Holy. Now that isn't a word you see very often, is it? But then, the Bible isn't really a regular book. I mean, think about it for a second. This thing is ancient. We're talking Indiana Jones here. The first parts of the Bible date from around 1,400 BC. The most recent parts were written about 100 AD.
So it's old. Really old. Now most books are popular for a couple of months. Very few are lucky to top the bestseller lists for a few years. The longest run on the New York Times Best-Seller list was The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck at 300 weeks (who, not coincidentally, also happened to be a Christian). The Bible, however, was not only the very first best-seller, it has never left the best-seller list. In fact, so many Bibles are sold worldwide each year that it is basically excluded from best-seller lists since it would never leave #1.
Calculating how many Bibles are sold in the United States is a virtually impossible task, but a conservative estimate is that in 2005 Americans purchased some twenty-five million Bibles—twice as many as the most recent Harry Potter book. (http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/12/18/061218fa_fact1#ixzz1InZoWUVn)So it's got a catchy title, it's old and it's the bestest (yeah, that's not a word, but you find yourself having to invent superlatives to describe this book) seller of all time. The problem is that way too many people think the Bible is unreliable, inaccurate and riddled with mistakes and fabrications. Unfortunately, these people merely repeat what they have heard, or think they have heard (or wish they had heard) and have never really looked into the facts. That is really ironic if you think about it since it turns out that these people are the ones who are unreliable, inaccurate and riddled with mistakes and fabrications. So let's look at the facts, starting with the Old Testament...
Is The Old Testament Historically Reliable?
Material adapted from The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict by Josh McDowell.
Manuscripts (i.e., hand-written copies)
Transmission (inaccuracy from the copying process)
Names of kings: There is astonishingly accurate agreement as to the spelling and order of foreign kings in the Old Testament (OT) and monuments and secular documents. According to Professor Robert Dick Wilson there are about 40 of these kings living between 2000 BC and 400 BC. Each appears in chronological order with reference to kings of the same country and with respect to the kings of other countries. Wilson states, “…no stronger evidence for the substantial accuracy of the Old Testament records could possibly be imagined, than this collection of kings.” Wilson computes the probability of this accuracy occurring by mere circumstance to be one in 75,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. (Wilson, Robert Dick. A Scientific Investigation of the Old Testament. Chicago: Moody Press, 1959)
Copying Tradition: The earliest surviving complete manuscript of the OT is the Codex Bablylonicus Petropalitanus (AD 1008) located in Leningrad. The OT doesn’t have nearly the number of manuscripts as the New Testament. This is mainly because the intricate traditions of the scribes made them so confident that new copies were as accurate as the old that older copies were considered inferior and usually destroyed in favor of the newer copies.
The Masoretes (Jewish scholars between 500 and 950 AD) were well disciplined and treated the text with the greatest imaginable reverence. They devised a complicated system of safeguards against scribal slips. They counted, for example, the number of times each letter of the alphabet occurred in each book; they pointed out the middle letter of the Pentateuch and the middle letter of the whole Hebrew Bible, and made even more detailed calculations than these. “Everything countable seems to be counted,” says Wheeler Robinson, and they made up mnemonics by which the various totals might be readily remembered. (Bruce, F. F. The Books and the Parchments: How We Got Our English Bible. Old Tappan, N.J.: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1950. Reprints: 1963, 1984)
Flavius Josephus, the Jewish historian writing in the first century AD, states, “We have given practical proof of our reverence for our own Scriptures. For, although such long ages have now passed , no one has ventured either to add, or to remove, or to alter a syllable; and it is an instinct with every Jew, from the day of his birth, to regard them as the decrees of God, to abide by them, and, if need be, cheerfully die for them. What Greek would endure as much for the same cause? Even to save the entire collection of his nation’s writings from destruction he would not face the smallest personal injury. For to the Greeks they are mere stories improvised according to the fancy of their authors; and in this estimate even of the older historians they are quite justified, when they see some of their own contemporaries venturing to describe events in which they bore no part, without taking the trouble to seek information from those who know the facts.”
