Basics facts
- The Bible was written over the span of 1500 years by 40 different authors: from 1450 B.C. to around 100 A.D.
- Hebrew Bible (Torah) is made up of the Old Testament while the Christian Bible is made up of both the Old and New Testaments
- 66 books (both Old Testament and New Testament)
- 39 books in the Old Testament
- 27 books in the New Testament
- Testament means "covenant"
- Central message: God created all of us, and wants to build a relationship with each and every one of us.
Origins of the Old Testament
The various translations of the Bible has caused parts of passages to change over time. The translations were made directly from original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic source texts based off thousands of manuscripts. The Old Testament is believed to be written in the beginning of the 19th century. However, the passages that are known today as the Old Testament were originally in the form of stories that were orally shared and passed down. It is even believed that some of the stories described go all the way back to the 18th century BC. However, the origins of the Old Testament are still shrouded in mystery; nevertheless, there are numerous theories about the creation of the Old Testament. The accuracy of the Old testament was confirmed by the archeological discovery of 1947 along the west bank in Israel. A set of scrolls known as "The Dead Sea" scrolls had Old Testament scriptures dating back 1,000 years older than any of the other manuscripts found. The Dead Sea scrolls are a collection of about 800 different texts with huge historical and religious implications, which are written in Hebrew and, or Aramaic. The scrolls were discovered to be copied between c. 250 BCE and 50 CE. The scrolls have copies of all the books in the Hebrew Bible except for Esther. In addition, there are noncanonical Jewish writings such as Enoch and Jubilees, biblical commentaries, and legal documents. The Dead Sea Scrolls demonstrate the diversity and resilience of the Jewish community during the Second Temple period. (The Second Temple refers to the city of Jerusalem from the period 580 BCE to 70 CE. This phase includes Persian rule over the city until it was destroyed by the Roman Empire.)
Looking closer at the Dead Scrolls
The "Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls digital library" maps out the historical background of the scrolls, the importance of this discovery, and the translation process of scrolls.
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Two stage theory of Old Testament discovery
There are a number of theories around the origins of the Old Testament, and one of these theories is partially described below.
Quick summary of the content of the Old Testament
Origins of the New Testament
Video looking at the development of the New Testament canon
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Dr. Michael Kruger briefly explaining the development of the New Testament canon, and the the evolution that the New Testament has, and continues to go through.
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All authors of the New Testament, in addition to context surrounding each of the figures listed below
Setting the scene
The Jewish Bible (the Old Testament) was originally written in Hebrew with few elements of Aramaic. When the Persian empire controlled the Eastern Mediterranean Basin Aramaic became the official language of the area, and members of the Jewish community in that region needed a Torah translated into the common language from Hebrew. By the mid- 3rd century B.C. Greek was the dominant language and Jewish scholars were faced with the task of translating the Hebrew Canon into Greek. This task took more than a century to complete, and later this version of the Jewish Bible became known as the Septuagint. The early Christian church knew only of the Hebrew scriptures and as Christianity continued spreading throughout the world the early Christians adopted the Septuagint. Later the New Testament was translated in Greek and also in Aramaic. In addition, this spread of Christianity required translations of both the Old and New Testaments in Coptic, Ethiopian, Gothic, and Latin. In 405 St. Jerome finished translating a Latin version that was partially based on the Septuagint Bible, which was known as the Vulgate. This became the standard of Western Christianity for more than a thousand years. Jerome's Latin Vulgate was the basis for translations of both the Old and New Testament into Syriac, Arabic, Spanish, English, and many more languages. Also the Vulgate provided the basis for the Douai-Reims, which was the only authorized Bible in English for Roman Catholics until the 20th century. In the 15th and 16th centuries the study of ancient Greek became popularized once again, which lead to newer translations.
Brief history of Christianity
By the year 100 Christianity was represented in Asia Minor, Syria, Macedonia, Greece, and Rome. Christians viewed themselves as a separate people, a "new race" of some sorts. The church was created for the purpose of helping people achieve heavenly citizenship once they left Earth. A key component of the Christian faith is the Baptism, which demonstrates devotion to the truth of the Christian message. Initially it was difficult for early Christians to deny the existence of older gods. However, they decided to look at them as demons who were hostile to the Christian church, and this fear of demonic influence led to the largely practiced tradition of exorcism in the name of Jesus Christ.
