What is the Bible?

Word of God

What is the Word of God?

The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, being given by divine inspiration, are the Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice. (2 Peter 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Isaiah 8:20)

What is the Old Testament?

The Old Testament consists of books written by the people of the Old Covenant, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to show God at work in nature and...

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What’s Next for BibleQuestions.info?

Exodus 3:14 - 4:12a, King James Version, First Printing

I don't know what I'll be writing about next on BibleQuestions.info. I've spent over a year writing about Greek New Testament manuscripts and Textual Criticism, and I've decided to take a break. I will probably write some individual articles, or maybe a short series. Writing a long series take an enormous amount of time to do the research.

I'm currently working on a series about English Bible Versions, but the topic will take a lot more time than...

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What is the Correct Wording In 1 John 5:7-8?

I've spent the past seven months writing about New Testament textual criticism, showing how ancient Greek New Testament manuscripts have errors in them. In spite of the errors (most of them spelling mistakes), the Bible still presents a consistent message.

For the past few weeks, I've been focusing on the last name in Matthew 1:7-8. The person referred to was, Asa, a King of Judah. The oldest existing Greek New Testament manuscripts record the...

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How do English Versions of the Bible Identify the Variant Reading in Matthew 1:7-8?

I've been studying how to read the sigla in critical editions of the Greek New Testament, which show how the editions identify which manuscripts support which variant reading at the end of Matthew 1:7 and the beginning of 1:8. Should the name be Asa (a King) or Asaph (a musician)? Now I want to look at the English versions of the Bible and see if readers are even informed there is a variant. The two possible readings found in the Greek text are...

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How were the Canonical and Non-Canonical Books Categorized?

This article in my series about the Biblical Canon will be short, although the footnotes are extensive. In the first few hundred years after Jesus's resurrection, the church was trying to understand which books were in the canon. God made the canon, but it was still up to the church to recognize which books were appropriate for use.

Have you ever walked into a crowded room and seen some faces which are vaguely familiar, but you can't remember the...

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What are the Stages of Revelation of the Canon?

What do the words Scripture and Canon mean? In modern times, some people have defined the word Scripture to mean books inspired by God, while defining Canon as a list of scripture which can not change. With these definitions, the scriptures existed early in the church, but the canon took a long time to form. Did the early church have a canon? Was the canon formed in the fourth or fifth century, as some people claim? The Catholic Church...

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Documentary Review: Patterns of Evidence: The Moses Controversy

Patterns of Evidence: The Moses Controversy

In 2015, a Christian
documentary was released named Patterns of Evidence: The Exodus. Many scholars believe the
Exodus as described in the Bible never happened, and many archaeologists agree
that opinion. The purpose of Patterns of
Evidence: The Exodus
is to show that archaeologists are looking for
evidence from the wrong time period, so naturally there wouldn't be evidence of
the Exodus. A few simple calculations using dates the Bible gives leads...

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Documentary Review: Fragments of Truth

I had planned on
seeing the new documentary Patterns of Evidence: The Moses Controversy
on opening night and writing a review for today's article, but the projector in
the theater wasn't working, so my plans have changed. The Moses Controversy is scheduled to be shown again on
Saturday, March 16th, and Tuesday, March 19th, so hopefully I'll be able to
write a review for next weekend, but by then it will be to late to see it in
the theater.

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What is the Gutenberg Bible?

Johannes Gutenberg introduced the movable type printing press to Europe in 1450. The first major book printed on the press is known as the Gutenberg Bible, an edition of the Latin Vulgate, in 1454-1455 AD.

Prior to the printing press, the Bible (and other documents) were copied by hand. The two Latin words manu (with the hand) and scripta (written) form the word manuscript, or "written with the hand".  Scribes took great care to accurately...

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