The Study of The Bible: Core Faith Lesson 5 James F. Davis, PHD

The Study of the Bible
Core Faith
Lesson 5
James F. Davis, PhD
The Biblical Studies Foundation
Copyright Notice
You may download this presentation on your computer for personal
study or you can print it or use it in a multimedia presentation for yourself
and others as long as you give the printed material away and do not
charge for it. In this case, free means free. It cannot be bundled with
anything sold, nor can you charge for shipping, handling, or anything. It
cannot be posted on other websites or servers. It is provided for personal
study or for use in preparation and presentation of sermons, Sunday
school classes, undergraduate or seminary religion classes or other noncommercial study. Material in the presentation may be edited (added to ,
deleted or changed) on the condition that no revision contradicts the
Bible.org doctrinal statement and that substantive revisions are identified
as being the work of a reviser and not that of Dr. Davis.
Overview of the Lesson

The Nature of the Bible
Inerrancy and Challenges to it
The Sufficiency and Authority of the Scriptures (Sola Scriptura)
How did Jesus View the Scriptures
The Canon of the Bible
How we Got our Bible and the History of English Bible
Translation
Bible Translation Approaches and Different Modern English
Bible Translations

Inspired by God
Every scripture is inspired by God (2 Tim 3:16; NET
Bible).
No prophecy of scripture ever comes about by the
prophet's own imagination, for no prophecy was ever
borne of human impulse; rather, men carried along by
the Holy Spirit spoke from God (2 Pet 1:20-21; NET
Bible).
Two Implications of Inspiration

First: The Bible is a human book
1. Authors used their own language, writing methods,
style of writing and literary form of writing
2. Authors wrote to an audience in a specific historical
context for a specific purpose.
3. The Bible is influenced by the culture in which the
author wrote.
4. The Bible has over 40 authors and was written over
a time period of 1500 years.
Two Implications of Inspiration

Second: the Bible is a Divine Book:
1. The Bible is inerrant
2. The Bible is authoritative
3. The Bible has unity (66 books; about 40 authors
over 1500 years). It has a consistent message and
can be compared with itself for proper
interpretation.
4. The Bible has an element of mystery: some
passages may be hard to understand.
5. The Bible has an interpretation to it that is
intended by God
Example of Matt 1:22-23

This all happened so that what was spoken by
the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled:
Look! The virgin will conceive and bear a
son, and they will call him Emmanuel.
1. The OT passage of Isaiah was spoken by the
Lord (Divine ultimate source)
2. The OT passage of Isaiah was spoken through
the prophet. (Human intermediate source)

Definition of Inspiration: The act of the Holy
Spirit in which He superintended the writers of Scripture
so that, while writing according to their own styles and
personalities, they produced Gods Word, written,
authoritative, and free from error in the original writings
(Paul Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology, 638)

Definition of Inerrancy: The teaching that
since the Scriptures are given by God, they are free from
error in all their contents, including doctrinal, historical,
scientific, geographical, and other branches of
knowledge (Paul Enns, The Moody Handbook of
Theology, 638)

Some Challenges to Inerrancy:
Alleged Contradictions of the Bible with
Science
Alleged Contradiction of the Bible with
History
Alleged Contradictions of the Bible with
Itself
Alleged Scientific Discrepancy

Evolution is often stated but macroevolution (one species evolving to another
species) is theory and not a fact. It has
never been observed and not subject to the
scientific method.

Matthew 13:31 He gave
them another parable: The
kingdom of heaven is like a
mustard seed that a man
took and sowed in his field.
13:32 It is the smallest of all
the seeds, but when it has
grown it is the greatest
garden plant and becomes a
tree, so that the wild birds
come and nest in its
branches.

