Combs Preservation of Scripture A

DBSJ 5 (Fall 2000): 344
THE PRESERVATION OF SCRIPTURE

by
William W. Combs
of the many issues in the current debate about Greek manuscript
Onetext-types
and English versions is the question of the preservation of
Scripture. In fact, as one analyzes the arguments for the King Jamesonly, Textus Receptus (TR), and Majority Text (MT) positions, it soon
becomes obvious that the doctrine of the preservation of Scripture is at
the heart of many of these viewpoints.
It may be helpful, at the outset, to note the major differences among
these three perspectives. The MT position differs from the TR position in
that it argues that the text of the autographs is more perfectly preserved
in the thousands of manuscripts that are part of the Byzantine text-type.
Since, therefore, these manuscripts represent a majority of all extant
Greek manuscripts, a Greek text derived from a consensus of these
manuscripts can be called the Majority Text.1 The TR viewpoint, on the
other hand, suggests that the various printed editions of the Greek New
Testament, beginning with Erasmus in 1516, more perfectly preserve
the autographs. The name Textus Receptus was not formally attached to
these printed editions until 1633.2 Though the TR is Byzantine in character, yet, because it is based on only about seven out of the thousands
of Byzantine-type manuscripts, it differs from the more broadly based
MT. Daniel Wallace has counted 1,838 differences between the TR and
the Majority Text of Hodges and Farstad.3 There has been no English
translation based on the MT. The KJV was, of course, translated from the
TR, and the TR and King James-only positions are almost always
___________________
Dr. Combs is Academic Dean and Professor of New Testament at Detroit Baptist
Theological Seminary in Allen Park, MI.
1E.g., Zane C. Hodges and Arthur L. Farstad, eds. The Greek New Testament According to the Majority Text (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982).
2See William W. Combs, Erasmus and the Textus Receptus, Detroit Baptist
Seminary Journal 1 (Spring 1996): 35; also available from http://www.dbts.edu/journal
.html.
3Some Second Thoughts on the Majority Text, Bibliotheca Sacra 146
(JulySeptember 1989): 276.
Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal
inextricably tied to one another such that one can speak of the KJV/TR
position. The King James-only view argues that the KJV is the only English Bible that may be called the Word of God.
Preservation is an underlying presupposition that often controls the
text-critical arguments of the KJV/TR and MT positions.4 For example,
Edward F. Hills argues that the New Testament textual criticism of the
man who believes the doctrines of the divine inspiration and providential preservation of the Scriptures to be true ought to differ from that of
the man who does not so believe.5 He goes on to add that the proper
method of textual criticism, which he calls the consistently Christian
method, interprets the materials of New Testament textual criticism in
accordance with the doctrines of the divine inspiration and providential
preservation of the Scriptures.6 The perspective of Hills is one that is
universally shared by all those in the KJV/TR camp.7
The emphasis given to the preservation argument varies among
members of the MT camp. The modern MT and KJV/TR movements owe
their impetus to the writings of John Burgon (18131888). Though he
is often identified with the KJV/TR camp, he himself held a position
similar to the MT. This is commonly understood by most anyone who
has studied Burgons writings.8 Burgon himself said: Once for all, we
request it may be clearly understood that we do not, by any means,
claim perfection for the Received text. We entertain no extravagant notions on this subject. Again and again we shall have occasion to point
out (e.g. at page 107) that the Textus Receptus needs correction.9
___________________
4This
assessment is also shared by other observers. See, e.g., Gordon D. Fee, Modern Textual Criticism and the Revival of the Textus Receptus, Journal of the Evangelical
Theological Society 21 (March 1978): 2124; Daniel B. Wallace, The Majority-Text
Theory: History, Methods and Critique, Journal of the Evangelical Society 37 (June
1994): 18697; David D. Shields, Recent Attempts to Defend the Byzantine Text of
the Greek New Testament (Ph.D. dissertation, Southwestern Baptist Theological
Seminary, 1985).
5The King James Version Defended, 4th ed. (Des Moines, IA: Christian Research
Press, 1984), p. 3.
6Ibid. Similarly, David W. Cloud has an article entitled Preservation Is Missing in
Standard Works on Textual Criticism (Oak Harbor, WA: Way of Life Literature,
1999); available from http://wayoflife.org/~dcloud/fbns/preservationis.htm.
7The
one exception may be the Trinitarian Bible Society, according to Shields

(Recent Attempts to Defend the Byzantine Text of the Greek New Testament, pp.
1046). But see an article on their official web site by G. W. Anderson, which is similar
to the normal KJV/TR position on preservation: What Todays Christian Needs to Know
About the Greek New Testament; available from http://biz.ukonline.co.uk/ trinitarian.bible.society/articles/grktxt.htm.
8See,
e.g., Wallace, The Majority-Text Theory, pp. 18789.
9The
Revision Revised (reprint ed.; Paradise, PA: Conservative Classics, n.d.), p. 21,
The Preservation of Scripture
Burgons departure from the TR toward the MT is candidly admitted by

TR supporters like Edward F. Hills and Theodore P. Letis.10 However,
Burgon is still claimed by most TR supporters as their champion, while
at the same time they continue to denounce the modern MT movement.
For example, Donald Waite inexplicably asserts: I also maintain that
[Burgon] would have defended the Textus Receptus over the so-called
Majority Greek text of Hodges and Farstad.11
For Burgon preservation was certainly an important factor in his
text-critical views. He argued:
There exists no reason for supposing that the Divine Agent, who in
the first instance thus gave to mankind the Scriptures of Truth, straightway
abdicated His office; took no further care of His work; abandoned those
precious writings to their fate. That a perpetual miracle was wrought for
their preservationthat copyists were protected against the risk of error, or
evil men prevented from adulterating shamefully copies of the Depositno one, it is presumed, is so weak as to suppose. But it is quite a
different thing to claim that all down the ages the sacred writings must
needs have been Gods peculiar care; that the Church under Him has
watched over them with intelligence and skill; has recognized which copies
exhibit a fabricated, which an honestly transcribed text; has generally sanctioned the one, and generally disallowed the other.12
Burgons view of preservation was particularly tied to his High Church

Anglicanism and apostolic succession, in that the correct text is to be
found in what the Church through its bishops has preserved.13 He observed: The Church, remember, hath been from the beginning the
Witness and Keeper of Holy Writ. The Church, in her collective capacity, hath neverthelessas a matter of factbeen perpetually purging
herself of those shamefully depraved copies which once everywhere
abounded within her pale.14 The Witness and Keeper of Holy
Writ is a reference to the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of
___________________
note 2.
10Hills, The King James Version Defended, p. 192; Theodore P. Letis, Introduction, in The Majority Text: Essays and Reviews in the Continuing Debate, ed. Theodore P.
Letis (Grand Rapids: Institute for Biblical Textual Studies, 1987), pp. 25.
11Fundamentalist Distortions on Bible Versions (Collingswood, NJ: Bible for Today
Press, 1999), p. 7.
12John
W. Burgon, The Traditional Text of the Gospels, ed. Edward Miller (London:
George Bell and Sons, 1896), pp. 1112.
13See Hills, The King James Version Defended, pp. 140, 142 and idem, A History
of My Defense of the King James Version, Burning Bush 4 (July 1998): 102.
14The
Revision Revised, pp. 33435.
England, to which Burgon subscribed.15 Thus, it may be, as Hills and

Letis suggest, that Burgons rejection of the TR was related to its origin
with Erasmus, who was not a bishop.16
Since preservation was an important ingredient in Burgons textcritical views, it is not surprising that we should see the argument from
preservation used by his followers in the MT camp. It is quite prominent
in Wilbur Pickerings articulation,17 though it receives less emphasis in
Zane Hodges writings.18 However, Robinson and Pierpont deny that
their text-critical methodology in defense of the MT is in any way tied to
the doctrine of preservation.19
VIEWS ON PRESERVATION
The views of evangelical Christians who are currently engaged in the
present debate about preservation can be classified a number of ways. At
the most fundamental level, one can make a twofold division: (1) those
who deny the Scriptures teach any doctrine of preservation and (2) those
who affirm there is a doctrine of preservation taught by the Scriptures,
either directly or indirectly. However, a threefold division is more helpful since those in group 2, who affirm a doctrine of preservation, are
themselves sharply divided as to what that doctrine teaches. On one side
are those who believe that the Scriptures have been preserved in the totality of the biblical manuscripts (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek), and, on
the other side, are those who believe that the Scriptures have only been
accurately preserved in the KJV/TR/MT traditionthat any other textual
tradition is corrupt.
Right at the onset, we must distinguish between belief in a doctrine
___________________
15See Edgar C. S. Gibson, The Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England, 5th ed.
(Methuen & Co., 1906), p. 526.
16Hills,
The King James Version Defended, p. 192; and Letis, Introduction, p. 5.
17Contribution of John William Burgon to New Testament Criticism, in True or

False? The Westcott-Hort Textual Theory Examined, ed. David O. Fuller (Grand Rapids:
Grand Rapids International Publications, 1973), pp. 27780; idem, The Identity of the
New Testament Text (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1977), pp. 14344. See especially the
discussion by Daniel B. Wallace, The Majority Text and the Original Text: Are They
Identical? Bibliotheca Sacra 148 (AprilJune 1991): 15254.
18Rationalism and Contemporary New Testament Textual Criticism, Bibliotheca
Sacra 128 (JanuaryMarch 1971): 2930. In his later writings, however, Hodges holds
the preservation argument in abeyance and argues the MT position on strict text-critical
grounds. See, for example, Modern Textual Criticism and the Majority Text: A Response, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 21 (June 1978): 14546.
19Maurice A. Robinson and William G. Pierpont, The New Testament in the Original Greek According to the Byzantine/Majority Textform (Atlanta: Original Word Publishers, 1991), pp. xlixliii.
of preservation and, simply, belief in preservation. This is crucial in understanding exactly what those in group 1 are denying. To my knowledge, no one in that group denies the preservation of Scripture, that is,
that the books of the Old and New Testaments have been substantially
preserved to our day. But they do deny that Scripture anywhere promises, either directly or indirectly, its own preservationa doctrine of
preservation. That is, they can speak of the preservation of Scripture because it is a historical reality, but it is not a theological necessity. This
then provides another way to distinguish between groups 1 and 2. Those
in group 1, who deny a doctrine of preservation, believe Scripture has
been preserved, but it is only a historical realitya fact that is clear from
the historical evidence. Those in group 2, who affirm a doctrine of preservation, also believe that the historical evidence demonstrates the preservation of Scripture, but add that this preservation is a theological
necessityScripture must be preserved because Scripture itself promises
its own preservation. We will now turn to a more complete description
of these views.
Denial of a Doctrine of Preservation
In an article entitled Inspiration, Preservation, and New Testament
Textual Criticism,20 by Daniel B. Wallace, we find what is apparently
the first definitive, systematic denial of a doctrine of preservation of
Scripture.21 He has been joined in his view by W. Edward Glenny.22
Though it is impossible to prove that most evangelical Christians have
always affirmed a doctrine of preservation, the position of Wallace and
Glenny appears to be a rather novel one. It is clearly the rise of the
KJV/TR movement that has sparked the recent discussions by Wallace
and Glenny, and it is principally the particular doctrine of preservation
found in the KJV/TR position that they are seeking to refutea preservation that hints at, and often openly declares, the perfect preservation
of the text of Scripture. But in refuting that extreme view, they have
eliminated any vestige of the preservation of Scripture as a doctrine.
___________________
20Grace Theological Journal 12 (Spring 1991): 2150. This article originally appeared in New Testament Essays in Honor of Homer A. Kent, Jr., ed. Gary T. Meadors
(Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books, 1991), pp. 69102.
21Wallaces former teacher, Harry Sturz, did in fact precede him in the denial of
any corollary between inspiration and preservation, but Sturz argued, contrary to
Wallace, that preservation is promised in Scripture. See Harry A. Sturz, The Byzantine
Text-Type and New Testament Textual Criticism (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1984), p.
38.
22The
Preservation of Scripture, in chapter 5 of The Bible Version Debate: The

