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The Bible—Inspired by God? — Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY
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class="scalableui"> <header> <h1 id="p1" data-pid="1"><span id="page3" class="pageNum" aria-hidden="true" data-no="3" data-before-text="3"></span><strong>The Bible—Inspired by God?</strong></h1> </header> <div class="bodyTxt"> <div id="section1" class="section"> <div class="pGroup"> <p id="p29" data-pid="29" class="qu">1, 2. Why do many respect the Bible, and what claim do its writers make?</p> <p id="p2" data-pid="2" data-rel-pid="[29]" class="sb"><span class="parNum" data-pnum="1"></span><em>THE New Encyclopædia Britannica</em> calls the Bible “probably the most influential collection of books in human history.” The Bible is held in high regard by many because of its antiquity—parts were written 3,500 years ago. Yet, its practical, up-to-date advice is one of the reasons that over three billion copies have been distributed and that it has been translated, in whole or in part, into almost two thousand languages, making it the world’s all-time best-seller.</p> <p id="p3" data-pid="3" data-rel-pid="[29]" class="sb"><span class="parNum" data-pnum="2"><sup>2</sup></span> Aside from these factors, all of which inspire respect for the Bible, there is yet another feature that has made it so influential and appealing throughout the ages—its claim to be the inspired revelation of Almighty God. Moses, who compiled the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) “wrote down” all that God told him to, which included the account of creation, the record of the Flood of Noah’s day, and the history of Abraham and of Moses’ own dealings with God. (<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/0/0" data-bid="1-1" class="b">Exodus 24:3, 4</a>) King David said: “The spirit of the LORD has spoken through me, his message is <span id="page4" class="pageNum" aria-hidden="true" data-no="4" data-before-text="4"></span>on my tongue.” (<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/1/0" data-bid="2-1" class="b">2 Samuel 23:2</a>) Other Bible writers made similar claims of divine guidance. All these writings together form God’s own explanation of history—its true meaning, interpretation, and final outcome. The many different writers of the Scriptures—kings, hired laborers, priests, and others—were all acting as secretaries in recording the thoughts of God, the Bible’s Author and the Guarantor of its promises.</p> <p id="p30" data-pid="30" class="qu"> 3. What shows that belief in God and belief in science are not incompatible?</p> <p id="p4" data-pid="4" data-rel-pid="[30]" class="sb"><span class="parNum" data-pnum="3"><sup>3</sup></span> Since the Bible claims divine authorship, perhaps the foremost question for many relates to the very existence of its Author. Many reject God’s existence outright. Others, under the impression that all intelligent people have rejected the idea of God and belief in the Bible, ask: “Why don’t scientists believe in God?” Is this impression really true? An article in the magazine <em>New Scientist</em> said that the “view that commonly expects scientists to be nonbelievers . . . is a view that is wildly wrong.”<a class="it" href="/en/wol/tc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/0"><sup>2</sup></a> The same article reports that random surveys among universities, research establishments, and industrial laboratories indicate that “as many as eight of every 10 scientists follow a religious faith or countenance principles that are ‘non-scientific.’” So it cannot accurately be said that faith is incompatible with science or scientists. (See the box “<a class="it" href="/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101992072#h=38-47:0">Evolution—A Fact?</a>”)</p> <div class="boxSupplement"><aside><div id="p38" data-pid="38" class="boxTtl rule"><h2><strong>EVOLUTION—A FACT?</strong></h2></div> <div class="boxContent"><p id="p39" data-pid="39" class="sc">THE Genesis account of creation states that all living things were created ‘after their kinds,’ or basic groups. (<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/33/0" data-bid="34-1" class="b">Genesis 1:12,</a><a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/33/1" data-bid="34-2" class="b"> 24, 25</a>) In promoting their theory, many evolutionists have scoffed at the Bible account. But is there any proof that a new kind has ever appeared because of crossbreeding or mutations?<a id="footnotesource5" data-fnid="5" class="fn" href="/en/wol/fn/r1/lp-e/1101992072/4">e</a> From the earliest records until now, dogs are still dogs, and cats continue to be cats. Even cockroaches, found among the earliest fossil insects, are virtually identical to modern ones.</p> <p id="p40" data-pid="40" class="sc">Indeed, what evidence has been produced by the scientific community in well over a hundred years of intensive investigation since Darwin’s <em>Origin of Species?</em><a id="footnotesource6" data-fnid="6" class="fn" href="/en/wol/fn/r1/lp-e/1101992072/5">f</a> What conclusions have some experts reached?</p> <p id="p41" data-pid="41" class="sc"><strong>THE FOSSIL RECORD:</strong> Fossil evidence is called by some ‘the final court of appeal’ because it is the only authentic history of life available to science. What does it show?</p> <p id="p42" data-pid="42" class="sc">Professor of natural science John Moore reported on the results of an extensive study made by the Geological Society of London and the Palaeontological Association of England. “Some 120 scientists, all specialists, prepared 30 chapters in a monumental work of over 800 pages to present the fossil record for plants and animals . . . Each major form or kind of plant and animal is shown to have a separate and distinct history from all the other forms or kinds! Groups of both plants and animals <em>appear suddenly</em> in the fossil record. . . . There is not a trace of a common ancestor, much less a link with any reptile, the supposed progenitor.”