Veracity of inerrancy problem for some: The wild
orchid seed is smaller.
The statement is proverbial
Jesus is referring only to sown seeds; The wild
orchid is not a sown agricultural seed.
Within the Judean world view in their context it was
the smallest seed
Once Alleged Historical Discrepancies

Prior to the advent of the archeological era of the 19
and 20th centuries critics often called into question the
historicity of the Bible especially the OT in terms of
places, peoples and events.
However, over time archeological discoveries have
often silenced specific historical criticism.
Three Examples of (Once) Alleged Historical

Discrepancies (validated by archeological finds)
The Hittite Empire
In 1876 and later in 1906 evidence of the Hittite capital and
language was discovered at Boghaz-koy in modern Turkey.
The Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah

Starting in 1924 excavations were done in the area of the Dead Sea
and evidence of cities which had been burned is present during the
time of the biblical account.
King David
In 1993 at Tel Dan in Northern Israel a 9th century BC inscription
was discovered referring to the King of Israel and the House of
David.
See Patrick Zukeran, http://bible.org/article/archaeology-and-old-testament

William F. Albright
Prominent Archeologist and
professor at John Hopkins
(1930-1958)
"There can be no doubt that
archaeology has confirmed
the
substantial historicity of
"
Old Testament tradition."
(William F. Albright, Archaeology and the Religions of Israel.
Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1956, p. 176.)
Nelson Glueck, Archeologist and

President of Hebrew Union College
"It may be stated categorically that
no archaeological discovery has ever
controverted a Biblical reference.
Scores of archaeological findings
have been made which confirm in
clear outline or exact detail historical
statements in the Bible. And, by the
same token, proper evaluation of
Biblical description has often led to
amazing discoveries." - Dr. Nelson
Glueck, Rivers in the Desert, (New
York: Farrar, Strous and Cudahy, 1959, 136).
Alleged Bible Contradictions

Differences in parallel passages do
not require actual contradictions
Harmonization and understanding
that nature of historical reporting
most often provides good solutions
to differences.
For example in a football game on a
pass interference play one reporter
states the cornerback bumped the
receiver while another states the
receiver bumped into the
cornerback. Both statements while
different may be true but they are
being reported from a little different
perspective.

Two Blind Men or One?
As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd
followed them. Two blind men were sitting by
the road. When they heard that Jesus was
passing by, they shouted, Have mercy on us,
Lord, Son of David! (Matt 10:29-30)
They came to Jericho. As Jesus and his
disciples and a large crowd were leaving
Jericho, Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus, a
blind beggar, was sitting by the road. When he
heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he
began to shout, Jesus, Son of David, have
mercy on me! (Mark 10:46-47)

Harmonization?
Mark chooses to focus on one of the
blind men naming him.
Matthew writing to a Jewish audience
may wish to confirm the testimony of
the blind men (Jesus = the son of
David = a Messianic title) by the
Jewish required number of at least two
(Deut 17:6).
Because Mark reports that one blind
man was healed it does not preclude
that another blind man was healed on
the same occasion.

How does one explain the following differences in
Peters confession at Caesera Phillipi?
Question
Mt 16:13: Who do people say the Son of Man is?
Mk 8:27 Who do people say I am?
Lk 9:18 Who do the crowds say I am?
Answer
Mt 16:16 You are the Christ, the Son of the living God
Mk 8:29 You are the Christ
Lk 9:20 The Christ of God
Sometimes the Bible authors condense speeches

and events. This is the nature of historical reporting.

The Time of the Crucifixion:
And it was the third hour when they
crucified Him. (Mk15:25)
When Pilate therefore heard these words,
he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the
judgment seat at a place called The
Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. 14
Now it was the day of preparation for the
Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And
he said to the Jews, "Behold, your King!
(Jn 19:13-14)The Biblical Studies Foundation
Bart Ehrman, Jesus Interrupted: Revealing

the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible, 2009
Bart Ehrman states on
this issue: It is
impossible that both
Marks and Johns
accounts are historically
accurate, since they
contradict each other on
the question on when
Jesus died (pg. 29).

Reasonable solution (BF Westcott is one
commentator who argues this):
John is using a Roman time reckoning

system that started the day at 12:00
midnight while Mark and the other
Synoptics are using a Jewish time
reckoning system which starts the day
at 6:00 am
Simple Deductive Argument for Inerrancy

God cannot err. (John 14:6; Heb 6:18)
The Bible is the Word of God (Mark 7:13;
John 10:35; Rom 9:6).
Therefore, the Bible cannot err. (See Norm

Geisler,
http://www.inplainsite.org/html/alleged_bible_errors.html)
.
The Authority and Sufficiency of the Bible?