The first Christians were the disciples of Christ, they were “the simple fisherman that he wanted to make fishers of men”. The first group that they influenced was a Jewish community who heard them preach. Initially the Jews saw Christ as nothing more than a Rabbi; however, only with time did they begin to see him as more than just a teacher, but a man on a greater mission. As time progressed they began reenacting the passover meal taking into account it's greater significance. In particular they realized that Christ had given this tradition a new reality through his death and resurrection. They continued to distance themselves from the synagogue and were gradually rejected from the Jewish house of prayer. Christians believe that Christ is a teacher who gave new law in his own name therefore indicating that he was God. Christ's teachings gave a completely new meaning to the old law through his death. Christ called not only for obedience but called for “a new faith that believed the new meanings and the new vision he brought to human life”. Based on the Christian scriptures the Apostles gained their courage back and became missionaries fulfilling the will of the Lord. They have the responsibility of going and teaching the main message of Jesus. This message is that Jesus is the Messiah and is the son of God. He died on the cross for our sins, and offers salvation to all who accept his ideals of a Christian brotherhood, the equality of all believers before God, and the vision of a new social order that is attractive to every human no matter race or class.
The first Christians were the disciples of Christ, they were “the simple fisherman that he wanted to make fishers of men”. The first group that they influenced was a Jewish community who heard them preach. Initially the Jews saw Christ as nothing more than a Rabbi; however, only with time did they begin to see him as more than just a teacher, but a man on a greater mission. As time progressed they began reenacting the passover meal taking into account it's greater significance. In particular they realized that Christ had given this tradition a new reality through his death and resurrection. They continued to distance themselves from the synagogue and were gradually rejected from the Jewish house of prayer. Christians believe that Christ is a teacher who gave new law in his own name therefore indicating that he was God. Christ's teachings gave a completely new meaning to the old law through his death. Christ called not only for obedience but called for “a new faith that believed the new meanings and the new vision he brought to human life”. Based on the Christian scriptures the Apostles gained their courage back and became missionaries fulfilling the will of the Lord. They have the responsibility of going and teaching the main message of Jesus. This message is that Jesus is the Messiah and is the son of God. He died on the cross for our sins, and offers salvation to all who accept his ideals of a Christian brotherhood, the equality of all believers before God, and the vision of a new social order that is attractive to every human no matter race or class.
Video depicting the spread of Christianity around the world
Video overview on the origins of Christianity
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Origins of the first English Bible manuscripts
The first hand written English Bible manuscripts were produced in the 1380's by John Wycliffe. Wycliffe was well-known throughout Europe because of his opposition to the teachings of the organized church. He believed that they were contrary to the Bible. However, with the help of the Lollards (his followers) and his assistants, Wycliffe was able to produce dozens of manuscripts in English. They were translated out of Latin Vulgate, which angered the Pope immensely. As a result forty-four years after Wycliffe's death the Pope ordered for his bones to be hung-up, crushed, and scattered in the river. John Hus, a follower of Wycliffe actively promoted Wycliffe's ideas. He agreed that people should be able to read the Bible in their own language and that they should oppose the tyranny of the Roman Catholic Church who threatened to execute anyone who had a non-Latin Bible. Hus' last words were, ""In 100 years, God will raise up a man whose calls for reform can't be suppressed". This call was answered in 1517 when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses of Contention (95 issues, and crimes of the Roman Catholic church).
Various figures helped bring awareness and reform to the Bible
Thomas Linacre & John Colet
Martin Luther & Introduction to William Tyndale
Martin Luther was exiled after nailing his 95 Theses of Contention to the Wittenburg Church door. In Luther's 95 Theses he promoted two main ideas:The bible has the only religious authority and humans have the ability to reach salvation through faith alone, not by the deeds they do on Earth. This created the basis that was needed for the Protestant reformation. As a result the protestantism that emerged had been strongly influenced by Luther's ideas. Luther translated the New Testament into German for the first time in September of 1522. In addition, he published the German Pentateuch in 1523 and another edition of the German New Testament in 1529. In the 1530's he published the entire Bible in German. Tyndale's version of the New Testament became the first printed edition of the scripture in English. However, his printed copies were burned, yet some managed to survive. When this arrived to King Henry VIII and the Bishop they were both furious, and consequently the more that they resisted the more the public yearned for the newly translated New Testament.
