Conclusion to the Matter

When we affirm that God's Word is without error; we apply specific principles of interpretation that include the following:

1. Numbers are often given approximately. (Acts 2:41)

2. Speeches and quotations may be paraphrased rather than reproduced verbatim. (Acts 7:2-3)

3. The world may be described in phenomenological terms (how events appear to human viewers) (Judg 19:14)

4. Speeches made by humans or Satan are recorded or paraphrased accurately without implying that what these persons affirmed was correct (Job 11:1-2)

5. Sources were sometimes used by a writrer to make a point without implying divine affirmation of everything else that the source said. (Jude 9)

(These qualifications are universal to all natural communications)