![]() The earliest textual evidence we have was copied not long after the original. There are some 25,000 early manuscripts in existence, almost 6,000 of which (many being only recognizable fragments) are Greek texts and the others being early translations of the Greek New Testament. The New Testament was written in first century A.D. There is an enormous amount of evidence for authenticity of the biblical manuscripts. The record is then checked for consistency of information, and the claims are analyzed as if it were a legal case, looking for credible testimony with cross-examination. As evidence develops, the data is evaluated against other sources. Textual analysis begins with historical investigation, beginning with the latest documents and working backward. There is more evidence for the Bible’s authenticity than for any literature of antiquity. The real question is not in which museum it is housed, but does it find lodging in your heart? If it’s located there, then a second question arises.Evidence for Creation › Evidence from Scripture › Authentic Text» Next The real question about the location of God’s Word is actually a very personal one. Translators continue to study the ancient text to find just the right nuance and shade of meaning in today’s English to express exactly what God intended to convey. So don’t expect that there will be no further English translations. English is, after all, not a fixed, dead language. Ten trained translators looking at the same Greek text would likely come up with ten slightly different renditions, and each would have reasons for his or her choice of particular words and phrases. This helps to explain why there is so much variation in the English translations. For example, the word “gay” means something quite different today than it meant fifty years ago. And English is constantly changing, as some of our words take on new meanings. Sometimes the original words have no exact counterpart in English, so several English words may be required to reproduce the precise meaning. To find the exact meaning in modern English of those ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek terms, phrases, and sentences is very challenging. These old manuscripts are housed in several museums and other places all over the world.īut what about the translation of this text into English? Does it accurately reproduce the original text – which, after all, was first written down in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek? Since the ancient texts we are using agree to such a remarkable extent, our task is to put this original text into excellent English. ![]() The Bible text most often used by scholars and translators is a composite made from the oldest and most reliable of the ancient manuscripts. So we are sure we have the original text as it came from the mind of God.īecause what we have are copies of so many manuscripts, there is no single location where “the original Bible” is housed. No other book from ancient times has this much underlying documentary support. There is no major variation in any of them. Yet these thousands of copies (which predate the printing press) agree with each other to an amazing extent. We know this because there are over 5000 complete or partial copies of the originals, actually copies of the copies. The scribes who made these copies were extremely careful as they did their work. None of his own writing has survived, but copies have been made down through the centuries. Well over 3000 years have passed since Moses first penned the book of Genesis. Unfortunately, none of these original manuscripts exist today. These messages from God came to some forty different people over the span of 1600 years! The concluding one, the book of Revelation, was given 2000 years ago around 100 AD. They wrote down exactly what was revealed to them, using their own vocabulary and writing style. In order to answer these questions, let’s first decide what we mean by “the original Bible.” That phrase refers to the revelation that came from God to the human authors.
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