ON WHAT MATERIAL WAS SCRIPTURE WRITTEN?

 

Today I write less and record more. I even print less and no longer purchase writing pads – yet I record more than at any time in my lifetime. I recall writing on slates, double-line and single-line exercise books. Then, typing with manual and electric typewriters. Then came the computers and the variety of printing formats. Today, much of my reading and recording is done electronically.

People who wrote the Bible could never have imagined today’s practice of record keeping. Because of the high rate of illiteracy when the Bible was written, the need for writing was minimized. Imagine, both original documents and copies were handwritten. In addition, materials for writing were rare and expensive. For these and other reasons, persons engaged in record keeping were scholarly and deeply committed to their craft. The scribes would be the most prominent in this group of scholars. Scribes recorded stocks of food, court proceedings, legal documents, as well as administrative and sacred documents.

Scribes used a variety of materials for writing. Some of the materials that biblical writers used:

Papyrus – this was made from the core of the papyrus plant. Papyrus was the paper of the ancient world, made from long thin strips of the papyrus reed. These strips of reed were overlaid in crisscrossing layers. When pressed together, the gum from the plant’s cellular structure acted as a bonding agent. Sheets of papyrus were joined into scrolls that could be over 100 feet long. The text was usually only on one side of the scroll, but an exception to this is alluded to in Revelations 5:1, "and I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals."

Parchment and Vellum – Especially during the time of the New Testament and later Jewish texts, parchment (animal hides/skins specially prepared for writing) and vellum (from calf skin) became more common. These materials were more durable than papyrus and allowed for the creation of early books (codices). Because the use of parchment allowed for easier corrections, this facilitated more accurate recording. The durability of vellum appealed to scribes who copied the Scriptures. This usage increased the preservation of texts.

Stone – some biblical inscriptions and important texts, like the Ten Commandments, were carved into stone tablets or monuments. Interestingly, the earliest known writing system was developed in Mesopotamia. Mesopotamians took reeds from the riverbanks and adapted them as tools to impress into clay wedged-shaped marks. This syllable-based writing system, now called cuneiform, was not used by the writers of the Bible. Some scholars believe the medium of clay was not sufficiently durable for some documents.

We cannot ignore the fact that the Bible was written by many authors over a 1,500-year period. During this period, materials used for writing evolved. However, the choice of writing material ensured durability, because of the significance of the material. That explains why some of the New Testament letters were written on animal skin and others on potsherds, also known as ostraca. Ostraca are texts written on broken pottery, which were employed when parchment was unavailable or too expensive. As recent as 2013, ostraca with the name of Elisha was found. When combined with the Middle Eastern climate, ostraca have helped to preserve pieces of many ancient puzzles. Ostraca verify names of people and places. Ostraca authenticates biblical details that assist in certifying the veracity of the Bible and ancient texts.

Writers of Bible times had many choices of inks and pens. One of the more popular inks was a mixture of black carbon particles with any kind of sticky, gummy, semi-liquid. In his reply to his comforters, Job provides us with some useful details about recording information in his times. He said, “Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever” (Job 19:23-24). For Job, durable records were critical.

In the first century, ink was somewhat standardized. There was red ink and black ink. According to Randoph Richards, in his volume, Paul and First Century Letter Writing, “…black ink was  preferred and was fade-resistant.” In addition, “… valuable scrolls were kept in waxed leather cases.” That sense of preservation seemed to prevail. Writers may not have known that they were writing Scripture, but they were aware that the information was sufficiently important to be preserved.

We are thankful for the durability of the materials used to protect the content of the Scriptures. Today, the enduring impact of the protected Bible is evident in its influence on religion, literature, the arts and ethics. The Bible is unique. Part of its uniqueness can be seen in the process of preserving the content from orality to durable print.

 

HOW RELIABLE IS THE NEW TESTAMENT TEXT?

 

The original writings (autographs) of the New Testament cannot be found. And, I am glad. Many would be more fascinated with the documents than the contents. For instance, a Hebrew Bible, considered to be the oldest Bible known, was recently sold for $38.1 million at Sotheby’s in New York. Significance was placed on the antique value, rather than on the contents of the Bible.

So how do we determine which copies are the more accurate? Among the criteria used, the oldest copies are preferred. The older copies (manuscripts) are closer to the autographs and are less likely to incur human error in re-copying. The scholarly discipline of Textual Criticism has been used for centuries to determine the reliability of manuscripts.

The practice of utilizing older manuscripts is not limited to New Testament documents. The practice is used in all ancient manuscripts. For instance, Homer’s Iliad was written about 900 B.C. The earliest copy found was about 500 years later. With Aristotle, the earliest copies were found 1,400 years after they were written. In both of these popular ancient manuscripts, less than 600 copies have been found. That number limits critical analysis to determine the reliability of the documents.

There are thousands more New Testament Greek manuscripts (copies) than any other ancient writing. To date, more than 5,600 Greek manuscripts have been found. Take note, the approximate time span between the autographs and the manuscript is less than 100 years. Textual critical scholars contend, unlike any other ancient manuscript, “the internal consistency of the New Testament documents is about 99.5% textually pure”. In other words, the manuscripts of the New Testament are more reliable than any other ancient manuscripts.