Sola Scriptura from the Latin = by Scripture alone
was one of the themes of the reformation sometimes
summarized as the 5 solas.
Simply it means that the Scripture alone is our
supreme authority to all other authorities in matters of
faith and practice.
For the word of God is living and active and sharper
than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the
point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from
marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of
the heart. (Heb 4:12)
The Authority and Sufficiency of the Bible?

As Martin Luther
said, "The true rule
is this: God's Word
shall establish
articles of faith, and
no one else, not
even an angel can
do so (Martin Luther,
Smalcald Articles II, 15)
How Did Jesus View the Bible?

Jesus said I tell you the truth, until
heaven and earth pass away not the
smallest letter or stroke of a letter will
pass from the law until everything takes
place (Matt 5:18).
If those people to whom the word of God
(= OT Psalm) came were called `gods'
(and the scripture cannot be broken)(John
10:35)

Definition of the Canon: from Greek word kanon
meaning reed or straight rod thus a standard. By
the 4th century A.D. for the New Testament it is what
was applied to a list or collection of books that met
a prescribed standard.
Now the canon refers to the closed collection of
Jewish and early Christian writings that constitute
divinely inspired, authoritative Scripture for the
beliefs and practices of the church.

Principles of the Canonicity of the OT
Basic Guideline: Prophetic origin (Deut 18).
The OT Canon is divided between the Law (Torah),
Prophets (Nebbim) and Writings (Kethubim).
Principles of the Canonicity of the NT

Basic Guideline: Apostolic origin or association
The Gospels (Mark associated with Peter; and Luke
with Paul). Acts (Luke Associated with Paul). The
Epistles (Paul, Peter, Jude, James, John, the Author
of Hebrews) and Revelation (John)

What about books written between the Old
Testament and New Testament (mostly 250 BCAD 100) referred to as the Apocrypha?
There are 15 books: 1 & 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Additions
to Esther, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus (Ben
Sirach), Baruch, Letter of Jeremiah, Prayer of Azariah
and Song of the Three Young Men, Susanna, Bel and the
Dragon, Prayer of Manasseh and 1&2 Maccabees
Jerome included them in the Latin Vulgate but separated
them as Deuterocanonical.

In response to the strong position against these books
by the reformers in 1546 the Catholic Church at the
Council of Trent declared them all canonical (except the
Prayer of Manasseh and 1&2 Esdras)
The Apocryphal books should not be part of the canon
because:
They are not accepted in the NT as authoritative (no direct
quotations)
They never make the claim Thus says the Lord like the OT does
They are not part of the Hebrew Bible and the Jews never viewed the
books as authoritative or canonical and they wrote them.
The Council of Trent 1546 was the first official proclamation on the
matter 1500 years after the books were written

Why the Canon is Closed
Scriptural Reasons: Jude 3-4 refer to the faith (I.e., the body
of apostolic doctrine) once for all delivered to the saints.
Only the Johannine writings came after this and John was
an apostle.
Theological Reason: Gods revelation of himself to the
present age is complete in Jesus Christ (Heb 1:2) and the
apostolic witness.
Historical Reasons: There is no longer the apostolic office to
originate or validate the writings (cf. 1 Cor 9:1-2; 2 Cor
12:11; Eph 2:20). (Class Notes Dallas Theological Seminary New Testament Introduction)
How We Received our Bible

Hebrew (Most of the OT)
Text transmitted by professional Jewish scribes
Massoretic Text
Dead Sea Scrolls (mss. 1000 years earlier than
others)
Aramaic (Gn 31:47; Jer 10:11; Ezra 4:8-6:18;

7:12-26; Dan 2:4b-7:28)
Koine Greek (All the NT)
Transmitted by Christian scribes
Over 5600 Greek manuscripts (2nd to 15th A.D.)
How we received our Bible

Genesis 1:1 Hebrew Old Testament
~yhil{a/ ar'B'
tyviareB
#r,a'h' taew>
~yIm;V'h; tae
Dead Sea Scrolls
How We Received Our Bible

