Transcript Lesson5

Evidences Class
It’s All Greek to Me
Although some early Greek
city states had democracies, a
powerful monarchy gained
dominance in the 4th century
B.C. Under their greatest king
Alexander III, the Greeks
conquered most of the Middle
East. Greek influence and
the Greek language spread
with it.
Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great died mysteriously at the age
of 32, but his conquests changed the culture and
language of the Mediterranean region. This
Greek influence is called Hellenism. You can see
the Hellenist influence today as far away as
Jerash in modern day Jordan.
Jerash
The Parthenon
Just Consider
When a city is conquered by an invading
nation, in time that city will begin to take
on the culture and language of the invader.
In this way, Greek became the principal
language of commerce, government, and
education. Many Jews became Hellenized
and lost their knowledge of Hebrew.
What does Septuagint Mean?
Even before the Dead Sea Scrolls were
found, there were examples of the Hebrew
Bible in Greek. Beginning in 300 B.C.,
Hellenized Jews began translating the
Hebrew scriptures into Greek. This earliest
Greek version of Hebrew scripture is called
the Septuagint (LXX).
Legend of a Name
The name derives from a legend
that 72 (70?) scholars from all 12
tribes of Israel translated the
first 5 books (The Pentateuch) in
72 days. However, the northern
tribes were dispersed by the
Assyrians in 722 B.C. and only
three tribes were likely present
and accounted for in the 3rd
Century. Most scholars believe
Greek speaking Jews in Alexandria,
Egypt performed this translation
between the 3rd and 1st centuries
B.C.
According to the Legend
Aristeas claims that the Septuagint was completed
on the island of Pharos under the shadow of the
lighthouse.
Is it a good translation?
• The Pentateuch is excellent
• Septuagint appears to be the correct
reading rather than the oldest Hebrew
manuscripts in a few cases
• Substantial variations in Joshua, 1
Samuel, 1 Kings, Proverbs, Esther, and
Jeremiah
• Which Septuagint?
• The translation that the Gospel writers
and Paul quoted from
Replica of a Synagogue in Nazareth
Which OT Source did Jesus Quote?
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up.
And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the
Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the
prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and
found the place where it was written, "The Spirit of the Lord
is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good
news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the
captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty
those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's
favor." And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the
attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the
synagogue were fixed on him.
(Luke 4:16-20 ESV)
Over time the Old Testament writings
(Hebrew scriptures and the Septuagint)
became collectively known as the Old
Covenant, and the 1st Century writings
were called the New Covenant. The Latin
word Testamentum meaning “covenant”
came to be used in the West.
New Testament Writings
Polycarp (69-155 AD) included
direct and indirect quotations
from 19 of 27 New Testament
books in a single letter.
Ignatius (35-107 AD) cited
both the Gospel of John and
the writings of Paul.
Papyrus
With constant use a papyrus manuscript
might last only 10 years
Christians and Their Writings Suffer
Emperor Diocletian (245-305 AD)
ordered Christians to sacrifice to the
Roman gods. Christian documents
throughout the empire were confiscated
and/or burned. Those who refused to
comply were executed.
Manuscript
 In general, anything written by hand
 Documents written in the original tongue
 NT manuscript is any Greek NT manuscript
Almost all surviving early writings are from Egypt
Diocletian’s Success
Only a few fragments of NT scripture
exist from before the 4th Century and all
known fragments are Egyptian in Origin.
But Even So …
Author
Homer
Herodotus
Thucydides
Plato
Caesar
Tacitus
Book
Iliad
History
History
Gallic Wars
Annals
Book
New Testament
Date Written
800 B.C.
480-425 B.C.
460-400 B.C.
400 B.C.
100-44 B.C.
