A Case for the Bible, Week 7: Bible Transmission, MAPSS and Joshua Chapters 21-24

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This week’s presentation focuses on the transmission line for the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. We will also overview the acronym MAPS-S as a transition into our next class that will continue our “casemaking” for the Bible. For the Bible study portion, we will read through Joshua chapters 21-24 and then discuss those chapters in our study groups along with the question of application now that we’ve finished the book. This website will post basic answers mid-week following the class for your review.

As Christians, it is more important than ever to know what we believe, and why we believe it, and then apply that to who we are on a consistent basis, and this can only be done effectively if we know what God’s Word teaches, especially the big picture that always points to Jesus!

All class sessions include a time for prayer and reflection, an “apologetics” presentation, and a Bible study section. You will find the presentation notes and the Bible study survey format below, with basic answers to the survey format posted during the week. These things can be used as a leader’s guide, or to review your own study each week.

Watch this week’s presentation:

2025 A Case for the Bible Presentation Notes

Week 7: Bible Transmission, MAPSS and Joshua Chapters 21-24

Class Review and Prayer

Prayer Cards: Do you have anyone that you are hoping to share what you are learning with? Write that person(s) name down on your prayer card along with any other prayer request you might have (exchange with your table group at the end of the evening).

Final Exam:

Share answers with your group, or review together…

1.What are the four important areas of Christian Growth that we should be focusing on in our Christian Walk (from our Ministry Statement)?

2.What are the 66 books of the Christian Bible, their categories and description?

3.How should we study the Bible? Hermeneutics

4.What are the major Covenants in the Bible, and why are they important to know?

5.What are the 12 parts to the Bible’s “Big Picture” that help you tell the story?

6.What is Christian Apologetics?

7.Practice the Bible study theme verses for memory:

  • But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 

  1 Peter 3:15-16 (NIV)

  • All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

  2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)

PRESENTATION:

Class Focus Questions and Overview

1.  What are the four important areas of Christian Growth that we should be focusing on in our Christian Walk (from our Ministry Statement)?

2.  What are the 66 books of the Christian Bible, their categories and description?

3.  How should we study the Bible? Hermeneutics

4.  What are the major Covenants in the Bible, and why are they important to know?

5.  What are the 12 parts to the Bible’s “Big Picture” that help you tell the story?

APOLOGETICS

6.  What is the history of the Bible? Authorship and Language

7.  How did we get our Bible today? Transmission

8.  How do we know the Bible has been transmitted correctly? Translation

9.  How do we know we got the right books? Canonization

10. How can we trust that the Bible is the Word of God? Inspiration

(Note: The above will include evidence from archeology, prophecy fulfillment and science)

7.  How did we get are Bible today? Transmission

Oral Transmission

The oral transmission of history was very reliable in ancient cultures

Example: Adam to Moses had only 5 generational links between them:

*(Adam)—Methuselah—Shem—Isaac—Levi—Amran—(Moses)

The Generations From Adam to Moses:

  1. *Adam (lived 930 years)
  • Died 216 yrs. before the birth of Noah
  1. Seth (Adam’s 3rd son, lived 912 years)
  • Seth knew Noah for 34 years before he died
  1. Enosh (lived 905 years)
  2. Kenen (lived 910 years)
  3. Mealalel (lived 895 years)
  4. Jered (lived 962 years)
  5. Enoch (lived 365 years)
  • Enoch walked with God and God took him (he did not die a natural death)
  1. *Methuselah (lived 969 years)
  • Methuselah knew Adam 243 years*
  • Methuselah knew Seth 355 years
  1. Lemech (lived 777 years)
  • died before his father, 5 years before the Flood
  • He is the father of Noah
  1. Noah (lived 950 years)
  • Lived both before and after the Flood
  • Methuselah knew Noah 600 years and died the year of the flood
  1. *Shem son of Noah (lived 600 years)
  • Father of all Shemites/Semites
  • Walked with Methuselah 98 years*
  • Lived after the flood 502 years

(After the Flood)

