Why 66?

by Brian H. Edwards on June 3, 2010

The Bible is composed of 66 books by 40 different writers over 1,500 years, yet it has one consistent storyline running all the way through, and it has just one ultimate author — God.

How can we be sure that we have the correct 66 books in our Bible?

The Bible is a unique volume. It is composed of 66 books by 40 different writers over 1,500 years. But what makes it unique is that it has one consistent storyline running all the way through, and it has just one ultimate author—God. The story is about God’s plan to rescue men and women from the devastating results of the Fall, a plan that was conceived in eternity, revealed through the prophets, and carried out by the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

Each writer of the Bible books wrote in his own language and style, using his own mind, and in some cases research, yet each was so overruled by the Holy Spirit that error was not allowed to creep into his work. For this reason, the Bible is understood by Christians to be a book without error.

This collection of 66 books is known as the “canon” of Scripture. That word comes from the Hebrew kaneh (a rod), and the Greek kanon (a reed). Among other things, the words referred equally to the measuring rod of the carpenter and the ruler of the scribe. It became a common word for anything that was the measure by which others were to be judged (see Galatians 6:16, for example). After the apostles, church leaders used it to refer to the body of Christian doctrine accepted by the churches. Clement and Origen of Alexandria, in the third century, were possibly the first to employ the word to refer to the Scriptures (the Old Testament). From then on, it became more common in Christian use with reference to a collection of books that are fixed in their number, divine in their origin, and universal in their authority.

In the earliest centuries, there was little debate among Christians over which books belonged in the Bible; certainly by the time of the church leader Athanasius in the fourth century, the number of books had long been fixed. He set out the books of the New Testament just as we know them and added:
These are the fountains of salvation, that whoever thirsts may be satisfied by the eloquence which is in them. In them alone is set forth the doctrine of piety. Let no one add to them, nor take anything from them.
Today, however, there are attempts to undermine the clear witness of history; a host of publications, from the novel to the (supposedly) academic challenge the long-held convictions of Christians and the clear evidence of the past. Dan Brown in The Da Vinci Code claimed, “More than eighty gospels were considered for the New Testament, and yet only relatively few were chosen for inclusion—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John among them.” Richard Dawkins, professor of popular science at Oxford, England, has made similar comments.

So, what is the evidence for our collection of 66 books? How certain can we be that these are the correct books to make up our Bible—no more and no less?

The Canon of the Old Testament

The Jews had a clearly defined body of Scriptures that collectively could be summarized as the Torah, or Law. This was fixed early in the life of Israel, and there was no doubt as to which books belonged and which did not. They did not order them in the same way as our Old Testament, but the same books were there. The Law was the first five books, known as the Pentateuch, which means “five rolls”—referring to the parchment scrolls on which they were normally written.

The Prophets consisted of the Former Prophets (unusually for us these included Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings) and the Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah which included Lamentations, and the 12 smaller prophetic books). The Writings gathered up the rest. The total amounted generally to 24 books because many books, such as 1 and 2 Samuel and Ezra and Nehemiah, were counted as one.

When was the canon of the Old Testament settled?
The simple response is that if we accept the reasonable position that each of the books was written at the time of its history—the first five at the time of Moses, the historical records close to the period they record, the psalms of David during his lifetime, and the prophets written at the time they were given—then the successive stages of acceptance into the canon of Scripture is not hard to fix. Certainly, the Jews generally held this view.

There is a lot of internal evidence that the books of the Old Testament were written close to the time they record. For example, in 2 Chronicles 10:19 , we have a record from the time of Rehoboam that “Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.” Clearly, therefore, that must have been recorded prior to 721 B.C., when the Assyrians finally crushed Israel and the cream of the population was taken away into captivity—or at the very latest before 588 B.C., when Jerusalem suffered the same fate. We know also that the words of the prophets were written down in their own lifetime; Jeremiah had a secretary called Baruch for this very purpose ( Jeremiah 36:4 ).

Josephus, the Jewish historian writing around A.D. 90, clearly stated in his defense of Judaism that, unlike the Greeks, the Jews did not have many books:
For we have not an innumerable multitude of books among us, disagreeing from and contradicting one another [as the Greeks have] but only twenty-two books, which contain the records of all the past times; which are justly believed to be divine.

The Council of Jamnia

Between A.D. 90 and 100, a group of Jewish scholars met at Jamnia in Israel to consider matters relating to the Hebrew Scriptures. It has been suggested that the canon of the Jewish Scriptures was agreed here; the reality is that there is no contemporary record of the deliberations at Jamnia and our knowledge is therefore left to the comments of later rabbis. The idea that there was no clear canon of the Hebrew Scriptures before A.D. 100 is not only in conflict with the testimony of Josephus and others, but has also been seriously challenged more recently. It is now generally accepted that Jamnia was not a council nor did it pronounce on the Jewish canon; rather it was an assembly that examined and discussed the Hebrew Scriptures. The purpose of Jamnia was not to decide which books should be included among the sacred writings, but to examine those that were already accepted.

The Apocrypha and the Septuagint

There is a cluster of about 14 books, known as the Apocrypha, which were written some time between the close of the Old Testament (after 400 B.C.) and the beginning of the New. They were never considered as part of the Hebrew Scriptures, and the Jews themselves clearly ruled them out by the confession that there was, throughout that period, no voice of the prophets in the land. They looked forward to a day when “a faithful prophet” should appear.
The Old Testament had been translated into Greek during the third century B.C., and this translation is known as the Septuagint, a word meaning 70, after the supposedly 70 men involved in the translation. It was the Greek Septuagint that the disciples of Jesus frequently used since Greek was the common language of the day.

