Question: Second Timothy 3:16 says that Scripture is inspired by God. What does “inspired” mean? Did God take over the authors’ minds and control their hands as they wrote?

Answer: What kind of book is the Bible? Christians regard it as the word of God, as Jewish readers regard the Scriptures Christians call the Old Testament. But we also need to attend to what Scripture says about itself and the characteristics we actually find in its pages. In this series, I explore these questions by examining the biblical texts.

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

2 Timothy 3:16 (ESV)

The ESV translates the expression as “breathed out by God.” Other English translations use “inspired by God.” How, then, did God inspire the biblical authors?

Did God take over the authors’ minds and control their hands?

Does inspiration mean that the writers had no conscious involvement in composing Scripture? The observations below lead me to understand the Bible as a work produced through divine and human involvement. Its authors were more than copyists taking down God’s words.

Scripture uses the languages and writing materials of its time

The biblical books were written in the languages their authors and first readers used: Hebrew and Aramaic in the Old Testament, and Koine Greek in the New Testament. They were also transmitted using familiar writing materials, such as papyrus and parchment.

God did not send a complete Bible down from heaven, written in an unknown language or recorded on a medium centuries ahead of its time. Scripture came to us in an ordinary human form. As the Word became flesh and shared our humanity, God’s message was recorded and communicated through human authors using their customary languages. This is an analogy: it does not make Scripture divine in the same sense that Christ is divine.

God chose to communicate through human writers

Scripture repeatedly describes God instructing people to write down his words:

14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."

Exodus 17:14 (ESV)

4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

Exodus 24:4 (ESV)

27 And the LORD said to Moses, "Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel."

Exodus 34:27 (ESV)

1 Then the LORD said to me, "Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters, 'Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.'

Isaiah 8:1 (ESV)

8 And now, go, write it before them on a tablet and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come as a witness forever.

Isaiah 30:8 (ESV)

2 "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you.

Jeremiah 30:2 (ESV)

2 "Take a scroll and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah and all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah until today.

Jeremiah 36:2 (ESV)

2 And the LORD answered me: "Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.

Habakkuk 2:2 (ESV)

The New Testament likewise speaks of remembering, passing on, and teaching what the Lord had said:

20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Matthew 28:20 (ESV)

20 Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

John 15:20 (ESV)

15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

1 Thessalonians 4:15 (ESV)

These passages describe people receiving and communicating God’s message. They do not portray writing Scripture as a process in which the authors lost consciousness or ceased to exercise their own minds.

Not every detail came through a direct revelation

Some biblical material records words God directly communicated to the writers. Other material came through sources the authors consulted:

13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day.

Joshua 10:13 (ESV)

28 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam and all that he did, and his might, how he fought, and how he restored Damascus and Hamath to Judah in Israel, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

2 Kings 14:28 (ESV)

5 Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and I found written in it:

Nehemiah 7:5 (ESV)

The Old Testament mentions numerous written sources: the Book of Jashar; the chronicles of the kings of Judah and Israel; the chronicles of King David; the acts of Solomon; records associated with Nathan, Gad, Iddo, Shemaiah, Jehu son of Hanani, and the seers; and genealogical records. These references show that consulting existing records could form part of the writing process.

Authors could also draw on personal experience, oral reports, or letters. Paul, for example, learned about the churches’ circumstances through other people:

11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.

1 Corinthians 1:11 (ESV)

1 Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: "It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman."

1 Corinthians 7:1 (ESV)

7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

Colossians 1:7–8 (ESV)

The “we” passages in Acts also describe events in which the narrator presents himself as a participant. Such information did not necessarily require a separate direct revelation.

The biblical writers engaged with their cultural surroundings as well. The Pentateuch can be read alongside ancient Near Eastern literature and traditions. Paul quoted Greek poetry, and Jude quoted a passage also found in 1 Enoch (1 Corinthians 15:33; Acts 17:28; Jude 14–15; 1 Enoch 1:9).

The Bible therefore need not have been produced by God directly supplying every item of information, sentence by sentence. God could inspire authors to communicate his message through research, experience, and familiar literary material.

The authors had particular purposes and readers

As the first article in this series explains, each biblical book was written for particular readers in particular circumstances. That does not prevent these writings from serving God’s purposes for later readers.

8 And now, go, write it before them on a tablet and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come as a witness forever.

Isaiah 30:8 (ESV)

58 "If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, the LORD your God, 59 then the LORD will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting.

Deuteronomy 28:58–59 (ESV)

Luke explicitly describes his investigation and his decision to write:

1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

Luke 1:1–4 (ESV)

Other writers also explain their purposes:

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

1 John 2:1 (ESV)

1 This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder,

2 Peter 3:1 (ESV)

25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

John 21:25 (ESV)

1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

2 Thessalonians 1:1 (ESV)

15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.

2 Thessalonians 2:15 (ESV)

The letters contain personal requests as well as instructions for their communities:

13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments.

2 Timothy 4:13 (ESV)

Paul’s request for his cloak, books, and parchments reminds us that this is a real letter from a real person. Inspiration does not erase that human setting.