  1. Arpacashad (lived 438 years)
  2. Shelach (lived 433 years)
  3. Eber or Heber (lived 464 years)
  • Knew both Noah and Shem
  • Name is thought to be the root of the term “Hebrew”
  1. Peleg (lived 209 years)
  • In his time the earth was divided
  1. Reu (lived 239 years)
  2. Serug (lived 230 years)
  3. Nahor (lived 148 years)
  4. Terah (lived 205 years)
  • 130 years old when Abraham is born
  • Talked with both Noah and Shem

(The beginning of the Patriarchs)

  1. Abraham (lived 175 years)
  • Abraham knew Shem son of Noah 150 years
  • Noah died 2 years before Abraham was born
  • Heber outlives Abraham by 4 years
  1. *Isaac (lived 180 years)
  • Promised son of Abraham and Sarah
  • Knew Shem (son of Noah) 50 years*
  1. Jacob (lived 147 years)
  • God called him Israel
  • Father of the twelve tribes
  • Knew Abraham 20 years
  1. *Levi (lived 137 years)
  • Third oldest of the twelve sons of Jacob/Israel
  • Knew Isaac about 45 years*
  • Great grandfather of Moses
  1. Kohath (lived 133 years)
  2. *Amran (lived 137 years)
  • Knew Levi his grandfather*
  1. *Moses (lived 120 years)
  • Brother of Miriam and Aaron who knew their father Amran about 65 years*
  • Moses receives the history and Law from God and is commanded to write the first five books of the Old Testament

Transmission from Moses

  • From Moses’ time on, the written Word was considered sacred. The job of transmission through copying went to the tribe of Levi and the Scribes (along with the continuation of oral transmission). Scribes used materials such as stone, clay, papyrus, parchment, and eventually paper to record the Scriptures.
  • Following Moses, the Scribes were required to copy, protect, and preserve their history and the writings through the generations. Copying of the Scripture had extremely rigorous guidelines and there were very harsh warnings for disobedience—see Deuteronomy 28:56-69. There were over 4000 very strict rules for the treatment of Scripture that could only be performed by Scribes.
  • Here are just a few examples…

Scribal Copying Rules:

  1. Each scroll must contain a specific number of columns, all equal throughout the entire book
  2. Each column’s length must not be less than 48 lines or more than 60
  3. Each column’s breadth must be exactly 30 letters
  4. The copyist must use a specially prepared black ink
  5. The space between every consonant must be the size of a thread
  6. The copyist must sit in full Jewish dress
  7. The copyist must use a fresh quill to pen the sacred name of God
  8. The copyist could copy only letter by letter not word by word
  9. The copyist counted the number of times each letter of the alphabet occurred in each book
  10. The copyist knew the middle letter of the Pentateuch and of the entire Old Testament
  11. After copying the copyist counted forward and backward from the middle letter
  12. The copyist must count all letters and spaces
  13. The copyist must not be interrupted, even if the King walked in, they could not stop
  14. Each manuscript would be compared and read out-loud before the people
  15. Any mistake in any area would require the copyist to burn the copy, or tear it up, and start over

NEW TESTAMENT

New Testament: All 27 books are verified

  • All 27 books are primary sources, written in the first century within a generation of the events.
  • All 27 books are based on eyewitness accounts
  • All 27 books were transmitted quickly (via the Roman Road and easy access to the Greek language)
  • There are 5 main text families with over 25,000 early manuscripts in which to compare and scholars have found:
    • = 100% certainty in meaning/verba
    • = 99.5% certainty in words/vox (.5% comes from differences in some spelling, grammar and word order)

TEXT FAMILIES FOR MODERN VERSIONS AND TRANSLATIONS

Text Family & dating Information Example versions
1.  The Western Text2nd to 13th century Includes two early 2nd century manuscripts from the Old Latin and Syriac translationsUsed mainly in North Africa, and early on in the west Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Cyprian used this text
2.  The Alexandrian Text3rd to 12th century Originated in Alexandria, Egypt Used by the early Alexandrian Church
3.  The Caesarean Text3rd to 13th century A compilation of the Western and Alexandrian texts Origen and Eusebius are associated with this group of texts
4.  *The Proto-Alexandrian Text/Critical Text2nd to 4th Century Best known as the “Critical Text” because it has some of the oldest copies available. Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Vaticanus, Papyrus 66 and the Bodmer Papyrus 75The New American Standard Version (NAS[V]B), English Standard Version (ESV), and New International Version (NIV) reflect this family of texts.
5.  *The Byzantine Text/Majority Text 5th to 10th Century Best known as the “Majority Text” because there are more available copies.Adopted in Constantinople and used as the common text in the Byzantine world. The King James Version (KJV, NKJV) reflects this family of texts.Martin Luther translated his German Bible from this family.

