Interesting Facts About the Bible
The word "Bible" is nowhere found in the Bible. The word is taken from the Greek word "biblia" which means "books" and refers to those books acknowledged by Christians as part of the canon of inspired scriptures.
The word "Jehovah" is not a truly Scriptural name for God. It is a combination of two words, YHWH (the Hebrew name of God, pronounced "Yahweh"), and adonai (lord, master). Since the Name of God (YHWH) is considered holy, the Jews were afraid to pronounce it, for fear that they may say it incorrectly and incur the wrath of God for using His Name in vain. Hence, when reciting the Scriptures, they would substitute adonai in place of the Name. Then in the 12th century A.D., the consonants of YHWH were combined with the vowels of adonai, forming variation YAHOWAIH, now pronounced "Jehovah." Therefore, "Jehovah" is not a Scriptural word. See Exodus 3:13-15.
The Bible was written over a span of 1,500 years, by more than 40 different authors. They ranged from young to old, rich to poor, kings to slaves, scholars to fishermen. Some wrote in the prison, some in palaces; some in the wilderness, some amidst war. Three different languages were used: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. The Bible contains history, poetry, law, parables, biographies, correspondence, diaries, and prophecies. Its grammar was written perfectly throughout. Yet the entire book tells of one consistant theme: God's Plan of saving man. And from beginning to end, there are no contradictions.
The original Scriptures did not have punctuation or chapter divisions. When the writers of the New Testament wrote, there was no punctuation, and the passages were not divided into chapters and verses. Furthermore, all letters were capitalized and there were no spaces between words. Verses were first divided up in about 900 A.D. The Old Testament was first divided into chapters in 586 B.C.
The Hebrew language of the Old Testament contained no vowels, only consonants, in every word.
The books of the New Testament, originally written from 40-100 A.D., can now be translated from over 24,000 ancient copies, the earliest dating back to 125 A.D. This time separation is 85 years at most. Comparitively, Homer's Iliad was written in 900 B.C.; but of the 643 copies known to exist today, the earliest were made in 400 B.C., a separation of over 500 years! Scholars do not doubt that the Iliad we read today is at least 95% accurate to the original. Why then should one doubt the accuracy of the New Testament?
What if every copy of the New Testament was destroyed? Could it be re-created solely from the writings of men from the second and third centuries? Scholar Dalrymple took up the challenge. "...and as I possessed all the existing works of the Fathers of the second and third centuries, I commenced to search, and up to this time I have found the entire New Testament, except eleven verses."
The world's longest telegram was the Revised Version New Testament sent from New York to Chicago.
The Old Testament was copied with the utmost care. The following is a list of rules the Talmudists (A.D. 100-500) were governed by in copying scrolls.
1. A synagogue roll must be written on the skins of clean animals
2. Those skins must be prepared for the special use of the synagogue by a Jew
3. The skins must be fastened together with strings taken from clean animals
4. Every skin must contain a certain number of columns, equal throughout the entire codex
5. The length of each column must not extend over less than 48 or more than 60 lines; and the breadth must consist of thirty letters
6. The whole copy must be first-lined; and if three words be written without a line, it is worthless
7. The ink should be black, not any other color, and must be prepared according to a certain recipe
8. An authentic copy must be the exemplar, from which the transcriber must not in the least deviate
9. No word or letter, not even a yod, must be written from memory; the writer must look carefully at the scroll before him before writing
10. Between every consonant the space of a hair or thread must intervene
11. Between every section, the breadth of nine consonants must intervene
12. Between every book there must be three lines
13. The fifth book of Moses must terminate exactly with a line
14. The writer must sit in full Jewish dress while writing
15. Prior to beginning, the writer must wash his whole body
16. The writer must not begin to write the name of God with a pen newly dipped in ink, lest there be a smudge
17. Even if a king should address the writer while he is writing the name of God, he must not take notice of him.
This information taken from "Evidence That Demands A Verdict, Vol 1." Josh McDowell. Thomas Nelson: Nashville, 1979.
Written by David F. Sims, doing my part to "turn the world upside down" (Acts 17:6)
All quotes taken from the New American Standard Bible, unless otherwise stated.
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