Perspective of Central Baptist Theological Seminary, ed. Michael A. Grisanti (Minneapolis:
Central Baptist Theological Seminary, 1997). But, as I will demonstrate later, Glenny
retreats from his denial in a footnote to his essay.
It is important to remember that simple statements to the effect that

God has wonderfully preserved the Scriptures or that God has providentially preserved the Scriptures do not, in and of themselves, tell us
anything about ones belief, or lack thereof, in a doctrine of preservation.
Whatever has been preserved, whether it is the Bible or, for instance,
Julius Caesars Commentaries on the Gallic War, has been preserved because God is in control of the universe. Any ancient document that is
extant today owes its present existence to Gods preservation. So we can
say that all the works of ancient authors in existence today have been
providentially preserved. But again, this does not necessarily imply a
doctrine of preservationthat God must preserve. God did not have to
preserve Caesars Commentaries on the Gallic War, and, as is well-known,
many ancient documents that were once known to exist have long since
perished (e.g., Origens Hexapla23). A doctrine of preservation of the
Scriptures says that they must be preservedthat they cannot have perished.
Both Wallace and Glenny put forth two major arguments against
preservation. First, preservation is not a necessary corollary of inspiration; that is, while inspiration is a true doctrine, there is nothing in the
doctrine itself that demands that what God inspired he was bound to
preserve. Second, the biblical texts that are used to support a doctrine of
preservation have been misinterpreted, and, in fact, do not teach such a
doctrine. They take what might be called a minimalist approach to these
texts. Both of these arguments will be examined in due course.
Preservation in the KJV/TR/MT Tradition
Though there are some differences among the King James-only and
Textus Receptus positions, they both affirm a doctrine of preservation of
Scripture, and it is this doctrine that is generally a controlling principle
in their text-critical arguments. Although this doctrine receives greater
emphasis and is more fundamental in the KJV/TR position, as we noted
earlier, the preservation argument also shows up in most formulations of
the MT position. The distinguishing factor in this expression of the doctrine of preservation is the notion that God has only accurately preserved
the Scriptures in a particular translation (KJV) and printed Greek text
(TR) or in a particular manuscript tradition (Byzantine). Other translations of the Bible and other Greek texts are corrupt to such a degree that
they generally cannot be called the Word of God. Questions regarding
___________________
23Hexapla is Greek for sixfold, and was so named because it was an edition of the
Old Testament in six parallel columns. Unfortunately, only fragments of the Hexapla
have survived since it was too massive to be copied in full, and the original was destroyed
in A.D. 638 when Caesarea was overrun by the Arabs.
the Old Testament text are usually not addressed in this debate.24
This view of preservation is often described by its supporters as
nothing more than providential preservation. When, for example, opponents charge that those who hold this view must actually believe in a
continuing miracle of inspiration, advocates commonly protest that that
is not their position, but that of Peter Ruckman, with which they do not
wish to be identified.25 They, we are told, believe in providential preservation. However, one gets the impression from their discussions that for
the advocates of this viewpoint the word providential has taken on an
unusual meaning, that providential preservation places the preservation
of the Scriptures on a different level than other works.26 However, this is
a misunderstanding of providential. In reality, providence is Gods
power in bringing the movement of the universe to its predetermined
goal and design.27 God brings about his will in the universe either directly (e.g., miracles) or indirectly, that is, through secondary causation.
Concerning this latter means, Sproul explains: We are creatures with a
will of our own. We make things happen. Yet the causal power we exert
is secondary. Gods sovereign providence stands over and above our actions. He works out His will through the actions of human wills, without violating the freedom of those human wills.28
When most writers speak of the preservation of the Scripture as being providential, they mean Scripture has been preserved by secondary
causation, through ordinary human means, rather than by Gods direct,
miraculous intervention. God has not chosen to preserve the Scriptures
miraculously. Thus the preservation of Scripture is not different in
___________________
24See Roy E. Beacham, The Old Testament Text and English Versions, in chapter 3 of The Bible Version Debate: The Perspective of Central Baptist Theological Seminary,
ed. Michael A. Grisanti (Minneapolis: Central Baptist Theological Seminary, 1997).
25See, e.g., David W. Cloud, What About Ruckman? O Timothy 11 (November
1994); available from http://wayoflife.org/~dcloud/articles/ruckman.htm.
26For instance, Edward F. Hills says, Dr. Warfield ignored the providential preservation of the Scriptures and treated the text of the New Testament as he would the text
of any book or writing (A History of My Defense of the King James Version, p. 100).
Of course, it is nonsense to suggest that Warfield ignored the providential preservation
of the Scriptures (see his The Westminster Confession and the Original Autographs,
in Selected Shorter Writings of Benjamin B. Warfield, vol. 2, ed. John E. Meeter (Nutley:
NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1973), pp. 58894 [originally
published in The Presbyterian Messenger, September 13, 1894]. Hillss negative view of
Warfield stems from Warfields failure to subscribe to Hillss particular view of preservation.
27Rolland D. McCune, Systematic Theology I (class notes, Detroit Baptist
Theological Seminary, 1997), p. 185.
28R. C. Sproul, Essential Truths of the Christian Faith (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale
House Publishers, 1992), p. 62.
10
method from any other ancient book God has determined to preserve, as,
for example, Caesars Commentaries on the Gallic Warboth Scripture
and Caesars work have been preserved providentially, by secondary causation, by essentially ordinary human means. But we could also say that
Origens Hexapla has providentially not been preserved. A doctrine of
preservation of the Scriptures would mean, however, that the preservation of Scripture was always assured even though God carried out his
will to preserve the Scriptures primarily through the actions of human
wills.
Advocates of the KJV/TR position, who themselves use the phrase
providential preservation, often, in their further descriptions of what they
mean by preservation, betray the fact that they do indeed believe in a
preservation of the Scriptures that is beyond secondary causation. Ray,
for example, on the one hand, says that God has providentially preserved for us the Greek New Testament from which the Authorized
King James Bible was translated in 161129; on the other hand, he says
that the writing of the Word of God by inspiration is no greater miracle
than the miracle of its preservation in the Textus Receptus.30 David
Cloud speaks of the Scripture which has been providentially kept pure
in all ages,31 but then says: The bottom line is that the same Bible that
claims to be infallibly inspired also claims to be infallibly preserved.32
And, amazingly, Richard Flanders, after arguing that the Bible claims
its God-given words will be providentially preserved,33 goes so far as to
say that the actual existence of the original text will continue eternally.34
The first major plank of the KJV/TR viewpoint is that preservation is
a corollary of inspiration. Hills argues:
If the doctrine of the divine inspiration of the Old and New Testament
Scriptures is a true doctrine, the doctrine of the providential preservation of
the Scriptures must also be a true doctrine. If He gave the Scriptures to
His Church by inspiration, then it is obvious that He would not allow
this revelation to disappear or undergo any alteration of its fundamental
___________________
29Jasper J. Ray, God Wrote Only One Bible (Junction City, OR: Eye Opener Publishers, 1955), p. 193.
30Ibid.,
p. 104.
31Comments
on James Prices Textual Emendations in the Authorized Version

(Oak Harbor, WA: Way of Life Literature, 1986); available from http://wayoflife.org/
~dcloud/fbns/commentsonprice.htm.
32Preservation
33Does
Is Missing in Standard Works on Textual Criticism.
the Bible Promise Its Own Preservation? p. 1. This is an unpublished paper by the pastor of the Juniata Baptist Church in Vassar, MI.
34Ibid.,
p. 6.
11
character.35
Second, we are told that the Bible actually teaches the doctrine of infallible preservation of the Scriptures. Many texts are commonly cited, including Psalm 12:67; 119:89; 119:152; 119:160; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew
5:1718; John 10:35; Matthew 24:35, and 1 Peter 1:2325. Finally,
preservation means that the biblical text has always been publicly available throughout the history of the church. Hills says, It must be that
down through the centuries God has exercised a special, providential
control over the copying of the Scriptures and the preservation and use
of the copies, so that trustworthy representatives of the original text have
been available to Gods people in every age.36 These last two points are
quite important because they are used to rule out immediately any
printed Greek text or version that is not based on the TR. Only the TR,
we are told, displays the kind of perfect preservation that Scripture
promises for itself, and the only Greek text available throughout all of
church history, according this view, has been the TR. Any printed text or
version not based on the TR must therefore be of necessity corruptnot
worthy of the title, the Word of God.
Preservation in the Totality of Manuscripts
That God has preserved the Scriptures in the totality of the manuscript tradition has traditionally been the position of most evangelicals
and fundamentalists on the subject of preservation. On the one hand,
they have generally affirmed that a doctrine of preservation is taught in
Scripture; on the other hand, they have rejected the view that preservation is restricted to just a single text-type (e.g., Byzantine text), printed
text (e.g., TR), or version (e.g., KJV). For example, Detroit Baptist
Theological Seminary has said:
While the Bible clearly teaches the ultimate indestructibility of the
verbal revelation of God (Matt 24:35; 1 Pet 1:25), it does not tell how and
where the written manuscript lineage of that Word is preserved. We believe
that God has providentially preserved His word in the many manuscripts,
fragments, versions, translations, and copies of the Scriptures that are available, and that by diligent study, comparison, and correlation, the original
text (words) can be ascertained.37
There is nothing new about this viewpoint. B. B. Warfield understood
___________________
35King
James Version Defended, p. 2.
36Ibid.
37Inspiration & Preservation of Scripture (Allen Park, MI: Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, 1996); available from http://www.dbts.edu/inspiration.html.
12
this to be the clear teaching of the Westminster Confession:

We thus have brought before us by the Confession, in turn, the original
autograph of Scripture, produced by the immediate inspiration of God; the
preservation of this autographic text in a multitude of copies whose production is presided over by Gods singular care and providence; and the
ordinary Bibles in the hands of the people, each of which conveys divine
truth to the reader with competent adequacy for all the needs of the Christian life.38
Like the previous position, this view normally uses the argument
based on a corollary between inspiration and preservation (though
sometimes it is not formally stated as such). Wisdom, for example, says,
Verbal inspiration is useless without verbal preservation, and Houghton argues, A view of inspiration without a corresponding view of preservation is of no value.39 Though these statements could easily be made
by someone in the KJV/TR camp, this view of preservation does not hold
that the corollary between inspiration and preservation requires that
preservation be restricted to the KJV, TR, or MT. The implications of this
corollary will be explored later in this essay. In addition, this view of
preservation appeals to some of the same biblical texts as the previous
view, though they are interpreted quite differently. It obviously does not
hold that the doctrine of preservation requires that the most accurate
biblical text or, for that matter, any biblical text, be publicly available to
Gods people at all times.
EXAMINATION OF THE BIBLICAL DATA
Appeal has traditionally been made to a number of biblical texts in
order to prove a doctrine of preservation. Those who deny that there is
any doctrine of preservation discount all these texts, and even those who
affirm a doctrine of preservation do not necessarily agree that every one
of these texts is applicable. A number of the most commonly cited texts
will now be examined. But before these texts are considered, it will be
helpful to first look at a phrase whose meaning is central in a number of
themthe Word of God.
The Word of God
In order to prove a doctrine of preservation, a number of Scripture
___________________
38The
Westminster Confession and the Original Autographs, p. 594.
39Thurman
Wisdom, Textus Receptus: Is It Fundamental to Our Faith? Faith for

the Family, October 1979, p. 3; Myron J. Houghton, The Preservation of Scripture,
Faith Pulpit, August 1999 (a publication of Faith Baptist Theological Seminary, Ankeny,
IA).
13
passages in which the phrase the word(s) of God (or Lord) is used are
commonly appealed to. It is customarily assumed, usually with no supporting argumentation, that this expression universally refers to Scripture, Gods written revelation. However, a study of this phrase suggests
that, more often than not, Gods written revelation is not in view.40
A glance at a concordance or lexicon will easily demonstrate that in
the Old Testament the expression the word of God (or Lord) is used
almost universally of oral communication.41 Most of the time the phrase
occurs in instances of Gods communication to man, beginning in
Genesis 15:1, the word of the LORD came to Abraham in a vision,
saying, Do not fear,42 and continuing throughout the OT. Also
numerous are the occasions where the word of the prophet to his audience is designated as the word of the LORD, beginning at Numbers
36:5, Then Moses commanded the sons of Israel according to the word
of the LORD, saying, The tribe of the sons, and also continuing
throughout the OT. Because what came orally to Gods spokesmen was
sometimes eventually written down, the phrase came to designate
Scripture as well. For instance, when the copy of the Law was found in
the temple during the reign of Josiah, the king says: Go, inquire of the
LORD for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book which has been found; for great is the
wrath of the LORD which is poured out on us because our fathers have
not observed the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written
in this book (2 Chr 34:21). But this usage is not common in the OT,
with other terms being more frequently used to refer to the written word
(e.g., law, testimonies, statutes, etc.). While the attributes of Gods oral
communication can often be easily transferred to Gods written word, a
___________________
40David
W. Hay denies the expression Word of God is ever used in the Bible
with reference to writings (The Expression Word of God in Scripture, Canadian
Journal of Theology 2 [July 1956]: 139).
41Francis
Brown, Samuel R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, eds., A Hebrew and

