Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions – Evidence for Christianity

Defenders of the NT text mention 5000 manuscripts, but these are mostly irrelevant, and the early evidence is very partial. Therefore, the NT text cannot be trusted. Response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Editor’s note: This question is most likely coming from a Muslim source who is trying to undercut the evidence for the reliability of the New Testament manuscripts. He/she is attempting to undermine the evidence, to claim its strength is exaggerated by believers. Question: Not all NT writings are attested by 5000+ manuscripts. Thus, by stating […]

The gospel writers fabricated the stories about the darkening of the sky, the curtain being ripped, etc. Matthew fabricated the prophecy from Hosea 11:1, and the church corrupted Isaiah 53. Response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Other Religions, Prefigures and Foreshadows, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: The Gospels’ writers fabricated stories about Jesus which have no strong evidence, e.g., the sky grows dark for 3 hours at midday at the crucifixion, an earthquake rips the curtain in the Jewish temple & opens the tombs of the saints, from which dead people resurrect and then appear throughout Jerusalem. This is an […]

Does Deuteronomy 32:8-9 suggest that there are two Gods of Israel–El and YHWH?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question; I have two questions that are troubling me. It concerns the passage from Deuteronomy 32:8-9. Please, answer if you can. 1. The ‘sons of God’—who are they in this passage? Are they divine beings, or are they Israelites? 2. Some critics say that this passage indicates that God El (the Most High in this […]

The Dead Sea Scrolls do not support the inerrancy or the historical accuracy of the Bible. Response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Uncategorized, Versions of the Bible .

Question/Comment: The Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) do not prove the inerrancy or historical accuracy of the Bible. The writings in DSS show a hugely different history than in the Bible. The Genesis Apocryphon is noticeably different from the Bible’s Genesis. Exodus, 1-2 Samuel and Jeremiah are extremely different in the DSS than in the Bible. […]

Please explain the textual variant in Matthew 11:19. Is the correct original “children” or “deeds?”

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: In the Gospel of Matthew 11:19, one version says wisdom is justified of her children(KJV) and another version says wisdom is justified by her deeds(ESV). Please explain this variant “children and deeds” Answer: This is a familiar example of a textual variant with a fairly well-understood explanation. The explanation of the textual variant is found […]

Please provide a defense of the doctrine of Sola Scriptura I can share with my Catholic friend. Please refute apostolic succession.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Apocrypha, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Daniel, General, Miracles, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Questions: Could you do an exhaustive defense of Sola Scriptura? I heard Roman Catholics using arguments, claiming that Sola Scriptura is never mentioned in the Bible. I also have heard that since the Bible doesn’t give us a list of what is inspired scriptures, we have to look outside to know what is inspired and […]

Six more objections to the reliability of the gospels.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Thank you very much, Dr. Oakes. Thank God I found you. There are also 6 more objections I found and was wondering what you think of these: [Editor’s Note: This is a follow-up to fourteen previous questions from the same person. The answers are interspersed between the questions.] 15. The historians who supposedly offered […]

Fourteen questions about the reliability of the New Testament answered.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Editor’s Note: This is a series of 14 questions, so I disperse my answers after the questions. Most of these criticisms are already refuted elsewhere at the web site, but since this poor unfortunate believer has been assaulted with so many false claims, I am including answers to all of them below. My responses are […]

Why can’t Christians prove that the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos and Jonah are the exact words of those prophets?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Why can’t Jews/Christians prove that the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, etc. are the amalgamation of exact words of the prophets? Jonah is surely not written by Jonah as it is a historical narrative. Your response? Answer: It is the nature of ancient documents that no one can ever “prove” the provenance of any […]

What percentage of the New Testament Greek text can be reproduced from early church father quotations?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Up to what percentage can we reconstruct the New Testament text/ content from early church fathers’ quotations/citations? And I want to know from when in the church’s history did believers start using NT scriptures as a base to preach the Gospel as we do now in our churches. When did Christians start having serious […]

