The Bible was carefully preserved and transmitted over thousands of years. The Old Testament was meticulously hand-copied by scribes. Dead Sea Scroll fragments and the Masoretic Text demonstrate the reliable transmission of the Hebrew Bible. For the New Testament, over 6,000 manuscripts exist from as early as the 2nd century, along with quotations from early church fathers, establishing the New Testament text as reliable. While no autographs remain, accurate copies can establish truth through comparison and scrutiny of manuscripts.

1. How the Bible came to us
038.How the BIble came to us - June 3, 2014

2. “because “All flesh is as grass,And all the
glory of man as the flower of the grass.
The grass withers,And its flower falls
away, But the word of the LORD endures
forever.” Now this is the word which by
the gospel was preached to you.”
(1 Pet 1:24–25 NKJV)
038.How the BIble came to us - June 3, 2014

3. “Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take
refuge in him. Do not add to his
words, lest he rebuke you and you
be found a liar.”
(Prov 30:5–6 ESV)
038.How the BIble came to us - June 3, 2014

4. “Forever, O LORD, your word
is firmly fixed in the heavens.”
(Psa 119:89 ESV)
038.How the BIble came to us - June 3, 2014

5. “The entirety ofYour word is truth,
And every one ofYour righteous
judgments endures forever.”
(Psa 119:160 NKJV)
038.How the BIble came to us - June 3, 2014

6. “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing,
because when you received the word of God which
you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word
of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which
also effectively works in you who believe.”
(1 Th 2:13 NKJV)
038.How the BIble came to us - June 3, 2014

7. THE OLD TESTAMENT
038.How the BIble came to us - June 3, 2014

8. ““Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne
of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself
a copy of this law in a book, from the one
before the priests, the Levites.”
(Deut 17:18 NKJV)
038.How the BIble came to us - June 3, 2014

9. “And there, in the presence of the children
of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of
the law of Moses, which he had written.”
(Josh 8:32 NKJV)
038.How the BIble came to us - June 3, 2014

10. “The king went up to the house of the LORD with all the
men of Judah, and with him all the inhabitants of Jerusalem
—the priests and the prophets and all the people, both
small and great.And he read in their hearing all the words
of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the
house of the LORD.” (2 Kings 23:2 NKJV)
038.How the BIble came to us - June 3, 2014

11. Masoretic Text
Our English Old Testament
Dead Sea Scrolls
Cairo Geniza Fragments
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13. Aleppo (AD 950)
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16. Cairo Geniza
038.How the BIble came to us - June 3, 2014

17. Dead Sea Scrolls
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19. THE NEW TESTAMENT
038.How the BIble came to us - June 3, 2014

20. Manuscripts
Our English New Testament
Lectionaries
Early church
writings
038.How the BIble came to us - June 3, 2014

21. • Over 6,000 manuscripts
• Best date to ca.AD 350 (Vaticanus,
Sinaiticus,Alexandrinus)
• John Ryland Papyrus’ ca.AD 117-138
• Early church “fathers” dating back to AD 70.
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24. • “Every day, all around the world, individuals, groups,
businesses, schools, etc. operate with the conviction that
autographs are unnecessary to learn the truths within
them. Copies of wills, articles, and books can be gathered,
inspected, and scrutinized until new copies are published
that virtually are identical to the original.“[A]ccurate
communication is possible despite technical mistakes in
copying” (Archer, 1982, p. 29). So it is with the Bible.”
038.How the BIble came to us - June 3, 2014

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26. How the Bible came to us
038.How the BIble came to us - June 3, 2014