Some of them no doubt recorded what they had learned from others, as when Luke wrOte about the birth of Jesus, probably repeating what Mary had told him. Some of them may have used earlier writings, as when the writer of 2 Samuel 1:18 referred to the book of Jasher, a book that has been lost. But all the writers were specially guided by the Holy Spirit so that they wrote just what God wanted them to write. Men so guided by God's Spirit are called inspired men. Such men wrote God's word for us. C. PURPOSE OF THIS LESSON. Much might be written about a study of original how the authors. Isaiah of writers? Paul. been transmitted We not have a single do do we know 1. God did not inspire all original writers, so that they copist and translators 2. But many cases have any II. While we could ancient we be the Bible to book we have ANCIENT no our and did make and Christian MANUSCRIPTS part of but after the is the AND Bible himself, we have two kinds of sources writers wrote. These are manuscripts this lession it was the word is written handwriting who copied or translated could not make mistakes. manuscripts on us in rather by of Moses written by the or the original the Bible, as He did the It is evident that both errors. translations can usually find the mistakes sure exactly what the original effect have inspired, has How comparing them, cases we cannot how men were Bible faith or have been preserved. By that have been made. In a few writing was, but none of these life. VERSIONS in the handwriting from which we and versions. can of the learn original what the auther original Ae Definitions 1. Manuscripts are documents written by hand. Before printing was invented, this was the only way of producing a book. We have no Bible written by the original authors, but we have many copies: that is, manuscripts copied from the original manuscripts of from copies of them. In this lesson we use the word manuscript to mean copies written by hand in the same language used by the original writers. 2. A version is a translation of any document into another language. Some ancient version were translated from manuscripts older than any,we now Therefore they help us to know just what the original writer wrote. B. OLD TESTAMENT have. SCRIPTURES 1. Manuscripts. The 01d Testament books were written in Hebrew language between 1400 B.C. and 400 B.C. The oldest Bible manuscripts now known are the Scripture portions among the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were found in the caves near the Dead Sea in 1947 and the years following. Probably it was about 100 B.C. when these manuscripts were written and copied from other earlier copies of manuscripts. There are many Old Testament manuscripts that were copidd in later centuries. 2. Versions. The oldest version of the Old Testament is a Greek version called the Septuajint. From the Latin word for seventy, thia name was given because the translation was made by about seventy Jewish Scholars in Alexandria, Egypt. Being about made 250 B.C. from Hebrew manuscripts older than any we have now, this version helps us to know what the original writers wrote. Other important Greek versions are those of Theodotion, Aquila, Symmachus, There were also ancient versions translated in the second century after Christ. in Syraic, Egyptian, Ethiopic, Armenian, and other languages. C. NEW TEATAMENT SCRIPTURES Manuscripts. All the books of the New Testament were the first century after Christ. The oldest New Testament written in Greek during manuscripts now known were copied manuscripts 350. On ions. a few ahout three are of this hundred age. years later, around A.D. Only the following page is a chart of the origin of the Bible and There are other translations of the Bible but the chart will of them. wiDn two know the translatshow just