How Do the Dead Sea Scrolls Show the Reliability of the Old Testament Text?

How Do the Dead Sea Scrolls Show the Reliability of the Old Testament Text?

Written in the three languages of Scripture (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek), the Dead Sea Scrolls represent a collection of at least 1,000 manuscripts dating from 250 BC–AD 68. However, some of these, written by Jews, are from the later period of the Jewish revolts against Roman occupation (AD 68–73, and 132–135). The earliest of these documents were written and/or preserved by the members of a Jewish sect that established a community (Qumran) by the Dead Sea during the late Second Temple period (c. 100 BC–AD 70).

These ancient manuscripts, written on either parchment (animal hide) or papyrus (plant used as an early form of paper), are comprised of Jewish literature: two-thirds are nonbiblical texts (Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha) and sectarian texts (personal letters, deeds, community documents and commentaries on biblical texts), and one-third are biblical texts (Old Testament). Among these caches, there were unique scrolls that predated the Qumran sect and had a quasi-scriptural authority (Temple Scroll, 11Q19) and one, a treasure map, engraved entirely on copper (Copper Scroll, 3Q15). Only a few of the scrolls (Great Isaiah Scroll, Temple Scroll, Copper Scroll) are complete, and all are damaged.

The vast majority of the documents found in the 11 caves known to have contained scrolls are fragmentary (between 25,000-50,000 small pieces). Remarkably, scholars have spent more than 50 years piecing together these fragments in order to study and publish their contents.[1]

What Is the Significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls?

The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in the Land of Israel, and at the time they were found, they were the first known documents from the Second Temple period. They are uniquely important to those who study this period and especially to students of the Bible (both the Old and New Testaments).

This can be seen by the fact that the scrolls cover a transitional period in Jewish history from the time of the Maccabean rule through the Roman occupation. This period of time includes the life of Jesus, the formation of the church, the writing of much of the New Testament, as well as the turbulent period of the second century, during which there were Jewish revolts and exiles (events that sharpened the divide between Jews and Christians).

Interestingly, the scrolls provide previously unknown information about historical figures, political situations, and legal, religious, and social practices only dimly echoed in the much later rabbinic writings (Talmud, Mishnah).[2] They also give new insights into the languages spoken by Jesus and His disciples, as well as the cultural conditions and conflicts that produced Jesus’s parabolic method of teaching. In addition, much is learned about His debates with so-called establishment Judaism,[3] as well as the religious background of issues addressed in the Pauline letters.[4] Of particular importance is their contribution to our understanding of the messianic and eschatological beliefs of Jews during this period.[5] The scrolls show us that the developed messianic interpretations found in the New Testament were not the unique provenance of early Jewish Christianity, but the shared interpretation of Jews whose expectations were centered on the prophetic revelation of the Old Testament.

Moreover, the scrolls also provide a pre-Masoretic body of texts that can be compared with other existing texts, such as the Septuagint (LXX, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures) and the Samaritan Pentateuch. What is more, the Dead Sea Scrolls offer material necessary for an accurate understanding of the transmission of the Hebrew text and for modern translations of the Bible.

What Old Testament Books Were Found Among the Dead Sea Scrolls?

The biblical texts represent the oldest known portions of the Old Testament and contain every book of the Old Testament except the book of Esther (although it is reflected in other writings among the scrolls). There are no New Testament manuscripts among the Dead Sea Scrolls because most of the New Testament was written toward the end of the time of the community’s existence. Moreover, because Jewish Christians do not appear to have been a part of the community, it should not be expected that the New Testament would have been distributed to this strictly Jewish sect. The chart on the next page shows the number of manuscripts of each book of the Old Testament discovered until today.[6]

This chart indicates which books of the Bible were considered the most popular among the Dead Sea Scrolls—namely the books of the law, the Psalms, and the prophets. Among the books of the law, the book of Deuteronomy has the most copies; Isaiah and Daniel stand out among the prophets, and Psalms among the Writings. It is interesting that Deuteronomy was also one of the books most cited by Jesus, and that the Psalms, Isaiah, and Daniel played an important role in Jesus’s messianic teaching as well as in the rest of the New Testament’s defense and explanation of the messianic program.

How Were the Dead Sea Scrolls Preserved?

The Dead Sea Scrolls were placed in sealed ceramic jars and stored within caves near the community’s settlement, today called the site of Qumran, situated on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, about 19 miles from Jerusalem. Scrolls from the later period of the Jewish revolts come from regional caves stretching some 33 miles southward from Qumran to Masada (particularly Wadi Murabba’at, Nahal Hever, En-Gedi, and Masada). For the Qumran community, the purposeful hiding of these scrolls may have been simply to preserve them, as suggested by God’s direction to the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 32:14). However, the revolt period scrolls were left behind in caves that were used as hiding places by soldiers and as living quarters.