English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Oxford: At the Clarendon Press), s.v. rb;D:, pp.
18283 and hr;m]ai, p. 57 [hereafter cited as BDB]. See the discussions in Theological
Dictionary of the Old Testament, s.v. rb;D:, by W. H. Schmidt, 3:111125; Evangelical
Dictionary of Theology, s.v. Word, Word of God, Word of the Lord, by H. D.
McDonald, pp. 118588; Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, s.v. Word, by H.
Douglas Buckwalter, pp. 82831; Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, s.v.
Word, Word of the Lord, by G. W. Bromiley, pp. 95662. See also Wayne Grudem,
Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), pp. 4750; idem, Scriptures
Self-Attestation and the Problem of Formulating a Doctrine of Scripture, in Scripture
and Truth, ed. D. A. Carson and John D. Woodbridge (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1983), pp. 1949.
42Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the New American
Standard Bible, 1995 edition.
14
one-to-one correspondence is not always possible; so texts that seem to

promise preservation of the word of God need to be examined carefully to determine if such an application is valid.
At the beginning of the New Testament there is a continuation of
the Old Testament usage when the word of God came to John, the son
of Zacharias, in the wilderness (Luke 3:2). But once Jesus comes as the
Word (John 1:1, 14), there is no further reference of the word of God
coming to anyone. While the word of God does occasionally designate
Scripture in the NT, most often it is used to refer comprehensively to
the body of revealed truths which made up the apostolic gospel.43 This
is how it is used exclusively in Acts: for example, theybegan to speak
the word of God with boldness (4:31); the word of God kept on
spreading (6:7); the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be
multiplied (12:24); and the word of the Lord was being spread
through the whole region (13:49). The phrases the word of God or
the word of the Lord are used twenty-one times in Acts and in every
case the referent is to the apostolic message of Christ, which was delivered orally. This is the normal usage in Pauls epistles as well. For instance, when Paul describes his enemies as those who corrupt the word
of God (2 Cor 2:17, KJV), he is not making reference to the Scriptures,
but the gospel message.44 Those in the KJV/TR camp, because they incorrectly assume Pauls word of God is Scripture, commonly argue erroneously that here Paul is acknowledging the corrupting of manuscripts
and translations by false teachers.45
Psalm 12:67
6
The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of
earth, purified seven times. 7Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt
___________________
43J. I. Packer, Fundamentalism and the Word of God (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1958), p. 85. See also Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 2nd ed.,
rev. and augmented by F. Wilbur Gingrich and Frederick W. Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), s.v. lovgo", p. 478 and rJh'ma, p. 735 [hereafter cited as
BAGD]; Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, s.v. levgw, lovgo", et al., by A.
Debrunner, et al., 4:114; New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, s.v.
Word, Tongue, Utterance, by B. Klappert, 3:1113.
44Paul Barnett, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), p. 157; Ralph P. Martin,
2nd Corinthians, Word Biblical Commentary (Waco, TX: Word Books, 1986), p. 50.
45David W. Cloud, The Problems with Bible Preservation/Can You Answer All of
the Questions? (Oak Harbor, WA: Way of Life Literature, 1999 [available from
http://wayoflife.org/~dcloud/fbns/problemswith.htm]); also Clinton Branine, The History of Bible Families and the English Bible (Greenwood, IN: Heritage Baptist University,
n.d.), p. 1; Ray, God Wrote Only One Bible, p. 4.
15
preserve them from this generation for ever. (KJV)
Several ideas are usually extracted from this verse in the KJV by those
in the KJV/TR camp. The words of the LORD are understood to be the
Bible, and these pure words are promised an eternal preservation. It is
also understood that these pure words will be preserved in a pure
form. There are several problems with this interpretation. Everyone
would agree that the originally inspired words are pure words in the
sense that they are true and dependable, containing no hidden dross or
deceit.46 Truly, these pure words are inerrant words, but the passage
does not say how purely they will be preserved, only that they will be preserved. Therefore, at most this verse might be a general promise of the
preservation of Gods Word. Even then it is somewhat problematic that
God would promise only to preserve his Word from David forward
(from this generation). What about the period between Moses and
David?47
However, it is more probable that verse 7 (Thou shall keep
themthou shalt preserve them) is not even referring to the words of
the LORD in verse 6. That is, the antecedent of them in verse 7 is
probably not the words of verse 6. The Hebrew term for them
(twice in v. 7) is masculine, while the term for words is feminine.
Therefore, most interpreters and versions understand the promise of
preservation in verse 7 to apply to the poor and needy of verse 5.
Note the NIV:
5
Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I
will now arise," says the LORD. "I will protect them from those who malign
them. 6And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times. 7O LORD, you will keep us safe and
protect us from such people forever.
Davids subject in this Psalm is stated right in verse 1: Help, LORD, for
the godly man ceases to be, For the faithful disappear from among the
sons of men. David is concerned about the righteous who are being oppressed by the wicked of this generation. In the midst of this he declares his assurance that God will preserve the righteous forever. Taken
in this sense, this passage has no bearing on the doctrine of preservation.
Psalm 119:89
Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.
___________________
46New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, s.v. rx,
by Robin Wakely, 3:849.
47Glenny,
The Preservation of Scripture, p. 91.
16

About this verse, D. A. Waite argues:
Gods Word is not in doubt. It is permanent. It is unconfused and plain.
God has settled this. If it has been settled, that means it has been preserved,
kept pure, Nothing has been lost. Some people say, Well, it is settled in
Heaven but not on earth. But God doesnt need it in Heaven; He knows
His Word. We are the ones who need it. He is using this verse, Psalm
119:89, to show us that God has given us Words that are settled.48
Thus we are to understand that there is a perfect copy of the Bible in

heaven, and this perfect Bible has been given to us here on earth.
There are a number of problems with this interpretation. For one, as
has been previously explained, it cannot be automatically assumed that
any reference to the word of God (Your word) is to be identified with
Gods written revelation. So the question in Psalm 119:89 becomes, Is
Your word a reference to Scripture or some other usage of the term
word? On the positive side, it is universally recognized that in Psalm 119
the term word (rb;D;), used here, along with the expressions law (hr';/T),
testimonies (tWd[e ), precepts (ydiWQPi) , statutes (hQ;ju) , commandments
(hwx]mi), ordinances or judgments (yfiP;v]mi), and promise or word (hr;m]ai)
are commonly used as synonyms for Scripture,49 particularly the Torah.50 And in this section of the Psalm (vv. 8998), other verses do seem
to make reference to the Torah: If Your law had not been my delight,
Then I would have perished in my affliction (v. 92); I will never forget
Your precepts, For by them You have revived me (v. 93); I am Yours,
save me; For I have sought Your precepts (v. 94); The wicked wait for
me to destroy me; I shall diligently consider Your testimonies (v. 95); I
have seen a limit to all perfection; Your commandment is exceedingly
broad (v. 96). So the Psalmist could be referring to Scripture, and it
must be admitted that even some who do not share the KJV/TR viewpoint on preservation, nevertheless, believe that verse 89 refers to a
copy of words that God in heaven has permanently decided on and has
subsequently caused to be committed to writing by men.51
___________________
48Defending the King James Bible (Collingswood, NJ: Bible for Today Press, 1992),
pp. 78.
49Derek
Kidner, Psalms 73150 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1975), p.
417.
50Leslie
C. Allen, Psalms 101150, Word Biblical Commentary (Waco, TX: Word

Books, 1983), p. 139.
51Grudem, Scriptures Self-Attestation and the Problem of Formulating a Doctrine of Scripture, p. 33. See also John R. Rice, Our God-Breathed BookThe Bible
(Murfreesboro, TN: Sword of the Lord Publishers, 1969), p. 181. William D. Barrick
understands Ps 119:89 to mean that the Word of God is preserved in heaven in the mind
of God (Ancient Manuscripts and Exposition, Masters Seminary Journal 9 [Spring
17
Granting for the moment that this verse is referring to Gods written
revelation in heaven, it still says nothing about the preservation of that
revelation here on earth, not withstanding Waites protestations to the
contrary. In fact, it says nothing about its initial inspiration here on
earth. In short, no direct promise of preservation here on earth can be
gleaned from this verse.
Apart from this verse, there is nothing in the rest of Scripture to
suggest the idea of an archetypal Bible in heaven, which, if true, might
logically lead to a dictation view of inspiration.52 While it might be accurate to describe some portions of the Bible as being dictated (e.g., The
Ten Commandments), conservative explanations of the doctrine of inspiration have generally rejected a dictation methodology.53 It seems
more likely that Your word in verse 89 has no direct reference to Gods
written revelation. As Anderson notes, thy wordis probably the expression of Gods all-embracing purpose and will (cf. Isa 40:8).54 Gods
purpose, his will, is firmly fixed in heaven beyond the reach of all
disturbing causes.55 This seems confirmed by the next two verses:
90
Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations; You established

the earth, and it stands. 91 They stand this day according to Your ordinances, For all things are Your servants.
What God says, his word, is determined and fixed; it can be counted on;
thus, God is faithful. His word holds the universe in place.56 Thus, it
would appear that this verse has no direct application to the doctrine of
preservation.
Psalm 119:152
Of old I have known from Your testimonies That You have founded them
forever.
This verse would seem to offer stronger support for a doctrine of

preservation. The context (vv. 14552) makes clear reference to Gods
___________________
1998]: 28).
52E.g.,
Rice, Our God-Breathed BookThe Bible, pp. 28291.
53E.g.,
Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 3 vols. (Grand Rapids: Baker,

19831985), 1:207.
54A. A. Anderson, The Book of Psalms, 2 vols., New Century Bible Commentary
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972), p. 831.
55J.
A. Alexander, The Psalms (reprint of 1873 ed.; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1975), p.
495.
56Glenny,
The Preservation of Scripture, p. 88.
18
written revelation in the Torah. The Psalmist says he will observe the
Lords statutes (v. 145) and keep his testimonies (v. 146). He waits
for His words (v. 147) and meditates in His word (v. 148) and asks
to be revived according to the LORDs ordinances (v. 149). The
Psalmist observes that the wicked do not obey His law (v. 150). Finally, he concludes in verses 15152, You are near, O LORD, And all
Your commandments are truth. Of old I have known from Your testimonies that You have founded them forever. These testimonies, have
been founded forever, meaning, as the NIV puts its, you established
them to last forever.
Glenny seeks to deny any reference to preservation by suggesting the
point of the verse is that in contrast to the wicked, the Psalmist is
trusting in Gods Word (vv. 145149). His confidence is that Gods law
is not fickle; it is trustworthy and based on Gods unchanging moral
character. That must be the meaning of verse 152 in its context.57 All of
this is true but it is doubtful if it goes far enough. If God has established the testimonies to last forever, it is certainly true that Gods
law is not fickle and that it is trustworthy and based on Gods unchanging moral character. But since the Psalmist would have come to
know these testimonies from the written Torah, probably through his
own reading, it is difficult to imagine that he could divorce their being
founded, established, or caused to last forever apart from a preserved
written form, the written form from which he was reading. The Torah
could not likely be establishedto last forever apart from a written
form. Verse 152 appears to be a fairly direct promise of preservation.
Psalm 119:160
The sum of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting.
This verse is similar to Psalm 119:152 in that it is part of a section