The Dead Sea Scrolls: Before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls we had no way of knowing whether the version of the OT we have was an accurate representation of the original. Since the earliest manuscripts were dated in the tenth century AD, had it been corrupted over the centuries as it was copied over hundreds of times? As World War II was drawing to an end, a Bedouin shepherd boy would stumble upon a trove of ancient scrolls that would provide the answer. Among the scrolls was the complete book of Isaiah. Paleographers have dated the Isaiah manuscript around 125 BC. This predates the earliest manuscript we previously had by over a millennium. By comparing these two manuscripts we can get an impression of the accuracy with which the Jewish scribes transmitted their sacred scriptures.
As one example, of the 166 words in Isaiah 53, there are only seventeen letters in question. Ten of these letters are simply a matter of spelling, which does not affect the sense[ of the passage]. Four more letters are minor stylistic changes, such as conjunctions. The remaining three letters comprise the word “light,” which is added in verse 11, and does not affect the meaning greatly. Furthermore, this word is supported by the LXX (Septuagint) and IQ Is (one of the Isaiah scrolls found in the Dead Sea caves). Thus in one chapter of 166 words, there is only one word (three letters) in question after a thousand years of transmission—and this word does not significantly change the meaning of the passage. (Burrows, Millard. The Dead Sea Scrolls. 1955)
Isaiah 53 is no insignificant passage as its prophetic depictions of the Jewish Messiah have led some to believe that it had been tampered with by Christians to make it better fit the events surrounding Jesus. The Dead Sea Scrolls put these accusations to rest for good. Isaiah 53 is reproduced below from the New American Standard Translation:
Isaiah 53
Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
But the LORD was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
But the LORD was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.
Archaeological and Historical Confirmation
A complete description of all of the archaeological findings that have confirmed Biblical accounts would fill volumes. The following are offered as a sampling of some of the most significant.
Sodom and Gomorrah
The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in the book of Genesis was thought to be spurious until evidence revealed that all five of the cities mentioned in the Bible were in fact centers of commerce in the area and were geographically situated as the Scriptures describe. The biblical description of their demise seems to be no less accurate. Evidence points to earthquake activity, and that the various layers of the earth were disrupted and hurled high into the air. Bitumen is plentiful there, and an accurate description would be that brimstone (bituminous pitch) was hurled down on those cities that had rejected God. There is evidence that the layers of sedimentary rock have been molded together by intense heat. Evidence of such burning has been found on the top of Jebel Usdum (Mount Sodom). This is permanent evidence of the great conflagration that took place in the long-distant past, possibly when an oil basin beneath the Dead Sea ignited and erupted. Such an explanation in no way subtracts from the miraculous quality of the event, for God controls natural forces. The timing of the event, in the context of warnings and visitation by angels, reveals its overall miraculous nature. (Geisler, Norman L. Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998, pg 50,51)
Jericho
During the excavations of Jericho (1930-1936) Garstang found something so startling that he and two other members of the team prepared and signed a statement describing what was found. In reference to these findings Garstang says: “As to the main fact, then, there remains no doubt: the walls fell outwards so completely that the attackers would be able to clamber up and over their ruins into the city. Why so unusual? Because the walls of cities do not fall outwards, they fall inwards. And yet in Joshua 6:20 we read, ‘The wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.’ The walls were made to fall outward.” (Garstang, John. The Foundations of Bible History; Joshua, Judges. New York: R. R. Smith, Inc. 1931, pg 146)
Bryant Wood, writing for Biblical Archaeology Review (Wood, Bryant G. “Did the Israelites Conquer Jericho?” March/April 1990, pg 44-59), includes a list of collaboration between archaeological evidence and biblical narrative as follows:
- The city was strongly fortified (Joshua 2:5, 7, 15; 6:5, 20)
- The attack occurred just after harvest time in the spring (Joshua 2:1; 3:15; 5:16)
- The inhabitants had no opportunity to flee with their foodsheds (Joshua 6:1)
- The siege was short (Joshua 6:15)
- The walls were leveled, possibly by and earthquake (Joshua 6:20)
- The city was not plundered (Joshua 6:17)
- The city was burned (Joshua 6:24)
Saul, David and Solomon
Archaeological findings have confirmed many details in the biblical accounts of these first Israelite kings. From the use of slings as a primary weapon to the locations and gods of Canaanite temples to validating the architectural accuracy of the account of David’s capture of Jerusalem, findings continually confirm the cultural and geographical accuracy of the biblical accounts. (Geisler, Ibid.)
