HOW DID WE GET THE BIBLE? (3)
(Message by Tanny Keng)
0. Introduction
a) How did we get the Bible? Who preserved it for us to read? Who decided which writings were inspired or not? What was the original inspired order of the books?
b) Just before his death Moses wrote the book of Deuteronomy, which finalized the first major set of inspired books that would become part of the Bible. This set is known as the Pentateuch, or Law, and is composed of the following five books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Upon completion of the last book Moses, a Levite, gave them to the priests so that they may be preserved:
i) "So it was, when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book, when they were finished, that Moses commanded THE LEVITES, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying: 'Take this Book of the Law, and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there as a witness against you; . . .' " (Deuteronomy 31:24-26)
c) It was from the death of Moses that, according to The Holy Bible in Its Original Order - A Faithful Version, Second Edition (HBFV), the priest and Levites were made the official protectors of God's word. Their job was to make faithful copies and to preserve his revelations to man for future generations.
d) God, for many years after Moses, inspired others such as Samuel, King David, King Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel to write books. It wasn't until the late fifth century B.C., however, that these books were collected and compiled to form what we know as the Old Testament. Ezra, a priest at the temple who lived more than eight hundred years after Moses, led the effort to canonize the Old Testament.
0. Introduction
a) How did we get the Bible? Who preserved it for us to read? Who decided which writings were inspired or not? What was the original inspired order of the books?
b) Just before his death Moses wrote the book of Deuteronomy, which finalized the first major set of inspired books that would become part of the Bible. This set is known as the Pentateuch, or Law, and is composed of the following five books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Upon completion of the last book Moses, a Levite, gave them to the priests so that they may be preserved:
i) "So it was, when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book, when they were finished, that Moses commanded THE LEVITES, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying: 'Take this Book of the Law, and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there as a witness against you; . . .' " (Deuteronomy 31:24-26)
c) It was from the death of Moses that, according to The Holy Bible in Its Original Order - A Faithful Version, Second Edition (HBFV), the priest and Levites were made the official protectors of God's word. Their job was to make faithful copies and to preserve his revelations to man for future generations.
d) God, for many years after Moses, inspired others such as Samuel, King David, King Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel to write books. It wasn't until the late fifth century B.C., however, that these books were collected and compiled to form what we know as the Old Testament. Ezra, a priest at the temple who lived more than eight hundred years after Moses, led the effort to canonize the Old Testament.
e) What exactly is canonization? Canonization is the process by which a collection of writings comes to be considered authoritative, definitive and fixed by a religious authority. It was during the canonization process that the number of books in the Old Testament and their book arrangement was set.
1. Inspired order of books
a) Ezra divided the manuscripts that compose the Old Testament into three major divisions - The Law, The Prophets and The Writings.
i) THE LAW: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
ii) THE PROPHETS: The books of Joshua and Judges (one book), 1Samuel, 2Samuel, 1Kings and 2Kings (one book), Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, plus one book containing all the minor prophets.
iii) THE WRITINGS: Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther and the book of Daniel, plus Ezra and Nehemiah (one book), along with 1Chronicles and 2Chronicles (one book)
b) The original number of New Testament books (manuscripts) was twenty-seven (27). The apostle John grouped these books into four major divisions - The Gospels, The General Epistles, The Epistles of Paul and Revelation.
i) THE GOSPELS: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, plus the book of Acts.
ii) THE GENERAL EPISTLES: James, 1Peter, 2Peter, 1John, 2John, 3John, Jude.
iii) THE EPISTLES OF APOSTLE PAUL: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Hebrews,1 and 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon.
iv) THE BOOK OF REVELATION
c) The Bible, as a whole, was originally divided into seven (7) major divisions. The total number of books was forty-nine (49), or seven times seven. The number seven symbolizes spiritual perfection.
The End ...
a) Ezra divided the manuscripts that compose the Old Testament into three major divisions - The Law, The Prophets and The Writings.
i) THE LAW: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
ii) THE PROPHETS: The books of Joshua and Judges (one book), 1Samuel, 2Samuel, 1Kings and 2Kings (one book), Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, plus one book containing all the minor prophets.
iii) THE WRITINGS: Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther and the book of Daniel, plus Ezra and Nehemiah (one book), along with 1Chronicles and 2Chronicles (one book)
b) The original number of New Testament books (manuscripts) was twenty-seven (27). The apostle John grouped these books into four major divisions - The Gospels, The General Epistles, The Epistles of Paul and Revelation.
i) THE GOSPELS: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, plus the book of Acts.
ii) THE GENERAL EPISTLES: James, 1Peter, 2Peter, 1John, 2John, 3John, Jude.
iii) THE EPISTLES OF APOSTLE PAUL: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Hebrews,1 and 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon.
iv) THE BOOK OF REVELATION
c) The Bible, as a whole, was originally divided into seven (7) major divisions. The total number of books was forty-nine (49), or seven times seven. The number seven symbolizes spiritual perfection.
Comments
Post a Comment