The Inspiration of the Bible
Objectives
Key Questions
The Structure of the Bible
The Old Testament
Hebrew Form of the Old Testament
Greek Form of the Old Testament
The New Testament
Their writing
Composition of the New Testament
The Inspiration of the Bible
Specific Claims of Inspiration
For the Old Testament
Genesis In Genesis God spoke to the patriarchs (cf. Gen. 12, 26, 46), and they made records in a permanent “family album” of divine dealings under the title “This is the book [records] of the generations of …” (5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10; 25:12, 19; 36:1; 37:2).
Exodus In Exodus the record reads, “God spoke all these words” (20:1). “And the tablets were God’s work, and the writing was God’s writing” (32:16). Moses said to the people, “These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do” (35:1).
Leviticus The introduction to Leviticus says, “The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying …” (1:1). “The Lord said to Moses” is found repeatedly (cf. 4:1; 5:14; 6:1, 8).
Numbers This book repeatedly records, “The Lord spoke to Moses” (1:1; see 2:1; 4:1; 5:1; 6:1; 8:1), and it closes by saying, “These are the commandments and the ordinances which the Lord commanded to the sons of Israel” (36:13).
Deuteronomy In Deuteronomy, Moses’ speeches are regarded as God’s word, saying, “You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it” (4:2); it even sets forth tests of truth for divine utterances: “When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken” (18:22).
Joshua In this book, Joshua relates how “after the death of Moses … the Lord spoke to Joshua, ‘This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that just as I was with Moses, I will be with you’ ” (1:1–3:7). “And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God” (24:26).
Judges After the death of Joshua, the book of Judges reveals that “the Lord said” (1:2), and again, later, “God spoke to Gideon” (6:25). The angel of the Lord appeared with a message on several occasions (Judg. 2, 5, 6, 13).
Ruth This book was probably appended to the book of Judges in its original position (see discussion in chaps. 1, 12), and, as a result, needs no explicit reference to God speaking. However, this book does give a record of divine activity, as it records an important link in the messianic chain, namely, the ancestors of David the king, Boaz and Ruth (4:21; cf. Matt. 1:5–6).
1 and 2 Samuel The books of 1 and 2 Samuel, which were originally one book, have many references to the voice of God. Through Samuel, the traditional author of the book, these books record, “And the Lord said to Samuel” (1 Sam. 3:11). “Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel” (4:1). Then 1 Chronicles 29:29 adds, “The acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the chronicles of Samuel the seer, in the chronicles of Nathan the prophet, and in the chronicles of Gad the seer.” This support indicates the books are prophetic, and hence authoritative.
1 and 2 Kings These books have no explicit claim to inspiration. Tradition ascribes them to Jeremiah the prophet (Baba Bathra 5a), which would automatically assume them to be prophetic. The emphasis on the divine ministry of the prophets, and the prophetic viewpoint of the books of Kings, would confirm the traditional view that some prophet wrote these books. Hence, they too would be divinely authoritative.
1 and 2 Chronicles These books lack an overt claim to inspiration, but they do present an authoritative history of Israel, Judah, and the Temple from the priestly point of view. The books assume authority rather than stating or claiming it. And because the books are descriptive rather than didactic, there is no need for an explicit reference to their message as being a “thus says the Lord.” There is, however, an implicit, yet clear, “thus does the Lord,” which is even more discernible than in Kings (cf. 2 Chron. 35:20–21).
Ezra-Nehemiah Continuing the Temple-centered history of Judah, Ezra-Nehemiah declares definitely that God was responsible for the restoration of the deported nation. Although the book makes no explicit claim for its inspiration, there is again the clear assumption that it is a record of God’s deeds, and such a record is no less authoritative than a record of God’s words.
Esther The book of Esther fits into the same category as Ezra-Nehemiah. Even though the name of God is absent from the book (except in acrostic form), nonetheless, the presence of God is certainly evident as He protects and preserves His people. The book implicitly claims to be a true record of God’s providence over His people, which is what inspiration means (see chap. 2 discussion).
Job In Job, not only does the author claim to give a view into the very council chamber of heaven (Job 1–2), but he records the actual words of God spoken out of the whirlwind (38:1ff.). Between chapters 2 and 38, an accurate record of what Job and his friends said is presented.
Psalms A book addressed primarily to God, Psalms can hardly be expected to say, “God said,” or, “Thus says the Lord.” There is, however, within the very selection and structure of the psalms, a divine approval of the theology and truth which is reflected in the varied spiritual experiences of the psalmists. It is apparent that God moved particular men to record their select experiences, with His approbation, for future generations. The last five psalms sum up the divine exhortation “Praise the Lord.” This is a book in which God declares how men should praise Him. In fact, 2 Samuel 23:1–2 says that David, who wrote many of the psalms, was Spirit-directed in his utterances.
Proverbs This book is introduced as “The proverbs of Solomon” (1:1). That Solomon claims these words of wisdom to be the Word of God is evident when he writes: “Have not I written to you excellent things of counsels and knowledge, to make you know the certainty of the words of truth, that you may correctly answer to him who sent you?” (22:20–21). It will be remembered that Solomon’s wisdom was God-given for that very purpose—to help his people (cf. 1 Kings 3:9 ff.). Proverbs 25 and following are “proverbs of Solomon which … Hezekiah, king of Judah, transcribed” (25:1) but are nonetheless Solomon’s. Proverbs 30 and 31 each claim in the first verse to be an “oracle,” or “utterance” (NKJV) from God (cf. 2 Chron. 9:29).
Ecclesiastes This book has clear and authoritative exhortations (cf. 11:9; 12:1, 12) which lead to this definite conclusion: “When all has been heard … fear God and keep His commandments because this applies to every person” (2:3). That is, the teaching of this book claims to be the word from God on the subject.