The Bible contains proof in itself of its divine origin. No other book can answer the questionings of the mind or satisfy the longings of the heart as does the Bible. It is adapted to every age and condition of life, and is full of that knowledge which enlightens the mind and sanctifies the soul.
In the Bible we have a revelation of the living God. Received by faith, it has power to transform the life. During all its history a divine watch-care has been over it, and preserved it for the world.
How, When, and Why Written
After the flood, as men became numerous, and darkness was again settling over the world, holy men wrote as they were moved by the Spirit of God. Thus God spoke to His people, and through them to the world, that a knowledge of God and of His will might not perish from the earth.
For centuries this work went on, until Christ, the promised Seed, came. With Him, and the blessed message of light and salvation proclaimed by Him and by His apostles, the Scripture record closed, and the Word of God was complete.
Original Writings and Translations
The Old Testament Scriptures were first written in Hebrew, upon scrolls, or rolls of parchment, linen, or papyrus. These were later translated into Greek, the oldest translation being known as the Septuagint, or “Version of the Seventy,” made at Alexandria, for the Alexandrian Library, by a company of seventy learned Jews, under the patronage of Ptolemy Philadelphus, [pg 014] about 285 b.c. The original order for this translation is said to have been given by Alexander the Great, who previously, upon visiting Jerusalem in 332 b.c., had learned from the prophecy of Daniel that Grecia was to overthrow the Persian kingdom. See Josephus's “Antiquities of the Jews,” book 11, chap. 8, par. 5. This was the version in common use in the time of Christ.
The New Testament was all originally written in Greek, except Matthew, which was first written in Hebrew, and later translated into Greek.
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