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I. Before the Bible was written
А. Without the written revelation of God
B. There being instructions handed down through oral tradition
II. The languages used in the ancient time
А. The ancient languages
1. Akkadian
2. The Babylonian writing of the tribe of Shem
3. The language of Canaan and the Hebrew language
4. Aramaic
5. Greek
B. The languages used in the Bible
1. Hebrew
2. Aramaic
3. Greek
III. The authors of the Bible and the places in which it was written
А. The Old Testament
B. The New Testament
IV. The times when the Bible was written
V. The recognition of the authority of the Bible
А. The Old Testament
1. The Pentateuch of Moses
2. The other books
B. The New Testament
1. The gospels
2. The other books
We know that the Bible is the word of God. We also know that God did not write a book in heaven and then send an angel to bring it down to earth. How did God write the Bible? Who did He use to write the Bible? Why do we recognize the writings of those who wrote the Bible as God’s word? This lesson will answer these questions and give us additional background concerning the Bible and its completion. It is necessary for us to know the background of the book we love.
[In the first 2500 years of human history, there were no written revelations of God. There were only His verbal instructions, such as His instructions to the forefathers, including Adam, Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In Genesis we see that before the Bible was written, God often appeared to the forefathers and gave them verbal instructions.]
[Before the Bible was written, although there were no written revelations of God, there were verbal instructions handed down from generation to generation by the fathers. This fact can be proved from inscribed stone tablets discovered in Egypt and Babylon. In 1901, a black pillar was discovered in Persia on which were inscribed some of the laws of the ancient times. Some of them were similar to the Law of Moses, yet it was inscribed five to six hundred years before the time of Moses. This proves that before the Bible was written, among ancient civilizations, there were verbal instructions of God handed down through their forefathers.]
[If we want to know how the Bible was written, we need to know about the alphabets and languages used by the ancient civilizations.]
[Before the flood, it is not known what language man used. According to historical research, the earliest language spoken by man after the flood came from Akkad in the northwest region of ancient Babylon and is called Akkadian. The three terms, “Adam,” “Eden,” and “Sabbath” in the book of Genesis chapter two are probably Akkadian and not Hebrew. Akkadian was originally made of lines. These lines were drawn into wedge shapes. Eventually the writing developed into the cuneiform script. This script was used until approximately two thousand years before Christ, about the time of Abraham.]
[From about two thousand years before Christ, the Babylonian writing of the tribe of Shem replaced Akkadian. We believe that this is the origin of the Aramaic language that came later. This kind of writing was used until approximately six hundred years before Christ, at the time Nebuchadnezzar ruled in Babylon.]
[Ur of the Chaldees was the original dwelling place of Abraham (Gen. 11:31); it was in Babylon. The people there were descendants of the tribe of Shem, and the language they used was the Babylonian language just mentioned. When Abraham was called by God into Canaan, historians all agree that he would naturally have given up his native Babylonian language of Shem and would have taken up the local language of Canaan. This language of Canaan probably became the later Hebrew language, or a part of it. Some have taken the “language of Canaan” in Isaiah 19:18 to mean the language used by the Israelites, the descendants of Abraham. Historians have postulated that a large portion of the subsequent Hebrew language was developed from such a language of Canaan.]
[About six hundred years before Christ, the Israelites were taken captive by the Babylonians to Babylon. They stayed there for a long time. Spontaneously, they gave up Hebrew and adopted the local Aramaic language, which was the Chaldean language. After their return from their captivity, history tells us that they were still using this Aramaic language. At the time of the Lord Jesus, the Romans had already occupied the land of Israel. Although Greek was commonly used throughout the Roman Empire, the Jews nevertheless still used Aramaic among themselves. Only the rabbis spoke and read the Scriptures in Hebrew in the synagogues. If there were some in the synagogues who did not understand Hebrew, there would be someone to translate it into Aramaic.
Many historians have postulated that the language used by the Lord Jesus to speak with the people daily was probably Aramaic, not Hebrew. The words that He spoke in Mark 5:41, “Talitha koum,” and in Mark 15:34, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani,” were all Aramaic.]
[After the Roman Empire conquered the lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea and spread the Greek culture everywhere, Greek became the common vernacular language used by all the people in the Roman Empire at that time.
All of these languages are directly or indirectly related to the completion of the Bible.]
[The main body of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew.]