(vv. 15360) in which the Psalmist makes numerous references to the
Torah: law (v. 153), word (v. 154), statutes (v. 155), ordinances
(v. 156), testimonies (v. 157), word (158), and precepts (159).
Again, Glenny seeks to discount the preservation emphasis in verse 160
by interpreting it as he does verse 152. Concerning the last part of the
verse, And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting,
Glenny says: [the Psalmist] must be expressing his confidence in the
infallibility and absolute trustworthiness of Gods Word. Every statement in Gods Word is dependable.58 Certainly that is true, but it
___________________
57Ibid.
58Ibid.,
p. 89.
19
seems to fall short of the meaning of the last part of the verse. Gods special revelation is truthit is dependable, as Glenny notes; but it is
also everlasting. As in verse 152, the Psalmist is reflecting on Gods
Word in the written Torah, which he sees as both dependable and imperishable. This verse, then, like 152, would also seem to strongly imply
a doctrine of preservation.
Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.
In this verse we are again faced with the problem of identifying the
word of our God, as well as the meaning of stands forever. The Hebrew word for stands (Wq ) when it is used figuratively can have the
ideas of fixed, confirmed, established, endure, and according to
BDB in this verse the particular sense is be fulfilled.59 BDB also suggests parallels with Isaiah 14:24, The LORD of hosts has sworn saying,
Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have
planned so it will stand, and Isaiah 46:10, Declaring the end from the
beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done,
Saying, My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My
good pleasure. Thus, the idea would be that the word of our God
stands forever in the sense that it will be fulfilled. However, commentators universally understand the emphasis to be more that of permanencethe permanence of Gods word in contrast to the grass
and the flowers.60 Motyer says that in verses 68 the message is the
contrast between human transience and divine permanence, designed to
affirm that what the Lord promises he will most surely keep and perform.61 Thus Isaiah says that the plans and purposes of the nations will
fail, but the word of our God stands foreverhis plans are fixed, established, permanent; they cannot be annulled by the passage of
___________________
59p.
878.
60So
Edward J. Young, The Book of Isaiah, 3 vols. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965,
1969, 1972), 3:35; John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, 2 vols., New International
Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986, 1998), 2:54;
Claus Westermann, Isaiah 4066, Old Testament Library (Philadelphia: Westminster
Press, 1969), p. 42; Barry G. Webb, The Message of Isaiah, The Bible Speaks Today
(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), p. 163; George A. F. Knight, Isaiah
4055, 2nd ed., International Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1984), pp. 1415; R. N. Whybray, Isaiah 4066, New Century Bible Commentary
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975), p. 51.
61J. Alec Motyer, Isaiah, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove,
IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), p. 245.
20
time.62 Alexander suggests that there is a tacit antithesis between the

word of God and man; what man says is uncertain and precarious, what
God says cannot fail.63 What God says, his word, cannot be changed; it
is immutable.
Glenny seeks to dismiss any implications this verse might have for
the preservation of Scripture by arguing that this OT context speaks of
the infallibility of Gods promises to deliver His people from their captivity in Babylon.64 Earlier he says that this promise from God stands
forever; it is infallible.65 But this analysis seems to miss the clear emphasis of permanence in verse 8, an emphasis that would support the
preservation of the word of God. However, it must still be determined if
the word of our God refers to written revelation. Glenny argues that
Isaiah is referring more generally to Gods word, that is, Gods promise
to deliver His people from the Babylonian Captivity and bring them
back to Judah (vv. 9ff.).66 But most would not wish to restrict the
phrase so narrowly. Grudem is probably more on target when he observes that Isaiah 40:68refers to the words of God spoken and/or
written through the Old Testament prophets and that verse 8 is a
statement about the character of Gods words generally, without reference to any particular form in which they occur.67
Overall, then, it does not appear that verse 8 should be pressed to
affirm a specific and direct promise of the preservation of Gods written
revelation. Instead, it may have a more indirect application to the doctrine.
Matthew 5:1718
17
Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not
come to abolish but to fulfill. 18For truly I say to you, until heaven and
earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law
until all is accomplished.
This is one of the most commonly referenced passages used to
___________________
62New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, s.v. l;/[,
by Anthony Tomasino, 3:349.
63J.
A. Alexander, The Prophecies of Isaiah, 2 vols. (reprint of 1875 ed.; Grand

Rapids: Zondervan, 1974), 2:98.
64The
Preservation of Scripture, p. 89.
65Ibid.
66Ibid.
67Wayne Grudem, 1 Peter, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988), p. 90.
21
support the preservation of Scripture. More familiar are the words of the
KJV, which renders the last part of verse 18 thusly, one jot or one tittle
shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. It is universally
agreed that the jot (ijw'ta) refers to Hebrew (or Aramaic) letter y (y),
the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet.68 The tittle (keraiva) literally means horn, that is, a projection or hook.69 This has often
been understood to refer to small parts of letters, especially the small
strokes distinguishing similar Hebrew letters (e.g., r and d ).70 The
NASBs smallest letter or stroke very adequately conveys the sense.
Taken at face value, the phrase not the smallest letter or stroke shall
pass from the Law could be understood to teach an absolutely perfect
preservation of the Law. And in fact Flanders says:
Some say that this promise refers only to the fulfillment of scripture and not
to its preservation. But notice that it says the text of the Bible (to the very
letter) will not pass in the sense that heaven and earth shall one day
pass. The Greek word used here for pass is parelthe, and it refers to the
physical extinction of the thing that shall pass. It can also be translated
perish. Just as Gods creation will pass some day, Gods Words will never
pass! The actual existence of the original text of scripture will continue
eternally, just as the physical existence of heaven and earth will not continue.71
Flanderss interpretation is just how Matthew 5:18 is commonly understood from the KJV/TR viewpoint. Cloud explains: In summary, the Bible promises that God will preserve His Word in pure form, including
the most minute details (the jots and titles [sic], the words), and that this
would include the whole Scriptures, Old and New Testaments. The
biblical doctrine of preservation is verbal, plenary preservation.72
Waite describes this as the inerrant preservation of the Words of the
___________________
68E.g., BAGD, s.v. ijw'ta, p. 386; D. A. Carson, Matthew, in vol. 8 of The Expositors Bible Commentary, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984), p.
145; Robert H. Gundry, Matthew (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982), p. 80; R. T.
France, Matthew, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1985), p. 115.
69BAGD,
s.v. keraiva, p. 428.
70E.g.,
Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,

1992), pp. 109110; Craig L. Blomberg, Matthew, New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1992), p. 104; John A. Broadus, Commentary on the Gospel of John
(Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1886), p. 100; Other suggestions include the Hebrew
letter w (ww), the hook at the top of the ancient y, or scribal ornamentation of certain
letters (see Carson, Matthew, p. 145; Gundry, Matthew, p. 80).
71Does
the Bible Promise Its Own Preservation? p. 6.
72Preservation
Is Missing in Standard Works on Textual Criticism.
22
Bible.73 But, in fact, these advocates of KJV/TR position do not actually

take Matthew 5:18 literally, even though they claim to do so. If not one
jot or tittle is to be changed, then they should insist on using only
the 1611 edition of the KJV since jot and tittle certainly involve
spelling, and there have been thousands of spelling changes since 1611.
In addition, if not one jot or tittle is to be changed, they should also
insist upon the authority of the Apocrypha since it was also a part of the
1611 edition.
There are two things to be said about the KJV/TR interpretation of
Matthew 5:18. First, it is an incontrovertible fact, obvious to anyone who
has examined the manuscript evidence, that we do not now possess the
words of the autographs in an absolutely inerrant state. This assertion is
most significant since it flatly contradicts the whole thesis of the KJV/TR
position. I will demonstrate the truth of this assertion later in this essay.
Second, Jesus is not teaching in this verse the inerrant preservation of
the Words of the Bible. We will now turn to the actual meaning of Jesus words.
Matthew 5:18 is first of all an example of hyperbole,74 a conscious
exaggeration or a type of overstatement in order to increase the effect of
what is being said.75 In a graphic way, then, this text makes a point
similar to Isaiah 40:8if not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass
from the Law until all is accomplished, the Law is immutable;76 it
stands forever. No part of the law, not the most insignificant letter,
was to be set aside77; the law is unalterable.78 But unlike Isaiah 40:8,
this text is more directly tied to Scripture since Law in verse 18 is at
least a reference to the Torah, more probably the entire OT.79 But again,
this is not to be taken literally, as though Jesus were promising that no
Hebrew manuscript could be changed or that no copyist could make an
error. This is simply a hyperbolic way of saying that Gods written revelation cannot be changed.
___________________
73Fundamentalist
Distortions on Bible Versions, p. 23.
74So
Craig S. Keener, A Commentary of the Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids:

Eerdmans, 1999), p. 178; Robert H. Stein, Difficult Sayings in the Gospels (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1985), p. 36.
75Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. and Moiss Silva, An Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), p. 95.
76Keener, Matthew, p. 177; W. D. Davies and Dale C. Allison, Jr., The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, 3 vols., International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T. &
T. Clark, 1988, 1991, 1997), 1:492.
77Broadus,
Matthew, p. 100.
78France,
Matthew, p. 115.
79Carson,
Matthew, p. 145.
23
If the Scripture cannot be changed, then it obviously remains valid,

with full authority. Thus, the emphasis in Matthew 5:18 is more on the
authority and validity of the OT, not primarily its preservation.80 As
Moo observes: Probably, then, we should understand v. 18 to be an endorsement of the continuing usefulness or authority of the law.81
Thus, this verse makes no direct affirmation concerning preservation;
however, the emphasis on the continuing authority of the Scriptures can
by implication be used to argue for the preservation of those same Scriptures. This approach will be discussed later in this essay.
John 10:35
If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture
cannot be broken),
This verse is also commonly used to prove a doctrine of preservation. Waite says: The Lord Jesus Christ Himself is saying that the
Words of God cannot be loosened, broken up, destroyed, dissolved,
melted, or put off. It is permanent and preserved by God.82 Brake
adds: [John 10:35] maintains that the Scriptures cannot cease to exist,
that they will stand. It is as direct and forceful as possible in maintaining
the preservation of the Scriptures.83 Contrary to Brake, Jesus statement
that the Scripture cannot be broken is probably not a direct assertion of the preservation of the Scriptures. The word broken (luvw) has
the idea of repeal, annul, abolish.84 Bchsel suggests that here the best
rendering is to set aside, to invalidate.85 The Scripture cannot be
emptied of its authority or, as Morris explains, Scripture cannot be
emptied of its force by being shown to be erroneous.86 Thus, Jesus
___________________
80Douglas J. Moo, The Law of Christ as the Fulfillment of the Law of Moses: A
Modified Lutheran View, in The Law, the Gospel, and the Modern Christian, ed. Wayne
G. Strickland (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1993), pp. 347, 353; Morris, Matthew, p.
110; Gundry, Matthew, p. 80; Blomberg, Matthew, p. 104; Carson, Matthew, p. 145.
81The
Law of Christ as the Fulfillment of the Law of Moses, p. 353.
82Defending
the King James Bible, p. 13.
83Donald
L. Brake, The Doctrine of the Preservation of the Scriptures (Th.M.

thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1970), p. 14.
84BAGD,
s.v. luvw, p. 484. Cf. the NRSV, and the scripture cannot be annulled.
85Theological
Dictionary of the New Testament, s.v. luvw et al., by F. Bchsel,
4:336.
86Leon
Morris, The Gospel According to John, 2nd ed., New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), p. 468. See also D.
A. Carson, The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), p. 399; F. F.
Bruce, The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983), p. 235; J. Carl Laney, John,
24
statement that the Scripture cannot be broken is basically making the

same point as Matthew 5:18. Murray argues that in both passages it is
the inviolability of Scripture that is asserted.87 Thus, if Scripture cannot
be emptied of its authority, it must have a continuing authority, and,
therefore, John 10:35, like Matthew 5:18, has an important implication
for the preservation of Scripture. Again, this will be addressed later in
this essay.
Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
Jesus statement, My words will not pass away, might at first seem
to be a direct promise of preservation. Waite takes the promise quite
broadly:
The Lord is talking of His Words, the New Testament. Not the Masoretic
Hebrew Old Testament only, but His Words will not pass away. That
means the promise extends to the New Testament. I believe, personally
that the Lord Jesus was the Source and Author of every word of the Hebrew Old Testament text. He was the Revelator. He is the Word of God.
In a very real sense, therefore, His Words include the entire Old Testament.
He is also the Source and Author of all the New Testament books.88
However, this verse would seem to promise too much. It is simply not
true that all of Jesus words have been preserved. The apostle John reminds us that there are also many other things which Jesus did, which
if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would
not contain the books that would be written (John 21:25). Certainly,
Jesus must have said some things that were not recorded in the NT, and
some of those words have passed away. Though it is true that God (or
Jesus) is the ultimate author of Scripture, this verse is not directly referring to any written revelation.
Matthew 24:35 uses the same hyperbolic language as Matthew 5:18.
Not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass [parevlqh/] from the Law is
saying much the same thing as My words will not pass away [parevlqwsin]. Both the words of the Law and the words of Jesus are immutable; they cannot be set aside; they are unalterable. As the words of
God, they stand forever (Isa 40:8). And just as not the smallest letter
or stroke shall pass from the Law speaks of the authority and validity of
___________________
Moody Gospel Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1992), p. 197.
87John Murray, The Infallibility of Scripture, in Collected Writings of John
Murray, 4 vols. (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 197682), 1:15.
88Defending
25
the Law, so the fact that Jesus words will not pass away gives them
equal authority to the OT. Carson notes: The authority and eternal validity of Jesus words are nothing less than the authority and eternal validity of Gods words (Ps 119:8990; Isa 40:68).89 But unlike
Matthew 5:18, which clearly refers to Scripture, 24:35 has reference to
the authority of Jesus oral words. And though it is true that some of Jesus words were recorded in Scripture, written revelation is not the primary emphasis here. Any application to preservation would be indirect,
much like Isaiah 40:8.
1 Peter 1:2325
23
for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. 24FOR, "ALL
FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS.
THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF, 25BUT THE WORD OF
THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER." And this is the word which was preached
to you.
Again, Waite says, commenting on this passage:

That is a reference to Bible preservation, isnt it? The Word of God is incorruptible. Gods Words cannot be corrupted, corroded, or decayed like
our bodies. The words of God are incorruptible. They live and abide
forever. That is a promise of Gods preservation. The Words of God do
not go away. They do not perish. They endure for ever.90
Waites reference to the Word of God being incorruptible comes from

the KJV translation: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of
incorruptible. The Greek term (a[fqarto") does not mean incorruptible in the modern sense of without error, but imperishable, as
the NASB rightly translates.91 Peter is not suggesting there can be no errors in the manuscript tradition.
But does this verse directly teach that Gods written revelation is
imperishable; in other words, does it directly affirm a doctrine of preservation? There are several problems with that interpretation. First, it is
not certain that the phrase living and enduring in verse 23 modifies
word. A case can be made that it modifies Godthrough the word of
the living and enduring God.92 The same two participles are applied to
___________________
89Carson,
Matthew, p. 507.
90Defending
91Also NIV.
92E.g.,
Cf. BAGD, s.v. a[fqarto", p. 125.
J. Ramsey Michaels, 1 Peter, Word Biblical Commentary (Waco, TX:

Word, 1988), pp. 7677. This is also the marginal reading of the NRSV and the NEB.
26
God in Daniel 6:27 (LXX). However, it must be admitted that this

reading is rejected by most commentators. Second, Peter is quoting
Isaiah 40:8 in verses 24 and 25, and we have already noted that this text
is probably not a direct promise of the preservation of Scripture. Third,
it is not clear that Peters reference to the word of God in verse 23 and
the word which was preached in verse 25 is a reference to Scripture. As
was previously explained, in the New Testament the word of God,
more often than not, has reference to the gospel message, rather than
Gods special written revelation. Finally, the passage in Peter ends with
the words: And this is the word which was preached to you. This
would seem to indicate that Peters emphasis throughout has been on
the gospel message as proclaimed to his readers, not on Gods written
revelation.93 That gospel message may have included references to Gods
Word written, but it does not appear that this is Peters primary emphasis. Therefore, any reference to the preservation of Scripture in this passage is probably indirect at best.
Summary of Biblical Data
It has been demonstrated that many of the verses commonly
claimed by those in the KJV/TR camp to directly prove a doctrine of
preservation have been misinterpreted and misapplied. On the other
hand, at least two verses, Psalm 119:152 and 160 would seem to suggest
a more direct promise of preservation, with Isaiah 40:8 and Matthew
24:35 supplying more indirect support. In addition Matthew 5:18 and
John 10:35 also strongly imply a doctrine of preservation with their emphasis on the continuing authority of Scripturean argument that will
be explored shortly. The attempt by Wallace and Glenny to discount the
force of these passages for preservation is unconvincing.
Thus we conclude that some of the verses discussed above do teach a
doctrine of preservation, some more directly and others more indirectly.
However, they do not support the view of preservation that is put forth
by the KJV/TR campthat God has perfectly preserved the Bible to our
day. Instead, they only suggest a general promise of preservation without
specifying how (what method) or to what extent (how pure) God has
chosen to preserve his Word.
___________________
93Michaels, 1 Peter, p. 79; J. N. D. Kelly, A Commentary on the Epistles of Peter and
Jude (reprint of 1969 ed.; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1981), pp. 8081; Edward G. Selwyn,
The First Epistle of St. Peter (reprint of 1947 ed.; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1981), p. 151; D.
Edmond Hiebert, First Peter (Chicago: Moody Press, 1984), p. 105. Though not a conclusive argument, Peter does use the term rJh'ma, which is commonly used for oral communication (BAGD, s.v. rJh'ma, p. 735).
27
IS PRESERVATION THE COROLLARY

OF INSPIRATION?
Webster defines corollary as (1) a proposition inferred immediately
from a proved proposition with little or no additional proof, (2a) something that naturally follows: result, and (2b) something that incidentally
or naturally accompanies or parallels.94 Thus to say that preservation is
the corollary of inspiration means that preservation is a doctrine that can
be inferred immediately from the proved proposition of inspiration;
preservation naturally follows or parallels inspiration. To say that
there is a correlation or parallel between inspiration and preservation
does not reveal anything about the exact nature of that preservation. It is
perfectly reasonable to assert a corollary between inspiration and preservation without asserting that preservation be in every way equal to inspirationfor example, that inerrant inspiration demands inerrant
preservation. This is the fallacy of the KJV/TR position, which takes the
corollary to demand a kind of preservation that is perfect, or almost
perfect, and uses that argument to restrict preservation to a specific
translation (KJV) or printed text (TR). It is this unreasonable, unbiblical,
and unhistorical expression of the corollary that Sturz, Wallace, and
Glenny have sought to refute.95 Although the KJV/TR movement has
misconstrued the corollary, the corollary is still valid.
A right understanding of the corollary suggests that there is no real
purpose or value in inspiring a document that is not preserved. Skilton
observes:
But we must maintain that God who gave the Scriptures, who works all
things after the counsel of his will, has exercised a remarkable care over his
Word, has preserved it in all ages in a state of essential purity, and has enabled it to accomplish the purpose for which he gave it. It is inconceivable
that the sovereign God who was pleased to give his Word as a vital and
necessary instrument in the salvation of his people would permit his Word
to become completely marred in its transmission and unable to accomplish
its ordained end. Rather, as surely as that he is God, we would expect to
find him exercising a singular care in the preservation of his written revelation.96
To illustrate, we might ask, What would be the purpose of producing an authoritative record (inspiration) and letting it perish? Why, for
___________________
94Merriam-Websters
Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed., s.v. corollary, p. 259.
95Harry
A. Sturz, The Byzantine Text-Type, pp. 3739; Wallace, Inspiration, Preservation, and New Testament Textual Criticism, pp. 3133; Glenny, The Preservation
of Scripture, pp. 7778.
96John H. Skilton, The Transmission of the Scriptures, in The Infallible Word
(reprint of 1946 ed.; Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1980), p. 143.
28
instance, let Paul write an inspired letter to the Romans and then have it
perish on the way to Rome? Of course, that did not happen, but could it
have happened? If one denies a corollary between inspiration and preservation, Pauls letter could have perished before it got to Rome.
The purpose of inspiration was to produce grafhv (2 Tim 3:16), a
written record, a deposit of divine truth for the readers, not the writer.
Without preservation the purpose of inspiration would be invalidated.
Since it was clearly Gods intention that Pauls inspired letter to the
Romans be read by the Romansit could not have perishedthere
must have been a divine work of preservation at work for at least a few
weeks or months until the letter was received by the Romans. This suggests that there is some degree of correlation between inspiration and
preservation. And the letter to the Romans was not meant just for the
Romans. No Scripture was intended for just the original recipientsFor whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the
Scriptures we might have hope (Rom 15:4). Similarly, Paul warns the
Corinthians using the example of Israels failure: Now these things
happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come (1 Cor 10:11). If the
Old Testament Scriptures (these things) were written, that is, inspired for the purpose of instructing future believers (our instruction),
that purpose for the inspired writings demands their preservation.
The corollary between inspiration and preservation is so compelling
that even Glenny, who denies this principle in the text of his chapter on
preservation, is forced to recant his denial in a long footnote to that
same chapter:
An obvious truth is that a document that is to be included in the
canon must be preserved. Therefore, since inspiration implies canonicity,
in an indirect way inspiration is related to the preservation of the documents
that are included in the canon. However, the preservation I have addressed
and evaluated in this chapter is not the preservation of the documents that
are in the canon, but rather the perfect preservation of the words of the texts
of all of those documents.97
While it is true that Glennys main concern in his chapter on preservation is to disprove the perfect preservation of the words of the texts of all
those documents, in the process he absolutely denies any corollary between inspiration and preservation. But since this denial creates an untenable problem for his doctrine of the canon, Glenny permits the
corollary to enter through the back door. Why is it that a document
that is to be included in the canon must be preserved? (emphasis
___________________
97The
Preservation of Scripture, pp. 10405, note 36.
29
added)98 Obviously, it is because God wanted the documents he inspired

to be in the canon, and if he wanted his inspired documents to be in the
canon, he must have preserved them. This line of reasoning ultimately
is based on a corollary between inspiration and preservation. Glennys
doctrine of the preservation of the documents99 is essentially the position I am arguing in this essaypreservation of the Scriptures in the totality of the manuscripts.
THE ARGUMENT FROM AUTHORITY
Closely tied to the argument for preservation based on a correlation
between inspiration and preservation is another corollary between the
authority of Scripture and preservation. Harold Stigers, in an article entitled Preservation: The Corollary of Inspiration, never actually makes
a direct case for a corollary between inspiration and preservation, in the
sense argued above. Instead, he says: The preservation of the Scriptures
is bound up with their authority so that the two are really indissoluble.
The former is a most necessary outgrowth of their inspiration.100 The
argument here is that since the Scriptures are authoritative, an authority
that comes from their inspiration (2 Tim 3:16), the Scriptures can have
no continuing authority unless they are preserved. Bahnsen correctly
notes: It is certainly legitimate for us to maintain that God in His sovereignty has preserved His Word in dependable form for all generations.
To be a Christian requires the possession of Gods words as a basis for
faith and direction in life,and men in all generations are responsible to
be Christians.101
Concerning authority, Grudem says: The authority of Scripture
means that all the words in Scripture are Gods words in such a way that
to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey
God.102 It is the right to command belief and/or action.103 This very
principle is seen in the most fundamental text on inspiration itself, 2
Timothy 3:1617: All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for
___________________
98In a letter to me, Glenny says: It is inconsistent, and I think impossible, for a
canonical document to be lost (November 5, 1997).
99I base my belief in the preservation of documents on theological reasoning from
the doctrines of inspiration and canonicity. And, based on this theological reasoning, I
believe we could call this belief in the preservation of documents a doctrine (Ibid.).
100Journal
of the Evangelical Theological Society 22 (September 1979): 217.
101Greg
L. Bahnsen, Autographs, Amanuenses and Restricted Inspiration, Evangelical Quarterly 45 (AprilJune 1973): 110.
102Systematic
Theology, p. 73.
103Erickson,
Christian Theology, 1:243.
30
teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that

