As our friend Webster 1913
points out, the word bible comes from biblia, Greek
for "books". This is a very important concept in what is known as The Bible. That is to say, if you are going to own one set of books own The Set of Books. If you are going to have one library
this year, make sure it is The Library.
The Bible is the Christian holy book. Although it cannot be stressed enough, it may come in one volume, but it is not one book. Anytime an individual book (or letter or manuscript), refers to itself, it does not refer to the bible, since the bible did not exist when the document was written. It would be wise to see it as a collection of historical documents and accounts detailing a religion spanning over 1,600 years.
The Bible can be divided into two testaments, Old Testament and New Testament. The Old Testament was mostly written in Hebrew and the New Testament was mostly written in Greek (koine). Up until 1450AD the bible had only existed in hand written form, due to the printing press not having been invented.
The Bible, has been an evolving creature, going through translations, and interpretations, as well as being subject to political manipulation.
- The Septuagint Version - Dates to 285 BC, it is the translation of the Old Testament into Greek.
- The Samaritan Pentateuch - Was created before Christ, and is the Hebrew Text in Samaritan characters
- The Peshito or Syriac - Used in Syria, translated into the common language (Aramaic, I believe). It is dated to as late as 247AD, but most scholars believe it was written before 150AD.
- The Codex Sinaiticus - Manuscript containing the Greek Bible written in 330AD
- The Codex Vaticanus - Housed in The Vatican. Once it contained the whole bible, but some of it is lost.
- The Vulgate - Latin translation by a scholar named Jerome, it was The Bible for Catholics for a millennium.
- The Codex Alexandrinus - A Greek translation that dates to 425AD
- John Wycliffe - The first English translation of the bible. It was translated from The Vulgate in 1380.
- William Tyndale - Created an English translation from The Vulgate and also translated the Pentateuch, around about 1530
- Miles Coverdale - In honour of King Henry VIII in 1535, it used Tyndale's work for the New Testament.
- Matthews Bible -Written (mostly) by John Rogus, it is effectively a revised Tyndale, completed in 1537.
- The Great Bible - 1539. So called because of immense physical size. It is basically a rewrite of the Tyndale, Coverdale and Matthews.
- The Geneva Bible - Written by scholars who were hiding from Queen Mary in Geneva in 1560
- The Bishops Bible A revision of The Great Bible and The Geneva Bible, directed by The Archbishop of Canterbury in 1568
- Douay-Rheims Bible - A translation of The Vulgate, it has become the accepted English Version of the Roman Catholic Church. The New Testament was published in Rheims in 1582, and the Old Testament was published in Douay in 1610.
- King James Version(1611) - King James I asked that this be created. 47 scholars worked at it, it is based on the Bishop's Bible, though Hebrew and Greek documents were studied in conjunction with other English translations. The scholars all had different backgrounds, and it was hoped this would help reduce prejudice. It is the highest selling version of the bible.
- Revised Version A revised edition of the KJV in the 1880s. This was a Church of England effort, though American scholars participated.
- American Standard Version - Also known as - the Revised Revised Version. This has the many of the translations the American Scholars initially wanted in the revised version, was published in 1901.
- Complete Bible: An American Translation - The Goodspeed version. Translated by Edgar J. Goodspeed and J.M. Powis Smith. A good translation from ancient texts in 1939.
- Revised Standard Version Was almost the Revised revised revised edition. Only instead of revising the ASV, this is a new translation published in 1952, using Hebrew and Greek documents unavailable in 1901. This was revised (heh) in 1971.
- New Testament in Modern English Exactly what it says on the tin, written in 1958 by J. B. Phillips
- The New King James Version - Published in 1979, it is the KJV in modern english, with updated grammar.
This list is by no means exhaustive In this age of information, more interpretations are being produced all the time. Interpretations are tricky tasks, and certain words can be translated in many ways. For example "the heavens" can also mean "sky". Scholars try and keep the Bible as close to to the intended meaning as possible. Unfortunately they are not perfect people, and they have their natural prejudices. The KJV, for example has plenty of controversial translations, especially when dealing with homosexuality
To take an English translated quote and interpret certain words in certain contexts, and derive conclusions from it is a dangerous and flawed business. Sometimes the translation just doesn't get across the spirit of the original at all. Before one takes to heart any part of the bible, it is advisable to read several versions of the same verse. Any subjective or complicated words should be cross-referenced with the original language version to ensure you are happy with the translation. After all, the bible should be read in its original format where possible, to base your belief on a translation is not advised.
When one quotes from the bible, it is important to note the Book it is taken from, the chapter and its verse. All verses in the bible should be taken in context. In context of its surrounding verses, the meaning of the chapter, the purpose of the book, the author, the time it was written, the place it was written, the politcal and social arena in which it was written, and so on.
The Bible was written by Over 40 different authors including,
Most of the time historians
cannot be certain whether or not a book was written by whom we think it was, or that the work was the soul penmanship of the credited author.
As far as we are aware, non of the books in the bible are written by God or by Jesus Christ. Any quotes attributed to them, are second hand. By saying "Jesus said..." you are not necessarily correct. A more correct term would be "Matthew said that Jesus said...". Even better would be "The King James Version of the bible says that Matthew said that Jesus said..." but that is a mouthful. Remember though, that when you say "Jesus said" you are actually saying something along the lines of the last statement.
What does the bible teach us? Including both Testaments it teaches us that we should be nice to each other. We should love one another, both our neighbours and our enemies (yes, this includes Osama bin Laden), and we should forgive anyone who has wronged us (yes, this includes Adolf Hitler). It teaches us not to judge people, since we can never know all the facts, only God can, only He can can judge somebody, and indeed, He will.
To conclude, the Bible is a must read for Christian and sceptic alike. I, myself, am not a Christian. I was/am tired of the bible being used as a weapon to prove that God doesn't like this or Jesus hates that, or such and such is a sin.
Take care of yourself...and each other