Two types of caves were used for the storage of the scrolls:

(1) manmade marl caves surrounding and in the sides of the broad plateau upon which the community’s buildings were situated, and (2) natural fault caves located in the limestone cliffs that line the western shore of the Dead Sea.

These cave repositories often had rock-cut niches where the jars containing the scrolls were stored.

The Qumran sect may have gained a reputation as caretakers of valuable documents, and it is possible that people from Jerusalem, Jericho, and other nearby cities brought their scrolls to the community for safekeeping. Most likely, many of these scrolls were removed before the Roman army invaded area and destroyed Qumran, but it is believed that others could not be removed due to their remote location and the sudden nature of the Roman attack, and thus they remained in these caves until modern times.

While there are some ancient accounts of biblical scrolls being found in this area, the discovery of these texts is best known from Bedouin (local nomadic Arab shepherds) looters who found jars in some of the caves from the late 1940s–1950s and subsequently sold the contents on the black market. In 1993, the Israel Antiquities Authority launched Operation Scroll and sent hundreds of archaeologists throughout the Judean Desert to locate and identify caves that had the potential to house scrolls. Though these caves were numbered and survey trenches were made in many of them, no excavations were carried out at the time.

In 2017, Operation Scroll was renewed with the excavation of one cave south of Qumran—a cave that was revealed to have contained as many as seven jars that once contained scrolls. Although these scrolls had been removed in antiquity, the discovery provided evidence that many more discoveries await further excavation of the nearly 300 caves in the region.[7]

Therefore, it is possible that our knowledge of Scripture, as based on the scrolls, has only just begun!

The Dead Sea Scrolls and Biblical Reliability

There is little doubt the Dead Sea Scrolls constitute the most important manuscript discovery of all time. Their significance lies in their antiquity, their preservation of the biblical text and related Jewish literature, and their description of a Jewish sect that was unknown before their discovery. The scrolls are of great value and significance when it comes to confirming the reliability of the biblical text and examining the transmission of the text so we can better understand textual variants (small differences) that support a more accurate translation and understanding of the text.

Statement of the Divine Origin and Authority of the Biblical Text

While some scholars debate whether Second Temple Judaism recognized a canon (open or closed), the Qumran sect seems to have had an understanding of which books they accepted as Scripture (of divine origin), and which they did not (of human origin). They used the Paleo-Hebrew script (used before the Babylonian exile) for the name of God (YHWH) in the biblical texts, indicating that these texts were accorded greater sanctity and therefore greater authority.[8]This agrees with Jesus’s use of only the authoritative biblical texts from the three divisions of the Hebrew Bible (Matthew 5:17; 7:12; 22:40; 25:56; Luke 1:70; 16:16,29,31; 18:31; 24:27,44; John 1:45). Importantly, the fact that fragments of every book in our present Old Testament canon existed at Qumran before its destruction by the Roman army in AD 68 reveals recognition of the canonical books from ancient times. This recognition was then passed on to the medieval scribes who produced the Masoretic Text (the traditional biblical text of Judaism).

Evidence of the Careful Transmission of the Biblical Text

The Dead Sea Scrolls also allow us to see how well the scribes preserved the text for us. Until their discovery, our oldest version of the Hebrew text was that compiled by Aaron ben Moses ben Asher in the tenth century AD.[9]

Our modern-language Old Testaments were translated from these late medieval manuscripts. This tenth-century text was compiled by Jewish rabbinic scribes called the Masoretes (from the Hebrew word masora, meaning “tradition”). Their text has come to be the received or traditional text of Judaism, known as the Masoretic Text.

As old as this text may seem, it is still more than 1,000 years removed from the last of the original texts of Scripture penned by the prophets. This huge gap of time in which there were no Hebrew witnesses to the transmission of the text (with the exception of some verses of the Ten Commandments preserved in the second century BC Nash Papyrus) left a doubt as to the accuracy of the Masoretic Text, since it was compiled from these older yet unverifiable texts. It seemed possible that scribes working from fading manuscripts in which many letters look alike, and having poor illumination and no eyeglasses, could have made mistakes in the course of copying the biblical texts, and that these errors could have passed on to the Masoretic Text from which our Bibles were translated. After all, the Septuagint and other versions demonstrated that significant variants existed from the Masoretic Text. How could it ever be proven that what we have now is what they had then? How could we know if our own Bible text was reliable?

Remarkably, the discovery of biblical texts in Cave 1 at Qumran, and especially the Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaa), made it possible to finally answer this question. The book of Isaiah is one of the longest books in the Old Testament (66 chapters) and this copy was dated to 125 BC (although its use as a well-marked study copy can push the date of its text back at least another 100 years). With the discovery of the Great Isaiah Scroll, scholars now possess the oldest and most complete copy of a book of the Bible from this lost period before the Masoretes. In addition, its text could be compared to the much later Masoretic Text from which our Bibles were translated. The result of the comparison between these texts revealed an almost 95 percent level of agreement, with the variations coming from spelling differences and some significant variants (more in 1QIsaa than 1QIsab). This high percentage of agreement was more or less the same for the other fragments of the biblical books found in other caves, especially Cave 4, which provided the greatest number of manuscripts.

