101 Questions on the Sanctuary and on Ellen White

98. The Bible Writers Borrowed

Is there any Biblical precedent for one author borrowing from another without giving credit? QSEW 105.5

Yes. Micah 4:1-3 borrowed from Isaiah 2:2-4. The scribe who compiled 2 Kings 18-20 also borrowed from Isaiah 36-39. Matthew and Luke borrowed heavily from Mark as well as from another common source. None of these acknowledged their borrowing. (See the Seventh day Adventist Bible Commentary, Volume 5, pages 178, 179.) QSEW 105.6

Paul quoted the Greek poets Aratus (Acts 17:28), Epimenides (Titus 1:12), and Menander (1 Corinthians 15:33). Jude quoted the so-called “book of Enoch” (Jude 1:14, 15). John the Revelator apparently drew many lines from the book of Enoch. ⁷ QSEW 106.1

Note the following citations: QSEW 106.2

“After that I saw ... a multitude beyond number and reckoning, who stood before the Lord of Spirits.”—Enoch 40:1 (cf. Revelation 7:9). QSEW 106.3

“And I saw and behold a star fell from heaven.”—Enoch 86:1 (cf. Revelation 9:11). QSEW 106.4

“They were all judged and found guilty and cast into this fiery abyss.”—Enoch 90:26 (cf. Revelation 20:15). QSEW 106.5

“And the first heaven shall depart and pass away, and a new heaven shall appear.”—Enoch 91:16 (cf. Revelation 21:1). QSEW 106.6

“The horse shall walk up to the breast in the blood of sinners.”—Enoch 100:3 (cf. Revelation 14:20). QSEW 106.7

“Their names shall be blotted out of the book of life.”—Enoch 108:3 (cf. Revelation 3:5). QSEW 106.8

The book of Enoch was known to have been in circulation as early as the middle of the first century BC, some 150 years before John wrote the book of Revelation. John’s evident choice of the language of an earlier unknown author is no reason for questioning the inspiration of his own book. Those lines, previously penned by another, helped him to say what he wanted to say, so he felt free to use them. QSEW 106.9

Luke did considerable investigation in available sources before writing his gospel. He says: QSEW 106.10

“Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us.... it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order most excellent Theophilus; so that you might know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.”—Luke 1:1, 3, 4 New American Standard Bible. QSEW 106.11

Luke did not acquire his information through visions or dreams but through his own research. Yet while material in the gospel of Luke was not given by direct revelation it was nonetheless written under divine inspiration. He did not write to tell his readers something new, but to assure them of what was true—“that you might know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.” What Luke wrote was not original, but it was dependable. God led Luke to use the right sources. (See The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Volume 5, page 669.) QSEW 106.12

One of Luke’s sources was a genealogical record of Christ’s ancestors. In Luke 3:23-27 there is a series of names found nowhere else in the Bible. No doubt Luke found these names faithfully preserved in the archives of the temple. From 1 Chronicles 9:1 we learn that the Jews engaged in this kind of record keeping. QSEW 107.1

A few of the parallels between the apocryphal books and the New Testament are given below. Most of the quotations are from the Revised Standard Version of the Apocrypha. For additional examples, see Bruce Metzger, An Introduction to the Apocrypha, pages 151-173. QSEW 107.2

“See thou never do to another what thou wouldst hate to have done to thee by another.”—Tobit 4:16 (Douay Version, cf. Matthew 7:12). QSEW 107.3

“Jerusalem will be built with sapphires and emeralds, her walls with precious stones, and her towers and battlements with pure gold. The streets of Jerusalem will be paved with beryl and ruby and stones of Ophir.”—Tobit 13:16, 17 (cf. Revelation 21:18-21). QSEW 107.4

“The Lord will take his zeal as his whole armor, and will arm all creation to repel his enemies; he will put on righteousness as a breastplate, and wear impartial justice as a helmet; he will take holiness as an invincible shield, and sharpen stern wrath for a sword.”—Wisdom 5:17-20 (cf. Ephesians 6:13-17). QSEW 107.5

“For they went far astray on the paths of error, accepting as gods those animals which even their enemies despised; they were deceived like foolish babes.”—Wisdom 12:24 (cf. Romans 1:22, 23). QSEW 107.6

“From the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator.... Yet again, not even they are to be excused; for if they had the power to know so much that they could investigate the world, how did they fail to find sooner the Lord of these things.”—Wisdom 13:5, 8, 9 (cf. Romans 1:20). QSEW 107.7

“Be quick to hear, and be deliberate in answering.”—Sirach 5:11 (cf. James 1:19). QSEW 107.8

“Do not prattle in the assembly of the elders, nor repeat yourself in your prayer.”—Sirach 7:14 (cf. Matthew 6:7). QSEW 107.9

“There is a man who is rich through his diligence and self-denial, And this is the reward allotted to him: When he says, ‘I have found rest, And now I shall enjoy my goods!’ He does not know how much time will pass until he leaves them to others and dies.”—Sirach 11:18, 19 (cf. Luke 12:16-21). QSEW 107.10

“Those who eat me [wisdom] will hunger for more, and those who drink me will thirst for more.”—Sirach 24:21 (cf. John 6:35). QSEW 107.11

“Forgive your neighbor the wrong he has done, and then your sins will be pardoned when you pray.”—Sirach 28:2 (cf. Matthew 6:14, 15; Mark 11:25). QSEW 107.12