Implication of their actions
As a result the church could no longer control the publics access to scriptures, and as a result the income of the church began to decrease if the people had the ability to read the Bible in their own language. In addition, the church could no longer get away with selling the forgiveness of sins, and selling the release of loved one's from a church conjured purgatory. The church was exposed as frauds and thieves, and their authority was called into serious question. As this continued the need for priests would begin to diminish as the public continued to become aware of the contradictions between God's word and what the priests taught. Tyndale's last words before being burned at the stake in 1536 was, " Oh Lord, open the King of England's eyes". In 3 years time King Henry VIII allowed and funded the printing of an English bible known as "The Great Bible". Myles Coverdale and John Roger remained loyal disciples of Tyndale and continued with the English Bible project. Coverdale finished translating the Old Testament in 1535, and the first completed English Bible was completed on October 4, 1535 and was also known as the Coverdale Bible.
John Calvin |
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John Calvin was the successor of Martin Luther as a Protestant theologian who had a major impact on the fundamental doctrines of Protestantism. Born in France in 1509 Calvin was a theologian and ecclesiastical statesman who was credited as the most important figure in the second generation of the protestant reformation. Calvin was a student at the University of New Orleans, which is where he was first drawn to the cause of reformation. In 1536 he published "Institutions of the Christian Religion". He aimed to standardize the theories of Protestantism. Calvin's religious teachings emphasized the sovereignty of the scriptures and divine predestination. When Calvin returned to Geneva after he was asked to leave he became an important political and spiritual leader. Clavin used protestant principles in order to establish a religious government in 1555, and was given supremacy as leader in Geneva.
John Calvin quotes
More about Tyndale
Despite Latin never being spoken to all Christians in Europe the Bible was known as the Latin Vulgate Bible. However, Latin was still the official language of the Roman Catholic Church, which was used by educated men from different countries as a means of communication. Latin was used a means to separate those who weren't as well educated in society. The Roman Catholic Church saw now problem with this because they believed that the Bible should only be read and interpreted by the clergy. John Wycliffe tried to completely translate each of the scriptures, however, they were still censored. Theologians found themselves competing with one another in an effort to advance their own religious agenda. Numerous translations had been based on the Vulgate version; however, William Tyndale based his translations on older Greek and Hebrew manuscripts. In addition, Tyndale used the works of Martin Luther. One of Tyndale's goals was to return to the original works in order to understand the messages of the classics. Following the release of his works Tyndale was persecuted by the Catholic Church and was immediately banned. King Henry VIII was furious because of the amount of attention and popularity Tyndale's translations had in England. Eventually he was arrested and convicted of heresy and condemned to death. He was later strangled, impaled, and then burned at the stake. However, Tyndale had already published the New Testament. Later King Henry VIII used Tyndale's translation word for word of King Henry VIII Great Bible. The Great Bible was the first authorized translation of the Bible in England. Later this was replaced by the Geneva Bible because the Anglican Church wanted to see a purer form of Christianity practiced in England. As the sixteenth century drew closer a new Bible was needed that endorsed the figures of authority within the church, and ordained priests in a position of authority. This order for a new translation was initiated by King James I. All previous English translations culminated into the King James version, which was the authorized version in England in 1611. .
King James Version
King James 1 ordered forty-seven scholars to begin work on another Bible translation. The scholars began work in 1604, and worked from a list of other English translations that had been pre-approved, and were granted the ability to reference original Greek and Hebrew texts when necessary. The team actually worked primarily from English translations, such a Tyndale's . By 1608 the team had completed the translation, and the first printing was in 1611. This translation became known as the "Authorized Version". By the 18th century the Authorized version was known as the King James version. In 1998 it was found that 84% of the King James New Testament was made from the words of Tyndale. In the Old Testament 74.8% is Tyndale's translation. In addition, there were various conflicts over printing rights and misprints within the text itself.
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National Geographic video on the history of the King James Bible |
Below are 8 of the 15 rules given the team of translators who translated what is known as the King James Bible
How the Bible changes with different translations
Timeline of BIBLE translation
1,400 BC: The first written Word of God: The Ten Commandments delivered to Moses.
