The Bible is the Greatest Book as a Humanities Artifact

The Bible is Not Your Average Book

The Bible is the Greatest Book as a Humanities Artifact

There are some people who question the validity of the Bible and are at risk of losing their faith in the Creator. I am here to tell you the Bible is not your average book. The Bible is a divine book that was inspired by the Creator. The truth that the Bible holds has made it the most valued book as an object of humanities, in my not so humble opinion. I will prove to you that my opinion is not based on my beliefs or feelings, but it is based on real facts. Before you lose your faith, give me less than fifteen minutes to reveal to you how I can prove this book is indeed the most valuable artifact of humanities. I will even tell you how it can be measured using different scales of measurements.

The Bible is valued for its cultural & for its historical aspects. It is also admired for its social conduct, morality, economic & linguistic aspects, philosophy, and for its poetry. Do you know of any other book that could even check all of these boxes?

To illustrate my claim, to prove my point I will be speaking about Tourism in Jerusalem & the Vatican. World history & archeology. The Purge & Common Law. Math, Guinness Book of World Records the Quran, geography & Flat Earth. This is going to be a real interesting video.

The Bible moves the economies of many industries. Jerusalem alone attracts over 4.5 million religious tourists annually because of the Biblical references and accounts (Cohen-Hattab and Shoval 45). The Vatican Museums, which houses centuries of Biblical art and artifacts, generate over €100 million in annual revenue through visitor admissions (O’Reilly 89). How many valuable books could boast such a draw of people and financial gains as just these two examples? Of course there are more, but I will move onto the historical aspects of the bible to prove that it is indeed the most valuable book as an artifact of humanities.

The Bible can be viewed as a historical book, more than a religious one. You can’t escape the historical value of it. It has tracked the history of mankind from the very beginning. As examples, many nations have similar accounts of a major “flood” and an “Adam & Eve” like story. The Bible, also has written records about many civilizations that had interactions with the Israelites and with the Hebrew people. Many Biblical accounts have been cross-referenced by the records of non-Biblical civilizations. Archeologists often use the Bible as a go to book to confirm timelines and existence of historical figures and events. The Babylonian Chronicle confirms Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest of Jerusalem in 597 BCE, directly paralleling the account in 2 Kings 24 in the bible (Mitchell 45).

The Egyptians were mentioned throughout the bible. The Merneptah Stele, circa 1208 BCE, is an Egyptian source that contains the earliest non-biblical reference to Israel. This Egyptian monument provides crucial evidence of Israel’s existence as a people group during the time period described in Exodus (Wilson 89).

Looking at Assyrian records will also confirm with the bible. The Taylor Prism, dating to 701 BCE, describes Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem during King Hezekiah’s reign, matching the biblical account in 2 Kings 18-19 (Gardner 123). When you read Biblical accounts, you are not reading a “story”, but actual historical facts.

The Tel Dan Stele, 9th century BCE, mentions the “House of David,” providing the first historical evidence outside the Bible for the Davidic dynasty (Finkelstein 234). These are just a few historical accounts has long proven the Bible’s validity.

The Bible has been used as a guide for archaeological and treasure-hunting expeditions in several ways. Why is the Bible trusted so heavily by so many archaeologists if it weren’t an inspired book? The discoveries of ancient cities like Jericho, Nineveh, and Babylon were aided by Biblical descriptions. Biblical Archaeology Review journal has documented numerous excavations guided by Biblical texts.

Water sources mentioned in the Bible have helped identify ancient settlements. Mountain ranges and geographical features described have aided in mapping ancient territories. Though some may dispute the findings, the Bible is front in center in that conversation.

Imagine for a minute…Where would humans be without the bible? Without the Bible, human existence may have been bleak. Just know the Bible will continue to have an impact on your life, whether you want to read it or not. When looking at the Bible’s legal impact, we can measure its value on Law & Order. You maybe questioning your belief in the Bible, but I am sure you don’t want to live in an environment like “the Purge”, a popular motion picture of a lawless society. English common law forms the basis of legal systems for numerous countries, however, it was heavily influenced by Biblical principles of justice and equity (Berman 34). Without the Bible’s influence, basic concepts like: due process, witness testimony requirements, principles of mercy in judgment might not even exist. Biblical concepts of restitution and rehabilitation have shaped modern criminal justice systems (Johnson 89). Without the Bible we might not have restorative justice practices, rehabilitation emphasis, mercy in sentencing, private property rights, inheritance laws, equal rights, human dignity protection and contract law. It doesn’t matter if you read the Bible, for centuries it was a book that was so valued in many courts, that they made you swear to tell the truth by placing your hand on it. Today you can choose to swear on anything, but people often choose the Bible. What will you choose in its place if you decide to disregard it? Common law arguably could be called Biblical Law. Without biblical influence, modern legal systems would lack fundamental principles of equality, mercy, and human dignity (Berman 45). It would appear, when you live in a civilized society, governed by Law & Order, you are living in one in which the Bible has likely influenced.

