The Bible

Teacher

Lesson Summary

In this Bible class, Mike Bartley explored how the Bible was transmitted accurately through history, focusing on the composition of Scripture and the creation of the Septuagint. The teacher established that the Bible's 66 books were written by over 40 authors across 1,100 years, with the Old Testament completed around 450 B.C. under the leadership of Ezra. Bartley emphasized that Scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16) and not subject to personal interpretation (2 Peter 1:20-21), giving believers confidence in its divine origin. The class then traced a critical development: when Jewish communities became scattered throughout the Mediterranean world after captivity, many lost the ability to read Hebrew. Around 250 B.C., Jewish leaders in Alexandria, Egypt commissioned 72 Jewish scholars (six from each of the twelve tribes) to translate the Hebrew scriptures into Greek over approximately 70 days, creating what became known as the Septuagint (LXX). This translation was significant because it allowed diaspora Jews to understand and share their faith with non-Hebrew-speaking communities. Bartley highlighted that the relatively short timeline between the original Hebrew scriptures and this Greek translation—only about 150 years—provides strong evidence for textual accuracy. He contrasted this favorably with other ancient texts like Greek classical writings, which often have gaps of 1,500 years or more between originals and surviving copies, yet are widely accepted as reliable.

Key Scriptures