King David
Avaraham Biram (“House of David,” Biblical Archaeology Review. March/April 1994, pg 26) speaks of a new discovery in 1994:
A remarkable inscription from the ninth century BCE that refers to both the [House of David], and to the [King of Israel]. This is the first time that the name of David has been found in any ancient inscription outside the Bible. That the inscription refers not simply to a [David] but to the House of David, the dynasty of the great Israelite king, is even more remarkable…this may be the oldest extra-biblical reference to Israel in Semitic script. If this inscription proves anything, it shows that both Israel and Judah, contrary to the claims of some scholarly biblical minimizers, were important kingdoms at this time.
Summary
Henry M. Morris observes: “Problems still exist, of course, in the complete harmonization of the archaeological material with the Bible, but none so serious as not to bear real promise of imminent solution through further investigation. It must be extremely significant that, in view of the great mass of corroborative evidence regarding the biblical history of these periods, there exists today not one unquestionable find of archaeology that proves the Bible to be in error at any point.” (Morris, Henry M. The Bible and Modern Science. Rev. ed. Chicago: Moody Press, 1956, pg 95)
“In every period of Old Testament history, we find that there is good evidence from archaeology that the Scriptures speak the truth. In many instances, the Scriptures even reflect firsthand knowledge of the times and customs it describes. While many have doubted the accuracy of the Bible, time and continued research have consistently demonstrated that the Word of God is better informed than its critics.
“In fact, while thousands of finds from the ancient world support in broad outline and often in detail the biblical picture, not one incontrovertible find has ever contradicted the Bible.” (Geisler, Ibid., pg 52)
Reliability of the Old Testament History
Textual criticism of the biblical histories has taken a dramatic turn in the past 50 years. W. F. Albright describes the change in attitudes:
Until recently it was the fashion among biblical historians to treat the patriarchal sagas of Genesis as through they were artificial creations of Israelite scribes of the Divided Monarchy or tales told by imaginative rhapsodists around Israelite campfires during the centuries following their occupation of the country. Eminent names among scholars can be cited for regarding every item of Genesis 11-50 as reflecting late invention, or at least retrojection of events and conditions under the Monarchy into the remote past, about which nothing was thought to have been really known to the writers of later days. (Albright, W. F. The Biblical Period from Abraham to Ezra. New York: Harper & Row, 1963, pg 1,2)
Now it has all been changed, says Albright:
“Archaeological discoveries since 1925 have changed all this. Aside from a few die-hards among older scholars, there is scarcely a single biblical historian who has not been impressed by the rapid accumulation of data supporting the substantial historicity of patriarchal tradition. According to the traditions of Genesis the ancestors of Israel were closely related to the semi-nomadic peoples of Trans-Jordan, Syria, the Euphrates basin and North Arabia in the last centuries of the second millennium BC, and the first centuries of the first millennium.” (Albright, Ibid., pg 1,2)
In order to detail the discoveries that have precipitated this shift, it would take many pages. For a great summary, I refer you The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell, pages 99-115.
Conclusion
As you can see, those know-nothings who so quickly deride the accuracy and reliability of this amazing text are quite ill-informed. Christians (and Jews) should hold their heads high and not accept these assertions as anything less than lies and propaganda. If you are a person of The Book, then I implore you to not stand idly by in the midst of such rumor mongers. Kindly and respectfully correct them.
Next post, the New Testament...
Next post, the New Testament...
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