From this new knowledge of the text, based on analyses of the scrolls, which reveal a conservative scribal tendency to follow the exemplar in both text and form,[10] we can approach our own translations with greater confidence. We can know the Jewish scribes did a careful job of transmitting the text through time.[11] And most importantly, we can also see that the remarkable consonance with the Masoretic Text indicates that it is a stable text that could serve as a textus receptus (traditional text) for Judaism and as the basis for authoritative translation into other languages.

Textual Criticism with the Dead Sea Scrolls Restores Greater Accuracy

While an examination of the biblical text is known as textual criticism, it is necessary to discover certain details about how various texts relate and compare to each other. This helps scholars to have a more accurate reading, translation (into modern languages), and restoration of the original Bible.

Even though there was essential agreement between the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Masoretic Text, there were significant variants (small differences) in the Dead Sea Scroll texts that have proved important to textual critics (those who seek to restore the original text). The Great Isaiah Scroll alone had 200 variants,[12] some important to Christian scholars because they are related to messianic interpretation. Having this wealth of textual evidence from different texts (many of which informed the Masoretes in their compilation of a standard text) has allowed scholars to weigh the evidence of these texts as compared to other known texts of the time (e.g., the Greek Septuagint and the Samaritan Pentateuch). This has also enabled textual critics to offer their verdict as to which reading of a particular text was closest to the original.

A comparison of these variants with Old Testament citations in the New Testament has been extremely helpful in confirming the source of the citations.[13] Also, the vocabulary and doctrine of the sectarian (nonbiblical) scrolls, set in a time parallel to the advent of Jesus, as well as the events recorded in the Gospels and the writing of most of the New Testament, reveal that terms and religious concepts once thought unique to the New Testament were in fact in common use in the first century.[14] As a result of this new knowledge, since 1950, every translation of the Bible has utilized this textual evidence in their translation work.[15]

Conclusion

The Dead Sea Scrolls offer evidence to address other apologetic concerns in the Old Testament. These include the unity of the book of Isaiah, the date of the book of Daniel,[16] and recognizing that the scrolls are vital for biblical research, exegesis, and apologetics. This has been forcefully stated by Emanuel Tov:

When we collect data of this kind we realize that the Scrolls do make a difference and they should be taken into consideration, not only in the study of textual criticism but also in the [area of] exegesis, [for] in that area there too the knowledge of the Scrolls is an absolute requirement for anyone studying the Bible critically.[17]

Today, as the search for additional scrolls in the caves around Qumran is underway, new discoveries of manuscripts may be made with the promise of an even greater witness to the reliability of the Old Testament.

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[1] For a justification of this protracted period of research and publication, see my Secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1996), 51-72.

[2] See “Why Are the Scrolls Important for Understanding Second Temple Judaism?” in C.D. Elledge, The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls, SBL Archaeology and Biblical Studies 14 (Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature, 2005), 97-114.

[3] See James H. Charlesworth, ed., Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls, The Anchor Bible Reference Library (New York: Doubleday, 1992).

[4] See Murphy O’Connor and James H. Charlesworth, eds., Paul and the Dead Sea Scrolls (New York: Crossroad, 1990).

[5] See Lawrence H. Schiffman, Qumran and Jerusalem: Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the History of Judaism (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010), 270- 320

[6] From 2006–2015, a number of new manuscript fragments were sold by the Kando family to US institutions (Princeton University, Azuza Pacific University, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) and domestic and foreign private collectors (the Green family/Museum of the Bible, Mark Lanier, Martin Schøyen of Norway, David Sutherland of New Zealand). I have also seen unpublished fragments of the Temple Scroll and a number of Old Testament books that remain with the Kando family, including a three-column fragment of Genesis 41.

[7] Operation Scroll was initiated in 1993 to survey the caves in the Judean Desert with the intention of excavating caves with high potential in order to recover more scrolls before the area, then in negotiation, was given over to Palestinian control. These surveys were published in ‘Atiqot 41:1-2 (Jerusalem: Israel Antiquity Authority, Civil Administration for Judea and Samaria, 2002). Politics in the region prevented systematic exploration and excavation of these cavesuntil 2017, when Randall Price (Liberty University) and Oren Gutfeld (Hebrew University) codirected the excavation of Cave 53 at Qumran. The discovery there of some seven scroll jars hidden in rock-hewn niches in the recesses of the cave, although without scrolls, but with scroll fragments and scroll wrappings, proved that many of the caves are scroll caves and may yield future manuscript finds. For further information, see O. Gutfeld and R. Price, “The Excavation of a Dead Sea Scroll Cave (Cave 53) at Qumran,” paper presented to the Qumran section of the Society of Biblical Literature, Boston, MA, November 19, 2017, and Marcello Fidanzio, The Caves of Qumran: Proceedings of the International Conference, Lugano 2014, Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah 118 (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2016).

