THE HISTORY OF THE BIBLE
How did we get the Bible?
The
Bible is a book of revelation, revealing the great plan of God for
humankind. It is a book of communication from God to man. God inspired
many people over a period of time, from different places, revealed His
purpose and plan for humankind. Thus the Bible in its written form is a
sum total of oral traditions of faith communities spanning a period of
about 1500 years. The “authors” were inspired by God to write with the
result that in spite of diversity of writers there is oneness and a
systematic unfolding of God’s plan of salvation for
humankind.
The Bible is divided
into two sections, one is called the Old Testament, and the other is
called the New Testament. The Old Testament is written in Hebrew language
and the New Testament in Greek language. A few sections of the Old
Testament and a few words in the New Testament are written in Aramaic
language. |
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Writing
Materials |
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In ancient
times, various materials served as writing surfaces. Texts cut in
stones were often found popular. Later on, wood and metals were also
used as writing surfaces. Over a period of time clay, bone, wood,
leather, various metals, potsherds, and parchment were used as
writing surface. | |
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Both the Old Testament and New Testament were written on
parchment (made from specially treated animal skins) or papyrus
(marsh reeds hammered together), which were rolled up for storage.
The writing on the scroll was done using reed pens and ink made from
carbon, gum and oil. |
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Codex
During the second century A.D. the
scroll began to be replaced by “codex”, the ancestor of our book
with pages. The codex was made of pages folded and fastened
together. Sometimes codex had covers like modern books. Codex became
popular because it was easy to be carried and also it was easier to
find a particular passage as compared to the scroll.
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Translations |
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The first translation of the Scriptures was the translation of the
Hebrew Old Testament into Greek in Alexandria during 3rd century B.C. In
the 2nd century A.D. the Bible was translated into Latin and was called
Latin Vulgate. In the 5th century A.D. the Bible was translation into
Anglo Saxon language. In the 14th century A.D., it was translated into
English. The printing process was not yet invented at that time so copies
were made by handwriting. |
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Printed
Bible
When John Gutenberg made the printing machine
in Europe, the first book to roll out of this printing press was the Latin
Bible. The first English New Testament was printed in 1525 A.D. The most
popular translation of the Bible in English is called the King James
Version, which was published in the year 1611 A.D. This Bible is used in
many universities around the world for teaching English language. Later
on, many other translations in English like RSV, NIV, GNB, and many other
versions were published. The translation of the Bible in other languages
of the world also continued. As on today the Bible has been translated and
printed in 364 languages of the world.
The GNB (Good News Bible)
version uses simple English so that people whose mother tongue is not
English can easily understand the text. This version of the Bible Text
will be used in these web pages. |
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Bible Society of India
(BSI)
Christian following in India is as old as
Christianity itself. A very strong tradition attests that one of the
disciples of Christ, Saint Thomas preached Christianity to the Southwest
of our country in the first century A.D. However the Bible movement took
off in a big way only about two centuries ago with the pioneering and
prolific translations work in several languages undertaken by the
Serampore trio of missionaries led by William Carey. This tradition was
concurrently upheld and is carried on to the present by the movement of
the Bible Society of India which took its birth in Calcutta in 1811
A.D.
The motto of the Society is to translate the word of God in
languages, which people can understand, and produce the scriptures
(normally in book form) at a price people could afford to buy. The Bible
Society works together with many organizations in India to translate the
Bible into various languages of India. The Bible is now available in 49
Indian languages. |
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Contents of the
Bible
Old Testament contains |
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Narratives
beginning from the creation of the world
Man’s separation from
God
Manifestations of God’s grace and love.
God’s dealing with
people, the Ten Commandments
The history of the Jewish people
Poetry
and wisdom literature
Prophetic writings |
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| New Testament contains |
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Gospels narrating
the birth, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ.
Activities of the disciples of Jesus Christ
Writings of the
disciples of Jesus Christ
Prophetic writing
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