It is believed that Moses wrote the first 5 books of the Bible. Until that time, the word was passed down through
oral tradition.
According to Rabbinic Judaism, the oral Torah, oral Law, or oral tradition (Hebrew: תורה שבעל פה, Torah she-be-`al peh) is the oral tradition received in conjunction with the written Torah (and the rest of the Hebrew Bible), which is known in this context as the “written Torah” (Hebrew: תורה שבכתב, Torah she-bi-khtav). The Mishnah is the record of the oral Torah.
According to Rabbinic Judaism, Moses and the Israelites received an oral as well as the written Torah (“teaching”) from God at Mount Sinai. The books of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) were relayed with an oral tradition passed on by the scholarly and other religious leaders of each generation, and according to classical Rabbinic interpretation, the teachings of the oral law are a guide to that interpretation of the written law which is considered the authoritative reading. Jewish law and tradition thus is not based on a strictly literal reading of the Tanakh, but on combined oral and written traditions. Further, the basis of halakha (Jewish law) is the premise that the written law is inherently bound together with an oral law.
The “oral law” was ultimately recorded in the Mishnah, the Talmud and Midrash.
The laws transmitted to Moses were contained in the Torah written down on scrolls. The explanation however, was not allowed to be written down. Jews were obligated to speak the explanation and pass it on orally to students, children, and fellow adults. It was thus initially forbidden to write and publish the Oral Law: written material would be incomplete and subject to misinterpretation (and abuse).
After great debate, however, this restriction was lifted. Following the destruction of the Second Temple and the fall of Jerusalem, it became apparent that the Palestine community and its learning were threatened, and that publication was the only way to ensure that the law could be preserved; see Timeline of Jewish history.
When Jesus “quoted” Old Testament scriptures, He verbally quoted them. This was part of Jewish tradition.
The Apostles preached the Gospel through oral tradition. It wasn’t until they were arrested or for other reasons that they communicated through written text. It is thought the first writings were written on
papyrus and you have understand there was not an abundance of papyrus available, especially to prisoners.
These letters were written to individual Churches which we can identify today by the names of the books in the New Testament. (Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Hebrews, Thessolonians, etc.) Those writings were held and valued by the individual Churches that received them. The “shelf” life of papyrus was not that good. In Europe, 200 year old papyrus was considered extraordinary. Storage in humid conditions can result in molds attacking and destroying the material.
It was only through the authority of the one Church that the individual letters were given so the one complete Bible could even come to be. This is where the
canonical information comes in. It was centuries after those letters were written that the Bible was compiled. Until that time, each individual Church taught through oral tradition, so as to preserve the written text as long as possible. The written text was highly valued, or prized might be a better word, by the individual Churches that held them. This also validates the authority of the Church as the individual Churches released those documents to that authority.
Melito, bishop of Sardis, an ancient city of Asia Minor (see Rev 3), c. 170 AD produced the first known Christian attempt at an Old Testament canon. His list maintains the Septuagint order of books but contains only the Old Testament protocanonicals minus the Book of Esther.
The Council of Laodicea, c. 360, produced a list of books similar to today’s canon. This was one of the Church’s earliest decisions on a canon.
Pope Damasus, 366-384, in his Decree, listed the books of today’s canon.
The Council of Rome, 382, was the forum which prompted Pope Damasus’ Decree.
Bishop Exuperius of Toulouse wrote to Pope Innocent I in 405 requesting a list of canonical books. Pope Innocent listed the present canon.
The Council of Hippo, a local north Africa council of bishops created the list of the Old and New Testament books in 393 which is the same as the Roman Catholic list today.
The Council of Carthage, a local north Africa council of bishops created the same list of canonical books in 397. This is the council which many Protestant and Evangelical Christians take as the authority for the New Testament canon of books. The Old Testament canon from the same council is identical to Roman Catholic canon today. Another Council of Carthage in 419 offered the same list of canonical books.
Since the Roman Catholic Church does not define truths unless errors abound on the matter, Roman Catholic Christians look to the Council of Florence, an ecumenical council in 1441 for the first definitive list of canonical books.
The final infallible definition of canonical books for Roman Catholic Christians came from the Council of Trent in 1556 in the face of the errors of the Reformers who rejected seven Old Testament books from the canon of scripture to that time.
There were many letters and epistles written after the death of the original 12 Apostles. They were considered but rejected for reasons the Church saw fit. Some were considered not reliable, some were written too long after the death of the final Apostle to be considered God breathed, or inspired. This did not mean they were not of value to the Christian community as a lot of epistles were written by early Church fathers. There are several sources to read these writings. You can read a lot of those writings available under the name of
Pseudepigrapha, Apocrypha and Sacred Writings. You can read the 38 volumes of writings from the early
Church fathers online also.
It’s kind of naive to think the Bible was written at once by the group of authors who provided the individual books and letters to those individual Churches. In those days, it would have taken a year or more just to have scribed the entire Bible and that would be if someone worked on it everyday, all day long, for just one Bible. The printing press was not invented until the 1500s, I believe it was.
There is written evidence in the scriptures to support the Catholic belief of oral tradition.
1Co 11:2 Now I praise you, brethren, that in all things you are mindful of me and keep my ordinances as I have delivered them to you.
2Th 2:15 (2:14) Therefore, brethren, stand fast: and hold the traditions, which you have learned, whether by word or by our epistle.
2Th 3:6 And we charge you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw yourselves from every brother walking disorderly and not according to the tradition which they have received of us.
Joh 21:25 But there are also many other things which Jesus did which, if they were written every one, the world itself. I think, would not be able to contain the books that should be written.
Mar 13:31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my word shall not pass away.
Paul records words of Jesus not found in the Gospels
Act 20:35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring you ought to support the weak and to remember the word of the Lord Jesus, how he said: It is a more blessed thing to give, rather than to receive.
2Ti 1:13 Hold the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me: in faith and in the love which is in Christ Jesus.
2Ti 2:2 And the things which thou hast heard of me by many witnesses, the same commend to faithful men who shall be fit to teach others also.
2Pe 1:20 Understanding this first: That no prophecy of scripture is made by private interpretation.
1Pe 1:25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel hath been preached unto you.
Rom 10:17 Faith then cometh by hearing; and hearing by the word of Christ.
1Co 15:1 Now I make known unto you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you have received and wherein you stand.
1Co 15:2 By which also you are saved, if you hold fast after what manner I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain.
Mar 16:15 And he said to them: Go ye into the whole world and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mat 23:2 Saying: The scribes and the Pharisees have sitten on the chair of Moses.
Mat 23:3 All things therefore whatsoever they shall say to you, observe and do: but according to their works do ye not. For they say, and do not.
That seems to me to be a lot of scriptures supporting oral tradition. Why is it someone who claims Sola Scriptura would reject all those scriptures when there doesn’t seem to be any scriptures supporting their belief?
Please, can you provide scripture or other evidence that Jesus taught Sola Scriptura?
Have you ever noticed Jesus did not write or have anything scribed?
Jesus was the word.
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word: and the Word was with God: and the Word was God.
May the peace of the Lord be with you,
Prodigal Son1