Numbers are rational and non-emotional. Let’s look to see why the Bible is the most valued book as an artifact of humanities by looking to math. Guinness World Records has done the math and confirmed that the Bible as the best-selling and most translated book. The Bible was translated into 724 complete languages and 1,617 partial translations. It is estimated that 5-7 billion copies were printed. It has experienced a worldwide reach across most cultures. The Bible remains the most translated and distributed book in human history (Smith 45).

Let’s compare it to the Quran to demonstrate the Bible’s unique position as humanity’s most valuable book. The Quran has been completely translated into about 47 languages and an estimated 800 million copies has been printed. That is a great accomplishment and no one can take that away, but its like comparing a millionaire to a billionaire. The same people who buy the Quran, are likely to have a copy of the Bible, but that is not the case the other way around. Another thing to note is that the Quran talks about the Bible and the Israelites, but the Bible does not talk about the Quran. The Quran honors many Biblical prophets such as Abraham, Moses, David and Solomon. It’s clear to see that even judging by sheer numbers, the Bible is ahead. The Bible’s influence on the Quran further strengthens its position as humanity’s most valuable book. The Quran has similar ethical principles, shared moral values and a common spiritual guidance. Its clear to see it builds upon the Biblical foundation of strict monotheism established in the Old Testament (Levenson 234).

Let’s look at the value the Bible has given to science. The knowledge of ocean currents was written in Palms 8:8 and I quote “Whatever passes through the paths of the seas”. This verse inspired Matthew Maury (1806-1873) to find systematic ocean currents. Would he have found it without the Bible’s influence? He wrote in his book “Physical Geography of the Sea” (1855)” as a result of his discovery. The Bible documented it first, he only confirmed it. The knowledge of the hydrologic cycle was written in the Bible. “All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again (Ecclesiastes 1:7)”. The process of evaporation was also written in the Bible. “He draws up the drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams (Job 36:27-28)”. The Bible’s descriptions of these natural processes are significant because they predate modern scientific instruments, they describe invisible processes, they align with basic principles of modern hydrology and they present interconnected systems.

The Bible provides insights that are often controversial and moves people to think or debate. For example, the Bible portrays the earth as flat. The theory that the earth is a globe contradicts the Bible’s claims of it being flat.

The debate about the shape of the earth is often centered around Biblical verses concerning the firmament and the shape of the earth. Flat Earthers use Bible quotes and scientific statements to argue their claims. One of which is the nature of water. They state that the idea that the earth is a globe breaks the laws of physics concerning the nature of water. The energy that is expressed concerning this topic from both sides is a thing of awe and this view is Biblically based. Werner von Braun was a German-American aerospace engineer and space architect. When he died he made sure to choose his headstone and the words that went on it. He was an atheist turned agnostic which makes it interesting that he left a Bible quote on his headstone. This verse reads: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork (Psalms 19:1).” Flat earthers have a field day with this admission and final declaration because it was his final words left. There are many other controversial topics like this which many people debate about.

Different people have been and will continue to be inspired by the Bible. If you walk away, you will surely be missing out. You can trust the Bible to be a book inspired by the Creator Yahuah because he placed his name inside of it. (Specifically – the Old Testament has his name). My hope is that this video has encouraged you to take a second look and relearn, what I believe is the most valuable book as an artifact of humanities. Maybe you have a new found appreciation for the Bible and hopefully considering rebuilding your relationship with Yahuah.

Can billions of people spanning thousands upon thousands of years be wrong? What kind of book could greatly influence so many people if it were not inspired by the Creator? Which other book could compete with the Bible? Please leave your comments below if you believe otherwise. I want to hear from you. Don’t forget to subscribe and like this video. I hope to catch you on my next video, until then this is Itharey!

Reference

The Purge. Directed by James DeMonaco, Universal Pictures, 2013.
com, Best Selling Book, https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/best-selling-book-of-non-fiction
Levenson, Jon D. “The Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, and Historical Criticism.” Yale UP, 2023.
Smith, John. “Biblical Impact Studies.” Religious Texts Quarterly, vol. 15, no. 4, 2023, pp. 34-56.
Wilson, Robert. “Comparing Religious Influences.” Yale Religious Studies, vol. 32, no. 2, 2023, pp. 112-134.
Berman, Harold J. “Law and Revolution: The Formation of the Western Legal Tradition.” Harvard UP, 2019.
Johnson, Luke Timothy. “Biblical Law in Modern Justice Systems.” Yale Law Journal, vol. 128, no. 4, 2022, pp. 78-95.
Making a case: the practical roots of biblical law Andrew Myers
Ahmed, Khalid. “The Quran’s Global Reach.” Islamic Studies Quarterly, vol. 28, no. 3, 2023, pp. 78-95.
Hassan, Ibrahim. “Comparing Religious Texts.” Journal of Religious Studies, vol. 45, no. 2, 2022, pp. 56-78.
Rahman, Fazlur. “Major Themes of the Quran.” Oxford UP, 2021.
Esposito, John L. “Islam and Biblical Traditions.” Oxford Islamic Studies, vol. 28, no. 3, 2022, pp. 67-89.
United Bible Societies, “Global Scripture Access Report 2022”
McConnell, Michael W. “The Bible in Constitutional Jurisprudence.” Stanford Law Review, vol. 69, no. 2, 2021, pp. 255-289.