The Bible provides great insight into how people knew about God prior to the compilation of the Biblical canon. While the Bible itself was put together over many centuries, the texts refer to God’s interactions with humankind from the very beginning. According to Genesis, the first book of the Bible, God created the heavens, the earth, and humanity. He spoke directly with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden prior to the fall. This means the first people knew about God through direct communication with Him.
After being banished from Eden for disobeying God, Adam and Eve still taught their children about the Creator. Their son Cain spoke with God before murdering his brother Abel (Genesis 4:6-16). Genesis 5 lists Adam’s descendants for several generations, indicating the knowledge of God was passed down through family lines. Oral traditions allowed stories of God’s great deeds to be shared for centuries before being recorded in Scripture.
God continued to interact directly with key figures later in Genesis. He made a covenant with Noah, instructing him to build the ark to survive the flood (Genesis 6). Abraham had direct conversations with God, being promised many descendants and inheritance of the land of Canaan (Genesis 12, 15, 17). God spoke in dreams to Abraham’s son Isaac, grandson Jacob, and great-grandson Joseph. For the patriarchs of the Jewish nation, personal interaction provided knowledge of the one true God.
As the Israelites became slaves in Egypt, oral traditions could not sustain faith in God alone. So God performed incredible miracles to deliver His people from bondage. Plagues on Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea showed God’s supremacy over all other gods (Exodus 7-14). After these displays of power, God gave Moses the Ten Commandments and other laws for the Israelites to follow (Exodus 20, Deuteronomy). Through direct miraculous acts and the establishment of a covenant, God made Himself known to Moses and the Hebrew people.
During their wanderings in the wilderness, God dwelt with the Israelites in the tabernacle, communicating through appointed priests. He led them visibly through pillars of cloud and fire. God’s presence and guidance reinforced knowledge of Him to that generation. Once in the Promised Land, the cycle repeated itself as the people strayed from God over time. He would send judges and prophets to remind them of His laws and turning points in their history. Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal with a miraculous fire from heaven to prove God’s reality (1 Kings 18).
God also spoke through individual prophets leading up to the compilation of Scripture. Men like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel proclaimed messages from God to kings and nations. Their writings warn of punishment for sin and speak of a future Messiah who would redeem God’s people. God ensured knowledge of Himself continued through these inspired spokesmen across centuries leading up to Christ.
So in summary, according to the Bible record, humans gained knowledge of God progressively from the beginning through:
- Direct communication with God in Eden
- Oral traditions from Adam through Noah’s family
- Covenants with patriarchs like Abraham and Moses
- Miracles proving God’s power over other gods
- God’s visible presence with the Israelites
- Appointed priests and prophets voicing God’s messages
God took initiative to make Himself known from humanity’s first days. So even without the compiled Bible, people learned of the one true Creator through personal interaction, stories, miracles, visions, and prophecies. The Bible collates these records of God’s self-revelation so future generations also could know Him by faith.
Around 1400 BC, God provided the Ten Commandments and other laws to the Israelites through Moses, several centuries before Scripture emerged. These laws reveal God’s nature and desires for human conduct. Through observing the Law, the Israelites increased in knowledge of God’s standards for righteous living.
The books of History in the Old Testament (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings, 1&2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther) cover the Israelites possessing the Promised Land through the Babylonian exile. These books provide examples of God blessing Israel for obedience and punishing them for disobedience. They saw God’s justice and mercy demonstrated firsthand through His response to their national obedience or apostasy. Experiencing fulfillment of the covenant blessings and curses imparted great knowledge of God’s character.
Wisdom literature in the Old Testament – Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs – also expanded insight into God’s nature. These books deal with how faithfully living for God amidst suffering and uncertainty. They explore trusting God’s wisdom over human viewpoints. The beautiful poetry and music of the Psalms stirred the hearts of God’s people in worship. Wise Solomon shared profound spiritual truths learned over his reign. So God’s people gained deeper knowledge of His loving care and wise guidance through these writings.
The Major and Minor Prophets gave warnings, encouragement, and future hope to God’s people. Isaiah and Ezekiel share majestic visions of God’s glory and holiness. Daniel foretells the coming Messiah who would save mankind from sin. God’s Spirit inspired these prophetic works to prepare people’s hearts for the Savior. The prophets expanded comprehension of God’s faithfulness, mercy, and sovereign plan for all nations.
Oral traditions passed down God’s faithfulness across generations before Scripture existed. Abraham and Moses lived around 4,000 and 3,500 years ago. Much of Genesis was not recorded until over 2500 years after Abraham. Exodus was written around 3000 years after Moses. Yet Abraham and Moses both demonstrated great knowledge of God from oral history centuries before Genesis and Exodus were complete. The stories of God’s works were passed down generation to generation for centuries before inspiring the written Word.
Melchizedek blessed Abram in Genesis 14 roughly 4000 years ago, over 2000 years before Christ. Melchizedek already knew God as Most High and served as priest of the Most High God at that time. This example shows other cultures were aware of biblical truths about God centuries before Scripture emerged through oral transmission.
Rahab in Jericho showed knowledge of God’s power to Moses and the Israelites when helping Joshua’s spies as recorded in Joshua 2 around 3500 years ago. She references past works of God for Israel centuries before they would have been recorded in Scripture.
In Joshua 24:2, Joshua references distant ancestors “beyond the Euphrates” serving other gods prior to God taking Abraham from beyond the River. The oral stories reached back centuries to provide understanding of their family history with God.
Psalm 78 recounts Israel’s history with God beginning with miracles in Egypt and wilderness wanderings. The psalmist Asaph lived around 3000 years ago. Yet the psalm includes stories regarding Ephraim from several centuries earlier according to biblical chronology, stories the psalmist knew from oral history before the accounts were themselves recorded in Scripture.
The cultures surrounding the Israelites also gained understanding of God’s power from oral traditions. Rahab references the Canaanites fear and dread of God’s power to act for Israel in Joshua 2. Young David became renowned for killing the Philistine warrior Goliath. King Achish of Goliath’s home city of Gath readily believed the report about God’s might through David as the slayer of Goliath in 1 Samuel 21. The Philistines continued to credit God’s power in David’s victories generations later according to 2 Samuel 5, likely from legends passed down orally before being recorded in Scripture.
Therefore, oral transmissions from generation to generation allowed fundamental knowledge of God to spread for centuries prior to the availability of Scripture. God’s Spirit ensured key stories were passed down accurately regarding His works and character until they were finally recorded in His Word. The biblical record itself acknowledges many people knew God through oral tradition centuries before His truth was committed to writing.
In conclusion, the Bible provides a wealth of examples showing humankind gained progressive knowledge of God long before the biblical canon emerged. Through direct communication, miraculous works, visions, appointed spokesmen, covenant blessings and curses, poetic hymns, wise sayings, prophetic revelation, and oral transmissions, humankind understood God’s existence, character, purposes, and desires for right living centuries before Scripture took form. God took the initiative to make Himself known to humanity from our beginnings. The biblical canon faithfully records God’s self-revelation so that all might know Him through His Word.