Lesson for June 16, 2024

Hermeneutics 101

Lesson 2

Ancient manuscripts of the Scriptures have continually been discovered for the past hundreds of years, corroborating the validity of the Bible. Manuscripts are commonly classified into four types.

The first type of manuscript is called Uncial, dating from the 4^th to the 8^th century A.D. and was written on parchment. These manuscripts were written in all capital letters without punctuation and without spacing between letters, words, or paragraphs on parchment or vellum paper

The second type manuscript is Minuscule, which dates to the 10^th century A.D. The Minuscule was written with lower case cursive type letters on parchment or vellum paper. The Minuscule was developed by a group of monks and is the basis for modern Greek and Roman small case letters.

The third type of manuscript is called Lectionaries. These often contained text of various passages from ancient manuscripts. Copied by pastors for use in sermons or Bible lessons, these writings predate many of the manuscripts available today.

The fourth type of manuscript is called the Papyri. This type of manuscript was written on very delicate material, and if folded would simply fall apart. It was, therefore, rolled and in this way preserved, having been stored in a hot, dry climate. Some Papyri date before 200 A.D.

Here are some manuscripts (codices) that have been discovered over the years.

Codex Sinaiticus – this manuscript was discovered in 1844 by a German named Tischendorf in a Greek monastery in the Sinaitic Peninsula region of Egypt, near Mount Sinai. This manuscript contained the entire Greek New Testament and other Christian writings not included in the Canon of Scriptures.

Codex Vaticanus – this manuscript predated Codex Sinaiticus by about fifteen years, written around 325 – 350 A.D. It is called Vacticanus because it is a part of the Roman Catholic Pope’s library housed at the Vatican. 

Codex Vaticanus has never been allowed to be copied or taken from the library, though some scholars were allowed to examine it in six-hour intervals only. One German scholar named Tregelles actually memorized a portion of the manuscript each day and upon return to his home would record the Scripture.

Codex Alexandrinus – this Greek language manuscript was written in Alexandria, Egypt about 450 A.D. Its value was discovered by a Greek Orthodox scholar in 1621 and presented to King Charles of England in 1627.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are the most significant finding of manuscripts in modern Biblical archaeology. They were discovered in 1947 in a cave near the Dead Sea, by a shepherd boy. These manuscripts were written around 125 B.C. and contain all the same Scripture as the previous oldest known manuscript, the Massoretic Text. The Dead Sea Scrolls predate the Massoretic Text by 1,000 years. These are the proof many skeptics demanded for authenticity and age of writing of the Old Testament.

It should be obvious that the preservation of the Canon of Scripture (the Bible) down through the ages is the work of God. The word canon comes from the Greek word “kanon,” meaning a measuring stick. In other words, canon means a norm or standard. Why do we need a canon? It is God’s desire for mankind to have His revealed plan and purpose, and there had to be a norm or standard for inclusion of any book into the Canon.

The Canon of Scripture contains God’s thinking, His will for mankind in every dispensation, mankind’s relationship to God, and their relationship to Satan (and Satan’s world system), and the principles of doctrine necessary to operate successfully in this world. Since the absolute authority, Jesus Christ, is no longer on earth, He has given us a written standard of authority, the Bible. (I Corinthians 2:16) During the first two or three centuries after Christ, there was a massive number of writings, many which claimed to be inspired (even to the point of assigning Paul as the author of some that he didn’t write).

There had to be a standard or canon by which these books could be judged to determine if they were or were not inspired by God. New Testament writings were being circulated throughout the early Christian churches, but it was not until 96 A.D., when John finished writing the Book of Revelation, that we had all of the books that would eventually make up the New Testament Canon. 

The entire Canon of Scripture was eventually complied into the form we have today, after resolving the controversy over whether certain books should be included or excluded. By the second century, the Canon of Scriptures, as we know it today, had been completed. God has miraculously preserved His book, the Bible, for us today. 

These criteria for inclusion into the Canon were as follows:

The Old Testament test:

1. Inspiration – Was the book of divine origin, written by an acknowledged messenger of God? (Isaiah 6:8)
2. Internal evidence – Was there evidence within the book itself and did the writer claim inspiration? (II Samuel 23:2)
3. Public readings – Was the book read publicly by a prophet or priest? They would have known which ones were inspired and which ones were not. (Leviticus 10:8-10)
4. Writings – Was the book quoted by a prophet or a priest or referred to in another book? Daniel was referred to by Ezekiel. (Ezekiel 14:14)
5. Extra-Biblical – Was the teaching of the book adhered to by its readers, and were there other historians that refer to a book or its teaching?

The New Testament test:

1. Apostleship – Was a book written by an apostle or someone close to him, perhaps writing on his behalf?
2. Received by the local churches – Did the local body of believers accept the book as being inspired?
3. Inspiration – Did internal and external evidence of divine inspiration exist for each book. (Colossians 4:16; II Peter 3:15-16)
4. Recognition – Was the book used for teaching by pastors and theologians?
5. Internal – Did the writer believe the book he wrote was inspired? (I Thessalonians 5:27)

Hebrews 4:12, “For the Word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

The Bible is a living document in that it gives life to the reader who is open to its truth. It gives believers a capacity for life and happiness. The word powerful means Bible doctrine is effective in producing spiritual maturity and occupation with Christ and produces motivation for execution of the Christian Way of Life.

Many people think the Bible is just a lot of sweet words, stories, and poems. Ministers often use these sweet words, stories, and poems in their sermons. They also use certain ecclesiastical phrases that sound very “holy.” But the objective of a minister of Christ should always be teaching accurate Bible doctrine in a systematic way. Every part of the Word of God is important, every part is effective, and it is to be used as an offensive weapon (sword) against Satan’s world system and its human viewpoint thinking.

Penetrating means to break through, so as to separate. The Word of God as a “sword” is meant to reach the soul of the individual believer. It distinguishes between what you are in your soul and what you are in your human spirit. In the original creation of mankind, the human spirit was the basis of fellowship with God. It was the basis of having a relationship with God, and when man sinned the human spirit was destroyed immediately, and man became spiritually dead. So, we are born without a human spirit. (Jude 19; I Corinthians 2:14)

God not only wants us to be spiritually self-sustaining, but He wants us to have the greatest possible happiness. Great happiness was designed for each of us in eternity past. So, the Bible recognizes the most minute distinctions. Just as there is a difference between the joint bone and what the bone contains by way of marrow, so there is a great distinction between certain doctrines in life.

Judge is the Greek word “kritikos”meaning critic or evaluator. The Bible tells us when we are right and when we are wrong, it tells us when we are headed in the right direction or the wrong direction, it keeps us constantly aware of what we should be doing and should not be doing, and it tells us what our attitude should be regarding every person and every circumstance in life.

The word intentions means motivations formed from what you think. The heart refers to the place where you think, have your frame of reference, your memory center, your vocabulary storage, your categorical storage, where your conscience and your norms or standards reside. Therefore, God and His Word should be the most important thing in our lives after salvation.