1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
Genesis 1, 1-5
That's how the Bible begins. Is this and other texts from the books of the Old and New Testaments a collection of myths and legends, or perhaps a description of the true story?
32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
John 8, 32
Does the book that was written in the 1600-year space, written by over 40 authors, have a lot of mistakes?
The first book of the Old Testament dates back to about 1500 years before the birth of Jesus. The rest were written down by the Jews up to about 400 years before the birth of Jesus. New Testament was written in the first century after the birth of Jesus. The difference between the first and last book of the Bible, completed around 98 - Revelation - is around 1,600 years. It is true that we do not have original collections of books, but thanks to the incredible number of copies - as for ancient times - and the accuracy of their implementation, we can say that the Bible is very close to the original version. On what basis can we draw such conclusions? We have approximately 27,000 copies of the New Testament: around 6,000 in Greek and 21,000 in other languages. Between them there is only 0.5% - half percent - differences in translation. So 99.5% of the text is correct! This is all the more amazing when we consider how the Bible was written. In antiquity, it was not as easy as today. Written then on papyri or parchment - made of animal skins. Making copies was very costly and time-consuming. The material on which it was made was expensive, and few people were able to write at that time, so it was not cheap to hire a man to copy the books. The huge number of manuscripts found suggests that it was not an ordinary book.
There is a widespread view that the Bible has more than 40 authors. While in the New Testament it is easier to determine - it is believed that there are 8 of them, the analysis of the Old Testament books suggests that there were more than 32 people in some sources. They came from almost every social group: Moses was a slave, David a shepherd, Peter a fisherman, Luke a doctor, and Matthew a tax collector. Considering the great time span and a large number of authors, it would seem that their joint work should contain a lot of errors and inaccuracies. Meanwhile, the Bible turns out to be surprisingly consistent as a whole.
How do historians examine the credibility of ancient literature?
They compare the number of manuscripts and the time elapsed since the creation of the original to write a copy. This is called bibliographic test.
Number of copies:
- The New Testament - more than 5,000 in the Greek language itself
- Homer Iliad - 643
- Demosthenes - 200
- Tacitus - 20
- Julius Caesar Gallic War - 10
- Herodot History - 8
- Thucydides - 8
- Platon - 7
The difference between the oldest preserved copy and the date of writing the original:
- New Testament - 225 years
- Homer Iliad - 400 years
- Tacitus - 1000 years
- Julius Caesar Gallic War - 1000 years
- Herodot History - 1350 years
- Thucydides - 1300 years
- Platon - 1300 years
- Demosthenes - 1,400 years
If historians, for example, consider Platon's works to be credible with just 7 preserved copies and a 1300 year interval between the oldest of them and the original, then they should not undermine the New Testament, which fell a lot better in the bibliographic test.
When examining ancient texts, it also addresses who and when described the events. The eyewitness accounts of events are considered the most credible.
35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe.
John 19, 35
16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.
2 Peter 1, 16
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life--
2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us--
3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
1 John 1, 1-3
Many stories in the Bible have thus been described by the participants in these events.
Another very important question is whether there is evidence from other sources that can confirm the historical compatibility of documents.
1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
2 while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.
Luke 3, 1-2
Flavius Josephus - a well-known Jewish historian who also received Roman citizenship in the year of 69 wrote about Pontius Pilatus. Tiberius' life was described by Suetonius and Tacitus - Roman historians. So we have confirmation from non-Christian / Jewish sources.
_About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who performed surprising deeds and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. (...) He was the Messiah. And when, upon the accusation of the principal men among us, Pilate had condemned him to a cross (...) He appeared to them spending a third day restored to life, for the prophets of God had foretold these things and a thousand other marvels about him. (...)
Is it from the Bible? It is not Flavius Josephus who talked about Jesus in _ Antiquities of the Jews_.
He also mentions John the Baptist.
_ Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and was a very just punishment for what he did against John called the baptist (...)
Tacitus:
Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition (...)
Another Roman writer, Pliny the Younger
They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god (...)
Archeology.
There is no small mention anywhere about King David outside the Bible. In 1993, Abraham Biran - an Israeli archaeologist discovered a monument in Tel Dan with an inscription on stone. It was created by the Arameans and described the war between them and Israel. Referring to their enemy, they wrote about the King of Israel from the house of David.
In 2005, a ceramic fragment with the inscription named Goliath was found. It was dug in the area of Kiriat Gat, the old Philistine city of Gath.
3 The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.
4 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
1 Samuel 17, 3-4
During the excavations in Iraq, former Babylon, several hundred cuneiform plates were found. They mention the king Nebuchadnezzar. He is mentioned by name around 90 times in the Bible.
Did not the Paul the Apostle write these words by accident?
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,
Romans 1, 18-22
Quotes from:
The New King James Version https://www.biblestudytools.com/nkjv/
http://www.josephus.org/
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/tacitus.html/
https://streetapologist.wordpress.com/2013/09/28/pliny-the-younger/
Picture 1 https://pixabay.com/pl/ksi%C4%85%C5%BCka-biblia-tekst-literatura-2073023/
Picture 2 https://pixabay.com/pl/koloseum-amfiteatr-flawiuszy-rome-835626/