text of the bible Summary and Overview

THE TEXT OF THE BIBLE The Bible, like the Saviour whom it presents, is divine-human in its character. The written word became flesh, as well as the personal Word. The eternal truth of God passed through the mental faculties of the prophets and apostles, and uttered itself in human speech. Its contents were first in the mind, and then written out, either directly by the inspired man or at his dictation. The autographs have perished. We possess at best but copies of other copies. These, although made with reverent care, are not free from the imperfections of human writings. Errors would be perpetuated and new ones constantly made. This was pre-eminently the case with the N. T. The number of textual variations in the Greek N. T. or "different readings," as they are called, amounts to 150,000. And yet we may claim that a special Providence has watched over the purity and integrity of the text of Holy Scripture, since only about 400 of these are of any consequence, the rest being trifles of spelling, etc., and none of these 400 affect a doctrine or precept.
Also See: The Bible The Text of the Bible The Hebrew Bible The Greek New Testament The Original Language of the Bible The Original Language of the Old Testament The Original Language of the New Testament