Written by Aidan Thomas

Brethren Of Christ Articles - The Reliability of the Bible

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The reliability of the manuscript copies of the Bible
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The reliability of the copies of ancient manuscripts of the Bible

 The purpose of this talk is to answer the question “How do we know that the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, which were used  for the English translation of the Bible, were reliable copies of the originals ?
And in particular how can we be sure that no significant errors arose in the transcription of the original manuscripts over the centuries and that the confidence of the English translators in their authenticity, was justified.

 In answering these questions we need to look at the type and source of the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts which comprise the Old and New Testaments. 
The original Hebrew manuscripts were written over approximately 1,100 years, between BC1500 and 400BC
and those of the New Testament over approximately 60 years between AD40 and AD100.

 Stone, clay, skins papyrus and possibly wood, were the materials on which the original Old Testament texts were written.  Calf skin, sheep skin and goat skin was the principal material employed for hundreds of years.  Later texts were copied on to papyrus rolls, which could measure around 30 feet long and 10 inches high, or 9.5 metres by 26 cms.   Fixed to two wooden rollers at each end they were called scrolls.  Another medium introduced later during the first century AD were papyrus sheets formed into a book, commonly called a codex.

 Papyrus, from whence we get the word paper, was still the favoured material for writing when the books of the New Testament were written and it is almost certain that the original New Testament letters were penned on papyrus sheets. Papyrus reeds grew in abundance along the Nile River in Egypt and these were manufactured into material, which it is said, was the equal of the best handmade paper.  When the price of papyrus became too high, vellum or parchment, ( i.e. animal skins)  became a less expensive substitute

 The earliest texts, so far discovered of the Hebrew Old Testament, were found in the area of the Dead Sea, and are known as the Dead Sea scrolls.
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of about 15,000 fragments of some 500 manuscripts, including many texts from the Hebrew Bible.  They were discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves in and around the ruins of the ancient settlement of Khirbet Qumran on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea in the West Bank.
Some are written on papyrus but most on parchment except one on copper which reveals 64 hiding places where treasure hidden – presumably that of the temple.
Parchment was produced in Pergamon which is so named from the latin word which means parchment.

 One of the earliest complete handwritten manuscript copies of the Greek New Testament, was found in 1844.  It is called the Codex Sinaiticus and was written on vellum, a high quality parchment, around 350 AD.  Most of its pages were acquired by the British Government and can be seen in the British Library

 The value of these important finds is that they are further confirmation of the reliability of those Hebrew and Geek manuscripts used by William Tyndale,  many years before these relatively recent finds.     And it is the reliability and provenance of those manuscripts, which he used between around 1520 to 1535, and which were also used for the translation of the 1611 King James version of the Bible that we need to consider.

 Looking at the Old Testament manuscripts first; these were written on papyrus or animal skins (parchment).  They began with Moses, who was responsible for recording the events and laws in the first five books.  The Psalms and the other books were written by David and other Hebrew prophets and scribes, also on papyrus or parchment.   None of these original documents have been found and unless, like the Dead Sea scrolls, they have been stored in very dry and non humid conditions, will almost certainly have deteriorated by now.

 The Hebrews or Jewish people were entrusted not only with recording the Biblical text but preserving it in its purity.  The Hebrew Apostle Paul wrote that “unto the Jews were committed the oracles of God” (Romans 3:1,2) and Moses wrote that they were “not to add…neither diminish ought from it..” (Deuteronomy 4:2)
Whilst this has to do with maintaining their obedience of the laws and commandments of God, this could only be done if they were aware of them, so it was an essential corollary that the written word should be preserved.