<em>—Should Evolution Be Taught?,</em> 1970, pages 9, 14.</p> <p id="p43" data-pid="43" class="sc"><strong>COULD MUTATIONS HAVE CAUSED EVOLUTION?</strong> Because of the harmful nature of mutations, <em>The Encyclopedia Americana</em> acknowledged: “The fact that most mutations are damaging to the organism seems hard to reconcile with the view that mutation is the source of raw materials for evolution. Indeed, mutants illustrated in biology textbooks are a collection of freaks and monstrosities and mutation seems to be a destructive rather than a constructive process.”—1977, Volume 10, page 742.</p> <p id="p44" data-pid="44" class="sc"><strong>WHAT ABOUT THE APE-MEN?</strong> <em>Science Digest</em> stated: “The remarkable fact is that all the physical evidence we have for human evolution can still be placed, with room to spare, inside a single coffin! . . . Modern apes, for instance, seem to have sprung out of nowhere. They have no yesterday, no fossil record. And the true origin of modern humans—of upright, naked, toolmaking, big-brained beings—is, if we are to be honest with ourselves, an equally mysterious matter.”—May 1982, page 44.</p> <p id="p45" data-pid="45" class="sc"><strong>A THEORY IN CRISIS:</strong> Notice the following comments by Michael Denton, a molecular biologist, as quoted from his book <em>Evolution: A Theory in Crisis:</em></p> <p id="p46" data-pid="46" class="se">“There can be no question that Darwin had nothing like sufficient evidence to establish his theory of evolution. . . . His general theory, that all life on earth had originated and evolved by a gradual successive accumulation of fortuitous mutations, is still, as it was in Darwin’s time, a highly speculative hypothesis entirely without direct factual support and very far from that self-evident axiom some of its more aggressive advocates would have us believe. . . . One might have expected that a theory of such cardinal importance, a theory that literally changed the world, would have been something more than metaphysics, something more than a myth.”—1986 edition, pages 69, 77, 358.</p> <div class="groupFootnote"><div id="footnote5" data-fnid="5" class="fn-ref"><p id="p48" data-pid="48"><a href="#footnotesource5" class="fn-symbol">e</a> A distinction should be made between what has been termed “microevolution,” or progressive developments, adaptations, and changes within a kind, and “macroevolution,” which teaches that one kind evolves into another. Those who teach evolution are usually referring to the latter concept.</p></div> <div id="footnote6" data-fnid="6" class="fn-ref"><p id="p49" data-pid="49"><a href="#footnotesource6" class="fn-symbol">f</a> For a detailed discussion, see <em>The Origin of Life—Five Questions Worth Asking</em><em>.</em></p></div> </div> </div> </aside></div> </div> </div> <div id="section2" class="section"> <h2 id="p5" data-pid="5"><strong>Is There Proof of Inspiration?</strong></h2> <div class="pGroup"> <p id="p31" data-pid="31" class="qu"> 4. What scientific truths were mentioned thousands of years ago in the Bible?</p> <p id="p6" data-pid="6" data-rel-pid="[31]" class="sb"><span class="parNum" data-pnum="4"><sup>4</sup></span> When one reaches the conclusion that there is convincing evidence of a Creator’s existence, the question still remains whether he has inspired men to record his thoughts and purposes in the Bible. There are many reasons why we can be sure that this is the case, one of which is its scientific accuracy. (See the box “<a class="it" href="/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101992072#h=51-55:0">‘In the Beginning God Created’ . . .</a>”) For example, over 3,000 years ago, Job said that God “hangeth the earth over nothing.” (<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/2/0" data-bid="3-1" class="b">Job 26:7</a>, <em>JP</em>) About 2,700 years ago, the prophet Isaiah stated that God “sitteth above the circle of the earth.” (<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/3/0" data-bid="4-1" class="b">Isaiah 40:22</a>, <em>JP</em>) Now, how could Job or Isaiah have known these basic scientific truths that the earth is suspended in space and is a sphere? They may be well-known today, but these statements were made at a time when such notions were unheard of. Is not divine revelation the most reasonable explanation?</p> <div class="boxSupplement"><aside><div id="p51" data-pid="51" class="boxTtl rule"><h2><strong>“IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED” . . .</strong></h2></div> <div class="boxContent"><p id="p52" data-pid="52" class="sc">. . . “THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH.” (<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/34/0" data-bid="35-1" class="b">Genesis 1:1</a>, <em>JP</em>)—Most scientists today agree that the universe had a beginning. Astronomer Robert Jastrow wrote: “Now we see how the astronomical evidence leads to a biblical view of the origin of the world. The details differ, but the essential elements in the astronomical and biblical accounts of Genesis are the same: the chain of events leading to man commenced suddenly and sharply at a definite moment in time, in a flash of light and energy.”—<em>God and the Astronomers,</em> 1978, page 14.</p> <p id="p53" data-pid="53" class="sc">. . . “LIVING CREATURES.” (<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/35/0" data-bid="36-1" class="b">Genesis 1:20</a>)—Physicist H. S. Lipson, realizing the odds against a spontaneous origin of life, said: “The only acceptable explanation is <em>creation.</em> I know that this is anathema to physicists, as indeed it is to me, but we must not reject a theory that we do not like if the experimental evidence supports it.”—<em>Physics Bulletin,</em> Volume 31, 1980, page 138.