John 14:6 Koine Greek New Testament
le,gei auvtw/| o`
VIhsou/j\ evgw, eivmi h`
o`do.j kai. h` avlh,qeia
kai. h` zwh,\ ouvdei.j
e;rcetai pro.j to.n pate,ra
eiv mh. diV evmou/
AA Sample
Sample Portion
Portion of
of aa Papyrus
Papyrus
Manuscript:
Manuscript:
Bodmer
75),
Bodmer XV
XV (P
(P75
), ca.
ca. A.D.
A.D. 175-225
175-225
A Sample Portion of an Uncial Manuscript:

Codex Vaticanus (B), early 4th century

Early Bible Translations
Purpose: To get the Bible in a language that the
people could understand
Old Testament
Koine Greek: Septuagint (LXX) 3rd Century B.C.

Syriac: Peshitta 2-3rd Century A.D.?
Aramaic: Jewish Targums 2-3rd Century A.D.
Latin: Vulgate done by Jerome 400 A.D.
New Testament (Early Translations in 2nd century A.D.)

Latin: Old Latin and Vulgate (Western Church)
Coptic: (Egypt)
Syriac: Old Syriac and Peshitta (Eastern Church)

History of the English Bible
John Wycliffe (1330-1384)
First Complete English Translation
Translated from the Vulgate
Matt 22:37-40: Thou schalt love thi Lord God of al thin herte,
and of al thi soule and of al thi mynde, and thi neighebore as
thi self, for in these twey comaundements hangith al the
lawe and prophetis
Copied by hand
In 1415 Wycliffe Bible was condemned by the church. His
followers were jailed, Wycliffes bones were dug up, burned
and ashes scattered in a river.

William Tyndale (1492-1536)
Used Greek and Hebrew mss. for translation.
Motivation: I will cause a boy that driveth a plow to know
more of the Scripture than a learned scholar.
John 14:6: Iesus sayd vnto him: I am the waye verite and
lyfe. Noman cometh vnto the father but by me.
6000 printed copies smuggled into England. First complete
printed edition of English Bible
Hounded and eventually burned at the stake for the
translation. Prayed as being burned Lord open the Kings
eyes.

God answered Tyndales Prayer
King began to allow the English Bible into the
church
The Coverdale Bible (1535); Matthews Bible
(1537); The Tavner Bible (1539); The Great Bible
(1539); The Geneva Bible (1560; Bible used by
the Pilgrims); The Bishops Bible (1568); The
Douai-Rheims Bible (1609-10)
These were largely revisions of each other

In 1603 King James I took the throne of
England. He was unhappy with the Calvinist
notes in Geneva Bible and the anti-protestant
notes in the Douay-Rheims Bible. Wanted to
have one standard Bible for the English church.
Supported 50 scholar/translators to complete the
King James Bible in 1611.
Controlled the English presses
Translation underwent revisions in 1629, 1638,
1762, 1769 (Current KJV), 1982 (NKJV)

1885 Revised Version (British)

1901 American Standard Version
1952 Revised Standard Version; 1989 NRSV (Prot.)
1958 The Phillips Bible (Evang.)
1960/95 The New American Standard Bible (Evang.)
1966 Jerusalem Bible; 1985 NJB (Catholic)
1971 The Living Bible; 1996 New Living Translation
(Evang.)
1979 New International Version (Evang.)
1993 The Message (Evang.)
1995 Contemporary English Version (Evang.)
2004 Holman Christian Standard Bible (Evang.)
2005 The NET Bible

Types of Bible Translations
Dynamic Equivalence
Translation seeks to express the meaning of the text
in a way that is idiomatic in English. More concerned
about good stylistic English and willing to forgo some
literalness to accomplish objective. Usually easier to
read and understand; more interpretive (what text
means)
Examples: NIV, NLT, CEV, (NET and HCSB in part)

