As Luke, Paul, Peter, Matthew, James, or Jude handed their authorized text off to be copied by others, i.e., published, what would it have looked like? What is the process that the New Testament writers would have followed to get their book ready to be published, that is copied by others? Once they were ready for publication, how would they be copied throughout the centuries, up until the time of the printing press of 1455 C.E.? Why was it so hard to be a secretary in the first century C.E.? How was such work done? What writing materials were then in use? How were the NT books made?
How Can We Believe Inerrancy of Scripture In the Originals When We Don’t Have the Original?
For the conservative Evangelical Christian, one of their foundational doctrines is “The Bible alone, and the Bible in its entirety, is the Word of God written and is therefore inerrant in the autographs.”
NEW TESTAMENT TEXTUAL STUDIES: Important Papyrus Manuscripts
Papyrus is a tall, aquatic reed, the pith of which is cut into strips, laid in a crosswork pattern, and glued together to make a page for writing. The papyrus rolls of Egypt have been used as a writing surface since the early third millennium BC.
The Text of the New Testament
The original text of the NT is the “published” text—that is, the text as it was in its final edited form and released for circulation in the Christian community.
Discovering the Mindset of Agnostic, Bart D. Ehrman
Because of liberal scholarship of such persons as Bart D. Ehrman, Elaine Pagels, Karen L. King, and Marvin W. Meyer; many have become suspicious and skeptical about the Bible being the Word of God and orthodox Christianity, being the Christianity that heresy grew out of centuries later.
Professional Scribes and Secretaries
Scribes were employed as secretaries in Palestine, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Greco-Roman Empire. Court scribes would sometimes rise to positions of social prestige and considerable political influence, much as a Secretary of State today.
What is the Significance of the Scribes In the Preexilic, the Exilic and Postexilic Eras, In Judaism, and In the Gospels?
Scribes were a class of literate professionals ranging from copiers, secretaries, and government officials in the earlier OT period to special scholars and teachers of the Torah in the postexilic and NT periods.
BIBLE: Ancient Letter Writing
A communication, especially from a king or high official, usually containing commands, promulgations, or reports.
Who Were the Bible Scribes
Although scribes continue to perform such roles in the postexilic period (cf. Neh. 13:13, where a scribe named Zadok is appointed as a treasurer over the storehouses where tithes are kept), the term begins to be more specifically associated with the transmission and interpretation of Torah.
Scribes of the Bible
Reference in early OT times to those employed for their ability to transcribe information. After the exile, scribes are a class of scholars who teach, copy, and interpret the Jewish Law for the people. They appear in the Gospels primarily as opponents of Jesus.