Whether or not the Septuagint also contained the Apocrypha is impossible to say for certain, since although the earliest copies of the Septuagint available today do include the Apocrypha—placed at the end—these are dated in the fifth century and therefore cannot be relied upon to tell us what was common half a millennium earlier. Significantly, neither Jesus nor any of the apostles ever quoted from the Apocrypha, even though they were obviously using the Greek Septuagint. Josephus was familiar with the Septuagint and made use of it, but he never considered the Apocrypha part of the Scriptures.

The Dead Sea Scrolls

The collection of scrolls that has become available since the discovery of the first texts in 1947 near Wadi Qumran, close by the Dead Sea, does not provide scholars with a definitive list of Old Testament books, but even if it did, it would not necessarily tell us what mainstream orthodox Judaism believed. After all, the Samaritans used only their own version of the Pentateuch, but they did not represent mainstream Judaism.

What can be said for certain, however, is that all Old Testament books are represented among the Qumran collection with the exception of Esther, and they are quoted frequently as Scripture. Nothing else, certainly not the Apocrypha, is given the same status.

In spite of suggestions by critical scholars to the contrary, there is no evidence, not even from the Dead Sea Scrolls, that there were other books contending for a place within the Old Testament canon.

For the Jews, therefore, Scripture as a revelation from God through the prophets ended around 450 B.C. with the close of the book of Malachi. This was the Bible of Jesus and His disciples, and it was precisely the same in content as our Old Testament.

The New Testament scholar John Wenham concludes: “There is no reason to doubt that the canon of the Old Testament is substantially Ezra’s canon, just as the Pentateuch was substantially Moses’ canon.”
Jesus, His Disciples, and the Early Church Leaders
For their part, the Christian community both in the days of Jesus and in the centuries following had no doubt that there was a body of books that made up the records of the old covenant. Since there are literally hundreds of direct quotations or clear allusions to Old Testament passages by Jesus and the apostles, it is evident what the early Christians thought of the Hebrew Scriptures. The New Testament writers rarely quote from other books and never with the same authority. The Apocrypha is entirely absent in their writing.

While it is true that some of the early church leaders quoted from the Apocrypha—though very rarely compared to their use of the Old Testament books—there is no evidence that they recognized these books as equal to the Old Testament.

The conviction that there was a canon of old covenant books that could not be added to or subtracted from doubtless led the early Christians to expect the same divine order for the story of Jesus, the record of the early church, and the letters of the apostles.

The Canon of the New Testament

The earliest available list of New Testament books is known as the Muratorian Canon and is dated around A.D. 150. It includes the four Gospels, Acts, thirteen letters of Paul, Jude, two (perhaps all three) letters of John, and the Revelation of John. It claims that these were accepted by the “universal church.” This leaves out 1 and 2 Peter, James, and Hebrews. However, 1 Peter was widely accepted by this time and may be an oversight by the compiler (or the later copyist). No other books are present except the Wisdom of Solomon, but this must be an error since that book belongs in the Apocrypha and no one ever added it to the New Testament!
By A.D. 240, Origen from Alexandria was using all our 27 books as “Scripture,” and no others, and referred to them as the “New Testament.” He believed them to be “inspired by the Spirit.” But it was not until A.D. 367 that Athanasius, also from Alexandria, provided us with an actual
list of New Testament books identical with ours.
However, long before we have that list, the evidence shows that the 27 books, and only those, were widely accepted as Scripture.

Why Did It Take So Long?

The New Testament was not all neatly printed and bound by the Macedonian Pub. Co. at Thessalonica shortly after Paul’s death and sent out by the pallet load into all the bookstores and kiosks of the Roman Empire. Here are six reasons why it took time for the books of the New Testament to be gathered together.

1. The originals were scattered across the whole empire. The Roman Empire reached from Britain to Persia, and it would have taken time for any church even to learn about all the letters Paul had written, let alone gather copies of them.

2. No scroll could easily contain more than one or two books. It would be impossible to fit more than one Gospel onto a scroll, and even when codices (books) were used, the entire New Testament would be extremely bulky and very expensive to produce. It was therefore far more convenient for New Testament books to be copied singly or in small groups.