Word Equivalence:
Translation is more literal to the language structure of
the original text. Translation seeks to produce the
semantic equivalence of each word and represent it in
the translation. Usually harder to read; sometimes
can confuse what author means with unfamiliar idiom;
less interpretive in translation and allows more
interpretive options (what text says not what it means
necessarily)
Examples: NASB, NKJV, RSV (NET and HCSB in
part)

Paraphrase
Not a translation from the original language, but
someone putting something in their own words as to
how they would say it.
Examples: Living Bible, The Message
Comparison of Ps 1:1
NASB
Word Equivalence
How blessed is the
man who does not
walk in the counsel
of the wicked, nor
stand in the path of
sinners, nor sit in
the seat of scoffers.
HCSB
Dynamic
Equivalence
How happy is the
man who does not
follow the advice
of the wicked, or
take the path of
sinners, or join a
group of mockers.
The Message
Paraphrase
How well God
must like you you
dont hang out at
Sin Saloon, you
dont slink along
Dead-End Road,
you dont go to
Smart-Mouth
College.

Concluding Reflections
Gods words will give men new life more than other
words that are for pleasure. O marvelous power of the
Divine Seed which overpowers strong men in arms,
softens hard hearts, and renews and changes into godly
men, those men who had been brutalized by sins and
departed infinitely far from God. --- John Wycliffe
Discussion Questions
If we as Christians believe the Bible is inspired by
God and inerrant how should this affect our
interaction with it?
What challenges to the reliability of the Bible have you
encountered? How have you responded?
What are some questions you have about what books
are included in the canon and what books are not?
Are you comfortable with it?
Are there any differences in the Bible that you think
are very difficult or cannot be reconciled? What are
they?
Discussion Questions
What are some of the advantages and
disadvantages of having so many Bible
translations?
What Bible translation do you like and why?
How does the fact that Tyndale died to get the
English Bible done help you appreciate the
Bible we have?

The Study of The Bible: Core Faith Lesson 5 James F. Davis, PHD

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Study of The Bible: Core Faith Lesson 5 James F. Davis, PHD

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Study of The Bible: Core Faith Lesson 5 James F. Davis, PHD

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

What are the implications of inspiration according to the document?

What are the implications of inspiration according to the document?

What are the different approaches to Bible translation discussed in the document?

What are the different approaches to Bible translation discussed in the document?

The Study of the Bible

The Biblical Studies Foundation

The Biblical Studies Foundation

Overview of the Lesson

The Biblical Studies Foundation

The Nature of the Bible

The Biblical Studies Foundation

Two Implications of Inspiration

Two Implications of Inspiration

Example of Matt 1:22-23

The Biblical Studies Foundation

The Nature of the Bible

The Biblical Studies Foundation

The Nature of the Bible

The Biblical Studies Foundation

The Nature of the Bible

The Biblical Studies Foundation

Alleged Scientific Discrepancy

The Biblical Studies Foundation

Alleged Scientific Discrepancy

Alleged Scientific Discrepancy

The Biblical Studies Foundation

Once Alleged Historical Discrepancies

The Biblical Studies Foundation

Three Examples of (Once) Alleged Historical

The Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah

See Patrick Zukeran, http://bible.org/article/archaeology-and-old-testament

The Biblical Studies Foundation

Nelson Glueck, Archeologist and

Alleged Bible Contradictions

Alleged Bible Contradictions

The Biblical Studies Foundation

Alleged Bible Contradictions

Alleged Bible Contradictions

Sometimes the Bible authors condense speeches

Alleged Bible Contradictions

Bart Ehrman, Jesus Interrupted: Revealing

Alleged Bible Contradictions

John is using a Roman time reckoning

Simple Deductive Argument for Inerrancy

Therefore, the Bible cannot err. (See Norm

The Biblical Studies Foundation

The Authority and Sufficiency of the Bible?

The Authority and Sufficiency of the Bible?

How Did Jesus View the Bible?

The Canon of the Bible

The Canon of the Bible

Principles of the Canonicity of the NT

The Biblical Studies Foundation

The Canon of the Bible

The Biblical Studies Foundation

The Canon of the Bible

The Canon of the Bible

How We Received our Bible

Aramaic (Gn 31:47; Jer 10:11; Ezra 4:8-6:18;