Some skeptics have attempted to refute the reliability of the New Testament. They keep implying that the documents were written much later than within 100 years. But how could that be? A letter to the church at Corinth in the name of Clement of Rome in 95 A.D., quoted from 10 of the 27 books of the New Testament. In addition, on his way to Rome to be executed in 107 A.D., Ignatius of Antioch quoted from several New Testament books. The disciple John, was the last of the disciples to die. He died before the year 100 A.D. All the New Testament books were written before John died, hence the availability of some books before his death.

In his second letter, Peter commented on one of Paul’s letters. He actually equated Paul’s writings with Scripture (2 Peter 3:15-16). History confirms that both Paul and Peter were martyred under the cruel hands of Emperor Nero. Nero died on June 09, 68. Paul was killed sometime between 64-65 A.D. In other words, all of Paul’s letters were written within 32 years of the death of Jesus. Many eyewitnesses of the death and resurrection of Jesus would still have been alive. No other ancient manuscript could claim this kind of textual attestation. The late Professor F.F. Bruce was correct when he said, “… there is no body of ancient literature in the world which enjoys such a wealth of good textual attestation as the New Testament” (The Books and the Parchments).

Attorney and Professor John Warwick Montgomery, considered to be one of the foremost living apologists for classical, biblical Christianity, agrees with F.F. Bruce. In his volume, History and Christianity, Professor Montgomery stated, “In my opinion, every book of the New Testament was written between the forties and eighties of the first century.”

Had Sir Frederic George Kenyon been alive, that English palaeographer (studied ancient writing systems and deciphered and dated historical manuscripts), biblical and classical scholar, would agree with this blog. In his volume, Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts, he said, “Scholars are satisfied that they possess substantially the true text of the principal Greek and Roman writers whose works have come down to us, yet our knowledge of their writings depends on a mere handful of manuscripts, whereas the manuscripts of the New Testament are counted by hundreds, and even thousands.”

Apart from its ancient literary supremacy, the Bible continues to be supreme. Its supremacy is not because of its literary value, but because it is the Word of God. Long before the Bible was canonized (393 A.D.), the Apostle Paul said, “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” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

THE BIBLE WAS WRITTEN IN AN ORAL BASED CULTURE

 

Our culture is a text-based culture – a culture of the written word. Our culture could only be conceived if there is widespread literacy. Widespread literacy leads to widespread production of texts. According to Dr Ben Witherington III (Sacred Texts in an Oral Culture, Biblical Archaeology Review, 2017), “… it may be difficult for us, in a text-based culture, to conceive of and understand an oral culture…nevertheless, it is important that we try to understand oral culture, since all the cultures of the Bible were essentially oral cultures.”

 The literacy rate in biblical cultures ranged from about five to twenty percent. Hence, there was a great appreciation for the spoken word, often referred to as the “living word”. Interestingly, Jesus said to his audiences, “Let those who have ears, listen.” He never said, “Let those who have eyes, read.”

 In addition, no documents in the ancient world were intended for “silent” reading, and only a few were intended for private individuals to read. Dr Witherington believes ancient documents “…were composed with their aural and oral potential in mind. They were meant to be read when delivered at their destination.” For example, when one reads the opening verses of Ephesians, loaded as it is with aural devices (assonance, alliteration, rhythm and various rhetorical devices), it becomes perfectly clear that no one was ever meant to read this silently. It needed to be heard.

 In his letter to the Colossians, Paul confirmed that his letter was a circular. He stated, “after this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea” (Colossians 4:16). To the Thessalonians, Paul stressed, “I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers” (1 Thessalonians 5:27).

 One must not forget that texts were rare because they were expensive to produce. Papyrus, on which texts were written were expensive. So was ink. Also, it was ultra-expensive to employ scribes. In order to reduce costs, there was no separation of words, sentences and paragraphs. Imagine reading a document with no punctuation and in upper caps. The only way to decipher such a collection of words was to sound them out loudly.

The Bible was not exempt from the literary challenges of the ancient cultures in which it was written. However, the writers were determined to document what they knew. To the writers the information was critical and needed to be recorded on durable material. At times the writers did their own writing. In his letter to the Colossians, Paul stated, “I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand…” (Colossians 4:18). Whereas, in his letter to the Romans, Paul’s amanuensis (secretary) identified himself as – “I, Tertius who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord” (Romans 16:22).

 If the process of documenting was so arduous in the ancient world, then why did the writers find it necessary to pursue writing. Well, God instructed the Old Testament leaders to write. For instance, in Exodus, the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it…” (Exodus 17:14). Also, in the New Testament, writers believed God instructed them and they wrote. To the Thessalonians, Paul said, “… when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God…” (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

 Biblical writers were not attempting to replace the oral message, they were actually attempting to solidify that message. As mentioned earlier, they even used rhetorical devices to retain the emotions of the oral message. Paul expected specific coworkers to read his letters. The reading ensured the retention of rhetorical effectiveness. In the Old Testament, as Ezra the priest “read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read…for all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law” (Nehemiah 8:8-10).

 In an oral culture religious words were believed to have power and an effect on people. Even in some oral cultures today, there is a distrust of written words. The spoken word is still seen as that which is alive – the living word. The Bible affirms the power in the word, but not because of the human life that is inherent in the reading of the material. Rather, it is because of divine life that is built-in to the oral or written word.

 The writer to the Book of Hebrews, said it best – “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). The same idea is conveyed in the Old Testament when the Lord spoke through the prophet Isaiah – “… so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).