[8] James VanderKam and Peter Flint, The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls: Their Significance for Understanding the Bible, Judaism, Jesus, and Christianity (San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins, 2002), 152.

[9] Both the Aleppo Codex and the Leningrad Codex (AD 1008) represent the BenAsher tradition. However, because of the incomplete condition of the Aleppo Codex, most versions of the Masoretic Text are based on the Leningrad Codex.

[10] M. Martin, The Scribal Character of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Louvain, Belgium: Publications Universitaires, 1958), 44-45.

[11] For further evidence to support this conclusion, see Bruce K. Waltke, “The Reliability of the OT Text” in “How We Got the Hebrew Bible: The Text and Canon of the Old Testament,” in Peter W. Flint, ed., The Bible at Qumran: Text, Shape and Interpretation (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001), 47-50.

[12] For these variants see Eugene Ulrich and Peter Flint, “Qumran Cave 1: The Isaiah Scrolls,” Discoveries in the Judean Desert 32 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2010), Part 2: Introductions, Commentary, and Textual Variants.

[13] See James D.G. Dunn, “Paul and the Dead Sea Scrolls” in James H. Charlesworth, ed., Caves of Enlightenment: Proceedings of the American Schools of Oriental Research, Dead Sea Scrolls Jubilee Symposium: 1947–1997 (North Richard Hills, TX: Bibal Press, 1998), 105-127.

[14] See Craig A. Evans, “Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls from Cave 4” in Craig A. Evans and Peter W. Flint, eds., Eschatology, Messianism, and the Dead Sea Scrolls (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1997): 91-100.

[15] Harold P. Scanlin, The Dead Sea Scrolls and Modern Translations of the Old Testament (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1993), 27, 107.

[16] For a study of these apologetic issues, see my Secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls, 154-163.

[17] Price, Secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls, 154-163.

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Are the Old Testament Manuscripts Reliable?

Are the Old Testament Manuscripts Reliable?

A total of 39 books comprise what we today call the Old Testament. These books were written over a period of nearly a millennium, from 1400 BC to 400 BC. This raises a crucial question: How did we get these 39 books? And are they trustworthy in their claim to be the Word from God?

How Did We Get the Old Testament?

These 39 books came to us just as Hebrews 1:1 explained: “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets…” Hence, the “various times” covered the extended period from Moses’s day and the next 1,000 years until the last book of the Old Testament was completed—the book of Chronicles[1]

Likewise, the many or “various ways” can be seen in everything from God speaking “face to face” (i.e., He spoke directly) to Moses in Numbers 12:6-8; or to various psalmists, such as King David in inspired lyrics; or through prophets by means of visions, dreams, and the revelation of His word. Moreover, in what is considered by many the oldest book of the Bible, Job, God spoke with Job about pain and suffering in light of His goodness and power. Subsequently, the rest of the 38 books that form what is known as the Old Testament followed the book of Job.

Did the Old Testament Writers Use Any Sources?

In the composition of the earlier part of the divine revelation, we should not be startled by the fact that God also had His writers of Scripture employ sources as they wrote. For example, Luke 1:1-4 acknowledged that Luke used numerous sources that were available to him as he wrote the narrative of the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth.

However, there are two exceptional instances when we are expressly taught that the inspired record in Scripture came directly from the very “finger” of God, as Moses carefully taught us: “When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18 NIV).

And in another place the Lord taught:

These are the commandments the LORD proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness; and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me (Deuteronomy 5:22 NIV).

Israel understood that the Ten Commandments represented the very words of God to the people, for they commented: “The LORD our God has shown us his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire” (verse 24).

The second exceptional time was when the Lord communicated in a direct way in the book of Daniel. This happened when God wrote His message directly on the wall of Babylonian King Belshazzar’s banquet hall:

“Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall…The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking” (Daniel 5:5-6 NIV).

Because this pagan king had not humbled his heart before God or honored Him, his days would come to an end, as this message indicated, and the Babylonian kingdom cease to exist!

Can We Show the Claims for Divine Authority Are Accurate and Reliable?

So far we have addressed the fact that God employed many different ways at many different times to announce His word to mortals on earth. But that does not address the question of how reliable those claims were. Moreover, the transmission of the text in the Old Testament across three millennia is another cause for deep concern if we are going to talk about the text’s reliability. It leads to questions like, Who wrote these texts? Who copied them? What methods did they use to ensure the integrity of what they wrote by hand-copying accurately the wording that was in the original autograph (i.e., first document that came from the hand of the author)?