[In the Old Testament, there are four portions which were written in Aramaic. They are Jeremiah 10:11, Daniel 2:4—7:28, Ezra 4:8—6:18, and 7:12-26. These four portions are absolutely related to the Aramaic people (that is, the Babylonians). That is why the Bible used Aramaic there instead of Hebrew.]
[The whole New Testament was written in Greek. A few sentences in it were written in Aramaic. They are those already mentioned, “Talitha koum,” and “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani.”]
[The Pentateuch of Moses — Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy — was written by Moses. Moses was raised in the palace. He was a scholar, a politician, and a military leader. According to the world, he was also a religious leader. The Pentateuch was written by him at Mount Sinai and in the wilderness.
The book of Joshua was written by Joshua. He was a military leader and a politician. He wrote most of this book in Canaan and a smaller portion in the plains of Moab.
There are a lot of contentions about the authorship of Judges, and they are hard to verify. However, many authorities have postulated that it was written by Samuel.
The book of Ruth is connected to the preceding book of Judges and the following books of Samuel in history and in time. Therefore, it was most probably written by Samuel.
The first twenty-four chapters of 1 Samuel were probably written by Samuel. Chapter twenty-five, verse 1 says that Samuel died. Therefore, from chapter twenty-five on, the rest of 1 Samuel and the whole book of 2 Samuel were surely not written by him. First Chronicles 29:29 says that regarding the things of David, there was not only the recording of Samuel, but also the recordings of the prophets Nathan and Gad. Bible scholars have concluded from this verse that the recordings in the books of Samuel after the death of Samuel must have been continued by the prophets Nathan and Gad.
Why was 2 Samuel called by that name even though it was not written by Samuel? This is because these two books form one group in history. Therefore, the author or authors continued to write from chapter twenty-five of 1 Samuel until the end of 2 Samuel. Moreover, in the original Hebrew Old Testament, the two books of Samuel were a single book, not two. It was only when the Old Testament was translated into Greek in the Septuagint that Samuel was divided into the first and second books, because it was too long and difficult to roll up into one scroll.
Samuel was a Nazarite consecrated to God. He became a priest, and he also became a judge and a prophet. In addition, he brought in the kingship. It is certain that his book was written in Canaan.
Both Nathan and Gad were seers. It is also certain that their records were written in Canaan.
The books of 1 and 2 Kings were one book in the Hebrew Old Testament. They were divided by the Septuagint. It is hard for Bible scholars to ascertain who was the author of Kings, but some think that Jeremiah was the author.
The books of 1 and 2 Chronicles were also one book in the Hebrew Old Testament. It was also divided by the Septuagint. This book has been generally ascertained by many authorities to have been written by Ezra. If we compare the ending of Chronicles and the beginning of Ezra, we can see that the style, the grammar, and the phrases are all very similar and have to be from the same author. Therefore it has been proposed that Chronicles was written by Ezra.
The book of Ezra was certainly written by Ezra. Ezra was a very learned scribe and priest. He knew the laws of God very well and therefore was also a lawyer. His books were written in Jerusalem.
The book of Nehemiah was certainly written by Nehemiah. Ezra was a descendant of Levi, the tribe of the priests. Nehemiah was a descendant of Judah, the tribe of the kings. One attended to religion, and the other attended to politics. At that time, the Persian Empire treated Judea as a province, and Nehemiah became the governor of Judea. His book was also written in Jerusalem.
It is hard to ascertain the authorship of the book of Esther. Probably Mordecai was the author, because in 9:20 and 23 it is mentioned that Mordecai recorded the happenings then. He was one who loved God and loved the Jews. If it was written by him, it was written in the heathen city of Shushan.
There is a greater contention about the authorship of the book of Job. The things recorded in this book took place before the time of Moses and may have been concurrent with Abraham, which is about two thousand years before Christ. Some have said it was written by Elihu, and some have said that Moses was probably the author.
Among the Psalms there are some that do not mention any author, but the authorship of most of them is identified. Among the one hundred fifty psalms, at least seventy-three are designated clearly as the Psalms of David. In addition to these, there are quite a few that were clearly written by David, even though the author was not clearly stated. Therefore, David wrote the largest number, nearly one hundred psalms. In addition, there were Asaph, Heman, Ethan, the sons of Korah, Solomon, and Moses. Therefore, at least seven authors were clearly indicated. The sons of Korah are plural in number in the manuscript, and this may therefore refer to more than one person. All the psalms of these people were probably written in the land of Israel. David was first a shepherd and then a king. Quite a number of his psalms were written while he was being persecuted in the wilderness. Some were written while he was reigning in the palace. We are not very clear about Asaph, Heman, and Ethan. It may be that they were common people. The sons of Korah were the descendants of Korah. Bible scholars admit that this Korah is the Korah recorded in Numbers 16 as the one leading the rebellion against God. However, from the descendants of this rebellious one, there came out such godly and God-loving people. They did not want to divulge their own names. They would rather show forth the greatness of the grace of God by acknowledging that they were the descendants of the rebellious one against God.