</p> <p id="p54" data-pid="54" class="sc">Even if the odds are against it, could not spontaneous generation have happened anyway? Physicist and astronomer Fred Hoyle says: “There is not a shred of objective evidence to support the hypothesis that life began in an organic soup here on the Earth.” He also states: “As biochemists discover more and more about the awesome complexity of life, it is apparent that the chances of it originating by accident are so minute that they can be completely ruled out. Life cannot have arisen by chance.” Hoyle adds: “Biologists indulge in unsubstantiated fantasies in order to deny what is so patently obvious, that the 200,000 amino acid chains, and hence life, did not appear by chance.” In effect, he asks, ‘Just how could the accidental coupling of chemicals in an organic ooze alone produce the 2,000 enzymes essential to life?’ He says the possibilities are one in 10<sup>40,000</sup>, or “about the same as the chance of throwing an uninterrupted sequence of 50,000 sixes with unbiased dice!” (<em>The Intelligent Universe,</em> F. Hoyle, 1983, pages 11-12, 17, 23) He adds, “If one is not prejudiced either by social beliefs or by a scientific training into the conviction that life originated [spontaneously] on the Earth, this simple calculation wipes the idea entirely out of court.”—<em>Evolution From Space,</em> Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe, 1981, page 24.</p> </div> </aside></div> <p id="p32" data-pid="32" class="qu">5, 6. What fulfillments of prophecy give evidence that the Bible writers were inspired by God?</p> <p id="p7" data-pid="7" data-rel-pid="[32]" class="sb"><span id="page5" class="pageNum" aria-hidden="true" data-no="5" data-before-text="5"></span><span class="parNum" data-pnum="5"><sup>5</sup></span> Prophecy, in effect history written before it happens, is perhaps the main feature of the Bible that substantiates its claim of divine inspiration. For example, the prophet Isaiah foretold not only that Jerusalem would be destroyed by Babylon and that the entire Jewish nation would be taken captive but also that in time the Persian general Cyrus would conquer Babylon and liberate the Jews from captivity. (<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/4/0" data-bid="5-1" class="b">Isaiah 13:17-19;</a><a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/4/1" data-bid="5-2" class="b"> 44:27–45:1</a>) Can you think of any means, other than divine inspiration, by which, 200 years in advance, Isaiah could have successfully predicted Cyrus’ birth, his name, and precisely what he would do? (See the box “<a class="it" href="/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101992072#h=56-65:0">God—‘The Revealer of Mysteries’ Through Prophecy</a>.”)</p> <span id="page7" class="pageNum" aria-hidden="true" data-no="7" data-before-text="7"></span><div class="boxSupplement"><aside><div id="p56" data-pid="56" class="boxTtl rule"><h2><strong>GOD—‘THE REVEALER OF MYSTERIES’ THROUGH PROPHECY</strong></h2></div> <div class="boxContent"><p id="p57" data-pid="57" class="sc">WHEN speaking to an ancient king, the prophet Daniel said: “The mystery about which the king has inquired—wise men, exorcists, magicians, and diviners cannot tell to the king. But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.” (<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/36/0" data-bid="37-1" class="b">Daniel 2:27, 28</a>) Is there evidence that God really is a Revealer of mysteries through prophecy? The following are some examples.</p> <p id="p58" data-pid="58" class="se"><strong>The fall of Babylon:</strong> “Thus said the LORD to Cyrus, His anointed one—whose right hand He has grasped, treading down nations before him, ungirding the loins of kings, opening doors before him and letting no gate stay shut.”—<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/37/0" data-bid="38-1" class="b">Isaiah 45:1</a>, prophesied c. 732 B.C.E. See also <a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/38/0" data-bid="39-1" class="b">Jeremiah 50:35-38;</a><a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/38/1" data-bid="39-2" class="b"> 51:30-32</a>, prophesied b. 625 B.C.E.</p> <p id="p59" data-pid="59" class="sc"><strong>Fulfillment—539 B.C.E.:</strong> Historians Herodotus and Xenophon relate that Cyrus the Persian diverted the waters of the Euphrates, which ran through the center of Babylon, and sent his forces up the riverbed, catching the Babylonian guards unawares and taking the city in one night. Even with this strategy, Cyrus could not have entered the city had the gates on the banks of the Euphrates leading into the city not been carelessly left open. The ‘gates did not stay shut,’ just as the prophecy foretold.</p> <p id="p60" data-pid="60" class="se"><strong>The fate of Tyre:</strong> “Thus said the Lord GOD: I am going to deal with you, O Tyre! I will hurl many nations against you, as the sea hurls its waves. . . . And I will scrape her soil off her and leave her a naked rock. . . . And they shall cast into the water your stones and timber and soil.”—<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/39/0" data-bid="40-1" class="b">Ezekiel 26:3, 4,</a><a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/39/1" data-bid="40-2" class="b"> 12</a>, prophesied c. 613 B.C.E.</p> <p id="p61" data-pid="61" class="sc"><strong>Fulfillment—332 B.C.E.:</strong> Alexander the Great built a land bridge, or mole, from the mainland to the island portion of Tyre (half a mile (0.8 km) offshore) so that his soldiers could march across and attack the island city. <em>The Encyclopedia Americana</em> reports: “With the debris of the mainland portion of the city, which he had demolished, he built a huge mole in 332 to join the island to the mainland.” After a relatively short siege, the island city was destroyed, and Ezekiel’s prophecy was fulfilled in all its details. Even the ‘stones and woodwork and dust’ of old Tyre (the mainland part of the city) were ‘placed in the very midst of the water.’