the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
These purposes for Scripture, to teach, reprove, correct, and train, cannot be fulfilled unless Scripture is preserved. This is where Matthew
5:1718 and John 10:35 also tie into the doctrine of preservation. Since
both passages teach a continuing authority for Scripture, as we have
demonstrated, they indirectly support a doctrine of preservation. But the
same can be said for numerous texts that command the believers obedience. If these texts are essential to the believers sanctification, and they
are, they must have been preserved.
THE METHOD AND EXTENT OF PRESERVATION
Though it has been demonstrated that a doctrine of preservation can
be rightly affirmed both directly and indirectly from the overall biblical
teaching, it is important to make clear that none of these Scripture texts
and arguments tell us how God would preserve his Word, only that he
would preserve it. We are told neither the method nor the extent of this
preservation.
The Method of Preservation
As far as the method of preservation is concerned, there are only two
options. Scripture must be preserved either directly, by miraculous intervention in the transmission process, and/or indirectly, through secondary causationthrough the actions of human wills, as Sproul
reminded us earlier. It is generally agreed that Gods normal method of
preservation has been indirect, through secondary causation. This
method has usually been termed providential, though, as we previously
noted, providence simply has to do with God carrying out his design for
the universe, regardless of whether that is done directly or indirectly. But
in discussions of preservation the term providential is used to signify that
though God miraculously inspired his Word, he has normally chosen to
preserve it via secondary causation, that is, through ordinary human
means. And because preservation has been by ordinary human means,
the transmission process has inevitably resulted in the introduction of errors.
As we have observed earlier, because advocates of the KJV/TR position commonly claim to believe in providential preservation through ordinary human means, they generally wish to distance themselves from
the idea of a miraculous re-inspiration of manuscripts or versions. However, providential preservation via secondary causation cannot produce
the kind of product this position claims to possessan error-free TR
and/or KJV. Speaking of the TR, Waite says:
31
It is my own personal conviction and belief, after studying this subject

since 1971, that the words of the Received Greek and Masoretic Hebrew
texts that underlie the King James Bible are the very words which God has
preserved down through the centuries, being the exact words of the originals themselves. As such, I believe they are inspired words.104
Of the KJV he adds that he has not found any translation errors in the
King James Bible.105 In another place, Waite says that the King James
Bible is Gods Word Kept Intact.106 What does intact mean? Waite
explains: It means not harmed. Nothing harms or defiles it. The
King James Biblein my studied opinionis the only translation that
completely and accurately reflects, in English, the original Hebrew/Aramaic and Greek.107 Similarly, Cloud says: I believe the King
James Bible is an accurate and lovely translation of the preserved Greek
and Hebrew text of Scripture. I do not believe the King James Bible
contains any errors.108 In like manner, Thomas Strouse writes: The
KJV is the Word of God in the English language. It has no errors in it
because it carefully reflects the original language texts closest to the
autographa.109 Ian Paisley agrees: I believe the Authorised Version preserves the Word of God for me in the English tongue and that it contains no errors.110
Although many of those in the KJV/TR camp refrain from using language associated with the original inspiration of the Scriptures, some are
not so guarded. Paisley argues: There is no such thing as verbal Revelation without verbal Inspiration and there is no such thing as verbal Inspiration without verbal Preservation. In all cases it is not partial but
plenary i.e. full, complete, perfect.111 Wallace Miller insists that the
Authorized 1611 Version is the preserved, inerrant, inspired, and perfect word of God in the English language.112 And amazingly, Charles
___________________
104Defending
the King James Bible, pp. 4849.
105Ibid.,
p. 246.
106Ibid.,
p. 1.
107Ibid.
108David W. Cloud, For Love of the Bible: The Battle for the King James Version and
the Received Text from 1800 to Present (Oak Harbor, WA: Way of Life Literature, 1995),
p. 10.
109The Lord God Hath Spoken: A Guide to Bibliology (Virginia Beach, VA: Tabernacle Baptist Theological Press, 1992), p. 23.
110My
Plea for the Old Sword (Belfast: Ambassador Productions, 1997), p. 9.
111Ibid.,
112The
79.
p. 102.
Revelation of God to Man (Cincinnati, Published by the author, 1992), p.
32
Perkins believes that there are no mistakes in it [KJV] and not one word,
comma, period, chapter heading, or verse number needs to be
changed.113
No matter whether one uses the miraculous language of inspiration
to describe preservation, or simply calls it providential, the Bible the
KJV/TR position claims to possessan infallible and inerrant Biblerequires a continuous chain of miracles throughout the transmission process. But in actuality the facts demonstrate nothing of the kind,
as we will now prove.
The Extent of Preservation
How pure have the original words of the biblical writings been preserved? It is an indisputable fact, proven by the manuscript and versional
evidence, that God has not perfectly (that is, without error) preserved
the Scriptures throughout their long history of transmission. There is no
single manuscript, printed text, or version that can be shown to be error
free. This is patently obvious to anyone who is at all familiar with the
transmission history of the Scriptures. First, we should note that no two
Greek manuscripts of the New Testament agree exactly; these thousands
of manuscripts all differ from one another to some degree.114 No one has
ever suggested, even within the KJV/TR camp, that a particular one of
these manuscripts is a perfect copy of the autographsthat it is error
free. This conclusively demonstrates that God has permitted errors to
enter the transmission process, which is the inevitable result of providential preservation. So clearly, at least for 1500 years, once the autographs had perished and before the age of printing, no one had access to
an error-free Bible.
Even then, the coming of the printing press did not suddenly produce a perfect Bible. How could it? There were no inerrant Greek
manuscripts available from which to produce an inerrant Greek New
Testament. When Erasmus published the first Greek New Testament in
1516, he had access to only about seven of the several thousands of
Greek manuscripts that are now extant, and even these seven were only
partial copies of the New Testament.115 For instance, for the book of
___________________
113Flaming
Torch, AprilJune 1998, p. 7.
114Gordon
D. Fee, The Textual Criticism of the New Testament, in vol. 1 of

The Expositors Bible Commentary, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1979), p. 420. Burgon himself said: That by a perpetual miracle, Sacred Manuscripts
would be protected all down the ages against depraving influences of whatever
sort,was not to have been expected; certainly, was never promised (The Revision Revised, p. 335).
115Combs,
Erasmus and the Textus Receptus, p. 45.
33
Revelation Erasmus had only one manuscript available to him. Unless

this copy of Revelation was an exact copy of the autograph, Erasmus
Greek New Testament was corrupted (i.e., contained errors) when it
came off the press. And it is an indisputable fact that it did contain errors.116 To be specific, the single manuscript of Revelation used by
Erasmus was not really a separate manuscript of the text of Revelation
but was actually imbedded in a commentary on Revelation by Andreas
of Caesarea. As such it was difficult for the printer to read the text itself,
so Erasmus had a fresh copy of the text made. The copyist himself misread the original at places, and thus a number of errors were introduced
into Erasmus printed text. One example is in Revelation 17:8, where
the copyist mistakenly wrote kaivper e[stin (and yet is) instead of kai;
parevstai (and shall come). This erroneous reading in Erasmus
Greek New Testament is not found in any manuscript of Revelation, yet
it occurs in all editions of the TR that have followed Erasmus first edition, including the widely used version published by the Trinitarian Bible Society.117 Interestingly, Hills admitted that this is an error in the TR
(and KJV).118
The subsequent history of the printed TR did not produce an errorfree Bible. This can be seen from the fact that many indisputable errors
introduced into Erasmus first edition, such as the one just discussed,
were never corrected, and also from the fact that there have been at least
thirty editions of the TR, with hundreds of differences among them.119
Even the Trinitarian Bible Society, which publishes the most commonly
used edition of the T R, admits that no two of these thirty editions is
___________________
116Cf. the oft-quoted appraisal of F. H. A. Scrivener: Erasmus first edition is in
that respect the most faulty book I know (A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the
New Testament, 2nd ed. [London: Deighton, Bell, and Co., 1874], p. 383).
117H KAINH DIAQHKH. This version is subtitled The New Testament: The Greek
Text Underlying the English Authorised Version of 1611. My copy is not dated, though it
was apparently published in 1976. See Andrew J. Brown, The Word of God Among All
Nations: A Brief History of the Trinitarian Bible Society, 18311981 (London: Trinitarian
Bible Society, 1981), p. 130.
118Edward F. Hills, Believing Bible Study, 3rd ed. (Des Moines, IA: Christian Research Press, 1991), p. 83.
119These
include the Complutensian Polyglot of 1514 (though not published until

1520 or 1522), Erasmus five editions between 1516 and 1535, the 1534 edition of
Simon Colinaeus, the four editions of Robert Estienne (Latin, Stephanus) from 1546 to
1551, the nine editions of Theodore Beza from 1565 to 1604, the Antwerp Polyglot of
1571, the seven editions of Bonaventura and Abraham Elzevir from 1624 to 1678, the
Paris Polyglot of 16301633, and the London Polyglot of 1657. For a listing of some of
the differences, see Herman C. Hoskier, A Full Account and Collation of the Greek Cursive Codex Evangelium 604 (London: David Nutt, 1890), appendix B.
34
exactly the same.120 While it is common to speak of the TR as a single,

fixed text, there is in fact no such thing.
Finally, when we come to the KJV, we still have not arrived at a perfect Bible. When some advocates of the KJV/TR position are pressed on
this point, they may allow for some imperfections. Hills concedes: Admittedly the King James Version is not ideally perfect. No translation
ever can be. But it is the product of such God-guided scholarship that it
is practically perfect. Its errors are few and very minor.121 In a previous
essay I have demonstrated that the current-day KJV clearly contains
definite, unmistakable errors, so I will not retrace all that ground here.122
However, two points should be noted. First, the translators themselves
argue in the preface to the 1611 edition that no translation can be expected to be free from error since translators are not superintended by
the Holy Spirit in their work as were the apostles when they wrote inspired Scripture: For has there been anything perfect under the sun in
which Apostles or their colleagues, people endued with an extraordinary
measure of Gods Spirit and privileged with the privilege of infallibility,
were not involved?123 Second, just as there is no single, fixed form of
the TR, so also the KJV. There has never been one KJV, even in 1611.
When the KJV was published, there were actually two printed editions in
1611, with 216 variations in the biblical text.124 These are commonly
called the He and She Bibles, from their respective readings in Ruth
3:15 (he went into the city and she went into the city). So if the
1611 KJV is without error, which one is it? And since 1611 the KJV has
gone through many changes so that no modern-day Christian uses the
1611 KJV.125 Even modern printings of the KJV differ among themselves.
___________________
120G. W. Anderson and D. E. Anderson, The Received Text: A Brief Look at the
Textus Receptus; available from http://biz.ukonline.co.uk/trinitarian.bible.society
/articles/tr-art.htm.
121Believing
Bible Study, p. 83. In The King James Version Defended, he admitted:

