were literally fulfilled after they were written. Let’s take 2 examples: Prophecies about the Messiah fulfilled in Jesus Christ Prophecies about Historical Events fulfilled years after they were written

Authenticity of the Bible Self-Evidence Prophecies about the Messiah fulfilled in Jesus Christ  There are 85 Messianic prophecies that deal with almost every detail in the life of the coming Messiah which were all fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  Place of birth [Micah 5:2]; Date of Birth [Daniel 9:25]; Manner of birth [Isaiah 7:14]; Manner of death [Zechariah 12:10; Psalm 22:16 prophesied before the invention of crucifixion]; Darkness of the land [Amos 8:9]; Burial [Isaiah 53:9].

Authenticity of the Bible Self-Evidence Prophecies about Historical Events fulfilled years after they were written “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

[Mat 24:2]

This prophecy was fulfilled in AD 70 when Jerusalem’s worship complex was destroyed by the Romans.

Authenticity of the Bible Self-Evidence Prophecies about Historical Events fulfilled years after they were written “Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who will not regard silver; And as for gold, they will not delight in it... And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, The beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.” [Isa 13:17-19] In about 539 BC, 150 years after Isaiah, the Medes and the Persians conquered Babylon.

Authenticity of the Bible How Did the Bible Reach us?  The Bible was written over a very long period of time, starting with Moses and ending with St. John’s Revelation Our Lord Jesus Christ

Isaiah

Abraham Moses

David

Ezra

Paul

The Creation 1500 BC

1000 BC

The Old Testament

500 BC

4 BC

100 AD

The New Testament

Authenticity of the Bible How Did the Bible Reach us?

The Old Testament

 Before printing, the Bible and -all other ancient writingswere copied by hand in what we call ‘manuscripts’ The New Testament

The Septuagint

 Early on, the Bible was also translated into several languages, which were also copied and circulated But, are these manuscripts reliable?

Let’s weigh the evidence…

Early Translations (Latin, Coptic, Syriac)

Modern Translations More than 6000 languages & dialects… and counting

Authenticity of the Bible Manuscript Evidence Masoretic Manuscripts

Number & Date

OT Hebrew Manuscripts

There are around 3000 manuscripts, dating from 900 – 1500 AD Importance

Aleppo Codex - 930 AD

The Masoretes were a group of scribes who had very meticulous and strict rules for copying the Bible. They devised a system to eliminate scribal errors by counting and noting down the total number of verses, words and letters. They even indicated which verse, word or letter marked the center of the text.

Authenticity of the Bible Manuscript Evidence Dead Sea Scrolls

Number & Date

OT Hebrew Manuscripts

More than 200 manuscripts, dating from ~250 BC – 135 AD Importance

Great Isaiah Scroll - 125 BC

The Dead Sea Scrolls is a collection of manuscripts belonging originally to an ancient religious community living at a place now known as Khirbet Qumran, near the Dead sea. They were discovered in 1947 and are the oldest OT manuscripts. They contain at least fragments from all the OT books except for Esther.

Authenticity of the Bible Manuscript Evidence Papyri Manuscripts

Number & Date

NT Greek Manuscripts

There are 96 manuscripts, dating from 125 – 700 AD Importance

Papyrus 52 - 125 AD

Manuscripts written on papyrus are the oldest NT manuscripts. The oldest papyrus is P52 that has parts of St. John’s Gospel, dating back to 125 AD, less than 40 years after the Gospel was written. The papyrus was discovered in Egypt which adds to its importance given that the Gospel was written in Asia Minor.

Authenticity of the Bible Manuscript Evidence Codices Manuscripts

Number & Date

NT Greek Manuscripts

There are around 5700 manuscripts, dating from 300 – 1500 AD Importance

Codex Sinaiticus - 325 AD

A codex is a book constructed of a numbers of similar sheets of parchment bound together. It was used by Early Christians to replace scrolls which were vulnerable and difficult to handle.

There are thousands of codices containing the complete Bible, among the most important are Codex Sinaiticus, Vaticanus and Alexandrinus.

Authenticity of the Bible Manuscript Evidence Early Translation of the Bible

Greek, Coptic, Latin & Syriac Number & Date

More than 20,000 manuscripts in many languages, most importantly: OT: Greek (Septuagint) ~200 BC, NT: Latin, Syriac & Coptic ~2nd Cen. AD Importance

Coptic, Syriac & Latin Bibles

The Early translation of the Bible are very important because they not only preserve the text of the Bible, but they also tell us how early Christians understood the Bible and translated its meanings into their own words.

Authenticity of the Bible Manuscript Evidence Writing of the Church Fathers Yet if all of these manuscripts were destroyed, the Bible could be reproduced almost in its entirety from quotations of it in sermons and commentaries written by ancient church fathers. To date, over a million quotations from the Bible by the church fathers have been catalogued.

St. Athanasius

St. Cyril

St. John Chrysostom

St. Augustine

St. Basil

St. Gregory

Authenticity of the Bible Manuscript Evidence How does that compare to other ancient writings?

None of the ancient writings we know have manuscripts that can even come close to either the quantity or the quality of the Bible’s manuscripts

Authenticity of the Bible Archaeological Evidence The Old Testament  Yahwah Inscription (~1400 BC)

The artwork of a New Kingdom temple at Soleb includes a cartouche that has been translated, “the land of the Shasu of Yahweh.” Shasu is the Egyptian term for nomads of the Sinai and southern Palestine who were permitted to graze their animals in the eastern part of the Egyptian delta (Goshen). This represents the earliest mention of the Lord’s name, Yahweh, in a setting other than the Bible.

Authenticity of the Bible Archaeological Evidence The Old Testament  Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III (~800 BC)

Four-sided, black limestone monument that showcases the conquered bringing tribute to the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III. In one of the registers, King Jehu of Israel is pictured bowing before Shalmaneser III, with an inscription that reads “Tribute of Jehu, son of Omri.”

Authenticity of the Bible Archaeological Evidence

The Old Testament  Shema Seal (~750 BC)

Stamp seal from Megiddo with an image of a lion and inscribed “(Belonging) to Shema, a servant of Jeroboam”. An item belonging to a member of the royal court of Jeroboam II, one of the most militarily and economically successful kings of Israel (2 Kings 14:23– 29).

Authenticity of the Bible Archaeological Evidence The New Testament  Caiaphas Ossuary (1st Cen. AD)

An elaborately decorated ossuary discovered in Jerusalem that was inscribed with the name “Joseph son of Caiaphas”. Caiaphas was high priest in Jerusalem AD 18–36. He is identified as the one before whom Jesus stood for a religious trial in the hours before his death (Matt. 26:3, 57).

Authenticity of the Bible Archaeological Evidence The New Testament  Pilate Inscription (1st Cen. AD)

The name of Pontius Pilate is included in this inscription associated with a Tiberium, likely a temple built in Caesarea Maritima that honored Emperor Tiberius. It reads “Pontius Pilate Perfect of Judea”. Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea AD 26–36. He is the Roman official who heard the case against Jesus, pronounced him innocent, and then ordered his execution (Matt.

27:2, 13, 17, 19, 22–26).

Authenticity of the Bible Archaeological Evidence

The New Testament  Sergius Paulus Inscription (1st Cen. AD)

An inscription found near Pisidian Antioch that contains the name Sergius Paulus. Sergius Paulus was a Roman proconsul at Paphos on the island of Cyprus who sent for Paul and became a believer (Acts 13:6– 12).

Authenticity of the Bible Conclusion is the Word of God

that we have today is the same Bible that was first written is True and Historically Accurate