3. The first-century Christians expected the immediate return of Christ. Because of this, they didn’t plan for the long-term future of the Church.
4. No one church or leader bossed all the others. There were strong and respected leaders among the churches, but Christianity had no supreme bishop who dictated to all the others which books belonged to the canon and which did not.
5. The early leaders assumed the authority of the Gospels and the apostles. It was considered sufficient to quote the Gospels and apostles, since their authority was self-evident. They did not need a list—inconvenient for us, but not significant for them.
6. Only when the heretics attacked the truth was the importance of a canon appreciated. It was not until the mid-second century that the Gnostics and others began writing their own pseudepigrapha (false writing); this prompted orthodox leaders to become alert to the need for stating which books had been recognized across the churches.
In the light of all this, the marvel is not how long it took before the majority of the churches acknowledged a completed canon of the New Testament, but how soon after their writing each book was accepted as authoritative.
Facts about the New Testament Canon
There were only ever the four Gospels used by the churches for the life and ministry of Jesus. Other pseudo-gospels were written but these were immediately rejected by the churches across the empire as spurious.
The Acts of the Apostles and 13 letters of Paul were all accepted without question or hesitation from the earliest records.
Apart from James, Jude, 2 and 3 John, 2 Peter, Hebrews, and Revelation, all other New Testament books had been universally accepted by A.D. 180. Only a few churches hesitated over these seven.
Well before the close of the first century, Clement of Rome quoted from or referred to more than half the New Testament and claimed that Paul wrote “in the Spirit” and that his letters were “Scriptures.”
Polycarp, who was martyred in A.D. 155, quoted from 16 NT books and referred to them as “Sacred Scriptures.”
Irenaeus of Lyons, one of the most able defenders of the faith, around A.D. 180 quoted over 1,000 passages from all but four or five New Testament books, and called them “the Scriptures” given by the Holy Spirit.
Tertullian of Carthage, around A.D. 200, was the first serious expositor and used almost all the NT books. They were equated with the Old Testament, and he referred to “the majesty of our Scriptures.” He clearly possessed a canon almost, if not wholly, identical to ours.
By A.D. 240, Origen of Alexandria was using all our 27 books, and only those, as Scripture alongside the Old Testament books.
And these are just examples of many of the church leaders at this time.
What Made a Book “Scripture”?
At first, the churches had no need to define what made a book special and equal to the Old Testament Scriptures. If the letter came from Paul or Peter, that was sufficient. However, it was not long before others began writing additional letters and gospels either to fill the gaps or to propagate their own ideas. Some tests became necessary, and during the first 200 years, five tests were used at various times.
1. Apostolic—does it come from an apostle?
The first Christians asked, “Was it written by an apostle or under the direction of an apostle?” They expected this just as the Jews had expected theirs to be underwritten by the prophets. Paul was insistent that his readers should be reassured that the letters they received actually came from his pen (e.g., 2 Thessalonians 3:17 ).
2. Authentic—does it have the ring of truth?
The authoritative voice of the prophets, “This is what the Lord says,” is matched by the apostles’ claim to write not the words of men but the words of God ( 1 Thessalonians 2:13 ). It was the internal witness of the texts themselves that was strong evidence of canonicity.
3. Ancient—has it been used from the earliest times?
Most of the false writings were rejected simply because they were too new to be apostolic. Early in the fourth century, Athanasius listed the New Testament canon as we know it today and claimed that these were the books “received by us through tradition as belonging to the Canon.”

4. Accepted—are most of the churches using it?
Since, as we have seen, it took time for letters to circulate among the churches, it is all the more significant that 23 of the 27 books were almost universally accepted well before the middle of the second century.

When tradition carries the weight of the overwhelming majority of churches throughout the widely scattered Christian communities across the vast Roman Empire, with no one church controlling the beliefs of all the others, it has to be taken seriously.

5. Accurate—does it conform to the orthodox teaching of the churches?
There was widespread agreement among the churches across the empire as to the content of the Christian message. Irenaeus asked the question whether a particular writing was consistent with what the churches taught. This is what ruled out so much of the heretical material immediately.

Providence

Our final appeal is not to man, not even to the early church leaders, but to God, who by His Holy Spirit has put His seal upon the New Testament. By their spiritual content and by the claim of their human writers, the 27 books of our New Testament form part of the “God breathed” Scripture. It is perfectly correct to allow this divine intervention to guard the process by which eventually all the canonical books—and no others—were accepted. The idea of the final canon being an accident, and that any number of books could have ended up in the Bible, ignores the evident unity and provable accuracy of the whole collection of 27 books.
Bruce Metzger expressed it well: “There are, in fact, no historical data that prevent one from acquiescing in the conviction held by the Church Universal that, despite the very human factors . . . in the production, preservation, and collection of the books of the New Testament, the whole process can also be rightly characterized as the result of divine overruling.”
A belief in the authority and inerrancy of Scripture is bound to a belief in the divine preservation of the canon. The God who “breathed out” (2 Timothy 3:16) His word into the minds of the writers ensured that those books, and no others, formed part of the completed canon of the Bible.

Some people will come out now like swam of flies to say there is no God and Bible is a scam. Can there be a house without builders or can there be a car without manufacturer? Yet they fail to recognize the One who created the world or who created them.

Waiting and watching..

One Satanist will soon be here to disprove this thread.

kernniejay:
Some people will come out now like swam of flies to say there is no God and Bible is a scam. Can there be a house without builders or can there be a car without manufacturer? Yet they fail to recognize the One who created the world or who created them.

it is not their fault. the spirit of antichrist in them is trying so hard to discredit the bible or at least make it incomplete so people will look somewhere else for answers.

LifestyleTonite:


One Satanist will soon be here to disprove this thread.

he is the same person that opposes the gospel that salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone.
I pray that God saves his soul.

The Bible must be the invention either of good men or angels, bad men or devils, or of God. However, it was not written by good men, because good men would
not tell lies by saying ‘Thus saith the Lord;’ it was not written by bad men because they would not write about doing good duty, while condemning sin,and themselves to hell; thus, it must be written by DIVINE INSPIRATION.

LifestyleTonite:


One Satanist will soon be here to disprove this thread.

NA WAAA!!!

Good one OP...

However, I have some questions.

1) Ethiopia was amongst the first set of nations to receive the gospel. The Ethiopian Bible has over 80 books, are the extra books in their Bible not also God's word?


2) The Apocrypha which contains books such as Tobit, Maccabees, Esdras etc, are these books not also the word of God?


3) What of the Epistles of the early church fathers such as Ireneaus, Polycarp, Origen e.t.c. wrote to various churches like Philadelphia, Phillipi e.t.c ...are these not also the words of God?


4) Finally, the books of Joshua, 2 Samuel, Jude made references to the book of Jasher and the book of Enoch...Are the books of Jasher and Enoch not also the word of God?


5) If we say the 66 books of the Bible is the complete word of God, what should make of John 21 v 25 that speaks on the deeds of Jesus alone?
John 21 v 25:
25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

6) What of some of the heavenly revelations Daniel and John heard but did not write?

