Acts 17:11 NIV
Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
The modern reader is familiar with a Bible that includes Old Testament and New Testament scriptures, which are translated into different versions such as NIV, ESV, NLT, etc. Therefore, when reading this verse, a question that may come to mind is, “What Bibles did they use? Or what kind of scriptures were they reading?”
Of course, translations like the ones we have now were not available, nor was the full Bible with the New Testament available to them. But what did they use then?
This is a simple yet important question that needs to be answered because it gives us insight into how people in the 1st century valued and studied scripture.
Acts 17:11 NIV
11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Dr. Luke, the Author of Acts, writes.. “they examined the scriptures”
What Bible did they use?
Paul preached to the Bereans in the 1st century AD. At that time, the New Testament was not yet available, or in other words, it was still being written. The last book to be written was Revelation, which was completed in 95 AD. Later, after the formation of the Canon, we have the Bible in its present format. The incident at Berea happened much earlier, probably in 51 AD.
At that time, they had a collection of Old Testament scriptures, most likely a copy of the Greek translation(Septuagint) of the Hebrew scriptures. This was because, at that time, people were more familiar with Greek due to the Roman invasion. They also examined Paul’s teachings using those scriptures.
How did they examine the Bible? Did they have individual copies?
Today, when we think of studying the Bible, we think of getting a Bible like the ESV or NIV, or purchasing a commentary, etc. We live in an age where we have access to resources individually; however, in the 1st century, it was not the same. They did not possess an individual copy, but they possessed a community copy which they would get together to read, study, and examine.
The Berean Jews were known for their nobility because they received the message with great eagerness. Not only that, but they examined scriptures every day. Note that point: “They examined scriptures every day.” Not occasionally, but every day. Studying scriptures was an attitude they developed, so when Paul came to preach, it was easy for them to believe and evaluate the teaching of Paul.
The Result
As a result, Acts 17:12 states, “Many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.”
What can we learn?
The Berean Jews always stand to show the commitment a church should have toward studying God’s word. My prayer, as I think of churches today, is that they will study and examine scriptures with a passion like the Berean Jews.