The incest story of Lot and his daughters is borrowed from a Zoroastrian source regarding Jam and Jamag. Your response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: The incest story of Lot and his daughters has been borrowed from Zoroastrian traditions of the incest performed between Jam and Jamag, who were brother and sister. Jamag took advantage of the intoxicated state of her brother and had sex with him. What’s your response? Answer: My response is that this is so obviously […]

We have a perfectly preserved Greek text and the KJV is an inspired translation. Your response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

[Editor’s note: This exchange is part of a longer discussion in which the questioner believes that there are literally no mistakes in either the Greek text or in the King James translation of that text.] Comments and Questions: I just wanted to thank you for responding so quickly again and wanted to say a few […]

If you believe that there are errors in our Greek and Hebrew texts, then how do you explain passages such as Psalm 12:6-7, Psalm 119:89, Matthew 24:35 and others that say it is perfect?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

[Editor’s note: The question below is a follow-up from a previous one in which the questioner is quite surprised that a faithful believer would agree that Christians do not have access to a perfect text of the Bible, to which I replied about the textual evidence for the great (but not perfect) reliability of the […]

Why do Jews and Christians have no manuscripts from before the exile, and why no copies of the Aramaic gospel from AD 30?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Versions of the Bible .

Question: My Muslim husband says: Why do Jews & Christians not have Hebrew manuscripts from before the Exile or 600 BCE which could verify that the DSS & Septuagint are exact copies of the original text? Why don’t Christians have the original Aramaic Gospel from 30 CE? Answer: Out of respect for the ancient text and […]

If there were 12 tribes, how can one tribe represent all of Israel’s scriptures, when 10 tribes were lost to history. Is the OT the Bible of all the Israelites?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: There were 12 tribes of Israel, who were given divine scrolls. They were called “Israelites”. Then how can one tribe [Editor’s note: I am assuming the questioner means Judah] represent the whole Israelites and their scriptures when 10 tribes are lost in history and what is the guarantee that the current OT was the […]

The story of the origin of the Septuagint is a fiction. Besides, it was only the first five books, not the whole Old Testament. Your response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Versions of the Bible .

Question: The only evidence of the Septuagint translation is the pseudepigraphical letter of Aristeas. It says: “six elders out of every tribe of Israel wrote it.” First, 10 tribes of Israelites had already been lost in history a long time ago, before this time, which shows that this story is fabricated. Second, if they wrote, […]

The assembly of the Jews nearly rejected the books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Ezekiel because they contradicted the Law. They were presented as altered. Your response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Apocrypha, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

Question: We are told in the Talmud that an assembly of priests were about to reject the books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Ezekiel because those writings were contradictory to the Law but a certain Rabbi had tried to reconcile them and they were preserved as “canonical”. Those three books are confessedly presented to us as […]

St. Eucharius (3rd century) said that much of the Holy Scriptures were lost when the Chaldeans attacked the Jews. Is this true?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: St. Eucharius (3rd Century) said: “It is evident why we have not remaining the books which the Holy Scriptures approve of, because Judea having been ravaged by the Chaldeans, and the ancient bibliotheque being burnt. There remaining only a small number of the books which at present make up the Holy Scriptures and which were […]

There is a prophecy about Judas and Jesus in the Ethiopic Bible. Did the Jews remove this from the Old Testament?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Apocrypha, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

There is a short prophecy appended to the book of Jeremiah in Ethiopic Bible which August Dillmann translates: A Prophecy of Jeremiah. And Jeremiah spake thus unto Pashur: But ye all your days fight against the truth, with your fathers and your sons that shall come after you. And they shall commit a sin more damnable […]

Adam Clarke (1831) said that the Jews falsified the OT text again and again. Similarly, Chrysostom (4th century) said that the Jews lost some books through carelessness. Comment?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Apocrypha, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Adam Clarke (1831) wrote a commentary on Jeremiah 8:8 that: It is too bold an assertion to say that “the Jews have never falsified the sacred oracles;” they have done it again and again. They have written falsities when they knew they were such. John Chrysostom (4th Century) wrote in his homily on Matthew 2:23 that: The […]

The Isaiah Scroll from the Dead Sea Scrolls has quite a large number of variations from the Masoretic text–as many as 2600. And that is just Isaiah. Does this not say the OT is poorly copied?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Although the Isaiah scroll [Editor’s comment: The questioner is referring to the Dead Sea Scrolls] is similar in structure to today’s book of Isaiah, it contains alternative spellings, scribal errors, corrections, and other variant readings. Strictly speaking, the number of textual variants is well over 2600, ranging from a single letter, sometimes one or […]

Christians deliberately corrupted Isaiah 9:6 to make it support their doctrine. Your response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A, Versions of the Bible .