As the marginal notes indicate, the King James translators did not regard their work as
perfect or inspired, but they did consider it to be a trustworthy reproduction of Gods
holy Word (p. 216).
122See William W. Combs, Errors in the King James Version? Detroit Baptist
Seminary Journal 4 (Fall 1999): 15164.
123Erroll F. Rhodes and Liana Lupas, eds., The Translators to the Reader: The Original Preface of the King James Version of 1611 Revisited (New York: American Bible Society, 1997), p. 78.
124Ibid.,
125I
p. 5.
have documented some of these changes in my Errors in the King James Version? pp. 16061. For a much more comprehensive list, see F. H. A. Scrivener, The
Authorized Edition of the English Bible (1611), Its Subsequent Reprints and Modern Representatives (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1884), pp. 148202.
35
For instance, at Jeremiah 34:16, the Cambridge edition reads whom ye

had set at liberty, while the Oxford edition reads whom he had set at
liberty.
In addition, those who would attempt to persuade us that the Bible
has been perfectly preserved through the TR and KJV wish to give the
impression that there are no differences between the Greek text and
English version. Waite, for example, when confronted with the problem
of how to defend his doctrine of perfect preservation in light of numerous editions of the TR, responds: The one I am talking about is the exact Textus Receptus that underlies our King James Bible. It was printed
by the Trinitarian Bible Society, London, England in the 1970s. Its
Bezas 5th edition, 1598, with very few changes. Its the exact text that
underlies our King James New Testament.126 But this is simply false.
There are places where the KJV differs from the Trinitarian Bible Society
TR or any other edition of the TR. A few examples will suffice.127 In Hebrews 10:23 the KJV has confession of faith, but the Trinitarian Bible
Society TR has confession of hope. Everyone concedes that the actual
Greek word is hope (ejlpiv"), not faith (pivsti"). Hope is found in all
manuscripts and all editions of the TR. Hope and faith are two entirely
different words, so one cannot sincerely argue that the translators simply
decided on faith as the correct translation at this point. Besides, the
Greek word for hope (ejlpiv") is used 52 others times in the New Testament and in every case the translators of the KJV rendered it hope, not
faith.
In Acts 19:20 the KJV reads God (So mightily grew the word of
God and prevailed), whereas the Trinitarian Bible Society TR has
Lord. In Gal 4:15 the KJV has Where (pou' ) (Where is then the
blessedness), while the Trinitarian Bible Society T R has What
(tiv " ). What is not Where, and, more particularly, Lord is not
God. One or the other must be in error. When pinned down on this
point, Cloud, for example, concludes: We are convinced that the KJV is
accurate in all textual matters, and if there is a difference between a KJV
reading and any certain edition of the Received Text, we follow the
KJV.128
So we see that the evidence of manuscripts, texts, and versions
means nothing to those in the KJV/TR camp. The KJV is the final
___________________
126Fundamentalist
Distortions on Bible Versions, p. 16.
127For others, see F. H. A. Scrivener, The New Testament in Greek According to the
Text Followed in the Authorised Version Together with the Variations Adopted in the Revised
Version (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1908), pp. 64856.
128David W. Cloud, Which Edition of the Received Text is the Preserved Word
of God? (Oak Harbor, WA: Way of Life Literature, 1996); available from
http://wayoflife.org/~dcloud/fbns/whichtr.htm.
36
authority upon which all manuscripts, texts, and versions are to be

judged. How do we know this? It is, we are told, a matter of faith.
Cloud informs us: The doctrines of Biblical infallibility and preservation raise many questions that cannot be fully answered. On the final
analysis, they must be accepted by faith.129 Similarly, Moorman argues:
Preservation must be approached in an attitude of faith. Like all other Bible
truths, the Scriptures teaching on its own preservation is to be in the first
instance accepted by faith. Edward F. Hills in his outstanding book, The
King James Version Defended, calls it the logic of faith. The facts and evidence of such preservation will then follow.130
In one sense Moorman is absolutely correct. What the Bible teaches

about its own preservation is to be accepted by faith. But that can be
said of everything the Bible teacheseverything the Bible teaches is to
be accepted by faith. This argument from faith or the logic of faith, as
Hills likes to call it,131 actually boils down to faith in the KJV as the perfectly preserved Word of God, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary. This is not faith, at least not in the biblical sense, but pure
presumption.
The fundamental fallacy in KJV/TR position can be traced to the
faulty premise that the Scriptures themselves teach a perfect and inerrant
preservation of the actual words of the autographs. We saw this earlier in
Flanderss statement that the actual existence of the original text will
continue eternally.132 It is not enough to hold a Bible in ones hand,
even a King James Bible, and say this is the Word of God; the KJV/TR
position insists that one must be able to say that these are the Words of
God. Anything else, according to Waite, is an apostate, heretical, modernistic, and liberal position.133 Thus one cannot honestly, according to
Waite, say that the NASB is the Word of God. He complains that if one
holds his King James in his hand and the New American Standard in
his hand with 5,604 differences in their Greek texts in the New Testament alone, how can they both be the Word of God? Word of God
could not mean the Words of God because of these differences in the
Words.134
___________________
129The
Problems with Bible Preservation/Can You Answer All of the Questions?
130Principles
of Bible Preservation; available from http://www.staggs.pair.com/

kjbp/kjb-docs/biblepre.txt.
131Believing
132Does
Bible Study, pp. 3637, 5558.
the Bible Promise Its Own Preservation? p. 6.
133Fundamentalist
and 50.
134Ibid.,
p. 42.
Distortions on Bible Versions, p. 45. See also pp. 1, 23, 42, 44,
37
The true situation is this: God has preserved his Word to this day,
but because of the means he has chosen to use to accomplish this preservationprovidentially, through secondary causationthe words of the
autographs have not been inerrantly preserved. Instead, God has chosen
to allow for variations to occurvariants within the Hebrew, Aramaic,
and Greek copies of the autographs. God has providentially provided all
these copies in order to preserve the Scriptures. So it is proper to say that
preservation has taken place in the totality of manuscripts. Because God
chose this method of preservation, it was not possible to provide a perfectly pure text with no variations (errors). It was sufficient for Gods
purpose to preserve his Word in copies of the autographs whose exact
wording contains some variation. This level of purity is sufficient for
Gods purposes.
THE QUESTION OF CERTAINTY
Advocates of the KJV/TR position are unwilling to accept this view of
preservation, preservation within the totality of manuscripts. Several reasons are given for rejecting this position, but they all seem to funnel
down to the problem of certainty. They believe that this position does
not allow the average Christian to be certain that he has access to the
Word of God. With so much variation, we are told, one cannot be sure
what the Word of God is, and thus inspiration is practically invalidated.
Hills argues:
Has the special providence of God over the New Testament text done no
more than to preserve the true readings somewhere, that is to say, in some
one or other of the great variety of New Testament manuscripts now existing in the world? If Christ has done no more than this, how can it be
said that He has fulfilled His promise always to preserve in His Church the
True New Testament Text? How can His people ever be certain that they
have the True New Testament Text?135
To accept the view that preservation is found in the totality of manuscripts leaves the Christian with what Hills calls maximum uncertainty
about the text of Scripture, whereas the KJV/TR position results in
maximum certainty.136 Echoing this same concern, Cloud says that
the average Christian (including the average preacher) is thus put at
the mercy of textual scholars to tell them what parts of the King James
Bible (or any other Bible) can be trusted and what parts are corruptions
and mistakes.137 But all this is simply a camouflage that seeks to give
___________________
135King
James Version Defended, p. 109.
136Ibid.,
p. 224.
137David
W. Cloud, Correspondence with a Fundamentalist Bible Teacher Who
38
the impression that the words of the KJV or the TR are the words of the
autographs and thus have no corruptions or mistakes in them. Cloud ignores the fact that all Christians are at the mercy of textual scholars.
Every English translation, including the KJV, has been based on a
printed Greek text. That printed Greek text was the product of textual
criticism. So, whether they acknowledge it or not, readers of the KJV are
at the mercy of Erasmus, who did textual criticism on the manuscripts
available to him in order to produce his printed Greek text; and they are
at the mercy of the translators of the KJV, who, as we have shown, did
not always follow the TR.
When we examine the textual data, it may appear that the KJV/TR
position does give greater certainty about the text of Scripture. If one
takes into account all of the New Testament manuscripts, for example,
there are more total variants among these manuscripts than the total
number of variants found just within the Byzantine family, upon which
the TR is based. Or if one looks only at various editions of the TR, the
number of variants among them is small in comparison to the number
of variants in all the New Testament manuscripts. Or if one examines
the various editions of the KJV, the number of variants is also small. But
this supposed certainty is simply an illusion. The admitted fewer variations in the Byzantine text-type do not necessarily mean that it is a purer
text, one that is closer to the autographs. One could argue, and I would
argue, that by excluding the other manuscript evidence, the KJV/TR position has left itself with a text that is not as pure as one obtained by
giving consideration to the total manuscript evidence.138 There is simply
nothing in the biblical doctrine of preservation itself that says that the
Byzantine text-type or TR is purer than any other text-type or printed
Greek text. The Bible does not teach its own perfect preservation, and it
is a serious error to claim otherwise.
As we have already noted, advocates of the KJV/TR position argue
that only their view of preservation honestly permits the believer to hold
in his hands a Bible (KJV) that can be called the Word of God. Cloud,
for instance, says: There is something wrong with a position on Bible
preservation that leaves a man with no preserved Bible.139 Their
premise is that they have a Bible (KJV) that has no errors; therefore, it,
___________________
Denounces the King James Only & Received Text Only position (Oak Harbor, WA:
Way of Life Literature, 1999); available from http://wayoflife.org/~dcloud/fbns/
correspondencewitha.htm.
138For
proof of this point, see Combs, Erasmus and the Textus Receptus, pp.
3553.
139David W. Cloud, The Heresy of Believing the KJV-TR is the Preserved Word of
God (Oak Harbor, WA: Way of Life Literature, 1999); available from
http://wayoflife.org/~dcloud/fbns/heresyofbelieving.htm.
39
and only it, can be called the Word of God. It is interesting to note at
the outset that the translators of the KJV held the exact opposite opinion.
In their preface to the 1611 edition, they say:
Now to answer our enemies: we do not deny, rather we affirm and insist that the very worst translation of the Bible in English issued by Protestants (for we have seen no Catholic version of the whole Bible as yet)
contains the word of God, or rather, is the word of God. In the same way,
when the Kings speech delivered in Parliament is translated into French,
German, Italian, and Latin, it is still the Kings speech, even if it is not interpreted by every translator with the same skill, or perhaps with as appropriate phrasing or always with as great clarity. For as everyone knows,
things are classified by their major characteristics. Anyone will admit that a
person may be regarded as virtuous even though he has made many slips
during his life, otherwise no one could be called virtuous, because all of us
make many mistakes (James 3:2). A person may be called handsome and
charming, even though he may have some warts on his hand, and not only
some freckles on his face, but also scars. So there is no reason why the word
when it is translated should be denied to be the word, or should be declared inauthentic, simply because there may be some imperfections and
blemishes in the way it is published. For has there been anything perfect
under the sun in which Apostles or their colleagues, people endued with an
extraordinary measure of Gods Spirit and privileged with the privilege of
infallibility, were not involved?140
R. A. Torrey tackled this problem of identifying translations as the

Word of God:
I have said that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as originally
given were absolutely inerrant, and the question of course arises to what extent is the Authorized Version, or the Revised Version, the inerrant Word
of God. The answer is simple; they are the inerrant Word of God just to
that extent that they are an accurate rendering of the Scriptures of the Old
and New Testaments as originally given, and to all practical intents and
purposes they are a thoroughly accurate rendering of the Scriptures of the
Old and New Testaments as originally given.141
Therefore, it is proper, and not any sort of deception, to speak of

different printed Greek and Hebrew texts, and different translations, as
the Word of God even though they have differences among them. God
has preserved the Scriptures in a state of what might be called essential
purity.142 Schnaiter reminds us, following the thought of B. B.
Warfield, that we must be
___________________
140Rhodes
and Lupas, eds., The Translators to the Reader, p. 78.
141The
Fundamental Doctrines of the Christian Faith (New York: George H. Doran,