A.D. 100
Earliest Copies
c. 400 B.C.
c. A.D. 900
c. A.D. 900
c. A.D. 900
c. A.D. 900
c. A.D. 1100
Date Written
A.D. 50-100
Earliest Copies
c. 114 (fragment)
c. 200 (books)
c. 250 (most of NT)
c. 325 (Complete NT)
Time Gap
c. 400 years
c. 1350 years
c. 1300 years
c. 1300 years
c. 1000 years
c. 1000 years
Time Gap
50+ years
100 years
150 years
225 years
No. of Copies
643
8
8
7
10
20
No. of Copies
5366
Church Father Quotations …
Writer
Justin Martyr
Irenaeus
Clement (Alex.)
Origen
Tertullian
Hippolytus
Eusebius
Grand Totals
Gospels
268
1038
1107
9231
3822
734
3258
19368
Acts
10
194
44
349
502
42
211
1352
Pauline Epistles
43
499
1127
7778
2609
387
1592
14035
General Epistles
6
23
207
399
120
27
88
870
Revelation
3
65
11
165
205
188
27
664
Totals
330
1819
2406
17,992
7258
1378
5176
36,289
The quotations are so extensive that the New Testament
could be virtually reconstructed from them without the
New Testament Manuscripts.
Oldest New Testament Fragment
John Rylands Papyrus
1st half of the 2nd century
Pilate said to them, "Take him
yourselves and judge him by your
own law." The Jews said to him, "It
is not lawful for us to put anyone to
death." This was to fulfill the word
that Jesus had spoken to show by
what kind of death he was going to
die. So Pilate entered his
headquarters again and called
Jesus and said to him, "Are you the
King of the Jews?"
(John 18:31-33 ESV)
Bodmer Papyrus (3rd Century)
Contains parts of the Gospel of John
Similar to our oldest two
Bibles the Codex Vaticanus
and Codex Sinaiticus
Uncials
Codex Vaticanus
Uncial Romans 1
PAULASERVANTOFCHRISTJESUSCALLED
TOBEANAPOSTLESETAPARTFORTHEGOS
PELOFGODWHICHHEPROMISEDBEFORE
HANDTHROUGHHISPROPHETSINTHEHO
LYSCRIPTURESCONCERNINGHISSON
Minuscules
Our Oldest Bibles (AD 300-450)
Codex Vaticanus
Codex Sinaiticus
Codex Vaticanus
 Located in the Vatican Library
 Resided there since at least 1481
 The spoils of war for Napolean
 Tischendorf published a 1st edition in 1867
Typical Small Differences
John 3:13 (ESV) No one has ascended into heaven
except he who descended from heaven, the Son of
Man (who is in heaven).
John 8:57 (ESV) So the Jews said to him, “You are not
yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” (has
Abraham seen you)
John 9:35 (ESV) Jesus heard that they had cast him
out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in
the Son of Man?” (Son of God)
Mark 16:9-20
 Most early Uncials include
 Latin Vulgate
 Irenaeus mentions in the 2nd
Century
 Curious space in the Codex
Vaticanus
Codex
Vaticanus
Saint Catherine’s
Monastery
Saint Catherine’s Monastery
Saint Catherine’s Monastery
Constantin Tischendorf
Of all Tischendorf’s accomplishments, the best
known is his discovery of Codex Sinaiticus at
St. Catherine’s Monastery (located near Mount
Sinai). The manuscript, dated around AD 360
to 375, is one of the two oldest vellum (treated
animal hide) manuscripts of the Greek New
Testament. The first time Tischendorf visited
the monastery (1844), he retrieved several
leaves of an ancient Septuagint from a
wastebasket. Many other leaves, he was told,
had already been used to stoke fires!
Constantin Tischendorf
On another visit (1859) he was shown a
copy of the Greek Scriptures (containing
books of the Old Testament and all of the
New Testament) by the steward of the
monastery. Recognizing it as the oldest
extant copy of the Greek Scriptures,
Tischendorf attempted to purchase the
manuscript but was refused.
Constantin Tischendorf
After making a transcription of the
text, Tischendorf did some political
maneuvering wherein the czar of Russia
was given the manuscript in exchange
for favors conferred upon the
authorities of the monastery.
Tischendorf greatly used the textual
evidence of Codex Sinaiticus in
preparing his critical editions of the
Greek New Testament.
The Gospel of Judas???