Do You Know The History of the Christian Bible?

This is a brief history of the evolution of Bible and some of its various translations. The Christian Bible has the honor of being the first book every published in volume, and the most published book in history to this date. It has been written in almost every spoken language in the world today.

Like many ancient works, the oldest parts of the Bible were passed along orally before they were ever written down. Many devout Jewish people today believe that the full text of what Christians call The "Old Testament" Bible was given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. The Bible's earliest origin may always be a matter of faith, but it still remains a fact that after the Bible was first recorded, many different versions existed in several different languages. It was not until the first century B.C.E. (Before the Common Era, aka B.C.) that Jews settled on the canon of their scripture.

The oldest written parts of the Bible found were transcribed in three languages. What scholars call the Hebrew Bible (the same books Jews call the Tanakh or Written Torah, and Christians call the Old Testament) was first written in Hebrew with a few chapters of the books of Ezra and Daniel recorded in Aramaic. Hebrew had long been the language of the Jewish people, so their scriptures were passed down in Hebrew. Some of the books of the Hebrew Bible may have been written as far back as 1,400 B.C, although most of the text was probably written between 900 and 400 B.C.
Aramaic is a Semitic language that was widely spoken from 600 to 200 B.C. in the near Middle East. It was one of the common languages of the region until the 13th century, when Arabic became more prominent. Most people today believe Jesus and his apostles spoke Aramaic. Aramaic was the spoken language in Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ" that was subtitled in many languages.

The Christian New Testament was written in the common Greek of the Mediterranean area and parts of the Middle East at the time in the first century C.E. (Common Era, aka A.D.). This form of Greek is called Koine Greek. It developed from classical Greek, and spread by the conquests of Alexander the Great. As different people began to use the tongue, it evolved and changed into Koine Greek between 300 B.C. and 300 A.D. This form many scholars think may have been the second language of Jesus and his apostles -- after all, the gospels of the New Testament portray that Jesus spoke with Pontius Pilate, who would have been more likely to understand Greek than Aramaic. The Books that one day became the New Testament was probably written mostly in Greek because it was the common language around the Mediterranean at the time of its inception.

The earliest extant list of the books of the NT, in exactly the number and order in which we presently have them, is written by Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, in his Festal letter number 39 of A.D. 367.

382 A.D. Pope Damasus I, in a letter, listed the New Testament books in their present number and order.

393 A.D. The Council of Hippo affirmed the Canon written by Bishop Athanasius.

397 A.D. The Council of Carthage reaffirmed the Canons of the Old and New Testaments. St. Jerome's translation, "The Latin Vulgate", is to this day, the official Bible of the Catholic Church. The Bibles which Catholics use today, have the same 46 books in the Old Testament as they have had since before the beginning of Christianity. The Vulgate was designed to be a definitive and officially promulgated translation of the Bible, improving upon several translations then in use. It was the first, and for many centuries the only, Christian Bible with an Old Testament translated directly from the Hebrew rather than from the Greek Septuagint.

Catholic Bibles have 73 books; 46 in the Old Testament, and 27 in the New Testament. Protestant Bibles have 66 books with only 39 in the Old Testament. The books missing from Protestant Bibles are: Tobit, Judith, Baruch, Wisdom, Sirach, 1 and 2 Maccabees, and parts of Esther and Daniel. They are called the 'Deuterocanonicals' by Catholics and 'Apocrypha' by Protestants.

419 A.D. The Fourth Council of Carthage again reaffirmed the Canons as defined in previous councils
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1442 A.D. At the Council of Florence, the entire Church recognized the 27 books, though does not declare them unalterable. This council confirmed the Roman Catholic Canon of the Bible which Pope Damasus I had published a thousand years earlier.

The Council of Trent 1546-1565, which was the longest lasting Council in Church history. At the Council of Trent, the Catholic Church reaffirmed once and for all the full list of 27 books as traditionally accepted.

In the mid-15th century, when Johannes Gutenberg invented movable type, the Latin Vulgate edition of the Christian Bible was the first work he printed. On September 30, 1452, Johannes Guttenberg's Bible was published becoming the first book to be published in volume, of which about 180 were printed. The pages of the books were not bound, and the date 1455 is documented on the spine by the binder for a copy bound in Paris.

In July of 1604 A.D. King James of England wrote to Bishop Bancroft that he had nominated 54 learned men (linguists and biblical scholars) to once again translate the Bible, (but only 47 actually took part) in what became know as The King James Version (KJV) and was published in 1611. Many Christian fundamentalists today feel that this version is on one and only true version of God's Holy Word.

Over the centuries it became increasingly difficult for some people to truly understand the (Old English) vernacular. Hence, a new translation was first made called The New King James Version (NKJV) that had 130 translators in this edition. The (NKJV) was published in three stages: New King James Bible, New Testament; 1979 New King James Bible, New Testament and Psalms; 1980 New King James Version of the Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments; 1982.

The New American Standard Bible (NASB) was translated in 1971 by 58 scholars. The (NASB) has sought to render grammar and terminology in contemporary English. Special attention has been given to the rendering of verb tenses to give the English reader a rendering as close as possible to the sense of the original Greek and Hebrew texts. In 1995, the text of the (NASB) was updated for greater understanding and smoother reading.

Christians today continue to yearn for a better understanding of the Word, and a closer relationship with God, came The New International Version (NIV). More than 100 scholars from six English-speaking countries, as well as editors and English stylists, worked on the (NIV). The scholars represented more than 20 denominations. It took 10 years to complete the (NIV) translation. The process started in 1968 and finished in 1978. This does not include more than 10 years of planning before 1968. It has since become one of the more popular editions.

The New Century Version of the Bible is a revision of the International Children's Bible. The (ICB) is aimed at young readers and those with low reading skills/limited vocabulary in English. It is written at a 3rd grade level (from the introduction) and is both conservative and evangelical in tone. The New Testament was first published in 1978 and the Old Testament followed in 1986. The (ICB) was revised somewhat to be a bit more sophisticated (reading level grade 5) and was dubbed the New Century Version (NCV). This revised version was first published in 1991. Recently, the New Century Version text has been combined with notes containing advice on teenage issues to form "The Youth Bible", and was updated in 2007. The (NCV) is now available as a stand alone version.

For me, the word "BIBLE" stands for; Basic Instructions before Leaving Earth. I truly feel that everyone should read a copy it and gain from the insight and benefit of its words.



By Steven E Coffman Family-eStore.com

Family-eStore will try to provide you with articles of interest to a Christian and patriotic way of life. The articles are written by Steven E Coffman (Owner) of Family-eStore.com (National Essay Contest) winner 1969. I am a person with strong Christian and patriotic beliefs. Tenacity, faith, and a belief in God, Country and Family are key components to success in life.

The Christian articles are only intended to bring you closer in your relationship to our Father in heaven.

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