AUTOGRAPHS. An actual writing from an author (or his secretary) of a book of the Bible. 

CANON. Books of the Bible officially accepted by the Church. 

CODEX. A bound book, in contrast to a roll or scroll. 

CONSERVATIVE. One who believes the basic or fundamental doctrines of the Bible. 

CRITICISM, DESTRUCTIVE. The futile attempt by rationalists to disprove the authenticity and veracity of the Bible. 

CRITICISM, HIGHER. The scholarly study that attempts to determine the authorship, background, and destination of biblical writings. 

CRITICISM, LOWER. Also called Textual Criticism. The Scholarly study that attempts to establish the original text. 

ILLUMINATION. The process by which God enlightens or gives understanding of the revelation of God in the Bible. 

INERRANT. The view of the Bible that sees it as being without error. This includes both historical and scientific truth. 

INFALLIBLE. The view of the the Bible that sees it as God-backed and unbreakable truth. 

INSPIRATION. The view that the Bible is the revelation of truth from God, and a belief that the whole process of writing was superintended by the Holy Spirit. 

INSPIRATION, PLENARY. The view that all of the Bible is inspired. 

INSPIRATION, VERBAL. The view that even the choice of words that human writers used in the Bible were guided by God. 

INSPIRATION, DYNAMIC. The view that God guided the writers within their own styles of writing, insuring that they recorded all the truth God wanted them to communicate, without error. 

KOINE GREEK. The common Greek, as spoken during the time of Christ. The New Testament was written in Koine Greek. 

LIBERAL. One who denies some of the basic truths of Christianity.

MANUSCRIPT. A handwritten copy of a book. Abbreviated MS. (Plural is MSS). 

MANUSCRIPT, MINUSCULE. Greek manuscript, handwritten in small letters, commonly in cursive, used in the ninth through fifteenth centuries. 

MANUSCRIPT, UNCIAL. Greek manuscript, hand printed in large letters, used in the fourth through ninth centuries. 

PAPYRUS. Ancient "paper" made from the pith of a plant that grew in the marshes of Egypt. 

PARCHMENT. An ancient writing material made from the skins of goats or sheep. 

PENTATEUCH. The first five books of the Bible authored by Moses. 

REVELATION. As it applies to this booklet, the belief that the truth in the Bible was revealed by God. 

SEPTUAGINT. A Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament made about 250-150 BC. Also represented by "LXX." 

TARGUMS. Aramaic paraphrases of the Old Testament. 

TEXT. Sometimes called a Critical Text. A "reconstructed autograph" of the Old Testament or New Testament through the science of textual criticism. 

TEXT, ECLECTIC. A text formed by the translators when they choose variant readings of Greek manuscripts while translating. 

TEXTUAL CRITICISM. See CRITICISM, LOWER. 

TEXTUS RECEPTUS. The "Received Text" underlying the New Testament of the King James Version. Erasmus edited this text quickly from Greek manuscripts he had at hand. 

TEXT, MASORETIC. Hebrew text of the Old Testament edited by the Masoretes, Jewish textual scribes of the fifth through ninth centuries AD, who standardized the text. 

TORAH. The English transliteration of the Hebrew word for "Law." It often refers to the Pentateuch. 

TRANSLATION, DYNAMIC EQUIVALENT. A translation that seeks to evoke the same reaction in the new reader that the original text did in the original reader. (Nida). It is a thought-for-thought translation. 

TRANSLATION, FORMAL EQUIVALENT. A translation that seeks to follow the original text closely. 

TRANSLATION, LITERAL. A word-for-word translation of the Bible. 

TRANSLATION, LITERAL-INTERLINEAR. A word-for-word or phrase-for-word translation of the Greek or Hebrew text. The text is printed with the translation directly below the printed text. It is helpful for those who know some Greek or Hebrew. 

TRANSLATION, PARAPHRASE. A meaning-for-meaning translation of the Bible. 

TRANSLATION, COMMITTEE. A translation done by a committee. The translation is usually called a version. 

TRANSLATION, PRIVATE. A translation done by an individual. 

TRANSLITERATION. A letter-for-letter or sound-for-letter spelling of a word to represent a word in another language. 

TRANSMISSION. The process by which biblical manuscripts are accurately passed down through history. 

VELLUM. A high quality writing material in ancient times, usually made from the skins of calves or antelopes. 

VERSION. A translation of the Old and/or New Testaments usually made by a committee. 

VULGATE. Latin translation of the Bible made in the fourth century.