To begin answering these kinds of questions, we must recognize the limitations placed on scholars 70 years ago, prior to more recent discoveries. At that time there were only three sources of comparison:

(1)          the Samaritan Pentateuch,

(2)          the Greek Septuagint, and

(3)          the Nash

Papyrus dating from around AD 1000. However, with the sensational discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1946–47, our evidence improved by leaping in time from around AD 1000 to, in some cases, the third century BC (much closer to the original documents of the Old Testament). This was based on some 900 exemplars of Hebrew biblical texts of the Old Testament ranging from AD 50 to 250 BC.

Even more fascinating was the discovery of a tiny silver scroll just south of Jerusalem, alongside the Valley of Hinnom, that contained the Aaronic Benediction from Numbers 6:24-26 and dated to the mid-seventh or sixth century BC. The scroll was written in a Proto-Canaanite (or Paleo-Hebrew) script and worn around the neck as an amulet roll in the form of a typical signet seal.[2] The Hebrew text inscribed on this roll was practically word for word the same as what had been transmitted from Moses’s day up until our day in the twenty-first century!

In the book of Isaiah found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, we have another remarkable example of the purity of transmission through the centuries. It represents an unbelievably perfect state of preservation from an eighth-century autograph (original) to our present day. Interestingly, in the entire Isaiah manuscript of 66 chapters, it was discovered that a mere three Hebrew words exhibited a different spelling from that found in our present day copies. This is a fascinating confirmation of accurate hand-copying of a biblical book containing some 100 or more pages of Hebrew text! While this was our best exemplar (compared to other Hebrew texts that had more variations), it is still extremely remarkable the way this text has been accurately passed down to us—a level of accuracy unrivaled in documents from ancient history!

Who or What Criteria Decided What Books Could Be Included in Scripture?

One of the most popular bits of misinformation that has been all too frequently affirmed by many scholars these past two centuries is that a group of rabbinic scholars attended a Jewish council held in Jamnia (AD 90, also known as Jabneh), Israel, to decide which books should be included in the Old Testament.[3] At the council, Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai, who had earlier escaped from the siege of Jerusalem, was granted permission to set up a school that functioned like the Sanhedrin. But three caveats must be noted regarding the action this school took on two books of the Old Testament, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon:

(1) its deliberations had no binding authority;

(2) only the books of Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon were discussed, though nothing was concluded about their canonicity because their discussion centered only on their interpretation; and 

(3) the books this council recognized as canonical (authoritative) in subsequent actions were the same as those found in the works of the secular Jewish historian Josephus, as well as those in our present Bibles.

Jack Lewis commented on this long history of misinformation when he wrote, “It would appear that the frequently made assertion that a binding decision was made at Jabneh [also Jamnia] covering all Scripture is conjectural at best.”[4]

It is worthy of note that there was a continuous chain of commendations of their predecessors’ contribution to Scripture. For example, 1 Chronicles 29:29 states that the history of David was written in the books of the prophets Samuel, Nathan, and Gad. This was followed by another such notice in 2 Chronicles 9:29 that the history of Solomon was written by the prophets Nathan, Ahijah and Iddo. Likewise, the work of King Rehoboam was written by the prophets Shemaiah and Iddo (2 Chronicles 12:15), while the history of King Ahijah was written by the prophet Iddo (2 Chronicles 13:22). This veritable link of verses in Chronicles[5] shows that the prophets passed the baton from one to the other, thus setting forth a steady stream of historical events and theology. As such, it also meant that there was a progressive recognition of what was an authoritative word from God.

But there is more! In Daniel 9:2, the prophet Daniel explained that Jeremiah’s prophecy (Jeremiah 25:11-12), which was written only 100 years earlier, was both the “word of the LORD” and were a part of the “Scriptures” (NIV). In addition, Daniel cited Jeremiah in this text when he predicted that the captivity of the Jewish people would last 70 years. Daniel read that the 70 years was about to come to an end, and he expected God to be true to His word and deliver Israel from captivity.

Likewise, the prophet Jeremiah treated the prophecy of Micah in the same way, for even though Micah had preceded Jeremiah by 125 years; Jeremiah announced that Micah’s prediction that Jerusalem would be plowed like a field would be fulfilled (cf. Jeremiah 26:18; Micah 3:12).

Thus, once again, a later prophet certified the truthfulness and reliability of what an earlier prophet had said in Scripture, and in some cases was able to witness the actual fulfillment of that prediction, thereby guaranteeing its divine origin!