Daniel 12 v 8-9;
8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?
9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

Revelation 10 v 3-4;
3 And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

My conclusion is... No single book in this world has the complete word of God written in them...

Telling everyone that an Eternal God with no beginning and end has his word limited to only 66 written books is a fallacy and a joke...


MODIFIED: Even the first version of King James Bible published in 1611 has more than 66 books
https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Bible-Books/1611-KJV-Original-Book-Names.php

A list of some of the non-canonical books referenced in the Bible;

1) The Annals of King David - referenced in 1 Chronicles 27 v 24.
2) The Acts of Solomon - referenced in 1 Kings 11 v 41.
3) The Acts of Samuel the Seer - referenced in 1 Chronicles 29 v 29.
4) The book of Nathan the Prophet - referenced in 1 Chronicles 29 v 29 and 2 Chronicles 9 v 29.
5) The book of Gad the Seer - referenced in 1 Chronicles 29 v 29
6) The book of Jehu - referenced in 2 Chronicles 20 v 34
7) The Acts of Uzziah - referenced in 2 Chronicles 26 v 22
8 ) The vision of Isaiah - referenced in 2 Chronicles 32 v 32
9) The sayings of the Seer, also known as the Sayings of Hozai - referenced in 2 Chronicles 33 v 19
10) The book of Jasher - referenced in Joshua 10 v 13 and 2 Samuel 1 v 18
11) The book of Shemaiah the Prophet - referenced in 2 Chronicles 12 v 15
12) The book of the Wars of the Lord - referenced in Numbers 21 v 14
13) The book of Enoch - referenced in Jude 1 v 4,6,13,14,15 and 2 Peter 2 v 4, 3 v 13


But according to some people, since these books were not included in the Bible...so therefore, that means they are not the word of God

[My conclusion is... No single book in this world has the complete word of God written in them...

Telling everyone that an Eternal God with no beginning and end has his word limited to only 66 written books is a fallacy and a joke...

The bible is the complete word of God to mankind.

2 Timothy 3:16
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:


All scripture are given by inspiration of God.


those other books you mentioned were not inspired that does not mean they do not contain history.

Another error, you assume that because Enoch prophecy was mentioned therefore it means Enoch wrote a book. However, there was no record of enoch having any book whatsoever.
the book of jasher wasnt inspired although it contains historical events just as other books mentioned in the bible.

Seated:
The bible is the complete word of God to mankind.

2 Timothy 3:16
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:


All scripture are given by inspiration of God.


those other books you mentioned were not inspired that does not mean they do not contain history.

Another error, you assume that because Enoch prophecy was mentioned therefore it means Enoch wrote a book. However, there was no record of enoch having any book whatsoever.
the book of jasher wasnt inspired although it contains historical events just as other books mentioned in the bible.

Why exactly is the book of Jasher not inspired? Ok, what makes the book of Chronicles inspired, but that of Jasher not inspired?

What makes an erotic poem like the Songs of Solomon to be inspired, but the book of Jasher not inspired?

Oh? and the words and deeds of Enoch were not written? I guess Jude just formulated the words he wrote in verse 4,6,13,14,15 out of thin air... Just ask yourself a simple question, where did Jude get the prophecy of Enoch from?

Seated:
The bible is the complete word of God to mankind.

2 Timothy 3:16
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:


All scripture are given by inspiration of God.

And please go ahead to tell us that Paul and the Apostles concluded only 66 books are the scriptures given by inspiration of God. I'm patiently waiting...

God that has been existence long before man was created, God that was in existence and talking long before man even invented paper, payrus and clay tablets to document written words... that same Eternal God has all His entire words completely recorded in only 66 books? Are you listening to yourself at all?

I repeat, no single book in this world has the entire word of God written in it.

OkCornel:


Why exactly is the book of Jasher not inspired? Ok, what makes the book of Chronicles inspired, but that of Jasher not inspired?

What makes an erotic poem like the Songs of Solomon to be inspired, but the book of Jasher not inspired?

Oh? and the words and deeds of Enoch were not written? I guess Jude just formulated the words he wrote in verse 4,6,13,14,15 out of thin air... Just ask yourself a simple question, where did Jude get the prophecy of Enoch from?