Most of the book of Proverbs was written by Solomon. There were a few words by Agur and Lemuel. Hence, Proverbs was written by at least three persons. Solomon was the most glorious king and the wisest one in human history. All his books were written in Jerusalem. Agur may have been a common person, and Lemuel was a king.
The book of Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon.
The Song of Solomon was also written by Solomon.
There are seventeen books of the prophets from Isaiah to Malachi. They are written by sixteen prophets, with Jeremiah and Lamentations both written by Jeremiah.
Isaiah was a minister serving the king and was also a historian (2 Chron. 26:22; 32:32). His book was written in Jerusalem, the capital city.
Jeremiah was born a priest and became a prophet. He spent most of his time in Judea and the last period in Egypt.
Ezekiel was a priest turned prophet. He wrote the book of Ezekiel in the land of captivity in Babylon.
Daniel was of the tribe of Judah. His book should have been written in the land of captivity in Babylon and Ulai.
Amos was the most peculiar among the sixteen prophets. He was a shepherd, a caretaker of mulberry trees, and probably would not have received much education. His book should have been written in the land of Israel.
Jonah probably wrote his book in Nineveh.
Zephaniah was a royal descendant turned prophet. His book was written in the land of Judea.
Zechariah was also a priest turned prophet. His book was also written in the land of Judea.
In addition to these, Hosea, Joel, Obadiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Haggai, and Malachi, eight altogether, were most probably common people who became prophets. Their books were written either in Judea or in the land of Israel.
Therefore, there were at least thirty-two authors of the Old Testament from Moses to Malachi. If Job was written by Elihu, and if more than one of the sons of Korah wrote, then there were more than thirty-two authors. Among them, all except Elihu, the probable Gentile author, and Agur and Lemuel, whose tribal sources are unknown, were Israelites. Among these authors of the Old Testament, there were people of various levels and backgrounds. There were scholars, religious persons, politicians, military leaders, kings, priests, prophets, common people, shepherds, and farmers. Some were highly educated, and some, without much education. Some were persecuted and oppressed, and some enjoyed glory and honor. Some were living in Israel, and some were in the land of the Gentiles in captivity.]
[The Gospel of Matthew was written by Matthew. He was originally a tax collector, and his origin was not honorable. The Lord called him to be one of the twelve apostles. His Gospel was probably written in Judea.
The Gospel of Mark was written by Mark. He was a very ordinary disciple. His Gospel was probably written in Rome.
The Gospel of Luke was written by Luke. He was a Gentile doctor. His Gospel was probably written in a Gentile land.
The Gospel of John was written by John. John was a fisherman in Galilee and was not well educated. But he was also called by the Lord to be one of the twelve apostles. His Gospel was probably written in a Gentile land.
The Acts of the Apostles was also written by Luke, the doctor. This book was probably also written in a Gentile land.
The fourteen books from Romans to Hebrews were written by Paul. He was originally zealous for Judaism and was also a very learned person. He had capability, ability, and capacity and could accomplish things. He was specially called by the Lord early in life to become an apostle to the Gentile people. His books were all written in the Gentile lands, and some were written in a Roman jail.
The Epistle of James was written by James. He was the flesh brother of the Lord Jesus (Gal. 1:19) and was a devout Christian who became a pillar of the church (2:9), but he was rather full of Judaism from his background. His book was probably written in Jerusalem.
The first and second Epistles of Peter were written by Peter. Peter was also a fisherman without much education, but he was called by the Lord to become the first of the twelve apostles. His book was probably written in a Gentile land.
The first, second, and third Epistles of John were all written by the apostle John. These three books should have been written in a Gentile land.
The book of Jude was written by Jude. He was also a flesh brother of the Lord. He could have written this book in Judea.
The book of Revelation was also written by the apostle John. It was written in a Gentile land and probably on the island of Patmos.
Hence, there were eight authors of the New Testament. Among them, Paul was a Jewish scholar, and Luke was a Gentile physician. They were the only two who had received a high education. The rest were all common people and without much education.