The Threefold Division of the Canon

Both the historian of the Jewish people, Josephus, and Jesus Himself used the threefold division of the Old Testament: the “law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44). While there were also other references to a different summary of the Old Testament as containing only two divisions, usually “the Law and the Prophets” (Luke 16:16-17; see also Matthew 5:17), there seemed to be a wider use of the threefold division. For example, the noncanonical and apocryphal book of Ecclesiasticus appealed to the same threefold division of the Old Testament in its prologue in 132 BC. The significance of this trifold division is that it allows researchers to project the concept of the present canon of the Old Testament back to the second century BC. Thus, along with the progressive recognition of what books were authoritative, as shown in the prophets’ chain of references, here would be another, even if there were a later formalization of the same canonical concept.

In addition, Moses laid up the books he had written before the Lord in the tabernacle (Deuteronomy 31:26), with Joshua doing the same thing (Joshua 24:26). Later, the prophet Samuel wrote “the rights and duties of kingship” on a scroll and he too deposited them “before the LORD” (1 Samuel 10:25). Thus, the placing of these writings before the Lord (in the temple) indicated the enormous regard and reverence they had for the Scriptures. Namely, they viewed them as being from God, and being fully trustworthy and reliable.

Jesus’s View of the Old Testament

There can be no doubt that Jesus pointed to this same set of 39 books as being the inspired body of authoritative teachings from the Father. While Jesus boldly spoke of the temple being destroyed (a site the Jewish people held in highest regard), He did not treat the 39 books of the Old Testament in the same way. Instead, He declared, “These are the very Scriptures that testify about me” (John 5:39 NIV).

If some are still doubtful as to just what books Jesus’s affirmation included, then the answer is found in Matthew 23:35 with its parallel in Luke 11:51. In these two passages, Jesus showed what He meant by the “Scriptures”—namely, the identical 39 books we have today as the Old Testament. He did this by pointing to the two texts just mentioned to “all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you [Jews] murdered between the temple and the altar” (NIV). The reference to Abel comes from the Genesis record, the first book in the Old Testament canon.

But the mention of Zechariah is not a reference to the prophet who wrote a book by that name, but to a Zechariah killed near the temple (2 Chronicles 24:20-22). Given that the order of the 39 books of the Old Testament runs from Genesis to the last book in the Jewish order of the books (1 and 2 Chronicles), Jesus was pointing to the very same canon we possess today— even though today, the books are in a different order. Thus Jesus pointed to the first and the last murders recounted in the Old Testament.

The Old Testament was given by the inspiration of our Lord, and it is still useful for teaching, rebuke, correction, and even the way of salvation (2 Timothy 3:15-17). The text is fully reliable and accurate in all its details.

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[1] For a similar treatment of this same topic, see Bruce Waltke, “How We Got the Old Testament,” Cruce 30 (December 1994), 14.

[2] See the article by the head archaeologist of the cave excavation, Gabriel Barkay, “The Priestly Benediction on the Ketef-Hinnom Plaques,” Cathedra 52 (1989), 37-76.

[3] The best scholarly work on this question was done in a doctoral dissertation and eventually an article by Jack P. Lewis, “What Do We Mean by Jabneh?” Journal of Biblical Literature 32 (1964), 125-130

[4] Lewis, “What Do We Mean by Jabneh?” 130.

[5] I am beholden to my teacher R. Laird Harris for setting forth this concept in his book Inspiration and Canonicity in the Bible: An Historical and Exegetical Study (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1957), 166-79. This series of prophets and their work is continued in verses such as 2 Chronicles 20:34; 32:32; 33:18-19

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How Did Jesus Use Apologetics?

 How Did Jesus Use Apologetics?

Because Jesus made extraordinary claims about Himself, including His claim to be the Son of God, apologetics was an essential part of His ministry. He did not ask or expect people to simply offer blind faith based on His unique message alone. He, more than anyone else, understood that if His words were to have the desired force and effect on His hearers, He would need to offer compelling reasons and actions in their support.

From the Scriptures we recognize that God is a rational being (Isaiah 1:18), and humans who are made in His image are naturally inclined to look for reasons and evidence before making a decision. God has never called on anyone to make an unthoughtful and unreasoned decision about eternity. To be sure, there is a real difference between a leap of faith in the dark (existentialism), and a step of faith in the light (realism). Jesus encouraged the latter. Throughout His ministry, as we shall see, Jesus provided persuasive reasons and evidence to confirm His claims. Jesus is the greatest apologist who ever lived, providing a model for all disciples to follow. His apologetics included the use of reason, witnesses, miracles, prophecy, and His resurrection.

Jesus’s Use of Different Apologetic Approaches

Jesus’s Apologetic Use of Reason

Jesus was a master logician who presented irrefutable rational arguments that baffled His opponents. God is a rational being, and creatures created in His image are designed to use their senses and reason to discover and discern truth from error. We are created to know and live according to truth (John 8:32; 17:17). Reason is even operative before the gospel, for one must be able to think logically and coherently to understand the message.

Reason is also fundamental to communication. Although fallen in sin, people still possess the capacity to reason and discover truth (Romans 1:18- 20) and avoid contradictions (1 Timothy 6:20). Throughout His ministry, Jesus employed sound logic in His teachings, discourses, and actions.

