I know that the Bible was not dictated to the Biblical writers, although there are some exceptions. Would it be correct to say that the Biblical writers paraphrased what God said?

No.
God worked in such a way that the very words the writers penned were EXACTLY the words God wanted written.
It wasn't like God talked to them across the room and the writers just said, "So in other words..."
No, their very words are the words of God.

I was thinking that paraphrase means to write what someone else said, but not use the exact words that he said. I was not asking whether or not the Biblical writers wrote some words down that God did not want to be written.

Isn't dictation writing down the exact words that someone else said?

Curt:
It is a matter of God's sovereignty, I think. The men God chose to convey His words through verbal and written means do not have the power to thwart God's will. Man, on the other hand, no matter how much he tries, is not able to speak or write without sin. So when God selects a man to be His prophet and spokesman, and He wishes it to written to stand for all time, man's sin is powerful enough to withstand every effort man makes to be faithful, but it has no power to withstand God's intended aims.

Even sinful men have moved God's landmarks, to show their disdain for His "so-called omnipotence", as they often mock. But in the end those landmarks fall exactly where God had intended them to be all along, far before the thought had ever entered the minds of those who mocked Him.

Men wrote the Scriptures to the best of their ability, but it is God who safeguarded the text. So this goes far beyond dictation, though it too may have been involved.

just my :wr50:

The Bible is inspired (God-breathed) to the [i:ae522f6bae]letter[/i:ae522f6bae]!

Not one jot or tittle (the smallest letter and the smallest stroke in a letter in the Hebrew alphabet) of the Law will pass away, Jesus said. (Matthew 5:18).

Men did not change it, paraphrase it, ellaborate on it, or modify it. God did use their own personality, meaning He did not dictate it to them, but the work of the Spirit in them is so precise that every single word of Scripture they wrote is inspired.

http://users3.ev1.net/~maranathachurch/word.html

Phillip

Curt,

The proper understanding of the inspiration of the Bible is called "verbal plenary inspiration." That is, God inspired not only the concepts, but the words (verbal), and not only some of the words, but all of the words (plenary - full)


Here is a very good - but VERY technical - article from B.B. Warfield on [u:131654a371]The Meaning of Theopneustos[/u:131654a371]

A more readable treatment by Boettner can be found at:
http://www.reformed.org/bible/boettner/inspire.html

Perhaps even better is this from E.J. Young:
http://www.the-highway.com/scripture_Young.html
Here are some other good and (mostly) short articles:

http://www.girs.com/library/theology...us/inspir.html

http://www.christianobserver.org/Bel...on/Belgic3.htm

http://www.bible.org/docs/theology/biblio/inspdoct.htm
http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/ar...spiration.html


http://www.ariel.org/ff00037c.html

http://www.bible.org/docs/qa/qa.asp?StudyID=146

You can also go to any standard systematic theology text (whether Dispensational or reformed, it does not matter here) and look at the section on inspiration.

I hope that helps.

Matt speaking:
A helpful way of understanding inspiration is the stained glass window in the sunlight. The sun shines down it's light through the window and captures the various colors in the stained glass and creates a beutiful mosaic of light on the floor inside the church. The light does not cease to be light. The light is simply colored or takes on the characteristics (the personality) of the window (the Gospel writers for instance).

Hope this helps......
If not, take a tylenol.

Were the Biblical writers told by God the exact words to write or did God direct their thoughts so that they think of writing down His exact words?

When the Biblical writers wrote Scripture, did God choose the words for them? If so, how were they able to use their own writing style?



[Edited on 3-1-2004 by cih1355]

Did you check out all of Fred's excellent links?

Phillip