Question: Christians deliberately corrupted the Jewish Scriptures to prove that Jesus is God, for e.g. they altered the translation of Isa. 9:6. They translate: “And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” but the Jewish translation is: “The wondrous adviser, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, called his name, “the prince of […]

What does the Bible say about reincarnation?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Q & A .

Question: What does the Bible say about reincarnation? Answer: That is an easy question. The Bible says nothing about reincarnation except to deny the reality of reincarnation. In fact, the Bible quite specifically, denies the reality of reincarnation. Hundreds of passages could be used to prove the biblical reality that after this life we die […]

The Jewish prophecies are corrupted, and the Jews fabricated the idea of a “King like David.” Your response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Jesus had no need to prove himself Messiah through corrupted Jewish prophecies. Jews fabricated the concept of “King like David”. Those prophecies will neither be fulfilled in the distant future for Jews, not as the Davidic Kingdom will never come to exist. Indeed, Jesus came as Messiah to teach Jews to leave their worldly […]

Do we have the exact words of Jesus or a paraphrase?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

Questions: Do we have the exact words of Jesus or a paraphrase? How does it affect the credibility of Jesus’s words?What is your definition or understanding of a contradiction? Did Jesus say to loose and bring one or two animals( a colt and donkey) Thanks Answers: No, we definitely do not have the exact words […]

There is evidence that the Jews tampered with the Masoretic Hebrew text of the Old Testament to favor a non-Christian interpretation. Your view?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Apocrypha, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Daniel, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Versions of the Bible .

Comment: I have some comments regarding accuracy of biblical texts and the importance of genealogies in the Bible in response to your reply to my question: Which is correct on the time Adam to Abraham–the Masoretic text or the Septuagint? [Editor’s note: Here is the article: https://evidenceforchristianity.org/which-is-correct-on-the-time-from-adam-to-abraham-the-masoretic-text-or-the-septuagint/ There were statements made in the article that weren’t […]

What are the Dead Sea Scrolls? Who were the Qumran Community? Who were the Essenes?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, History, Q & A .

Question: What are the Dead Sea Scrolls? Who were the Qumran Community? Who were the Essenes? Answer: The Dead Sea Scrolls are hundreds of manuscripts found in about a half dozen caves in the desert hills to the west of the Dead Sea. Some are entire documents, and others are mere fragments. Most were on […]

Literalist Christians falsely claim the gospels are eyewitness accounts. In fact they are quintuple hearsay. Your response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Sir, Literalist Christians frequently employ the argument that the gospels represent objectively reliable “eyewitness accounts”, but this contention is disingenuous. The reasons are: (1) Literalist Christians have no way of authenticating any of the gospels. In fact, all four were originally written anonymously. and (2) These gospels constitute unreliable hearsay and not true […]

Andrew Davidson claims that the OT prophetic books were created from scattered fragments of anonymous authors–that they were not written by the prophets such as Isaiah and Jeremiah. Is this true?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Andrew B. Davidson (1902) wrote that Scribes were arrangers of the scattered fragments, many of them anonymous, existing in their time. They arranged small anonymous prophecies under general headings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah, just like all Psalms were gathered together under the name of David. Dr. Oakes, is it possible that anonymous prophecies became part […]

Your claim that Wisdom (aka Sirach) does not contain messianic prophecy is incorrect. Please consider Wisdom 2:12-20.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Apocrypha, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

[Editor’s Note: This is a rather long question with a fairly long response] Question: I read your article “Is Chapter 2 of Wisdom (part of the Apocrypha) inspired prophecy of Jesus?” and wanted to address your points. First, you asked where the Messianic prophecy is. Wisdom 2:12-20 contains a very clear Messianic prophecy: “For if […]

2nd Corinthians 10:5 mentions the “casting down of reasonings,” but this is not found in the Douah-Rheims Vulgate. Why and which is the more reliable translation?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General Apologetics, Q & A, Versions of the Bible .