500 BC: Completion of All Original Hebrew Manuscripts which make up The 39 Books of the Old Testament. 200 BC: Completion of the Septuagint Greek Manuscripts which contain The 39 Old Testament Books AND 14 Apocrypha Books. 1st Century AD: Completion of All Original Greek Manuscripts which make up The 27 Books of the New Testament. 315 AD: Athenasius, the Bishop of Alexandria, identifies the 27 books of the New Testament which are today recognized as the canon of scripture. 382 AD: Jerome's Latin Vulgate Manuscripts Produced which contain All 80 Books (39 Old Test. + 14 Apocrypha + 27 New Test). 500 AD: Scriptures have been Translated into Over 500 Languages. 600 AD: LATIN was the Only Language Allowed for Scripture. 995 AD: Anglo-Saxon (Early Roots of English Language) Translations of The New Testament Produced. 1384 AD: Wycliffe is the First Person to Produce a (Hand-Written) manuscript Copy of the Complete Bible; All 80 Books. 1455 AD: Gutenberg Invents the Printing Press; Books May Now be mass-Produced Instead of Individually Hand-Written. The First Book Ever Printed is Gutenberg's Bible in Latin. 1516 AD: Erasmus Produces a Greek/Latin Parallel New Testament. 1522 AD: Martin Luther’s German New Testament. 1526 AD: William Tyndale's New Testament; The First New Testament printed in the English Language. 1535 AD: Myles Coverdale's Bible; The First Complete Bible printed in the English Language (80 Books: O.T. & N.T. & Apocrypha). 1537 AD: Tyndale-Matthews Bible; The Second Complete Bible printed in English. Done by John “Thomas Matthew" Rogers (80 Books). 1539 AD: The "Great Bible" Printed; The First English Language Bible Authorized for Public Use (80 Books). 1560 AD: The Geneva Bible Printed; The First English Language Bible to add Numbered Verses to Each Chapter (80 Books). 1568 AD: The Bishops Bible Printed; The Bible of which the King James was a Revision (80 Books). 1609 AD: The Douay Old Testament is added to the Rheims New Testament (of 1582) Making the First Complete English Catholic Bible; Translated from the Latin Vulgate (80 Books). 1611 AD: The King James Bible Printed; Originally with All 80 Books. The Apocrypha was Officially Removed in 1885 Leaving Only 66 Books. 1782 AD: Robert Aitken’s Bible; The First English Language Bible (KJV) Printed in America. 1791 AD: Isaac Collins and Isaiah Thomas Respectively Produce the First Family Bible and First Illustrated Bible Printed in America. Both were King James Versions, with All 80 Books. 1808 AD: Jane Aitken’s Bible (Daughter of Robert Aitken); The First Bible to be Printed by a Woman. 1833 AD: Noah Webster’s Bible; After Producing his Famous Dictionary, Webster Printed his Own Revision of the King James Bible. 1841 AD: English Hexapla New Testament; an Early Textual Comparison showing the Greek and 6 Famous English Translations in Parallel Columns. 1846 AD: The Illuminated Bible; The Most Lavishly Illustrated Bible printed in America. A King James Version, with All 80 Books. 1863 AD: Robert Young's "Literal" Translation; often criticized for being so literal that it sometimes obscures the contextual English meaning. |
TWO short videos about the history of the BibleCondensed timeline quickly outlining when the books of the Bible were written1885 AD: The "English Revised Version" Bible; The First Major English Revision of the KJV. 1901 AD: The "American Standard Version"; The First Major American Revision of the KJV. 1952 AD: The "Revised Standard Version" (RSV); said to be a Revision of the 1901 American Standard Version, though more highly criticized. 1971 AD: The "New American Standard Bible" (NASB) is Published as a "Modern and Accurate Word for Word English Translation" of the Bible. 1973 AD: The "New International Version" (NIV) is Published as a "Modern and Accurate Phrase for Phrase English Translation" of the Bible. 1982 AD: The "New King James Version" (NKJV) is Published as a "Modern English Version Maintaining the Original Style of the King James." 1990 AD: The "New Revised Standard Version" (NRSV); further revision of 1952 RSV, (itself a revision of 1901 ASV), criticized for "gender inclusiveness". 2002 AD: The English Standard Version (ESV) is Published as a translation to bridge the gap between the accuracy of the NASB and the readability of the NIV. |
Comparing specific translations
A chart comparing various English Bible translations since the King James Version was first published in 1611, and where these various translations drew inspiration from. At the bottom of every column lies a key that has the full name of all the Bibles in the upper part of the columns.