BIBLE STUDY 3

The Uniqueness of the Bible - Part 1
Introduction - Lesson 3
Observe & Consider
The Bible is the most quoted, most translated, most published book in human history,1 completely unique in its creation, content, and accuracy. And while the uniqueness of the Bible does not irrefutably prove that it is the revelation of God, when one truly considers the nature of this book, it takes more faith to believe that it was simply written and compiled by humans than to believe that it is a work of God. Let's think about this.
The Bible is unique in its diversity and harmony.
Written over a span of 40 generations and about 1600 years, by more than 40 authors from varying walks of life, on three continents (Asia, Africa and Europe) and in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek), the Bible is unlike any other book in the world. It includes history, poetry, prophecy, law, parables and preaching, and covers a broad range of subject matter (including hundreds of controversial topics) from the nature of God to the origin of man.2
Considering this diversity, one might expect at least some conflict or inconsistency in the content and themes presented in the Bible, and yet . . .
the Bible centers around one complete epic story featuring one extraordinary character.
the Bible addresses numerous topics and themes throughout the text with incredible harmony and resolution. (For instance, the paradise lost of the first book of the Bible becomes the paradise regained of the last book of the Bible. The access to the Tree of Life, which was closed in the first book of the Bible, is opened forevermore in the last book of the Bible.)
Like the instruments in a symphony, each writer of the Bible is quite different from the others. When you hear an orchestra playing with flawless harmony, you naturally assume that it is being directed by an accomplished conductor. Why should we think any differently in regard to the Bible, which is far more complex in content and scope than any symphonic score?
The Bible is unique in its textual reliability.
Because original manuscripts rarely (if ever) exist for the world's most important ancient literary works, the question must be asked of any ancient book, "Do the earliest copies in existence accurately convey the content of the original document?" Scholars consider several factors when determining what is known as textual reliability. These include:
The method by which copies were made
The time between the earliest known copy and the original manuscript
The number of early copies in existence
The comparative consistency of the earliest copies
Measured by these standards, there is no other book in the world that even comes close to the textual reliability of the New Testament of the Bible.3 Note in the chart below4 that those who made the earliest copies of the New Testament were either contemporaries of, or only a few generations removed from, the original writers. Notice also the number of copies that were made within that period of time. The difference between the New Testament of the Bible and other ancient works is astounding.
AUTHOR
When Written
Earliest Copy
Time Span
No. of Copies
Caesar (Gallic Wars)
100-44 B.C.
900 A.D.
1,000 yrs.
10
Plato (Tetralogies)
427-347 B.C.
900 A.D.
1,200 yrs.
7
Tacitus (Annals)
100 A.D.
1100 A.D.
1,000 yrs.
20
Pliny the Younger (History)
61-113 A.D.
850 A.D.
750 yrs.
7
Thucydides (History)
460-400B.C.
900 A.D.
1,300 yrs.
8
Suetonius (De Vita Caesarum)
75-160 A.D.
950 A.D.
800 yrs.
8
Herodotus (History)
480-425 B.C.
900 A.D.
1,390 yrs.
8
Sophocles
496-406 B.C.
1000 A.D.
1,400 yrs.
193
Catullus
54 B.C.
1550 A.D.
1,600 yrs.
3
Euripides
480-406 B.C.
1100 A.D.
1,500 yrs.
9
Demosthenes
383-322 B.C.
1100 A.D.
1,300 yrs.
200
Aristotle
384-322 B.C.
1100 A.D.
1,400 yrs.
49
Aristophanes
450-385 B.C.
900 A.D.
1,200 yrs.
10
Homer (Iliad)
900 B.C.
400 B.C.
500 yrs.
643
New Testament
40-100 A.D.
125 A.D.
25 yrs.
over 24,000
(5,300 ancient Greek, 10,000 Latin Vulgate, over 9,300 other)
Unlike the New Testament, there is no abundance of early copies of the Old Testament of the Bible. So, when one considers the textual reliability of the Old Testament, it is important to understand the method by which these ancient manuscripts were copied.
The copying process5 itself was reserved for a special group of people in Jewish culture known as scribes. Scribes were professional penmen who copied manuscripts using a strict systematic process to achieve the highest accuracy possible. For example:
The scribes were not allowed to copy sentence-for-sentence or even word-for-word. They copied letter-for-letter.
A scribe had to copy the original page so that the exact number of words on the page remained unchanged. If an original page had 296 words, then the page being copied must contain the same 296 words.
Each line on a new page had to be the exact length as the line on the old page. If the first line on the original page had nine words, the first line on the copy page had to have nine words.
After each page was copied and checked by another, still a third person would check to verify that the middle letter on the copied page was the same as the middle letter on the original.
If a single mistake was made, the copy was destroyed.
These steps insured that copies of Old Testament manuscripts accurately conveyed the content of their originals. As is the case with the New Testament, no other ancient manuscript in the world surpasses the textual reliability of the Old Testament.
Ask & Reflect
Does the information you have studied today change the way you view the Bible?
If so, how? If not, why not?
What would it take for you to look at the Bible in a different way, or perhaps to see something you've not yet seen? (This question is for those who are already familiar with the Bible as well as those who are not.)
Decide & Do
Today's lesson was a little longer than most of the lessons in this study. If you didn't feel that you were able to digest all of the information here, set aside some time to come back to it.