Philosopher Dallas Willard said, “He [Jesus] constantly uses the power of logical insight to enable people to come to the truth about themselves and about God from the inside of their own heart and mind. Quite certainly it also played a role in his own growth in ‘wisdom.’”[1]

Although Jesus did not articulate the undeniable first principles of logic, He certainly understood them and used them. Jesus applied the Law of Identity (A is A). In Matthew 5:37, Jesus said, “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’” Jesus applied the Law of Noncontradiction (A is not non- A). This is seen when Jesus contrasted true teachers from false teachers in Matthew 7:15 and 24:24. Jesus applied the Law of the Excluded Middle (either A or non-A). In Matthew 12:30, Jesus said, “He who is not with me is against Me.” Jesus always employed the basic laws of reasoning throughout His discourses.

When the Pharisees confronted Jesus, He used many forms of reasoned arguments to answer their challenges. In Matthew 12:22-28, Jesus responded to the charge of demonic empowerment with a reductio ad absurdum argument—that is, showing that if their premise was true, it led to a contradictory or absurd conclusion. Jesus was challenged for healing on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:9-14). He responded with an a fortiori argument.

This is an argument from lesser to greater force, or what applies in a less important situation applies in a more important situation, often with greater implications.[2] If the people believed they should rescue a sheep on the Sabbath, how much more should Jesus rescue a man from sickness? In Matthew 22:15-22, the Pharisees attempted to corner Jesus with a seemingly inescapable dilemma regarding whether or not to pay taxes.

Facing two unacceptable options, Jesus skillfully avoided the horns of a dilemma. Presented with two unacceptable choices, He went to a third option. After asking about whose image and inscription appeared on the coin, Jesus insightfully replied, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (verse 21).

Jesus’s skill in presenting sound arguments is summed up in Matthew

22:46, which states, “No one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question him anymore.” Jesus proved to be the greatest thinker who used the laws of logic to present truth, demolish arguments, and expose error.

Jesus’s Apologetic Use of Witnesses

The Jewish law requires two or three witnesses to verify one’s claims (Deuteronomy 19:15). Knowing this, on several occasions, Jesus pointed to the testimony of witnesses to confirm His message. A prime example occurred in John 5 after Jesus healed the lame man at the Pool of Bethesda.

An interrogation by the Pharisees followed because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, thus violating Jewish tradition. What transpired provides one of Jesus’s finest discourses defending His claim to be the Son of God. In this discussion, Jesus presented a convincing argument using the testimony of witnesses.

Like a defense lawyer, Jesus presented five witnesses who authenticated His actions. His first witness was John the Baptist, a recognized prophet of their time (John 5:33). The second witness was His miracles (verse 36). His third witness was God the Father (verse 37). His fourth witness was the Scriptures (verse 39). His final witness was Moses, the greatest prophet of Israel (verse 46). Here, Jesus exceeded the minimal requirement of two or three witnesses, and brought five very powerful witnesses to the stand.

Jesus used the testimony of witnesses again in John 8. After declaring

He was the “light of the world” (verse 12), Jesus defended His claim by presenting four witnesses. The first was Jesus Himself (verse 14), then the testimony of the Father (verse 19), and finally the testimony of Abraham, the father of the nation (verse 56). His final witness is Jesus’s own sinless life (verses 41,46). As a masterful lawyer would do in any courtroom, Jesus provided expert witnesses to defend His claims.

Jesus’s Apologetic Use of Miracles

God confirmed His message and messengers with miracles, which are special acts of God that interrupt the normal course of events and confirm the Word of God through a messenger of God.3 Through His miracles, Jesus demonstrated authority over every realm of creation, authority exclusive to God alone. Norman Geisler states that Jesus’s power over the cosmos was seen by the fact that He manifested control over every category of the cosmos as listed by the famous Greek philosopher Aristotle in his Categories.[3]

Note Jesus’s power over…

• substance (what?)—turning water into wine

• quantity (how much?)—feeding of 5,000

• quality (what kind?)—blind man gains quality of sight

• relation (to what?)—raising Lazarus from relationship

• space (where?)—healing nobleman’s son from a distance

• time (when?)—healing an invalid of 38 years

• position (on what?)—walking on water, an unnatural position

• action (from what?)—His victorious death

• passion (on what?)—His triumphant resurrection

• state or habit (under what condition?)—catching a draught of fish

The Jews should have realized that Jesus possessed the authority of God. Several recognized this, including Nicodemus (John 3:2) and the disciples (John 2:11). Jesus often pointed to His miracles as evidence and expected the Jews to make the connection (Matthew 11:20-23; John 10:25,38). No other religious leader has demonstrated the kind of authority Jesus exhibited over creation.