</p> <p id="p62" data-pid="62" class="se"><strong>The destruction of Jerusalem:</strong> “Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, ‘Hear the word of the LORD of Hosts: A time is coming when everything in your palace, which your ancestors have stored up to this day, will be carried off to Babylon; nothing will be left behind.’”—<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/40/0" data-bid="41-1" class="b">Isaiah 39:5, 6</a>, prophesied c. 732 B.C.E.; see also <a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/41/0" data-bid="42-1" class="b">Isaiah 24:1-3;</a><a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/41/1" data-bid="42-2" class="b"> 47:6</a>.</p> <p id="p63" data-pid="63" class="sc">Jeremiah the prophet proclaimed: “I am going to . . . bring them [the Babylonians] against this land and its inhabitants . . . This whole land shall be a desolate ruin. And those nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”—<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/42/0" data-bid="43-1" class="b">Jeremiah 25:9,</a><a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/42/1" data-bid="43-2" class="b"> 11</a>, prophesied b. 625 B.C.E.</p> <p id="p64" data-pid="64" class="sc"><strong>Fulfillment—607 B.C.E.</strong> (586 B.C.E. according to most secular chronologies): Babylon destroyed Jerusalem after a year and a half siege. The city and temple were razed, and the Jews themselves were carried off to Babylon. (<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/43/0" data-bid="44-1" class="b">2 Chronicles 36:6, 7,</a><a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/43/1" data-bid="44-2" class="b"> 12, 13,</a><a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/43/2" data-bid="44-3" class="b"> 17-21</a>) The entire nation remained in captivity for 70 years, as Jeremiah had foretold. Their miraculous release in 537 B.C.E. by Cyrus the Great, who conquered Babylon, fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which had mentioned him by name. (<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/44/0" data-bid="45-1" class="b">Isaiah 44:24-28</a>) The prophet Daniel, in captivity in Babylon, calculated the exact time of the release of his people, basing his conclusion on Jeremiah’s prophecy.—<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/45/0" data-bid="46-1" class="b">Daniel 9:1, 2</a>.</p> </div> </aside></div> <p id="p8" data-pid="8" data-rel-pid="[32]" class="sb"><span class="parNum" data-pnum="6"><sup>6</sup></span> Some of the most remarkable prophecies are recorded by Daniel, a prophet who lived in the sixth century B.C.E. Not only did he foretell the fall of Babylon to the Medes and the Persians but he also predicted events far beyond his time, into the distant future. For example, Daniel’s prophecy foretold the rise of Greece as a world empire under Alexander the Great (336-323 B.C.E.), the division of Alexander’s empire among his four generals after his untimely death, and the rise of the Roman Empire, with its fearful military might (first century B.C.E.). (<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/5/0" data-bid="6-1" class="b">Daniel 7:6;</a><a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/5/1" data-bid="6-2" class="b"> 8:21, 22</a>) All these events are <em>now</em> indisputable historical facts.</p> <p id="p33" data-pid="33" class="qu">7, 8. (a) What accusation have some made about Bible prophecies? (b) What proves that the accusation of fraud is not well-founded?</p> <p id="p9" data-pid="9" data-rel-pid="[33]" class="sb"><span class="parNum" data-pnum="7"><sup>7</sup></span> Because Bible prophecies have been so exact, critics have branded them as deceptions, that is, history written after the fact and disguised as prophecy. But how can one rationally assert that Jewish priests would dare to invent a prophecy? And why would they invent prophecies that contained the hardest diatribes imaginable against themselves? (<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/6/0" data-bid="7-1" class="b">Isaiah 56:10, 11;</a><a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/6/1" data-bid="7-2" class="b"> Jeremiah 8:10;</a><a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/6/2" data-bid="7-3" class="b"> Zephaniah 3:4</a>) In addition, how could an entire literate nation, trained and educated with the Bible as its sacred text, be taken in by such a hoax?—<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/7/0" data-bid="8-1" class="b">Deuteronomy 6:4-9</a>.</p> <p id="p10" data-pid="10" data-rel-pid="[33]" class="sb"><span class="parNum" data-pnum="8"><sup>8</sup></span> How could there have been any fraud connected with the disappearance of entire civilizations, such as Edom and Babylon, when these events took place many centuries after the completion of the Hebrew Scriptures? (<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/8/0" data-bid="9-1" class="b">Isaiah 13:20-22;</a><a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/8/1" data-bid="9-2" class="b"> Jeremiah 49:17, 18</a>) Even if one maintains that these prophecies were not written in the time period of the prophets themselves, they were still recorded prior to the third <span id="page6" class="pageNum" aria-hidden="true" data-no="6" data-before-text="6"></span>century B.C.E., for by then they were already being translated into Greek in the <em>Septuagint</em><em>.</em> Also, the Dead Sea Scrolls (which include portions of all the prophetic Bible books) are dated to the second and first centuries B.C.E. As noted, many prophecies were fulfilled only <em>after</em> these dates.</p> </div> </div> <div id="section3" class="section"> <h2 id="p11" data-pid="11"><strong>Is the Bible Full of Contradictions?</strong></h2> <div class="pGroup"> <p id="p34" data-pid="34" class="qu">9-12. (a) Why do some say that the Bible contradicts itself? (b) How are some “contradictions” resolved?</p> <p id="p12" data-pid="12" data-rel-pid="[34]" class="sb"><span class="parNum" data-pnum="9"><sup>9</sup></span> But some object: ‘The Bible is full of contradictions and discrepancies.’ Very often, those who make this assertion have not personally investigated the matter but have just heard an alleged example or two from others. In reality most supposed discrepancies are easily resolved if it is remembered that the writers of the Bible frequently condensed their subject to a few words. An example of this is found in the account of creation. In comparing <a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/9/0" data-bid="10-1" class="b">Genesis 1:1,</a><a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/9/1" data-bid="10-2" class="b"> 3</a> with <a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/10/0" data-bid="11-1" class="b">Genesis 1:14-16</a>, many have asked how it can be that God “made” the luminaries on the fourth creative day when light—evidently from these same luminaries—was reaching the earth on the first creative day. In this case the Hebrew writer eliminated the need for long explanations by a careful choice of words. Note that <a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/11/0" data-bid="12-1" class="b">verses 14-16</a> speak of “making” in contrast to “creating” in <a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/12/0" data-bid="13-1" class="b">Genesis 1:1</a>, and “lights” in contrast to “light” in <a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/13/0" data-bid="14-1" class="b">Genesis 1:3</a>. This indicates that it was on the fourth creative day that the sun and moon, already in existence, became clearly visible through the earth’s dense atmosphere.<a id="footnotesource1" data-fnid="1" class="fn" href="/en/wol/fn/r1/lp-e/1101992072/0">a</a></p> <p id="p13" data-pid="13" data-rel-pid="[34]" class="sb"><span class="parNum" data-pnum="10"><sup>10</sup></span> Genealogical lists have also caused some confusion. For example, Ezra lists 23 names in his priestly genealogy at 1 Chronicles 5:29-40 (<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/14/0" data-bid="15-1" class="b">6:3-14</a>) but lists only 16 names for the same period when giving his own genealogy at <a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/15/0" data-bid="16-1" class="b">Ezra 7:1-5</a>. This is, not a discrepancy, but a simple condensation. Additionally, according <span id="page8" class="pageNum" aria-hidden="true" data-no="8" data-before-text="8"></span>to a writer’s intention in recording an event, he highlighted, minimized, included, or omitted details that another Bible writer expressed differently in recording the same event. Such are not contradictions but, rather, are differing accounts reflecting the writers’ point of view and intended audience.<a id="footnotesource2" data-fnid="2" class="fn" href="/en/wol/fn/r1/lp-e/1101992072/1">b</a></p> <p id="p14" data-pid="14" data-rel-pid="[34]" class="sb"><span class="parNum" data-pnum="11"><sup>11</sup></span> Often, apparent inconsistencies can be resolved if we just look at the context. For example, “Where did Cain get his wife?” is a question often heard, highlighting the belief that this exposes a discrepancy in the Biblical account. The supposition is that Adam and Eve had only two sons, Cain and Abel. The difficulty is easily resolved if one reads on. <a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/16/0" data-bid="17-1" class="b">Genesis 5:4</a> says: “After the birth of Seth, Adam lived 800 years and begot sons and daughters.” So Cain married one of his sisters or perhaps a niece, which would have been in full harmony with God’s original intention for the expansion of the human race.—<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/17/0" data-bid="18-1" class="b">Genesis 1:28</a>.</p> <p id="p15" data-pid="15" data-rel-pid="[34]" class="sb"><span class="parNum" data-pnum="12"><sup>12</sup></span> There are obviously many details of human history not recorded as part of the Divine Record. But every necessary detail, both for those who first read it and for us today, has been included without making it cumbersome and impossible to read.</p> </div> </div> <div id="section4" class="section"> <h2 id="p16" data-pid="16"><strong>To Be Understood Only by Scholars?</strong></h2> <div class="pGroup"> <p id="p35" data-pid="35" class="qu">13-15. (a) Why do some believe the Bible is too difficult for us to understand? (b) How do we know that God intended that his Word be understood?</p> <p id="p17" data-pid="17" data-rel-pid="[35]" class="sb"><span class="parNum" data-pnum="13"><sup>13</sup></span> Have you ever asked: “Why are there so many conflicting interpretations of the Bible?” After hearing religious authorities contradict one another, some sincere people become confused and discouraged. The conclusion that <span id="page9" class="pageNum" aria-hidden="true" data-no="9" data-before-text="9"></span>many reach is that the Bible is unclear and contradictory. As a result, many reject the Bible outright, believing that it is too difficult to read and understand. Others, when confronted with this vast array of religious interpretation, are reluctant to make a serious investigation of the Scriptures. Some say: “Learned men have studied for years in religious seminaries. How could I have any basis for questioning what they teach?” But is this how God views matters?</p> <p id="p18" data-pid="18" data-rel-pid="[35]" class="sb"><span class="parNum" data-pnum="14"><sup>14</sup></span> When God gave the Law to the nation of Israel, he did not indicate that he was giving them a system of worship that they could not understand, one that would have to be left in the hands of theological sages or “scholars.” Through Moses at <a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/18/0" data-bid="19-1" class="b">Deuteronomy 30:11,</a><a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/18/1" data-bid="19-2" class="b"> 14</a>, God declared: “Surely, this Instruction which I enjoin upon you this day is not too baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach. No, the thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it.” All the nation, not just the leaders, were told: “Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up.” (<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/19/0" data-bid="20-1" class="b">Deuteronomy 6:6, 7</a>) God’s commandments, all committed to writing, were clear enough for the entire nation, both parents and children, to follow.