History of the Bible
define: bible
“A book considered
authoritative in its
field: the bible of
Kerala cooking”
define: Bible
ta biblia
τα βιβλια
Bible Etymology
• Christians started
using the term in
223 AD
• John Chrysostom, in
386 AD, was the
first writer to use
the term for the Old
and New
Testaments together
Number of Books
How many books in the Old Testament?
Hebrew/Protestant
Catholic
Eastern Orthodox
39
46
51
Number of Books
How many books in the New Testament?
27
The Books
Name all the Old Testament books
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
Old Testament Books
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Pentateuch
5 Books of Moses
Historical Books
Wisdom Books
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Major Prophets
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Twelve Minor Prophets
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
The Books
Name all the New Testament books in order
New Testament Books
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Matthew
Mark
Gospels
Luke
John
Acts
Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Pauline Epistles
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews
James
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
2 John
3 John
Jude
Revelation
General Epistles
Timing
Over what period was the Old Testament
written?
1500 BC to 400 BC
Rigveda being written
Bronze helmet invented
Mexico emerges
Sparta vs Persia
Catapult invented
London founded
Old Testament Chronology
4000 BC to 1 AD
Bible written
Timing
Over what period was the New Testament
written?
60 AD to 90 AD
Lions extinct
in Western Europe
Book binding
invented
Pompeii destroyed
Buddhism reaches
China
Timing
What happened to scriptural writing between
400 BC to Jesus?
Deuterocanonical books (Apocrypha)
1 Esdras
Song of the Three Children (Daniel)
2 Esdras
Story of Susanna (Daniel)
Tobit
Bel and the Dragon (Daniel)
Judith
Prayer of Manasses
Additions to Esther
1 Maccabees
Wisdom
2 Maccabees
Ecclesiasticus (Sirach)
3 Maccabees
Baruch
4 Maccabees
Letter of Jeremiah
Epistle to the Laodiceans
Psalm 151
Odes
New Testament Apocrypha
Gospels
Acts
Gospel of the Ebionites
Gospel of the Hebrews
Gospel of the Nazarenes
Gospel of Marcion
Gospel of Mani
Gospel of Apelles
Gospel of Bardesanes
Gospel of Basilides
Gospel of Thomas
Gospel of Peter
Gospel of Nicodemus
Gospel of Bartholomew
Questions of Bartholomew
Resurrection of Jesus Christ
Acts of Andrew
Acts of Barnabas
Acts of John
Acts of the Martyrs
Acts of Paul
Acts of Paul and Thecla
Acts of Peter
Acts of Peter and Andrew
Acts of Peter and Paul
Acts of Peter and the Twelve
Acts of Philip
Acts of Pilate
Acts of Thomas
Acts of Timothy
Acts of Xanthippe, Polyxena, and
Rebecca
New Testament Apocrypha
Epistles
Apocalypses
Epistle of Barnabas
Epistles of Clement
Epistle of the Corinthians to Paul
Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans
Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians
Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians
Epistle to Diognetus
Epistle to the Laodiceans
Epistle to Seneca the Younger
Third Epistle to the Corinthians
Apocalypse of Paul
Apocalypse of Peter
Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius
Apocalypse of Thomas
Apocalypse of Stephen
First Apocalypse of James
Second Apocalypse of James
The Shepherd of Hermas
New Testament Apocrypha
Mary
Miscellaneous
The Home Going of Mary
The Falling asleep of the Mother of
God
The Descent of Mary
Apostolic Constitutions
Book of Nepos
Canons of the Apostles
Cave of Treasures
Clementine literature
Didache
Liturgy of St James
Penitence of Origen
Prayer of Paul
Sentences of Sextus
Physiologus
Length
What is the longest book in the Bible?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Genesis
Jeremiah
Psalms
Ezekiel
38,267 words
42,659 words
43,743 words
39,407 words
Length
What is the shortest book in the Bible?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Jude
3 John
Philemon
Obadiah
613 words
299 words
445 words
670 words
English Translations
Name as many English translations as possible
(either acronym or full name)
English Translations
Acronym
AMP
ASV
CEB
CEV
DARBY
DRA
ERV
ESV
GNT
GNV
GW
HCSB
KJV
KNOX
LEB
MSG
Name
Amplified Bible
American Standard Version
Common English Bible
Contemporary English Version
Darby Translation
Douay-Rheims
Easy-to-Read Version
English Standard Version
Good News Translation/Bible
Geneva Bible
God's Word
