Appendix B: Glossary

Apocrypha. Books found in the Septuagint and the Vulgate but not in the Hebrew Bible; they are not part of the Protestant canon.

Autograph. The original manuscript written by the author.

Canon. The list of books recognized as inspired Scripture; from the Greek kanōn, “rule.”

Codex. An ancient book with leaves bound at one side, the ancestor of the modern book.

Inerrancy. The belief that the Scriptures, in their original writings, are without error in all that they affirm.

Inspiration. The work of the Holy Spirit by which the Scriptures are the very Word of God; “God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16).

Masoretic Text. The standard Hebrew text of the Old Testament, preserved by the Masoretes.

Papyrus. A writing material made from the Egyptian papyrus reed.

Septuagint (LXX). The Greek translation of the Old Testament, begun in the third century BC.

Textual criticism. The study of manuscripts to recover the original wording of a text.

Textus Receptus. The Greek New Testament text edited by Erasmus and later editors, underlying the KJV.

Vulgate. Jerome’s Latin translation of the Bible (c. AD 405).