Question: "What is the Book of Jasher/Jashar and should it be in the Bible?"
Answer: Also known as the “Book of the Upright One” in the Greek Septuagint and the “Book of the Just Ones” in the Latin Vulgate, the Book of Jasher was probably a collection or compilation of ancient Hebrew songs and poems praising the heroes of Israel and their exploits in battle. The Book of Jasher is mentioned in Joshua 10:12-13 when the Lord stopped the sun in the middle of the day during the battle of Beth Horon. It is also mentioned in 2 Samuel 1:18-27 as containing the Song or Lament of the Bow, that mournful funeral song which David composed at the time of the death of Saul and Jonathan.
The question is, if the Book of Jasher is mentioned in the Bible, why was it left out of the canon of Scripture? We know that God directed the authors of the Scriptures to use passages from many and various extra-biblical sources in composing His Word. The passage recorded in Joshua 10:13 is a good example. In recording this battle, Joshua included passages from the Book of Jasher not because it was his only source of what occurred; rather, he was stating, in effect, “If you don’t believe what I’m saying, then go read it in the Book of Jasher. Even that book has a record of this event.”
There are other Hebrew works that are mentioned in the Bible that God directed the authors to use. Some of these include the Book of the Wars of the Lord ( Numbers 21:14 ), the Book of Samuel the Seer, the Book of Nathan the Prophet, and the Book of Gad the Seer ( 1 Chronicles 29:29 ). Also, there are the Acts of Rehoboam and the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah ( 1 Kings 14:29 ). We also know that Solomon composed more than a thousand songs ( 1 Kings 4:32), yet only two are preserved in the book of Psalms (72 and 127). Writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, Paul included a quotation from the Cretan poet Epimenides ( Titus 1:12) and quoted from the poets Epimenides and Aratus in his speech at Athens ( Acts 17:28 ).
The point is that the divine Author of the Bible used materials chosen from many different sources, fitting them into His grand design for the Scriptures. We must understand that history as recorded in the Bible did not occur in isolation. The people mentioned in the Bible interacted with other people. For example, though the Bible is clear that there is only one God, the Bible mentions a number of the gods people worshipped both within Israel and in the nations around. Similarly, as in Acts 17:28 and Titus 1:12, we sometimes find secular writers being quoted. This doesn't mean that these quoted writers were inspired. It simply means they happened to say something that was useful in making a point.
There is a book called “The Book of Jasher” today, although it is not the same book as mentioned in the Old Testament. It is an eighteenth-century forgery that alleges to be a translation of the “lost” Book of Jasher by Alcuin, an eighth-century English scholar. There is also a more recent book titled “The Book of Jashar” by science fiction and fantasy writer Benjamin Rosenbaum. This book is a complete work of fiction.
Another book by this same name, called by many “Pseudo-Jasher,” while written in Hebrew, is also not the “Book of Jasher” mentioned in Scripture. It is a book of Jewish legends from the creation to the conquest of Canaan under Joshua, but scholars hold that it did not exist before A.D. 1625. In addition, there are several other theological works by Jewish rabbis and scholars called “ Sefer ha Yashar ,” but none of these claim to be the original Book of Jasher.
In the end, we must conclude that the Book of Jasher mentioned in the Bible was lost and has not survived to modern times. All we really know about it is found in the two Scripture quotations mentioned earlier. The other books by that title are mere fictions or Jewish moral treatises.

OkCornel:


And please go ahead to tell us that Paul and the Apostles concluded only 66 books are the scriptures given by inspiration of God. I'm patiently waiting...

God that has been existence long before man was created, God that was in existence and talking long before man even invented paper, payrus and clay tablets to document written words... that same Eternal God has all His entire words completely recorded in only 66 books? Are you listening to yourself at all?

I repeat, no single book in this world has the entire word of God written in it.

you prove yourself to be a satanist throughly.
you should take you argument to paul the. apostle

he said that the scripture makes the man of God perfect.
It means the scriptures is perfect and complete in itself.
But I dont expect anything different from someone who oppose the gospel



2 Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

As to how the 66 books of the bible came about.
the op has pointed it out.

the number of books that could pass the test for accuracy, inerrancy, apotles/prophet authority, inspiration were 66 in number all the others were easily exposed as fraud. examples are the apocrypha, so called book of jasher, book of Enoch etc.

for example the book of Enoch and the jasher has been found to be a recent construct, it was never unknown at all until recently.

Seated:
As to how the 66 books of the bible came about.
the op has pointed it out.

the number of books that could pass the test for accuracy, inerrancy, apotles/prophet authority, inspiration were 66 in number all the others were easily exposed as fraud. examples are the apocrypha, so called book of jasher, book of Enoch etc.

for example the book of Enoch and the jasher has been found to be a recent construct, it was never unknown at all until recently.

So Jesus and the Apostles came out and told everyone only 66 books have the entire words of God in them?


Dude, you're joking.

According to you, the book of Enoch and Jasher are recent constructs, however the Bible made clear references to these books in 2 Samuel, Joshua and Jude...


Ogbeni, you are really joking.


I listed out over 10 other books the Bible made references to, please go ahead and call those books fraud too...

Also go ahead and call the Ethiopian Bible a fraud as well...

Seated:



Question: "What is the Book of Jasher/Jashar and should it be in the Bible?"
Answer: Also known as the “Book of the Upright One” in the Greek Septuagint and the “Book of the Just Ones” in the Latin Vulgate, the Book of Jasher was probably a collection or compilation of ancient Hebrew songs and poems praising the heroes of Israel and their exploits in battle. The Book of Jasher is mentioned in Joshua 10:12-13 when the Lord stopped the sun in the middle of the day during the battle of Beth Horon. It is also mentioned in 2 Samuel 1:18-27 as containing the Song or Lament of the Bow, that mournful funeral song which David composed at the time of the death of Saul and Jonathan.
The question is, if the Book of Jasher is mentioned in the Bible, why was it left out of the canon of Scripture? We know that God directed the authors of the Scriptures to use passages from many and various extra-biblical sources in composing His Word. The passage recorded in Joshua 10:13 is a good example. In recording this battle, Joshua included passages from the Book of Jasher not because it was his only source of what occurred; rather, he was stating, in effect, “If you don’t believe what I’m saying, then go read it in the Book of Jasher. Even that book has a record of this event.”
There are other Hebrew works that are mentioned in the Bible that God directed the authors to use. Some of these include the Book of the Wars of the Lord ( Numbers 21:14 ), the Book of Samuel the Seer, the Book of Nathan the Prophet, and the Book of Gad the Seer ( 1 Chronicles 29:29 ). Also, there are the Acts of Rehoboam and the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah ( 1 Kings 14:29 ). We also know that Solomon composed more than a thousand songs ( 1 Kings 4:32), yet only two are preserved in the book of Psalms (72 and 127). Writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, Paul included a quotation from the Cretan poet Epimenides ( Titus 1:12) and quoted from the poets Epimenides and Aratus in his speech at Athens ( Acts 17:28 ).
The point is that the divine Author of the Bible used materials chosen from many different sources, fitting them into His grand design for the Scriptures. We must understand that history as recorded in the Bible did not occur in isolation. The people mentioned in the Bible interacted with other people. For example, though the Bible is clear that there is only one God, the Bible mentions a number of the gods people worshipped both within Israel and in the nations around. Similarly, as in Acts 17:28 and Titus 1:12, we sometimes find secular writers being quoted. This doesn't mean that these quoted writers were inspired. It simply means they happened to say something that was useful in making a point.
There is a book called “The Book of Jasher” today, although it is not the same book as mentioned in the Old Testament. It is an eighteenth-century forgery that alleges to be a translation of the “lost” Book of Jasher by Alcuin, an eighth-century English scholar. There is also a more recent book titled “The Book of Jashar” by science fiction and fantasy writer Benjamin Rosenbaum. This book is a complete work of fiction.
Another book by this same name, called by many “Pseudo-Jasher,” while written in Hebrew, is also not the “Book of Jasher” mentioned in Scripture. It is a book of Jewish legends from the creation to the conquest of Canaan under Joshua, but scholars hold that it did not exist before A.D. 1625. In addition, there are several other theological works by Jewish rabbis and scholars called “ Sefer ha Yashar ,” but none of these claim to be the original Book of Jasher.
In the end, we must conclude that the Book of Jasher mentioned in the Bible was lost and has not survived to modern times. All we really know about it is found in the two Scripture quotations mentioned earlier. The other books by that title are mere fictions or Jewish moral treatises.

