Lesson #2- How Ancient Books Made

How we got the Bible

Lesson #2--How were ancient books made?

I. "How the Bible has come down to us is a story of adventure and devotion. It is a story of toil and faith by those who, sometimes at great cost, passed down from generation to generation the message of salvation. The Bible did not just happen nor has it been preserved through the years by mere chance. The Bible is a marvel all its own. .. .How and when did the books of the Bible have their origin? In what sense are these books different from other books? How have these books been preserved and transmitted to us? These are some of the questions that arise in the mind of every thoughtful student of the Bible...." (How We Got The Bible, Lightfoot, Sweet Co., 1962, pg.4).

II. The Bible is an ancient book, but it is not the oldest book in the world.

A. Writing was well-established in many countries long before the beginning of the Hebrew nation. The earliest examples of writing come from ancient Egypt and date from 4,000-5,000 B.C. King Sargon I of Babylonia left inscriptions which date from 2850 B.C. We have letters from the governors of cities in Palestine which date from 1500 B.C.

B. For years skeptics insisted that Moses could not have been the author of the first five books of the Bible because writing was not established at his time in history (about 1500 B.C.) but we now know that writing predates Moses by many centuries.

III. Ancient people of Palestine and neighboring countries used many different materials for writing.

A. Stone is the earliest material on which writing has been found. The earliest inscriptions in Egypt, Babylon, and Palestine are all found in durable stone. This agrees with the Bible account because the earliest writing material mentioned is stone. See Ex. 31:18; Ex. 94:1, 28; and Deut. 27:2-3); Josh. 8:30-32.

B. Clay was another common writing material used in Assyria and Babylonia. Entire libraries of clay tablets have been unearthed from these areas. See Ezek. 4:1 where the prophet is commanded to sketch a plan of Jerusalem on a tile.

C. Evidence of wooden tablets also exists.

D. Leather or animal skins was the common writing material for hundreds of years. Evidence suggests that portions of the Old Testament were regularly copied on animal skins. The skin of a sheep or goat was soaked in lime to remove the hair; then shaved, washed, dried, and stretched. The finest kind, made from the skin of calves and kids, was called vellum. The leather was rolled into scrolls. See 2 Tim. 4:1-3).

E. Papyrus rolls made from the pith of the stem of the papyrus plant was the most important writing material of the ancient world. The average roll was about 30 ft. long and 9-10 inches high. By the first and second century A.D., the roll gave way to the coda or books of payprus sheets. Prepared reeds dipped in dyes could be used as pens. See 3 Jn. 13.