The number of authors of the whole Bible was more than forty, and most of them were Jews. Luke was one who was a Gentile. This indicates that among the authors there were Jews and Gentiles, kings and common people, scribes and soldiers, scholars and uneducated ones. Some were in high places, and some were very lowly; some were rich, and some were poor. There were all kinds of people. As to the places where the books were written, some were written in the wilderness; some, in a palace; some, on an island; and some, in jail.]
[The first few books in the Old Testament, the Pentateuch of Moses, were written about 1500 B.C. The last book, Malachi, was written about 400 B.C. Therefore, all thirty-nine books in the Old Testament were completed within eleven hundred years .
Matthew, the first book in the New Testament, was written between A.D. 37 and 40. Revelation, the last book, was written between A.D. 94 and 96. Therefore, the whole New Testament was finished within fifty or so years. Hence, the whole Bible spans about 1500 to 1600 years from beginning to end, from Genesis to Revelation.]
[Among the Old Testament writings, the Pentateuch has always been recognized by the Jews as being from God and having absolute and divine authority. This is because it was the written revelation of God to Moses, and was handed down through their ancestors. Although the Jews acknowledge that the whole Old Testament was from God, they gave the Pentateuch of Moses a very special position. In all the Jewish synagogues throughout the world today, there are at least two or three copies of the Pentateuch of Moses. They may not have the other books of the Old Testament, but they always have the Pentateuch. Incidentally, the Samaritans acknowledged only the Pentateuch of Moses. Of course the Samaritans’ religion is a distorted one, but this proves the authority of the Pentateuch of Moses among the ancient worshippers of God.]
[The other books in the Old Testament were gradually acknowledged by the people of God to be from God by virtue of their own value and authority. One author put it very well by saying, “There is no need to declare a tree by its name. It only needs to grow up gradually, to bloom, and to bear fruit; spontaneously men will recognize what kind of tree it is. In the same way, whether or not all the other books in the Old Testament were from God is best answered by the test of time; there is no need for any explicit declaration. The values and authority of the books spontaneously manifest themselves.” This is surely true. All the inspired writers among God’s people after the Pentateuch had their writings recognized as being from God through a long period of testing and through the identification of authority in them.
In approximately 457 B.C., the scribe Ezra compiled the Pentateuch of Moses and all the other authoritative writings commonly recognized among the people of God to become the various books in the Old Testament. (Nehemiah and Malachi were not included because they were not written yet.) The Jewish historian, Josephus, and other Gentile historians all verified this fact.
After Ezra there was a group of scribes among the Jews called “The Great Synagogue” who continued with this compiling and ascertaining work. In 400 B.C. they completed the compilation of all the books we have in the Old Testament today. However, in their work there were not thirty-nine books, but twenty-four books. We will speak about this later. Hence, by 400 B.C. the writing of the Old Testament was not only completed but was also acknowledged and recognized.
At any rate, by approximately 277 B.C. at the latest, when the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament into Greek was made, all the books of the Old Testament must have already been recognized.]
[The early churches frequently read the Gospels and the Old Testament during their meetings. Hence, the four Gospels were the earliest recognized books of the New Testament.]
[After the apostles passed away, there was some confusion due to the fact that some people wrote books in the names of the apostles. Therefore the leaders of the early churches, the so-called Fathers, collected all the books written by the apostles and put them together with the Gospels. Not long after Polycarp was martyred, the New Testament was viewed basically the same way among all the different churches. However, there were still disagreements as to whether or not the seven books of Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude, and Revelation should be included. Since these books were truly inspired by the Holy Spirit and have spiritual authority and value, after a long time of testing, in a council of the leaders of all the churches, these seven books were acknowledged to be part of the New Testament in A.D. 397, at Carthage in North Africa. The New Testament was recognized as having the same twenty-seven books as we have it today. Hence, by A.D. 397 at the Council at Carthage, the whole Bible, including both the Old and the New Testaments, was recognized and acknowledged by God’s people.]
[The entire Bible is God’s breath. Each book of the Bible is God’s revelation with every line and word coming from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.] God used over forty men to write the Bible. Only the present 66 books are recognized as the word of God. These comprise the infallible word of God that we have today.
We treasure the Bible. We want to study and devour the contents of the Bible so that we will be filled with God. We want to inhale every line and eat every word so that we may become His corporate expression, having His authority to bring in His kingdom.