Question: 2 Corinthians 10:5 mentions the ‘casting down of reasonings’ but this phrase is omitted in the Douay-Rheims Vulgate version. Why is this the case, and which translation should we trust? Answer: The Vulgate is a Latin translation of the Greek New Testament, so I am not all that sure why the content of the […]

A Muslim critic says when Christians mention 6000 NT manuscripts this is a great exaggeration because 94% of them are after the eighth century. Is this true? Should Christians be concerned?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General Apologetics, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I watched a debate between a Muslim and a Christian. The New Testament has by far more number of Greek/other manuscripts. The Muslim debater said that 94% of these manuscripts come 9th century onwards. It wasn’t clear if he was referring to the Greek manuscripts alone or every manuscript we have of the New […]

Which is the more reliable translation of Zechariah 12:10, the Jewish Tanakh or the typical Christian translation (pierced vs. slain)

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Versions of the Bible .

Question: I’ve been comparing some “Messianic passages” from the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible) to the corresponding verses in our Christian Bible (KJV, NKJV, NASB). And I’ve noticed that, in many passages, the Tanakh translation differs significantly from our OT/NT translations. Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, and Zechariah 12, for example, are quite different in the Tanakh, […]

How should we, as Christians, respond to textual criticism which points out “doubtful” verses? Should we be afraid?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I’m new to your website. I only have three questions: 1. How should we, Christians, react to textual criticism and to what extent we should believe their opinion about the Bible? 2. How should we react to several textual criticism opinion that some Bible verses are “doubtful”? 3. Should we be afraid? Answer: A […]

Is Luke 23:34a part of the original book of Luke?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Q & A .

An EFC subscriber named Michael has written an article about whether or not the textual variant in Luke 23:34 was in the original autograph of the Book of Luke. He concludes that the phrase, “forgive them father, for they do not know what they are doing” was most likely in the original of Luke. This […]

The Quran is 100% perfect, whereas the Bible has many errors. We (Muslims) can enjoy reading the Quran without having to worry about whether it is authentic or not. Response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Dr Oakes, how do you respond to Muslims’ argument such as this: “Even if your Bible is 99,5% accurate, the Quran is more. It is 100% accurate. Unlike your Bible that have forgery verses added and changed many times, the Quran didn’t have anything like this and perfectly preserved from the start. All our […]

How are the dates of biblical manuscripts determined?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Q & A .

Question: How are the dates of biblical manuscripts determined and all other ancient manuscripts? Answer: This is a somewhat complex question. A number of factors are used. First is the type of script used. The style of script used in writing changed over time. The way letters were written, the kinds of punctuation (of which […]

Isn’t the Bible supposed to be perfect? Should it not have exact quotes from Jesus? But there are many errors in the text. Explain, please.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Supernatural .

Question: This question came from my atheist friend. I recommended him to read at your website and books, but he was curious regarding your answer on certain textual variations, particularly your response that “No, Christianity doctrines are affected by these variations” in your website. He asked back that: 1.) Isn’t God supposed to preserve His […]

When was the letter of 1 Peter written?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Q & A .

Question: When was 1st Peter written? Answer: According to the letter of 1 Peter itself, the author of the letter is the apostle Peter. Multiple sources, including Church historian Eusebius, tell us that Peter was crucified in Rome by Nero. We know that Nero was murdered in AD 67. Therefore, Peter was probably killed in […]

Can you respond to a Muslim claim that the early church did not believe Jesus was God and that Constantine changed this?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Other Religions, Q & A .