*Most of our modern English Bibles today are taken from one of these last two families known as the Critical text and the Majority text.

Chain of Custody for the New Testament documents

Council of Laodicea: AD 350-363 Confirms Canon of 27 Books – Codex Sinaiticus

The flow from Jesus Apostles’Witness

1st Century

 1stCentury

Transmission

 2ndCentury

Transmission

 3rdCentury

Transmission

 4thCentury

Transmission
Jesus -> JohnAD 70 (John still alive late in the 1st Century) IgnatiusAD 110

(7-16 Books)

Polycarp

AD 110

(14-16 Books)

Irenaeus

AD 125

(25 Books)

 HyppolytusAD 220

(24 Books)
Jesus -> PaulAD 60 LinusAD 70

Clement of Rome

AD 95

(7 Books)

 EvaristusAD 100

Alexander

AD 110

Sixtus

AD 120

Telephorus

AD 130

Hyginus

AD 135

Pius I

AD 150

Justin Martyr

AD 160

(5 Books)

Tatian

AD 150

(20 Books)
Jesus -> PeterAD 50

Mark

AD 50

 AnianusAD 70

Avilius

AD 95

 KedronAD 100

Primus

AD 110

Justus

AD 130

Pantaenus

AD 195

 Clement of AlexandriaAD 210

(22 Books)

Origin

AD 250

(27 Books)

 PamphilisAD 300

Esuebius

AD 335

(27 Books)

A Christian Apologetic Tool
MAPS-S

M=Manuscripts

  • Estimate of 17,000 ancient Old Testament manuscripts and over 25,000 early New Testament manuscripts with 5800 in the original Greek language – the scholarly field of textual criticism finds a 98% agreement for Old Testament and 99.5% agreement for New Testament – add in early lectionaries and quotations from the 1st – 3rd century leaders we can assert 100% accuracy.
  • The Bible is a primary source document and contains multiple eyewitness accounts of events, including hostile witnesses, and the New Testament accounts of the first century (AD/CE) life of Jesus and the early Church were written within the lifetime of the people involved in the events (completed by the mid to late first century AD/CE).
  • Bibles today, like NASB, NIV or KJV, have only been translated once from the original language.
    • Old Testament = Hebrew (some parts of Daniel and Ezra are in Aramaic)
    • New Testament = Greek

A=Archeology:

  • Over 25,000 (and growing) archeology finds that have confirmed Biblical accounts.
  • None have been found that disprove any historical account in the Bible.
  • Coinage, pottery and other physical items support Biblical dates, people and events.

P=Prophecy:

  • 300 (plus) specific and incidental prophesies from the Old Testament were fulfilled in the life and times of Jesus Christ.
  • If even 8 of these prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus it would be equivalent to 1 chance in 10 to the 17th power or 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000!
  • None of the Old Testament prophecies have been disproven and many are still to come.

S=Science:

  • The Bible makes no claims that are considered scientific absurdities.
  • The Bible has amazing scientific authenticity in the areas of cosmology, biochemistry, medicine, health, nutrition, geology, and the Laws of Nature vs. other so-called Holy Books.
  • The evidence found in the “Cosmological and Teleological Arguments” also supports the Creation account vs. evolution.

S=Saved Lives:

  • Millions of saved lives are seen through the centuries evidenced by changed lives confessed by the saving work of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
  • Individual stories like yours cannot be disputed.

Video Recommendation: Apologetics Canada – Wes Huff

Can I Trust the Bible, Episode 2: The Right Text

Bible Study

Each week we will have Bible study following the presentation. There will be questions presented here on the weekend, and basic answers will be posted mid-week for your review. This can also be used to make a leader’s guide for your own small group and future studies!

Always remember to pray before you study and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and lead you into the truth found in God’s Word – pray for protection from the evil one who will try to discourage, distract and deceive us when we commit to growing closer to the LORD.