Jesus’s Apologetic Use of Prophecy

Only God, who is eternal, can repeatedly predict future events with 100 percent accuracy. In Isaiah 46:9-11, God declared, I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure…I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it; I will also do it.”

Jesus has a unique prophetic legacy that no other religious leader can

match. J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy records 127 prophecies regarding the life of Christ.[4]

These prophecies include:

• Prophecies regarding His lineage and birth

Descendant of Abraham (Genesis 22:18) Tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10) Descendant of King David (Isaiah 11:1) Place of birth, Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)

• Prophecies regarding His ministry

Ministry preceded by a messenger (Isaiah 40:3, Malachi 3:1)

Ministry begins in Galilee (Isaiah 9:1)

Ministry of miracles (Isaiah 35:5-6)

• Prophecies regarding His death

Rejected by His own people (Isaiah 53:3)

Betrayed by a friend (Psalm 41:9)

Sold for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12)

Hands and feet pierced (Psalm 22:16)

Crucified with thieves (Isaiah 53:12)

Garments parted and lots cast (Psalm 22:18)

Bones not broken (Psalm 34:20)

Buried in a rich man’s tomb (Isaiah 53:9)

Exact date of death predicted (Daniel 9)

Jesus pointed to the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah that He fulfilled as evidence He was the long-awaited Messiah.

Not only did Jesus fulfill many prophecies, He made predictions of future events, with some being fulfilled during His lifetime. Moreover, Payne documents that Matthew recorded 58 predictions and Mark recorded 47. In Luke there are more than 40. In John, of the 45 predictions, Jesus made most of them. Some of Jesus’s prophecies include:

• The Word of God will abide forever (Matthew 5:18)

• The apostles will be persecuted (Matthew 10:17-23)

• His words will abide forever (Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31)

• Jesus will die and rise three days later (Matthew 12:40)

• The kingdom of heaven will experience great growth (Matthew 13:31- 32)

• The church will never be destroyed (Matthew 16:18)

• Jerusalem will reject Jesus and become desolate (Matthew 23:37-38)

• Jerusalem temple will be destroyed (Matthew 24:2)

• Mary’s act of anointing Jesus will be remembered throughout the ages (Matthew 26:13)

• The Holy Spirit would come upon the disciples (John 15:15-26; 16:5-15)

• The disciples will do greater works than Jesus (John 14:12)

• John will live to an old age (John 21:18) Jesus stated, “Now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe” (John 15:29). Jesus not only fulfilled dozens of Old Testament prophecies, but also proclaimed His own prophecies regarding future events. This legacy of fulfilled prophecy is unrivaled and further upholds Christ’s claims of deity.

Jesus’s Apologetic Use of the Resurrection

The resurrection was the ultimate proof of Christ’s deity. On several occasions Jesus prophesied His own death and resurrection (Matthew 12:40; 17:23; Mark 14:58; John 2:19). God alone is the author and giver of life. Therefore, Jesus predicting and accomplishing His own resurrection from the dead conclusively confirmed His claim as the Son of God.

Jesus’s resurrection fulfilled Old Testament messianic prophecies.  Psalm 16:10 states, “You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption.” The Messiah would not remain in the grave, nor would His body suffer the decay of death.

Isaiah 53:8-10 states, “He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked—but with the rich at His death…When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand” (NKJV).

The phrase “cut off from the land of the living” means the Messiah would be killed. But the following phrase, “He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,” indicates He would be resurrected to see His

descendants. The passage also states the death and resurrection of the Messiah will fulfill the requirements of the Old Testament law. Jesus the sinless Son of God was the only one who could meet God’s holy requirements; therefore, He is the only Savior for mankind.

Jesus’s resurrection affirms Jesus words, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). He is the source of life. The Bible also states that God is the source of life. Only God has the ability to create and restore life. That Jesus raised Himself from the dead demonstrates that He has the authority of God.

The Most Effective Defender of the Faith

In the Gospels, we see clear examples of how Jesus used apologetics. He employed reason, evidence, the testimony of witnesses, miracles, prophecy, and His resurrection. It is important to recognize that Jesus did not present a formal apologetics system per se, but from what we gather from Scripture, His method was consistent with the classical and evidential apologetic approaches.

Jesus was not only the world’s greatest teacher, He was the most effective defender of the Faith who ever lived. Time and again He offered compelling reasons and evidence as He defended His claims to be the Son of God. His life and ministry serve as a model for every believer as we seek to do the work of an apologist in a lost and searching world.

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[1] Dallas Willard, “Jesus the Logician,” Dallas Willard, http://www.dwillard.org/articles/individual/jesus-the-logician.

[2] Ralph P. Martin and Peter H. Davids, eds., Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1997), 845.

[3] Norman Geisler and Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2004), 201-202.

[4] Norman Geisler, Baker Encyclopedia of Apologetics (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1999), 53.

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