Question: Dr Oakes, can you view this article: https://quranandbibleblog.com/2022/01/02/what-did-the-ante-nicene-church-fathers-believe-about-jesus/ What did the Ante-Nicene Church Fathers Believe About Jesus? بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْم What did the Ante-Nicene Church Fathers Believe About Jesus? Read as PDF “…but of His Son the Master said thus, Thou art My Son, I this day have begotten thee. A… quranandbibleblog.com This came […]

There was no OT canon until the second century BC, giving great opportunity for Jewish scribes to amend the writings. How do we know our received OT is inspired?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: There was no proper canon or collection of the writings of the Old Testament, until the time of the Synagogue under the Maccabees, which was only about 200 years before the appearance of Jesus. Up to this period, the “Holy books” were scattered and liable to be altered or amended just as priests might […]

My Muslim friend says there is no evidence from the first century that Christians believed Jesus is God. Is this true?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: A Muslim friend proposed this to me: I have seen this “issue” before and I haven’t done a proper investigation into it. He said there’s no evidence to support Jesus’ divinity in the first century. I believe (although I am yet to see) that there is evidence of early Christians in first century honoring […]

There are many biblical prophecies of the Messiah which do not fit Jesus. Your response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, Daniel, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

[Editor’s note: This is a series of challenges from a Muslim regarding Jesus to be the fulfillment of Old Testament messianic prophecies. My answers are interspersed among the questioner’s examples in italics] Claim: There are many biblical prophecies which do not fit into Jesus, for e.g. Response: Whether Jesus fulfilled all potential messianic prophecies is […]

Does Origen deny Jesus is a carpenter based on a textual variant of Mark 6:3?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I want to ask you, sir, regarding the textual variation of Mark 6:3. Some early manuscripts said son of carpenter. Between “carpenter” or “son of carpenter”? This one was cited by a quote in Origen works (184-253), Against Celsus (248 AD), where Origen claimed that none of the Gospel on the current church said […]

A Muslim web site claims that only 50% of the New Testament is reliable. Your response? What about their evidence for the Qur’an?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Sir, can you view this article: http://mquran.org/content/view/9181/16/ This comes from an anonymous Muslim apologist website written in 2006. He said that the New Testament is unreliable and the 99,5% number that Christian apologists used in their argument are not valid. He claimed that apologists just cite other apologists and only 50% of the gospel are […]

How do you explain content in the Bible by editors, superscriptions and even updates, if these books are inspired? What about books which do not even have a named author?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

[Editor’s note: In this one the questions are interspersed, in italics, between the four questions] Questions: I have some points to discuss: 1. The Major and Minor Prophets of the Bible contain a significant amount of data from other persons, namely, editors and others whose words were added without acknowledgement. Those additions include materials such […]

Is there any solid evidence that the prophecy in Isaiah 53 predates Christ?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Is there any proof of Isaiah 53 predating Christ? I’ve heard carbon 14 testing for the Isaiah Scroll could be inaccurate as the parchment could be reused and paleographic dating might be unreliable. David: There is a boat load of evidence for the Book of Isaiah predating Christ. Perhaps the most obvious is the […]

What are reasonable dates for the authorship of the Aramaic and Hebrew sections of Daniel?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Daniel, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I’ve written questions to you before about Jeremiah. I’m now studying Daniel and have found questions regarding the language. Daniel is written in Aramaic and Hebrew. There are different arguments about the Aramaic. Some say it is quite young – 300BC and later. Others claim it is much older. The Hebrew I think is […]

An [Muslim] author at a web site I was searching said that several entire books have been removed from the Bible. What is your response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Apocrypha, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: This person claims that there have been entire books removed from the bible. https://quranicwarners.org/gospel They all seem legitimate. What’s your opinion? Answer: It is hard to know exactly how to respond to this article, because the author is not specific as to which “entire books” were removed from the Bible. If he does not specify […]

I have heard apologists say that the oldest manuscript of the Odyssey of Homer is from 2200 years after the original. Is that true?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I have heard apologists say that the oldest manuscript of the Odyssey of Homer is from 2200 years after it was written. I am preparing to teach a class on the reliability of the Bible in which I want to make the point that the biblical manuscripts are more reliable than any other famous […]