What is the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament?
Before reading an analysis of the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament, one should first become familiar with the topic of textual criticism. Until the reader has some understanding of textual criticism, a discussion of Greek New Testaments may be of little value. In short, the original New Testament manuscripts written by the hand of Paul or…
What are Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus?
Our knowledge of the original text of the Bible comes from ancient hand-written manuscripts. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, and the New Testament was written in Greek. No one has the original articles, but thousands of ancient copies have been discovered. Since these copies are hand-written, there are variations in spelling, word order,…
What is the canon of Scripture?
The word “canon” comes from the rule of law that was used to determine if a book measured up to a standard. It is important to note that the writings of Scripture were canonical at the moment they were written. Scripture was Scripture when the pen touched the parchment. This is very important because Christianity…
What is Koine Greek, and why was the New Testament written in it?
Koine is simply the Greek word for “common.” Many people may recognize the word koine from the word koinonia, which means “fellowship.” Fellowship is having something in common. Koine Greek was simply the common language of the Mediterranean world in the first century. As Alexander the Great conquered the “civilized world” of his time, he…
What does it mean that something is extrabiblical?
Extrabiblical is a term that means “outside the Bible” or “beyond the Bible.” Any literature that is not contained within the biblical canon is considered extrabiblical. Noncanonical is a similar term describing extrabiblical books “outside of” the canon of Scripture. Extrabiblical sources have varying degrees of reliability. The Bible is authoritative, but any idea, principle,…
How did people know about God before the Bible?
Even though people did not have the Word of God, they were not without the ability to receive, understand and obey God before there was a Bible as we know it. In fact, there are many areas of the world today where Bibles are not available, yet people still can and do know about God.…
What are the Dead Sea Scrolls and why are they important?
The first of the Dead Sea Scroll discoveries occurred in 1947 in Qumran, a village situated about twenty miles east of Jerusalem on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. A young Bedouin shepherd, following a goat that had gone astray, tossed a rock into one of the caves along the seacliffs and heard a…
Why are the newer translations of the Bible missing verses?
If you compare the King James and New King James Versions with the newer translations (e.g., the New International Version, English Standard Version, Christian Standard Bible, New Living Translation, etc.), you will notice that several verses are entirely missing from the newer translations. Examples of missing verses and passages are John 5:4, Acts 8:37, and…
What is the Aleppo Codex?
The Aleppo Codex is an ancient, bound manuscript of the Hebrew Bible, written by scribes called Masoretes in Tiberias, Israel, around AD 930. The Masoretes were Jewish rabbis who made it their special work to correct the faults that had crept into the text of the Old Testament during the Babylonian captivity and to prevent…
Did the writers of the New Testament regard their writings as Scripture?
Second Timothy 3:16-17 declares that “all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” It is clear that the early church regarded the Old Testament as inspired Scripture. As 2 Peter 1:20-21 explains, “Above all,…