<a id="footnotesource3" data-fnid="3" class="fn" href="/en/wol/fn/r1/lp-e/1101992072/2">c</a></p> <p id="p19" data-pid="19" data-rel-pid="[35]" class="sb"><span class="parNum" data-pnum="15"><sup>15</sup></span> As far back as Isaiah’s day, religious leaders incurred God’s condemnation by taking it upon themselves to add to and interpret God’s laws. The prophet Isaiah wrote: “That people has approached Me with its mouth and honored Me with its lips, but has kept its heart far from Me, and its worship of Me has been a commandment of men, learned by rote.” (<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/20/0" data-bid="21-1" class="b">Isaiah 29:13</a>) Their worship had become a commandment of men, not of God. (<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/21/0" data-bid="22-1" class="b">Deuteronomy 4:2</a>) It was these ‘commandments of men,’ their own interpretations and explanations, that were contradictory. God’s words were not. The same is true today.</p> </div> </div> <div id="section5" class="section"> <h2 id="p20" data-pid="20"><strong>Any Biblical Basis for the Oral Torah?</strong></h2> <div class="pGroup"> <p id="p36" data-pid="36" class="qu">16, 17. (a) What do some believe regarding an oral law? (b) What does the Bible indicate regarding an oral law?</p> <p id="p21" data-pid="21" data-rel-pid="[36]" class="sb"><span class="parNum" data-pnum="16"><sup>16</sup></span> Some believe that Moses received an “Oral Torah” in addition to the “Written Torah.” According to this belief, God directed that certain commands not be written down but rather be passed on by word of mouth from generation to generation, thus being preserved only by oral tradition. (See the box “<a class="it" href="/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101992072#h=66-72:0">Does the Torah Have ‘Seventy Faces’?</a>”) However, the Bible account clearly shows that Moses was never commanded to transmit an oral law. <a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/22/0" data-bid="23-1" class="b">Exodus 24:3, 4</a> tells us: “Moses went and repeated to the people all the commands of the LORD and all the rules; and all the people answered with one voice, saying, ‘All the things that the LORD has commanded we will do!’” Moses then “wrote down all the commands of the LORD.” Further, at <a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/23/0" data-bid="24-1" class="b">Exodus 34:27</a> we are told: “And the LORD said to Moses: Write down these commandments, for in accordance with these commandments I make a covenant with you and with Israel.” An unwritten oral law had no place in the covenant that God made with Israel. (See the box “<a class="it" href="/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101992072#h=76-82:0">Where Was the Oral Law . . .</a>”) Nowhere in the Bible is there any <span id="page11" class="pageNum" aria-hidden="true" data-no="11" data-before-text="11"></span>mention of the existence of an oral law.<a id="footnotesource4" data-fnid="4" class="fn" href="/en/wol/fn/r1/lp-e/1101992072/3">d</a> More important, its teachings contradict the Scriptures, adding to the misimpression that the Bible is self-contradictory. (See the box “<a class="it" href="/en/wol/tc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/1">Death and the Soul—What Are They?</a>”) But it is man, and not God, who is responsible for this confusion.—<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/24/0" data-bid="25-1" class="b">Isaiah 29:13</a>. (See the box “<a class="it" href="/en/wol/tc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/2">Showing Honor to the Divine Name</a>.”)</p> <span id="page10" class="pageNum" aria-hidden="true" data-no="10" data-before-text="10"></span><div class="boxSupplement"><aside><div id="p66" data-pid="66" class="boxTtl rule"><h2><strong>DOES THE TORAH HAVE “SEVENTY FACES”?</strong></h2></div> <div class="boxContent"><p id="p67" data-pid="67" class="se"><strong>IN Israel today it is not uncommon to hear people quote a well-known Jewish expression—“There are seventy faces to the Torah”—indicating that they believe that the Scriptures can be interpreted in many different, even contradictory, ways. This is viewed as true both of the written Law and of the so-called oral law. <em>The Encyclopedia of Judaism</em> comments: “The Oral Law is not a definitive code; it includes many diverse and even conflicting opinions. Concerning these the sages said, ‘All of them are the words of the living God.’” (Page 532) However, is it reasonable to believe that God would inspire conflicting and divisive opinions? How did the acceptance of such contradictions come about?</strong></p> <p id="p68" data-pid="68" class="se">Throughout the period when the Hebrew Scriptures were committed to writing (c. 1513–c. 443 B.C.E.), God’s appointed representatives clarified matters of dispute, very often with God himself backing them up by a display of divine power or by fulfilling prophecies that he had given them to utter. (<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/46/0" data-bid="47-1" class="b">Exodus 28:30</a>; Numbers 16:1–17:15 [<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/47/0" data-bid="48-1" class="b">16:1-50</a>, <em>NW</em>]; <a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/48/0" data-bid="49-1" class="b">27:18-21;</a> <a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/49/0" data-bid="50-1" class="b">Deuteronomy 18:20-22</a>) At that time if someone taught contradictory explanations and interpretations, he was viewed, not as a scholar, but as an apostate. God warned the entire nation: “Be careful to observe only that which I enjoin upon you: neither add to it nor take away from it.”