First, I\u2019ll try to state the argument succinctly. Kent (or others) can correct me if I am wrong in my understanding of the argument:<\/p>\n
it is written<\/h4>\n
The argument uses the words of the Lord Jesus in responding to Satan as an argument for the perfect preservation of the Scriptures.<\/p>\n
The argument is based on the Lord\u2019s use of the perfect tense in the phrase, \u2018it is written\u2019. The perfect tense, we are told, refers to past action with ongoing results in the present (to the person speaking).<\/p>\n
Since the Lord referred to God\u2019s Word by using the Greek word gegraptai<\/em>, \u2018it is written\u2019 or \u2018it hath been written\u2019 (YLT), the argument goes that this proves the words initially written by Moses and quoted by Jesus were continually in existence from the time of Moses to the time of Christ in a perfectly preserved written form. Further, the word assumes, according to the argument, that the words will be preserved into the future since the ongoing effect of the perfect tense is such that when the future becomes the present, the effect is maintained.<\/p>\n In TSKT, I made the point that what Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy was written down by Moses and continued written down some 1400 years later when Jesus referred to those passages. Thus, if Jesus claimed those words were still written down in His day, then we should understand that we still have them written down in our day.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Well, I have some questions about this.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Is it the implication of every perfect tense verb that a condition that began in the past and continued to the present (from the speaker\u2019s perspective) must always continue into the future as each moment of the future becomes a \u2018new present\u2019?<\/p>\n For example, we have Mt 8.6:<\/p>\n KJV Matthew 8:6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth<\/strong> at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The word \u2018lieth\u2019 is in the perfect tense. We could translate \u2018hath been lying\u2019. Does the word imply that the servant yet lies at home sick of the palsy in our today\u2019s present time? One would hardly think so since the Lord healed him (and he has since, presumably, died).<\/p>\n Another example, Mt 12.47:<\/p>\n KJV Matthew 12:47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand<\/strong> without, desiring to speak with thee.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Are Mary and the Lord\u2019s brothers still standing outside that house in Capernaum, waiting to speak to him?<\/p>\n On the face of it, it seems to me that this argument is attempting to make the perfect tense mean something it does not mean.<\/p>\n The word gegraptai<\/em> in the NT is used in every instance (I think) as a citation of scripture. It parallels an OT word, kathab<\/em> in its Qal Passive Participle form. As I understand it, the QPP has essentially the same force as the perfect tense in Greek (out of my depth here, someone correct me if I am wrong!). In any case, the word is used in this form many times as a formula for citing scripture (see Josh 8.31 or 1 Ki 2.3, for example). But\u2026<\/p>\n What about 2 Sam 1.18, where it says \u201cbehold, it is written<\/strong> in the book of Jasher<\/strong>\u201d. Is this citation meant to say that the book of Jasher will be preserved to this day? (Could someone send me the link on Amazon?)<\/p>\n Or how about Neh 6.5-6?<\/p>\n KJV Nehemiah 6:5 Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand; 6 Wherein was written<\/strong>, It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel: for which cause thou buildest the wall, that thou mayest be their king, according to these words.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The QPP of kathab<\/em> isn\u2019t translated \u2018it is written\u2019 here, but it is exactly the same form as is used in Josh 8.31 or 1 Ki 2.3. No one would suggest that Nehemiah would expect us to find Sanballat\u2019s letter today, would they?<\/p>\n It seems to me that these examples suggest a different use for the term, \u2018it is written\u2019, than the \u2018perfect argument\u2019 above proposes.<\/p>\n It seems to me that the phrase \u2018it is written\u2019 as used by the Lord in Mt 4 and Lk 4 is intended simply to cite the Scriptures as the Lord\u2019s authority for rejecting Satan\u2019s temptations. It is not intended to make any comment about the preservation of the Scriptures at all.<\/p>\n ~~~<\/p>\n Please note, I don\u2019t want to get into a discussion of every aspect of the King James Version argument. All discussion that might ensue in this post must be limited strictly to the \u2018perfect argument\u2019 as outlined above. Please correct my understanding of the argument if I have misunderstood it or show me how my questions fail to dismiss the argument.<\/p>\n Any comments that fall outside these parameters will not be posted.<\/p>\n I\u2019d like to take up an argument my friend Kent makes in support of his view of Bible preservation. I do so with some trepidation as I am not wanting to get into a wide-ranging debate on the whole topic, it is just this particular argument that I want to address with a few comments. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[71,110],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2fYWj-rs","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1702"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1702\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
Question 1<\/h4>\n
\n
\n
Question 2<\/h4>\n
\n
A citation of an authority<\/h4>\n
![\"don_sig2\"](\"http:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/don_sig22.png\" "\\"don_sig2\\"")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"