KJV Questions and Answers - Far Eastern Bible College

(24) How were the Scriptures preserved?Dr E F Hills answers: “First, the Old Testament text was preservedby the Old Testament priesthood and the scribes and scholars thatgrouped themselves around that priesthood (Deut. 31:24-26). Second, theNew Testament text has been preserved by the universal priesthood ofbelievers, by faithful Christians in every walk of life (1 Peter 2:9). Third,the Traditional Text, found in the vast majority of the Greek NewTestament manuscripts, is the True Text because it represents the Godguidedusage of this universal priesthood of believers. Fourth, the firstprinted text of the Greek New Testament was not a blunder or a set-backbut a forward step in the providential preservation of the New Testament.Hence the few significant departures of that text from the Traditional Textare only God’s providential corrections of the Traditional Text in thosefew places in which such corrections were needed. Fifth, through theusage of Bible-believing Protestants God placed the stamp of Hisapproval on this printed text, and it became the Textus Receptus(Received Text).”(25) What special rules did the Jewish scribes apply whencopying the Scriptures?The Jewish scribes had a very careful and reverent approach towardsthe copying of the Hebrew Scriptures. Before they wrote God’scovenantal name, YHWH (KJV: “LORD”), they would first wash theirwhole body. If there was a need to correct the manuscript, the correctionmust be made within 30 days, otherwise the manuscript would becondemned. One mistake on a page, condemned the whole page, and ifthere were three mistakes in any page, the entire manuscript would haveto be destroyed. The proofreading was equally laborious. It involvedcounting every letter of the manuscript to ensure that it matched theoriginal perfectly. An omission or addition of just one letter would see thewhole manuscript consigned to immediate destruction.(26) In what language did Jesus Christ teach that the OldTestament would be preserved forever according to Matt 5:18?Jesus taught that the OT would be preserved forever in the Hebrewlanguage. This preservation must logically apply to the NT as well whichwas written in Greek. The OT and NT are inseparable for they togethermake up the complete Scripture. The jot and tittle of the divinely inspiredQUESTIONS ABOUT INSPIRATION AND PRESERVATION25