Question: How would you go about writing the world’s absolute best-seller across time—something that would leave the likes of Charles Dickens’ novels or J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series trailing in the dust?
Answer: First, coordinate the writing of 66 books by more than three dozen authors from all walks of life: kings, statesmen, prophets, shepherds, and fishermen. Never mind they lived one and a half millennia apart.
Next, make sure they all use the same themes and vocabulary, so that the books come together as a harmonious whole but cover varied topics. At the same time, pay attention to the content, that it would speak with equal power to all people, whether in the Iron Age or the Information Age. This tome would have to be so amazing that criminals reading it would be transformed into law-abiding citizens, geniuses would be stimulated by its wisdom, children would be enthralled by its stories, and people would turn to it for comfort and guidance. Oh, and did I mention that this massive writing and compilation project should be done with quills, parchment, and papyrus? No computers, phones, or internet allowed.
Seriously? Such an accomplishment would be nothing short of miraculous.
You guessed rightly; the Bible is the most widely distributed book of all times. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, five billion books have been produced, although it is impossible to obtain precise figures.1 From Afrikaans to Zuni (not to mention Klingon), the Bible has been translated as a whole into 692 languages, and a further 2,670 languages have portions of the Bible translated into them.2 Yet, the writers of this extraordinary book would not have earned any royalties, even if such were available in ancient times, because they claim categorically that they were not the authors of their books. “For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:21.
It is not just Christians, but also skeptical scholars, that recognize the general unity of the Bible. Yet, there is diversity in this unity, and “this diversity broadens and deepens the knowledge that is brought out to meet the necessities of varied minds.”3
The unity of the Bible is seen at many levels. First, there are historical connections: The Scriptures tell the history of God’s dealings with mankind, starting with Creation in Genesis and ending with final redemption in the earth made new in Revelation. Second, the biblical books are interconnected theologically in various ways:
Scriptural references. Bible authors quote or allude to each other’s writings. In the New Testament alone, there are at least 257 clear citations from the Old Testament.
Themes such as the plan of salvation, divine grace, election, the covenant, and the remnant run through the entire Bible.
The Bible shares the same vocabulary; thus, we are able to explain one passage through another so that Scripture is its own interpreter.
Typology. Bible writers use people, events, or institutions from earlier parts of the Bible as symbols or foreshadows of present or future realities. For example, the apostle Paul uses the tabernacle in the wilderness as a type of the heavenly sanctuary, in which Jesus serves as High Priest. Heb. 8:1–6.
Promise and prediction followed by fulfillment. Many Bible writers track the fulfillment of promises or prophecies. Matthew’s Gospel, for example, shows repeatedly how Messianic predictions had come to pass in the life and ministry of Jesus.
The perspective of the whole Bible is eschatological, meaning that it looks forward to the restoration of humanity and the world to their original unfallen state at the end of time.4
God’s imprint is evident in the nerves and veins that pulse through the Holy Word, imparting to it the power that changes lives and ennobles minds. The question then naturally arises: How did God accomplish the writing of the Bible? What was the process He used?
Muslims believe the Quran to be God’s literal word, which existed from eternity in Arabic and was then dictated to Muhammad by the angel Gabriel in the seventh century ad. In contrast, the Bible does not claim to have been dictated by God but inspired by Him. Inspiration is the process by which the Holy Spirit guided the Bible writers in such a way that their writings came to accurately reflect God’s will. This process took different forms. “In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets.” Heb. 1:1, RSV. At times, God used special revelation, by which He made His will known to prophets either through visions they saw (Rev. 21:2) or words they heard (Jer. 18:1).
Some Bible writers made use of research to record sacred history. Luke interviewed the eyewitnesses to the events of the gospel and wrote his account after careful examination of these testimonies. See Luke 1:1–4. Ezra and other Bible writers used official documents, royal records, and written sources (Ezra 7:11–26; Josh. 10:13; 1 Kings 14:19; Esther 10:2), but were still under the guidance of the Holy Spirit in selecting what they should commit to writing.
We notice a Bible writer's personality by the way he expresses thoughts, yet the thoughts are not his own; they are divine.
While God sometimes gave the prophets the exact words to pen (for example, the Ten Commandments), in most cases He allowed them to choose their own words as they expressed His ideas. The personality of the writer comes through in the language, yet the concepts are not original to the writer, but are divine.
When reading long chronological lists or lengthy sermons in the Bible, we may wonder how these writers were able to record that sort of information accurately. It would have required an extraordinary memory to be retained! Here it should be pointed out that memory functioned very differently in antiquity than today.
Aboriginals in Australia passed down—orally and accurately—vast scores of detailed knowledge to successive generations through millennia.5 The same could be said of ancient Celtic bards, who for many hours could recite songs, stories, and poems from memory. These people used mnemonic devices (memory aids), like associating information with stories, places, or music. The advent of Gutenberg’s printing press and our contemporary electronic devices have eroded our need to remember what the printed page or digital information can record. We should not project our own “digital amnesia” and dwarfing memory on past generations and the biblical writers.
We saw how the unity of the Bible testifies of its divine origin. God inspired the biblical writers to record His will, while allowing them the freedom to express His ideas through the prism of their own personality. “The Bible is written by inspired men, but it is not God’s mode of thought and expression. It is that of humanity. God, as a writer, is not represented.”6 Yet, through His penmen, God created a book which “contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s charter. Here paradise is restored, heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end.”7
“Best Selling Book,” Guinness World Records, guinnessworldrecords.com.
“Key Facts about Bible Access,” United Bible Societies, unitedbiblesocieties.org.
Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, Vol.1, (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1958), p. 22.
G. F. Hasel, “The Unity of the Bible,” Adventist Biblical Research, adventistbiblicalresearch.org.
D. W. Hamacher, “The Memory Code: how oral cultures memorise so much information,” The Conversation, theconversation.com, Sept. 26, 2016.
6. White, Ibid., p. 21.
7. Author unknown.