This one goes about copying from various websites, clutching at straws to stay afloat. Next time, put a link to where you copied from.


Wait sef, I'm arguing with someone who has not even read the book. Someone who is totally ignorant of the contents of the book is here arguing Jasher is not the word of God...

Another ignorant nonsense.

Anyone claiming the Bible has a consistent storyline is a liar and just wants us to ignore all the inconsistencies therein. And the 66 books were compiled by someone so stop kidding yourselves. There are more books the Bible referenced or alluded to.

2 Samuel 1 v 17;
"Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: Behold it is written
in the book of Jasher."

Compare with Jasher 56 v 9 which is part of the dying words of Jacob to Judah;

"...only teach thy sons the use of the bow and all weapons of war, in order that they
may fight the battles of their brother who will rule over his enemies."


Joshua 10 v 12-13;
"... and he [Joshua] said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and
thou, moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until
the people avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is it not written in the book of
Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about
a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord
hearkened to the voice of man: for the Lord fought for Israel."



Compare the above with Jasher 88 v 63-64;
"...and Joshua said in the sight of all the people, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and
thou moon in the valley of Ajalon, until the nation shall have revenged itself upon its
enemies... And the sun stood still in the midst of the heavens, and it stood still six and
thirty moments, and the moon also stood still and hastened not to go down a whole
day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened to the
voice of man, for the Lord fought for Israel."




@seated who has never read the book of Jasher will still tell us the book of Jasher is merely a recent construct, and not the word of God...

OkCornel:


So Jesus and the Apostles came out and told everyone only 66 books have the entire words of God in them?


Dude, you're joking.

According to you, the book of Enoch and Jasher are recent constructs, however the Bible made clear references to these books in 2 Samuel, Joshua and Jude...


Ogbeni, you are really joking.


I listed out over 10 other books the Bible made references to, please go ahead and call those books fraud too...

Also go ahead and call the Ethiopian Bible a fraud as well...

This one is always opposing the word of God. So because Jude quoted from the Book of Jasher, it now means the book is the word of God? If he had quoted from the book of Chemistry, your foolish self will take the book of Chemistry as the word of God. The book of Jasher was just a mere record book just as they were many in those days. It is not wrong to refer to a record book as prove of what Jude was preaching. He only pointed to the record book of Jasher to buttressed his point, just as any man will point to a Biology text book to prove God's creation.

Apostle Paul quoted from several Greek writers, e.g., Aratus (Acts 17:28), Menander (1 Cor. 15:33), and Epimenides (Tit. 1:12). Do we now say those Greek writers are prophets or their books are God's word? No

The book which you know as the book of Jasher today is a fraud and was written on the 18th century. It is an imitation of the original book of Jasher lost over 2000 years ago. What you call the book of Jasher today is a fraud and filled with lies. No wonder it didn't get canonized. It even came late to the party. Examples of it's lies below.


Jasher 13:5 says that Abram went to the land of Canaan at the age of 50 then back to Haran and back to Canaan at age 75, Genesis 12:4 states that Abram was 75 when he departed Haran.

Jasher 18:9 states that one of the angels tells Abraham that Sarah will have a son, but Gen. 17:16 says that God told Abraham.

Jasher 22:44-45 says the Lord got the idea of presenting Isaac as an offering from Isaacs boast to Ishmael. We know, of course, that God is sovereign and as it says in Gen. 22:1-2 & 12 that the Lord was testing Abraham.

Genesis 28:5 states that Isaac sent Jacob to Padan-aram unto Laban but Jasher 29:11 says that he fled to the house of Eber and hid there for 14 years.

Jasher 47:9 says Isaac dies, according to the chronology of Jasher, Joseph was in Egypt but in Gen. 35:29 Isaac died before Joseph had his dreams. …

In Jasher 42:30-41, Rachel talks to Joseph from the grave. This is of course necromancy and is an abomination unto the Lord (Deuteronomy 18:11-12).

According to 53:18-22 Benjamin used a “map (or chart) of stars” to find Joseph. Deuteronomy 18:10 forbids this. It is an abomination to be “an observer of times” (astrologer). …

Jasher 81:3-4 claims that the Israelites sojourned in Egypt for 210 years whereas the Scripture says in Exodus 12:40-41 it was 430 years.