—Deuteronomy 13:1 (<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/50/0" data-bid="51-1" class="b">12:32</a>, <em>NW</em>).</p> <p id="p69" data-pid="69" class="sc">However, in time a fundamental change occurred in the thinking of the nation of Israel. The Pharisees, who became prominent in Judaism during the first century C.E., espoused the teaching of the “Oral Torah,” which they had developed two centuries previously. They taught that in addition to giving the nation of Israel a written Law at Mount Sinai, God also transmitted to them at the same time an oral law. According to such belief, this inspired oral law interpreted and clarified details of the written Law, details that God had deliberately told Moses not to record. The oral law was not to be written down but was to be transmitted only by word of mouth, from master to disciple, from generation to generation. It therefore gave special authority to the Pharisees, who viewed themselves as guardians of this oral tradition.<a id="footnotesource7" data-fnid="7" class="fn" href="/en/wol/fn/r1/lp-e/1101992072/6">g</a></p> <p id="p70" data-pid="70" class="sc">After the destruction of the second temple in 70 C.E., the Pharisaic view won out, and Judaism became a rabbi-dominated form of religion, something it had not been previously.<a id="footnotesource8" data-fnid="8" class="fn" href="/en/wol/fn/r1/lp-e/1101992072/7">h</a> With new prominence given to rabbis rather than to priests or prophets, the oral law became the new centerpiece of Judaism. As <em>The Encyclopedia of Judaism</em> states: “The Oral Torah came to be regarded as more important than the Written Torah inasmuch as the explanation and understanding of the latter depended upon the former.”—1989, page 710.</p> <p id="p71" data-pid="71" class="sc">As rabbis gained prestige and as traditions multiplied, the ban on writing down this oral law was lifted. In the late second and early third centuries C.E., Judah Ha-Nasi (135-219 C.E.) systematically recorded these rabbinic oral traditions in a work called the Mishnah. Additions made later were called the Tosefta. The rabbis in turn saw the need to give commentary on the Mishnah, and these interpretations of oral tradition became the foundation of a voluminous collection of books called the Gemara (compiled from the third to the fifth century C.E.). Together these works came to be known as the Talmud. Commentary on all these rabbinic opinions continues to our day. Since it is impossible to harmonize all these greatly differing views, is it any wonder that many prefer to see “seventy faces to the Torah”?</p> <div class="groupFootnote"><div id="footnote7" data-fnid="7" class="fn-ref"><p id="p73" data-pid="73"><a href="#footnotesource7" class="fn-symbol">g</a> This teaching, initially promoted by the Pharisees, was rejected by many of their contemporaries within the Jewish nation. The Sadducees, many of whom were priests, as well as the first-century Essenes, rejected this Pharisaic concept. Today, the Karaites (since the eighth century C.E.), as well as the Reform and Conservative movements of Judaism, do not view such an oral law as divinely inspired. However, Orthodox Judaism today considers these traditions both inspired and obligatory.</p></div> <div id="footnote8" data-fnid="8" class="fn-ref"><p id="p74" data-pid="74"><a href="#footnotesource8" class="fn-symbol">h</a> The <em>Encyclopaedia Judaica</em> states: “The title rabbi is derived from the noun <em>rav</em>, which in Biblical Hebrew means ‘great’ and does not occur in the [Hebrew] Bible.”</p></div> </div> </div> </aside></div> <div class="boxSupplement"><aside><div id="p76" data-pid="76" class="boxTtl rule"><h2><strong>WHERE WAS THE ORAL LAW . . .</strong></h2></div> <div class="boxContent"><p id="p77" data-pid="77" class="sc">. . . when Moses repeated all of God’s commands to the entire nation of Israel? The nation then agreed to carry out what he had repeated, and then Moses <em>“wrote down all</em> the commands of the LORD.”—<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/51/0" data-bid="52-1" class="b">Exodus 24:3, 4</a>, Italics ours.</p> <p id="p78" data-pid="78" class="sc">. . . when Joshua gathered the nation of Israel after entering the Promised Land and <em>read</em> to them once again all the words that they had agreed to carry out? “There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua failed to <em>read</em> in the presence of the entire assembly of Israel.”—<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/52/0" data-bid="53-1" class="b">Joshua 8:35</a>, Italics ours.</p> <p id="p79" data-pid="79" class="sc">. . . when in the days of King Josiah the misplaced ‘book of the Law of Moses’ was found while the temple was being renovated? Upon hearing the contents read to him, Josiah rent his garments in grief, realizing that <em>for generations</em> the Law had not been carried out according to what was written. He then made arrangements to celebrate the Passover festival, which had not always been properly celebrated during the entire period of the kings and of the judges before them. Where was the ‘faithfully transmitted’ oral law during those hundreds of years? Had it existed, this information would never have been forgotten. Only an accurately preserved written record enabled the nation to return to doing God’s will properly.—<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/53/0" data-bid="54-1" class="b">2 Kings 22:8–23:25</a>.</p> <p id="p80" data-pid="80" class="sc">. . . when the prophet Jeremiah declared: “From the smallest to the greatest, they are all greedy for gain; priest and prophet alike, they all act falsely”? (<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/54/0" data-bid="55-1" class="b">Jeremiah 6:13</a>) Throughout much of the nation of Israel’s history, this was the spiritual condition of the nation’s leaders, especially the priests, who were responsible to teach the Law. (<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/55/0" data-bid="56-1" class="b">Malachi 2:7, 8</a>) <em>Written records speak for themselves, but could men who were so unfaithful be depended on to preserve faithfully an oral tradition?