1918), pp. 3637.
142Skilton,
The Transmission of the Scriptures, p. 143.
40

careful to distinguish between textual purity and the purity of the sense of
any given message. There is a purity with regard to the wording of a text
that is different from the purity of the message. This merely recognizes that
the same thing can be said reliably in more than one way. For example,
there is no effect on the meaning of a statement like she denied her
daughter permission to go, if the wording is altered to read she refused to
permit her daughter to go. For a textual researcher who is trying to determine which of those was the original wording of a particular author, it is a
question of wording purity. He may thereby refer to one text as corrupt
and the other as pure without reference to the substance of the passage.143
The essential message of Scripture has been preserved not only in the
Byzantine text-type, but in the Alexandrian text-type as well; the KJV is
the Word of God as well as the NASB. When we refer to either or both of
these versions as the Word of God, we do so because we rightly assume
they are tethered to the autographs and are thus sufficient representatives
of them.
Supporters of the KJV/TR position like to point out differences between modern versions and the KJV, seeking to demonstrate that versions like the NASB and NIV are corrupt because they omit various
passages and titles associated with the Lord Jesus Christ. However, they
are committing the logical fallacy of begging the question, that is, assuming ahead of time what is to be proved. One cannot start with the
KJV, point out differences between it and another version, and from that
assume that the other version is incorrect. A difference may just as likely
indicate that the KJV is incorrect.144 In any case, these differences are
overblown. In truth, doctrinal differences have no real basis in the different Greek texts or English versions. Silva reminds us:
Christian assurance has little to do with certainty about details.
Christs promise that the Scriptures would be preserved is not affected in
the least by modern text-critical methods. The Westminster Confession of
Faith, for example, a very extensive summary of Christian doctrine, was
produced on the basis of the Textus Receptus. Who would want to argue
that the adoption of the UBS text requires a revision of that document?145
For a more concrete example, we might consider the doctrinal
___________________
143S. E. Schnaiter, Review Article: New Age Bible Versions, Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal 2 (Fall 1997): 11314.
144For a full discussion of this issue, see James R. White, The King James Only
Controversy (Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1995), chapters 69.
145Moiss Silva, review of The Greek New Testament According to the Majority Text,
ed. Zane C. Hodges and Arthur L. Farstad, in Westminster Theological Journal 45 (Spring
1983): 18586.
41
statement of Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary. It is a detailed declaration of about ten pages in length, consisting of fifteen different articles.146 There are 920 different verses of Scripture cited in the statement,
which are used to support the doctrinal affirmations; and, as one might
expect in such a document, these verses represent the most important
doctrinal passages in the Bible. Yet one can support these affirmations
whether the verses are examined in the KJV, NASB, or NIV. No one is denying that different translations may sometimes disagree in the meaning
of an individual verse, but these differences do not result in different
formulations of fundamental doctrine. Burgon himself vehemently criticized the Revised Version of 1881, yet he admitted that doctrinal differences are not at issue between versions: Let it be also candidly admitted
that, even where (in our judgment) the Revisionists have erred, they
have never had the misfortune seriously to obscure a single feature of Divine Truth.147 It cannot be denied that various Christians have some
differences in their doctrinal formulations, such as between Presbyterians
and Baptists, or between dispensationalists and covenant theologians;
but these differences are not the result of using different Greek New
Testaments or English versions. Instead, they are directly related to hermeneutical issues; the same words of Scripture are simply interpreted
differently by various Christians.
IS PUBLIC AVAILABILITY A NECESSARY
COMPONENT OF PRESERVATION?
Those in the KJV/TR camp commonly argue that the doctrine of
preservation also includes the idea of public availability of the true text
of Scripture. Hills, for example, argues: It must be that down through
the centuries God has exercised a special, providential control over the
copying of the Scriptures and the preservation and use of the copies, so
that trustworthy representatives of the original text have been available
to Gods people in every age.148 And more specifically, he adds concerning the Scriptures: He must have preserved them not secretly in
holes and caves but in a public way in the usage of His Church.149 The
point of this argument is to rule out from consideration as the Word of
God Greek texts other than the TR and translations not based on the TR.
This argument can be traced back to Burgon and has been followed by
most proponents of the MT.
___________________
146See the current seminary catalog, 19992002, pp. 8898; available from
http://www.dbts.edu/faithstatem.html.
147The
Revision Revised, p. 232.
148The
King James Version Defended, p. 2.
149Ibid.,
p. 86.
42

I am utterly unable to believe, in short, that Gods promise has so entirely
failed, that at the end of 1800 years much of the text of the Gospel had in
point of fact to be picked by a German critic out of a waste-paper basket in
the convent of St. Catherine; and that the entire text had to be remodelled
after the pattern set by a couple of copies which had remained in neglect
during fifteen centuries, and had probably owed their survival to that neglect; whilst hundreds of others had been thumbed to pieces, and had bequeathed their witness to copies made from them.150
Burgon was arguing that to set aside the MT (which he called the traditional text) and embrace the text of his adversaries Westcott and Hort
would mean that God kept hidden from the church the true text of the
Word of God from some time around the ninth century until the discoveries of the Codex Sinaiticus and Vaticanus in the nineteenth century.151
There are two problems with this argument. First the use of true
text is loaded language that distorts the view of those who do not believe that the either the TR or MT is necessarily the closest text to the
autographs. It is not the case that with the publication of the Greek New
Testament of Westcott and Hort, we now have the true text that was
unavailable before. Both the TR and MT are the true text in the sense
that both can be called the Word of God, both accurately convey the
message of the autographs. But the text of Westcott and Hort as well as
the more recent Nestle-Aland and United Bible Societies Greek texts
can also be called the true text in that they also accurately convey the
message of the autographs. It has already been argued that doctrinal differences among Christians do not stem from differences in Greek texts
or English versions. Many of us simply prefer the more recent editions
of the Greek New Testament because we honestly believe that they present a text that is somewhat more accurately representative of the autographs.
Second, the belief that God must have made the Scriptures publicly
available at all times has no basis in Scripture itself or in the transmission
history of the text. While there are, as I have argued, some texts that
promise the preservation of Scripture, both directly and indirectly, none
of these demand continuous public availability of the text. In fact,
Scripture itself records an instance where part of the Old Testament was
not available for a period of probably more than fifty years. When the
temple was being repaired in the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah
(622 B.C.), we read of the finding of the book of the law by Hilkiah
the high priest (2 Kings 22:810; 2 Chr 34:1418). Though it is not
___________________
150Burgon,
151Brake,
The Traditional Text of the Gospels, p. 12.
The Doctrine of the Preservation of the Scriptures, p. 4.
43
clear whether the book of the law is a reference to the entire Pentateuch152 or just the book of Deuteronomy,153 it is undeniable from the
reaction of Josiah (vv. 11ff.) that there had been general ignorance of the
Law for some time (Josiah says our fathers have not obeyed the words
of this book, v. 13). According to Deuteronomy 31, Moses wrote down
the Law and gave it to the Levites to place it beside the ark of the covenant (v. 26). It is probable that normal access to the Scriptures was
through copies since the ark, and presumably the Law, was placed in the
most holy confines of the temple. But during the reign of Manasseh
(697642 B.C.) true Israelite religion was practically wiped out, and it
may well be that all copies of the Law were destroyed, thus explaining
the general ignorance of the Law until it was discovered during the reign
of Josiah.154
CONCLUSION
In discussions of the doctrine of preservation by those in the KJV/TR
camp, one is often presented with a long list of Scripture texts that purport to support that doctrine. However, as our analysis has shown, the
Scriptures themselves have little to say about their own preservation.
And, in fact, Wallace and Glenny have openly denied a doctrine of preservation. Yet two verses, Psalm 119:52 and 160, would seem to suggest a
more direct promise of preservation, while Isaiah 40:8 and Matthew
24:35 may play a more indirect role. Beyond that, the seemingly undeniable existence of a corollary between inspiration and preservation demands a doctrine of preservation. Equally important are the implications
from texts such as Matthew 5:18 and John 10:35, which teach a continuing authority for Scripture, an authority that demands their preservation.
While some have gone too far in their denial of the doctrine of preservation, those in the KJV/TR camp have moved to the other extreme by
raising the providential preservation of Scripture to the level of inspiration. That is, the perfect Bible they claim to possess in the TR and KJV
cannot have been produced by providential preservation, but only by the
miraculous working of God. As Warfield reminded us long ago, inspiration was an immediate activity of God that produced the plenarily inspired Bible, every word of which is the Word of God.155 Preservation,
___________________
152E.g.,
Barrick, Ancient Manuscripts and Exposition, p. 31.
153E.g., Raymond B. Dillard, 2 Chronicles, Word Biblical Commentary (Waco,

TX: Word, 1987), p. 280.
154John C. Whitcomb, Jr., Solomon to the Exile (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1971), p.
136; Leon Wood, A Survey of Israels History (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1970), p. 367.
155The
Westminster Confession and the Original Autographs, p. 593.
44
on the other hand, was a mediate activity of God that produced the safe
transmission of that Word, but not without signs of human fallibility
here and there in several copies.156 The indisputable evidence from
manuscripts, printed texts, and versions proves that the autographic text
has not been preserved in any single one of them, but in their totality.
Only by careful examination of the preserved documents can the most
accurate form of the Scriptures be identified. While it is not possible to
produce a text that is in all points identical to the autographs, nevertheless, carefully produced texts and versions are able to convey Gods truth
to the reader with competent adequacy for all the needs of the Christian life.157
___________________
156Ibid.,
pp. 59394.
157Ibid.,
p. 594.

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DBSJ 5 (Fall 2000): 344

THE PRESERVATION OF SCRIPTURE

Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal

one exception may be the Trinitarian Bible Society, according to Shields

e.g., Wallace, The Majority-Text Theory, pp. 18789.

The Preservation of Scripture

Burgons departure from the TR toward the MT is candidly admitted by

Burgons view of preservation was particularly tied to his High Church

Revision Revised, pp. 33435.

Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal

England, to which Burgon subscribed.15 Thus, it may be, as Hills and

The King James Version Defended, p. 192; and Letis, Introduction, p. 5.

17Contribution of John William Burgon to New Testament Criticism, in True or

The Preservation of Scripture

Preservation of Scripture, in chapter 5 of The Bible Version Debate: The

Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal

It is important to remember that simple statements to the effect that

The Preservation of Scripture

Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal

on James Prices Textual Emendations in the Authorized Version

Is Missing in Standard Works on Textual Criticism.

The Preservation of Scripture

There is nothing new about this viewpoint. B. B. Warfield understood

James Version Defended, p. 2.

Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal

this to be the clear teaching of the Westminster Confession:

Westminster Confession and the Original Autographs, p. 594.

Wisdom, Textus Receptus: Is It Fundamental to Our Faith? Faith for

The Preservation of Scripture

Brown, Samuel R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, eds., A Hebrew and

Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal

one-to-one correspondence is not always possible; so texts that seem to

The Preservation of Scripture

preserve them from this generation for ever. (KJV)

The Preservation of Scripture, p. 91.

Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal

Thus we are to understand that there is a perfect copy of the Bible in

Kidner, Psalms 73150 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1975), p.

C. Allen, Psalms 101150, Word Biblical Commentary (Waco, TX: Word

The Preservation of Scripture

Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations; You established

This verse would seem to offer stronger support for a doctrine of

Rice, Our God-Breathed BookThe Bible, pp. 28291.

Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 3 vols. (Grand Rapids: Baker,

The Preservation of Scripture, p. 88.

Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal

This verse is similar to Psalm 119:152 in that it is part of a section

The Preservation of Scripture

Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal

time.62 Alexander suggests that there is a tacit antithesis between the

This is one of the most commonly referenced passages used to

A. Alexander, The Prophecies of Isaiah, 2 vols. (reprint of 1875 ed.; Grand

Preservation of Scripture, p. 89.

The Preservation of Scripture

s.v. keraiva, p. 428.

Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,

the Bible Promise Its Own Preservation? p. 6.

Is Missing in Standard Works on Textual Criticism.