Jasher 81:40-41says that all but Pharaoh perished in the Red Sea. Pharaoh thanks the Lord and the Lord sends an angel who casts him upon the land of Ninevah where Pharaoh reigned for a long time. Scripture (Exodus 14:23 & 28) states that all perished.

Jasher 32:1-40 — Esau comes to harm Jacob but angels of the Lord scare Esau, v.55 Esau fears Jacob. Genesis 33:3 Jacob bows seven times to Esau.

Jasher 43:35 — Isaac went from Hebron to comfort Jacob, his son, because Joseph is dead (sold). Gen. 35:27-29 Isaac died before Joseph even dreamed his dreams.

Jasher 81:38 — “And the Waters of the sea were divided into twelve parts.” Exodus 14:22 “And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left.”



Sadly, an opposer of the word of God called Okcornel believes the evil book of lies is the word of God

One ignorant fellow is telling us Jude quoted from the book of Jasher.

I can't be arguing with ignorant people who can't get basic facts right.

Jude quoted from the book of Enoch.

2 Samuel and Joshua quoted from the book of Jasher...


Tell these people to research, na lie. But arguing ignorantly is what they can only do...

OkCornel:
One ignorant fellow is telling us Jude quoted from the book of Jasher.

I can't be arguing with ignorant people who can't get basic facts right.

Jude quoted from the book of Enoch.

2 Samuel and Joshua quoted from the book of Jasher...


Tell these people to research, na lie. But arguing ignorantly is what they can only do...

So serpent of you. You ignored my post where I showed all the lies and ways the book of Jasher contradicts the Bible, only for you to come up with this?

Well, below are more lies in the book of Jasher which you want us to believe is the word of God. The satanic book of Jasher says Pharaoh did not die in the Red Sea but was rescued by Angels.


Jasher 81:39-41
"And the Lord manifested to the children of Israel his wonders in Egypt and in the sea by the hand of Moses and Aaron. And when the children of Israel had entered the sea, the Egyptians came after them, and the waters of the sea resumed upon them, and they all sank in the water, and not one man was left excepting Pharaoh, who gave thanks to the Lord and believed in him, therefore the Lord did not cause him to perish at that time with the Egyptians. And the Lord ordered an angel to take him from amongst the Egyptians, who cast him upon the land of Ninevah and he reigned over it for a long time."


That is a big lie because the Bible makes us to know that Pharaoh and his host were destroyed in the Red Sea.

Psalms 136:15
"But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever."

newsynews:


So serpent of you. You ignored my post where I showed all the lies and ways the book of Jasher contradicts the Bible, only for you to come up with this?

Well, below are more lies in the book of Jasher which you want us to believe is the word of God. The satanic book of Jasher says Pharaoh did not die in the Red Sea but was rescued by Angels.


Jasher 81:39-41
"And the Lord manifested to the children of Israel his wonders in Egypt and in the sea by the hand of Moses and Aaron. And when the children of Israel had entered the sea, the Egyptians came after them, and the waters of the sea resumed upon them, and they all sank in the water, and not one man was left excepting Pharaoh, who gave thanks to the Lord and believed in him, therefore the Lord did not cause him to perish at that time with the Egyptians. And the Lord ordered an angel to take him from amongst the Egyptians, who cast him upon the land of Ninevah and he reigned over it for a long time."


That is a big lie because the Bible makes us to know that Pharaoh and his host were destroyed in the Red Sea.

Psalms 136:15
"But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever."

This clown calls the book of Jasher a Satanic book... Meaning the Bible was wrong to make reference to the book of Jasher in 2 Samuel and Joshua abi? Keep on talking more, I love what I'm seeing at play here...

Even the 66 books of the Bible has its own contradictions within it. You really don't want to get started on that one...


And next time, when you copy and paste an article here, make sure you put the link as well, because I am very sure you copied and pasted those jargons you typed earlier on this thread.

Plagiarism at its peak...

I still wonder why someone who has not read some books will still come here to argue ignorantly. Just copying and pasting articles from elsewhere without even reading contents of the book...

Did the Pharaoh of the Exodus Drown in the Red Sea (Exodus 14:28)?

The most conservative scholarship considers that the pharaoh of Egypt at the time of the Exodus (c. 1446 BC) was Amenhotep II (1450-1424 BC). The overwhelming biblical and historical evidence is that he did not die with his army in pursuit of Israel.

In Psalm 136:15, we find that God "overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea." The Hebrew word translated here as "overthrew" is na'ar, also found in Exodus 14:27. It does not mean "to drown" or "to toss or tumble about as in the water" as some have attempted to assert. It simply means "shook off" as is mentioned in the margins of many Bibles and in the Brown, Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon. (Nehemiah 5:13 illustrates how na'ar should be translated: "Then I shook out the fold of my garment. . . ." ) Therefore, these verses simply say that God shook off the Egyptians, including Pharaoh, from their pursuit of the Israelites. These scriptures say nothing of who was drowned.

In Exodus 14:28, the waters cover "all the army of Pharaoh," but Pharaoh himself is not mentioned. Exodus 15:19 supports this: "For the horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought back the waters of the sea upon them." Naturally, the horses and horsemen of Egypt were considered to be Pharaoh's. But this verse does not say that Pharaoh's personal horse, or that Pharaoh himself, drowned in the sea.