</em></p> <p id="p81" data-pid="81" class="sc">. . . during the more than a thousand years of recording the Hebrew Scriptures? From Moses to Malachi, there is no mention of the existence of such an oral law. Only hundreds of years later, during the period of the rabbis, when conflicting religious sects struggled for control and authority over the Jewish nation, do we find this concept mentioned. Do not those hundreds of years of silence on the subject and the testimony of inspired Scripture negate the claim that there ever was such an inspired oral law?</p> </div> </aside></div> <p id="p22" data-pid="22" data-rel-pid="[36]" class="sb"><span class="parNum" data-pnum="17"><sup>17</sup></span> In contrast with the contradictory interpretations of men, the Bible itself is clear and trustworthy. God has provided us with ample proof within his Word that the peaceful world envisioned at <a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/25/0" data-bid="26-1" class="b">Isaiah 2:2-4</a> is not just a dream but an impending reality. None other than God himself, the God of prophecy, the God of the Bible, will bring it about.</p> <div class="boxSupplement rule"><aside><div id="p83" data-pid="83" class="boxTtl emphasized"><h2><strong>DEAD SEA SCROLLS</strong></h2></div> <div class="boxContent"><div id="f1" class="north_center"> <figure> <img src="/en/wol/mp/r1/lp-e/wi/1992/15" data-img-small-src="/en/wol/mp/r1/lp-e/wi/1992/14" alt="Dead Sea scroll" width="1200" height="452" class="north_center" /> </figure> </div> <p id="p84" data-pid="84" class="sc">Dated to before the Common Era, reveal the accuracy of the transmission of the Bible text through the centuries. They also confirm that prophecies were recorded <em>before</em> their fulfillment</p> </div> </aside></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="groupFootnote"><div id="footnote1" data-fnid="1" class="fn-ref"><p id="p24" data-pid="24"><a href="#footnotesource1" class="fn-symbol">a</a> It should be noted that the six “days” of creation do not include the statement at <a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/26/0" data-bid="27-1" class="b">Genesis 1:1</a>, which refers to the creation of the heavenly bodies. Furthermore, the Hebrew word translated “day” allows for the thought that the events described at <a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/27/0" data-bid="28-1" class="b">Genesis 1:3-31</a> took place during six ‘periods of time’ that could have been many thousands of years in length.—Compare <a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/28/0" data-bid="29-1" class="b">Genesis 2:4</a>.</p></div> <div id="footnote2" data-fnid="2" class="fn-ref"><p id="p25" data-pid="25"><a href="#footnotesource2" class="fn-symbol">b</a> For examples, see “<a href="/en/wol/pc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/0/0">Are There Contradictions in the Bible?</a>”</p></div> <div id="footnote3" data-fnid="3" class="fn-ref"><p id="p26" data-pid="26"><a href="#footnotesource3" class="fn-symbol">c</a> Difficult questions for judicial cases were handled by a clearly outlined judicial arrangement. (<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/29/0" data-bid="30-1" class="b">Deuteronomy 17:8-11</a>) In any other important matters that seemed obscure, to receive God’s answer, the nation was directed, not to an oral law, but rather to the Urim and Thummim in the hands of the priests.—<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/30/0" data-bid="31-1" class="b">Exodus 28:30;</a><a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/30/1" data-bid="31-2" class="b"> Leviticus 8:8;</a><a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/30/2" data-bid="31-3" class="b"> Numbers 27:18-21;</a><a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/30/3" data-bid="31-4" class="b"> Deuteronomy 33:8-10</a>.</p></div> <div id="footnote4" data-fnid="4" class="fn-ref"><p id="p27" data-pid="27"><a href="#footnotesource4" class="fn-symbol">d</a> Some have read into the text at <a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/31/0" data-bid="32-1" class="b">Deuteronomy 17:8-11</a> an implication of an inspired oral tradition. However, as mentioned in the footnote to <a class="it" href="/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101992072#h=18-19:0">paragraph 14</a>, the text deals solely with the procedure of judgment in judicial cases. Notice that the issue was not whether different customs or traditions were passed down through many centuries or not. There were no doubt some traditions passed down as to how to carry out specifically certain aspects of the Law. But the fact that a tradition is long-standing does not prove inspiration. For example, note the tradition that developed regarding the bronze serpent.—<a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/32/0" data-bid="33-1" class="b">Numbers 21:8, 9;</a><a href="/en/wol/bc/r1/lp-e/1101992072/32/1" data-bid="33-2" class="b"> 2 Kings 18:4</a>.</p></div> </div> <!-- Root element of lightbox --> <div class="pswp" tabindex="-1" role="dialog" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="pswp__bg"></div> <div class="pswp__scroll-wrap"> <!-- Container that holds slides. --> <div class="pswp__container"> <div class="pswp__item"></div> <div class="pswp__item"></div> <div class="pswp__item"></div> </div> <div class="pswp__ui pswp__ui--hidden"> <div class="pswp__top-bar"> <div class="pswp__counter"></div> <button class="pswp__button pswp__button--close" title="Close (Esc)"></button> <button class="pswp__button pswp__button--fs" title="Toggle fullscreen"></button> <button class="pswp__button pswp__button--zoom" title="Zoom in/out"></button> <div class="pswp__preloader"> <div 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