Composition also involved selection and editing

God worked through writers who selected and arranged their material. Luke investigated his sources and chose to write an orderly account. John explains that he included particular signs for a particular purpose:

30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John 20:30–31 (ESV)

Peter describes Paul as writing according to the wisdom given to him:

15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him,

2 Peter 3:15 (ESV)

Some passages also indicate the involvement of people beyond an initial author. Consider the following examples.

Deuteronomy records events after Moses’ death

5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD, 6 and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day. 7 Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated. 8 And the people of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended. 9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses. 10 And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, 11 none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, 12 and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

Deuteronomy 34:5–12 (ESV)

This passage looks back on Moses’ death and assesses his place among Israel’s prophets. The completed book contains a perspective beyond Moses’ own lifetime.

Ezekiel’s opening moves from first person to third person

1 In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2 On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin), 3 the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the LORD was upon him there.

Ezekiel 1:1–3 (ESV)

The first-person account is accompanied by a third-person identification of the prophet and his historical circumstances. This is consistent with an editorial introduction, although the change of person alone does not prove a separate editor.

Baruch participated in recording Jeremiah’s words

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you.

Jeremiah 30:1–2 (ESV)

4 Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD that he had spoken to him.

Jeremiah 36:4 (ESV)

Here the text explicitly names someone who wrote down the prophet’s words.

The Gospel writers present the same event with different wording or detail

Compare their accounts of the inscription on Jesus’ cross:

37 And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews."

Matthew 27:37 (ESV)

26 And the inscription of the charge against him read, "The King of the Jews."

Mark 15:26 (ESV)

38 There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews."

Luke 23:38 (ESV)

19 Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews."

John 19:19 (ESV)

The wording differs, while each account identifies Jesus as the King of the Jews.

Another example is the centurion’s request for Jesus to heal his servant (Matthew 8:5–13; Luke 7:1–10):

5 When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him,

Matthew 8:5 (ESV)

3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant.

Luke 7:3 (ESV)

Matthew presents the centurion approaching Jesus, while Luke describes his sending Jewish elders. Matthew’s account can be understood as a compressed presentation of the request made through the centurion’s representatives. The writers need not narrate every event with identical detail.

Scripture speaks within the conceptual world of its first readers

Should we expect the Bible to conceal modern scientific knowledge for later generations to discover? Its descriptions of the natural world reflect ancient ways of understanding that world:

18 Can you, like him, spread out the skies, hard as a cast metal mirror?

Job 37:18 (ESV)

The comparison of the sky to a cast metal mirror belongs to an ancient conceptual setting. The next article considers these descriptions more closely. Communicating through scientific concepts unknown to the first readers could have obscured the message God intended them to receive.

Conclusion

The Bible does not give us a complete account of the mechanism of inspiration. Yet its contents show that God’s word comes to us through human writing: research, memory, sources, selection, arrangement, and the writers’ own circumstances.

I understand God’s work as encompassing the whole process through which Scripture was written, transmitted, and recognised as the canon. Divine revelation and the work of the Spirit were present alongside the authors’ backgrounds, cultures, thoughts, and emotions. This account of the whole process is my theological understanding; Scripture does not spell out each stage of it.

The incarnation offers an analogy for taking both divine and human involvement seriously. It is an analogy rather than an identification of Scripture with Christ. Scripture remains human speech set apart for God’s purposes.

19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 1:19–21 (ESV)

This passage affirms the Spirit’s work in prophetic speech. It does not require us to imagine the speakers as unconscious instruments. God’s agency and their genuine human involvement can both be affirmed.

Further reading and biblical references

  • Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth.
  • Christopher J. H. Wright, How to Preach and Teach the Old Testament for All Its Worth.
  • Book of Jashar: Joshua 10:13; 2 Samuel 1:18.
  • Royal chronicles: 1 Kings 14:19, 29; 15:7, 23, 31; 16:5, 14, 20, 27; 22:39, 45; 2 Kings 1:18; 8:23; 10:34; 12:19; 13:8, 12; 14:15, 18, 28; 15:6, 11, 15, 21, 26, 31, 36; 16:19; 20:20; 21:17, 25; 23:28; 24:5; 1 Chronicles 9:1; 2 Chronicles 16:11; 20:34; 25:26; 27:7; 28:26; 32:32; 33:18; 35:27; 36:8.
  • Other written records: 1 Chronicles 27:24; 29:29; 1 Kings 11:41; 2 Chronicles 9:29; 12:15; 20:34; 33:19. The ESV’s rendering of 2 Chronicles 33:19 refers to “the Chronicles of the Seers,” rather than identifying a writer named Hozai.
  • Genealogical records: Genesis 25:13; Numbers 1:18; 1 Chronicles 4:33; 5:1, 7, 17; 7:7, 9; 9:1, 9, 22; 2 Chronicles 31:16–19; Ezra 8:1, 3; Nehemiah 7:5; Matthew 1:1.
  • The Spirit’s communication: Acts 8:29; 10:19; 13:2; 20:23; 21:4, 10–11; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 1 Timothy 4:1.

More in this series

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

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