The Nugget:
Deuteronomy 4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
My Comment:
The Bible teaches that nothing is to be added to or taken from the Scriptures. But if this teaching given in Deuteronomy 4:2 is true, how did any books get added to the Bible after the time of Moses when the book of Deuteronomy was written? How did Isaiah or the Psalms manage to be added if there is a limitation and command that nothing is to be added? God is able to inspire writers, and did so in both Old and New Testament times, who under the direction of the Holy Spirit were guided to write those further portions of Scripture we now have, concluding with the book of Revelation. Who decided what books should be admitted to the approved books of Scripture? The Old Testament, or the Hebrew Scriptures, were collected by the Jews who lived in Israel. God led them to include the 39 books of the Old Testament. There are other books that have been included with the Old Testament from about two centuries before Christ, books included in the Greek Septuagint that are not found in the Hebrew Bible. All 39 books of the Hebrew Scriptures were a part of the Old Testament used by the Jews in Israel before and at the time of Christ. The New Testament books were accounted as inspired Scripture. Each book as it was received by the original recipients was acknowledged as Scripture and received as such by those to whom each book was subsequently shared. By the time Peter wrote his books, he referred to the letters of Paul as Scripture. It is clear from what Peter states that he had a collection of Paul’s letters in his possession. By the time the book of Revelation was written, the “canon” of the New Testament was complete. Some scholars assert (as Townsend in his Analysis) that the Apostle John himself was the one who closed the New Testament canon. In any case, by about the year 160 AD a list of what books belonged in the New Testament, the Muratorian Canon, contains a list virtually the same as the list of books we have in the New Testament today. At this time, therefore, no one has divine authority to add to what is already in the Bible, or of course, to take anything out.
For those who desire to DIG DEEPER into this subject:
(1) Consult the cross references given in Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible on page 182 for Deuteronomy 4:2.
(2) Consult the cross references given in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge on page 201 or in Logos 5 Bible software for Deuteronomy 4:2.
(3) Lacking access to those two resources, consult the cross references for this passage as I have developed them as given below:
Deuteronomy 4:2. not add. Dt 12:32. 18:20. Jsh 1:7. Pr 30:5, 6. Ec 12:13. Je 23:28. 26:2. Ezk 2:5, 7. Mt 5:18, 43. 15:2-9. Mk 7:1-13. Ga 1:9. 3:15. Re 22:18, 19. neither shall ye diminish. Ex 7:2. Le 8:36. 10:1. Jsh 8:35. 11:15. Je 26:2. that ye may keep the commandments. Dt 5:32. 12:1. 17:20. Ex 12:50. 34:11. 35:29. Le 18:4, 26. 19:37. Jsh 22:5. 2 Ch 30:12. *Jb 22:22.
dt 4.2 ye shall not add unto the word which i command you,
neither shall ye dimish ought from it, that ye may keep the
commandmets of the lord your God which i command you.
encouraging cross refs
1 dt. 12.32 what thing soever i command you, observe to
do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor dimish from it.
2. josh 1.7 Only be thou strong and very courageous,
that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law,
which moses my servant commanded thee: turn not
from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest
prosper whithersover thou goest.
3 pr 30.6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee,
and thou found a liar.
4. ec 12.13 let us hear the conlusion of the whole matter;
Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole
duty of man.