LET’S PRACTICE…

This week we will conclude working on the content of the book, from our hermeneutical format…

***BEFORE STARTING THE REVIEW, DISCUSS ANYTHING FROM THE PRESENTATION YOU’D LIKE TO COVER, THEN…

From your homework this week, discuss with your groups what is in each chapter

Joshua chapters 21-24:

Content of the book: What is in each chapter?

Note: There are several ways to study a book of the Bible, you can choose the level you’re most comfortable with:

  1. Basic: Read the chapter, then write down a title for each chapter (you could include more than one depending on topics in that chapter or what your study Bible might have).
  2. Going Deeper: Take notes to summarize the chapter (no more than three to five sentences). However, you can add to your summaries if you glean something important from your study partners each week (leave some room).
  3. Advanced: Look for these things to put in your summary notes:
  • Is there anything in the chapter that relates to God’s Covenant Promises:
    • Abrahamic: (Nation, Land, or Blessing)
    • Mosaic: (Following the Law – protection vs. loss of protection due to disobedience)?
  • Where’s Jesus? Is there anything in this chapter that foreshadows/pictures Jesus?
  • Prophecy? Is there anything that is predicted and fulfilled later in the Old Testament; or predicted and fulfilled in Jesus (Messianic); or is apocalyptic in nature?
  • The Shelf: Note any questions or a-ha’s you have about the chapter.

LEADER QUESTIONS TO HELP GUIDE THE STUDY

***BEFORE STARTING, REVIEW AND DISCUSS ANYTHING FROM THE PRESENTATION YOU’D LIKE TO COVER, THEN…

Chapter 21:

1.  Discuss: What happened with the tribe of Levi, and why?

2.  Going Deeper/Advanced: Are there any Covenants in view in this chapter? Is there a picture of Jesus in this chapter? Are there any prophetic passages in this chapter?

Chapter 22:

1.  Discuss: Who were the tribes that Joshua gave rest to, and what was the misunderstanding that happened? How was it resolved?

2.  Going Deeper/Advanced: Are there any Covenants in view in this chapter? Is there a picture of Jesus in this chapter? Are there any prophetic passages in this chapter?

Chapter 23:

1.  Discuss: What did Joshua warn the people about and why?

2.  Research: Give some examples of when, in the coming history of Israel, did these warnings of Joshua happen?

3.  Going Deeper/Advanced: Are there any Covenants in view in this chapter? Is there a picture of Jesus in this chapter? Are there any prophetic passages in this chapter?

Chapter 24:

1.  Discuss: Why do you think Joshua reviewed the history of Israel with the people at this time; what warning did Joshua give the people, and what was his own pledge? How did the people respond?

2.  Research: What was important about the bones of Joseph and where he was buried? (Research Genesis to find the answer).

3.  Going Deeper/Advanced: Are there any Covenants in view in this chapter? Is there a picture of Jesus in this chapter? Are there any prophetic passages in this chapter?

APPLICATION FOR THE BOOK OF JOSHUA

Now that we are done with the book of Joshua, it is time to reflect on application to us and our lives today. Take some time to right down some of your thoughts as you make application from this book…

Application:  Always done last, after the content of the book is complete. How does this book apply to us today? Are there lessons learned; are there reasons we should know this history; does it help us understand God’s character and love for His people and His foreshadowing the promise of His Son? Other comments…

HOMEWORK:

Our next class will continue the apologetics for the Bible, and we will begin a new study in the books of Judges and Ruth. To prepare to study, first read through those books as you would any novel, and then you will be better prepared to do the “hermeneutical” study in a few weeks.

Please join us as we continue our Case for the Bible and A New Study in the Books of Judges and Ruth!

———————————————————————

You will not find this material in the public school curriculum even though it is based on solid evidence and grounded in research. It is ironic that following the evidence to where it leads stops at the door of our public schools as they will not let a “Divine footprint” in!  Join us as we examine evidence for Christianity and learn how to become a thoughtful defender and ambassador of your faith.

Click into the resource page of this website to view many of the top Christian thinkers and apologists along with some of their work; connecting to these types of resources is essential in your Christian growth.

Please let me know what you think: Give feedback, ask questions or send concerns in the comment section of the blog.

Teri Dugan

TeriDugan@truthfaithandreason.com

1 Peter 3:15

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