This is significant because the death of such an important person would almost certainly have been given special note in the Bible. The Old Testament contains many clear references to the deaths of enemy kings, most of them much less important than this pharaoh. Archaeology proves that Amenhotep II, if he is the Pharaoh of the Exodus, ruled for about 22 more years.


https://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/BQA/k/102/Did-Pharaoh-of-Exodus-Drown-in-Red-Sea-Exodus-1428.htm
^^^^

I hope someone is learning how not to plagiarize other people's materials and pose with them as though it is his or her own's thought. I have included the link to that article up there... Now let's patiently wait for someone to come and argue fruitlessly again...

See how the infallible and perfect 66 books of the Bible shows up here for example.

Who told David to take a census of Israel? God or Satan;

2 Samuel 24 v 1
Again the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”

1 Chronicles 21 v 1
Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.


Since both books are in the Bible, see how the apologists will come up with a nice explanation...

They'll also give us exciting tales of how an erotic poem (Songs of Solomon) was divinely inspired to include boobs and other sensitive body areas to edify people spiritually.

Isn't it funny how someone who has never read the book of Jasher brings up silly examples to discredit the book.

See the examples the funny fellow brought here earlier on this thread;

In Jasher 42:30-41, Rachel talks to Joseph from the grave. This is of course necromancy and is an abomination unto the Lord (Deuteronomy 18:11-12).

According to 53:18-22 Benjamin used a “map (or chart) of stars” to find Joseph. Deuteronomy 18:10 forbids this. It is an abomination to be “an observer of times” (astrologer). …

But he conveniently turned a blind eye to Abraham that married his half-sister which was also forbidden by the Law;

Leviticus 18 v 9;
9 The unclothedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their unclothedness thou shalt not uncover.





For goodness sake, how would Joseph know necromancy (funny enough, what transpired in Jasher 42 v 30-41 is not even that if you check what it means) is wrong?

How would Benjamin know if he violated Deuteronomy 18 v 10 when they lived in an era long before the Laws were given? Funny enough, was it not even a star the wise men used to trace Jesus?

Same thing applies to incest marriage that happened between Abraham and his half sister Sarah. Perhaps someone can help me explain why God didn't instruct Abraham to divorce Sarah...

Joseph, Benjamin, Abraham and Sarah lived long before God outlawed necromancy, observing of the times and incest in the Mosaic Laws...




By the way, using a chart to navigate the stars to pinpoint a location does not mean the same thing as an observer of times per Deuteronomy 18 v 10. People arguing so ignorantly... Perhaps that means sailors that use the stars to navigate their directions while sailing, or the wise men that used the star to locate Jesus should all be hell bound as well

Do research...na lie... dem no go do...

OkCornel:
See how the infallible and perfect 66 books of the Bible shows up here for example.

Who told David to take a census of Israel? God or Satan;

2 Samuel 24 v 1
Again the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”

1 Chronicles 21 v 1
Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.


Since both books are in the Bible, see how the apologists will come up with a nice explanation...

They'll also give us exciting tales of how an erotic poem (Songs of Solomon) was divinely inspired to include boobs and other sensitive body areas to edify people spiritually.

see this satanist again,
looking for loop holes in the bible to discredit it.

sorry, songs of Solomon is inspired.

what is wrong with boobs and other sensitive part?


just because you are blind doesnt make the bible contradicting.

please prove that your so called book of jasher and other abominable books are inspired?


John 8:44
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

you reject the truth just like your father the devil.

Seated:


see this satanist again,
looking for loop holes in the bible to discredit it.

sorry, songs of Solomon is inspired.

what is wrong with boobs and other sensitive part?


just because you are blind doesnt make the bible contradicting.

please prove that your so called book of jasher and other abominable books are inspired?


John 8:44
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

you reject the truth just like your father the devil.

OAM4J, Seun I hope you can see this post clearly.


If you see what I have been posting all the while on this thread, you did not dispute where I showed you 2 Samuel and Joshua referred to Jasher. I also put the specific verses and chapters from Jasher side by side with the verses from Samuel and Joshua...


Now explain to us how an erotic poem like Songs of Solomon is divinely inspired ;

Let's start with Chapter 1 v 1-4; How many prayer points and sermons have you gotten out of this?

Songs of Solomon 1 v 1-4;
1 The song of songs, which is Solomon's.

2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.

3 Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.

4 Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee.

OkCornel:


This clown calls the book of Jasher a Satanic book... Meaning the Bible was wrong to make reference to the book of Jasher in 2 Samuel and Joshua abi? Keep on talking more, I love what I'm seeing at play here...

Even the 66 books of the Bible has its own contradictions within it. You really don't want to get started on that one...


And next time, when you copy and paste an article here, make sure you put the link as well, because I am very sure you copied and pasted those jargons you typed earlier on this thread.

Plagiarism at its peak...

@bold

When I saw comments from people calling you satanic, I thought they were just being extreme. But now I can see you are truly of the devil. Just so you could uphold the evil book of Jasher, you make a blasphemous claim that the Bible contains contradictions. So you mean God contradicts himself. This is the height of it all and it's satanic. The next thing you will start to do is point out so-called contradictions in the Bible just to say it is not only the book of Jasher that contains such. Just make sure it's only the King James you quote from. Devilish child.

Samuel and Joshua didn't make reference to the book of Jasher which you have today. The one they referenced was just a record book and not the inspired word of God.

The book of Jasher which you have today is a fraud and contradicts the Bible in so many ways. I just proved it to you, which you couldn't counter because you saw it yourself. Yet you still hold on to the claim that that is the same book Samiel and Joshua referenced?

Now, where did I claim the write-up was mine? Whether it is mine or not, one thing is certain: it exposes the falsehood of your satanic book of Jasher. Instead of you to accept, you are trying to draw attention away from it by saying I copied and pasted it here. What does it matter? The fact is that the write-up exposes your false book of Jasher, point blank.