Lesson One: Understanding the Bible, Canonization, and Translation

Lesson One 1
Lesson one: Assignment
Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Course
University
City
Date

Lesson One 2
Question 1
The term Biblia is used to mean a book collection because the word means books in
Greek. It is used to refer to the Bible, which is a collection of books about God.
Question 2
The term inspiration is regarded as influence belonging to the Holy Spirit that was
exerted on the writers of the bible. This inspiration was used to affirm that the Bible is God's
word and He inspired its writers with the assistance of the Holy Spirit. The use of this form of
inspiration allowed God to reveal things to the writers that were not visible. The use of
inspiration was significant because without this revelation to the writers the bible would not
exist.
Question 3
The first example of a prophetic oracle is derived from Isaiah 28:14 and it states “Hear
the World of the Lord.” The oracle signifies the how God inspired prophets to communicate His
word. The use of this phrase portrays that Isaiah is God’s servant. The second example is from
Second Samuel 23:2 which states “The Spirit of the LORD speaks by me His word is upon my
tongue.” This oracle shows that Samuel is God’s servant who is willing to be used by God to
communicate with His people. The third oracle is from Acts 4: 24-25 which states “Sovereign
Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who by the mouth
of our father David, thy servant, didst say by the Holy Spirit." This oracle portrays the role David
played in establishing a lineage and being used as a way for God's promises to be fulfilled for all
humanity through his ancestry.
Question 4

Lesson One 3
The process of the Old Testament Canon led to the books in the Old Testament being
recognized as the authority to govern the people. According to Arnold (2016), the word canon is
used to signify authority. The books in the Old Testament were canonized without a council of
the church being assembled. Arnold (2006) argues that the books were canonized when they
were written because God's Spirit inspired the authors. Therefore, the process of canonization
entailed self- authentication, which indicates that canonicity was inherent. Lastly, the church
participated in the selection of the books to include in the Old Testament Canon (Arnold 2006).
Question 5
Before the canon of the New Testament was established the church taught scriptures
orally or used other scriptures (Bernstein 2018). For instance, passages in the Old Testament that
explained Jesus’ ancestry were used. For worship, the church used the Hebrew text. Lastly, the
church used Apocrypha, which was those books that the church did not include in the scriptures.
Question 6
God inspired the authors mainly characterizes the evangelical view regarding inspiration.
God's inspiration makes the Bible inerrant and infallible (Homes 2014). Despite the different
opinions expressed by evangelists, it is agreeable that God's inspiration enabled His word to be
communicated differently without the distortion of its meaning. The Catholic view concerning
inspiration focuses on the infallibility of the scripture which is determined after the church
establishes that Jesus is God’s son. In the modernist view concerning inspiration, the inerratic
and infallible nature of the bible is not believed (Schwertley n.d.). Additionally, the Bible is
considered to contain myths that must be understood to identify the deeper meaning. Lastly, the
Neo-Orthodox view concerning inspiration suggests that the Bible becomes God’s word to the