Holman Christian Standard Bible
King James Version
Knox Bible
Lexham English Bible
The Message
English Translations
Acronym
NAB
NASB
NCV
NET
NIrV
NIV
NJB
NKJV
NLT
NLV
NRSV
RSV
TLB
TNIV
WYC
YLT
Name
New American Bible
New American Standard Bible
New Century Version
New English Translation
New International Reader’s Version
New International Version
New Jerusalem Bible
New King James Version
New Living Translation
New Life Version
New Revised Standard Version
Revised Standard Version
The Living Bible
Today’s New International Version
Wycliffe’s Bible
Young’s Literal Translation
English Translations
Name an English translation before the King
James Version
Name
Wycliffe's Bible
Tyndale Bible
Cloverdale Bible
Matthew Bible
Great Bible
Taverner's Bible
Geneva Bible
Bishops' Bible
Douay-Rheims
King James Version
Published
1395
Reformation (1517)
1530
1535
1537
1539
1539
1560
1568
1610
1611
Non-English Translations
Match the language to the translation
Peshitta
Septuagint
Tanakh
Vulgate
Greek
Hebrew
Latin
Syriac
Hebrew Bible
TaNaKh
Torah
Nevi’im
Teaching Prophets
Ketuvim
Writings
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Hebrew Bible
Torah
Nevi’im
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
Psalms
Proverbs
Job
Song of Solomon
Ruth
Lamentations
Ecclesiastes
Esther
Daniel
Ezra
Nehemiah
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ketuvim
Hebrew Bible
Masoretic Text
• Created by Masorete Jews between 700
AD to 1000 AD
• Used by Jews today as their scripture
Hebrew Bible
Masoretic Text
• Controversy
– Used corrupted texts (compared with DSS
and LXX)
– Used a different script
Paleo-Hebrew
(1000 to 500 BC)
Modern Hebrew
or Assyrian
script
(500 BC +)
– Added vowel points through oral tradition
– Changes to prophecy and doctrine
Hebrew Bible
Dead Sea Scrolls
• Also called Qumran
• 972 texts discovered between 1946 and
1956
• Found by Bedouin
shepherds in jars in
a cave
Hebrew Bible
Dead Sea Scrolls
• Dated between 408 BC and 318 AD
• Written in Hebrew,
Aramaic & Greek on
parchment/vellum,
papyrus and bronze
• Many texts similar (suggesting an ancestor
with the Masoretic Text), but some
substantially different
Septuagint
• Greek Old Testament dated ~200 BC
• Meaning: Translation of the seventy
[interpreters]
• LXX is the abbreviation
• Commissioned by Ptolemy II
Philadelphus, Greek King of Egypt
– Many of the Alexandrian Jews weren’t fluent
in Hebrew but in Greek
Septuagint
• Included some apocryphal books
• Early Christians used it and the New
Testament apostles quoted it
• Jews started to abandon its use in around
200 AD because
– It was associated with early Christianity
– Some translation differences compared to
contemporary Hebrew scriptures
Peshitta
• Means “simple version/straight” in Syriac
Peshitta
• The origins are unknown, but probably
translated in 200 AD
• Old Testament translated from
Hebrew/Septuagint
• New Testament translated from Greek(?)
Peshitta
• Widely circulated in the East
– Manuscripts found in Middle East, Egypt,
India and China
• Originally excluded 2 Peter, 2 & 3 John,
Jude and Revelation but included by 500
AD
Vulgate
• Means “commonly used translation”
• Translated from 382 AD by St. Jerome
Vulgate
• Commissioned by Pope Damasus I
• Was originally intended to be a revision of
existing Latin texts, but scope creep
• Supposedly first translation into Latin
from Hebrew, but also used Septuagint
among other translations
• Became the definitive version in Western
Europe until 1530 AD
Vulgate
• Many Latin words were brought from the
Vulgate into English:
Creatio
Salvatio
Justificatio
Tetamentum
Sanctificatio
Regeneratio
Raptura
Publicanus
Apostolus
Evangelium
Angelus
Vulgate
• Many copy errors until advent of printing
in 1400 AD
– Usually took around 10 months to copy by
hand
– First major book printed in Europe
– Many subsequent editions/revisions
• The latest in 1979
• St. Jerome preferred excluding apocrypha,
but deferred to church authority
Chapters/Verses
What century were chapters introduced?
Chapters/Verses
• Hebrew Bible (Masoretic & DSS)
originally divided into paragraphs
– ‫ף‬,‫< פ‬insert text here> ‫ס‬
• In 1205, Archbishop Stephen Langton
devised a system that is used today for
chapters
Chapters/Verses
• In 1551, Robert Estienne
came up with the
modern verse
numbering system
മലയാളം Translation
1811
1841
1872
Claudius Buchannan and Phillipose
Ramban translated the Gospels
Complete Bible printed by
Anglican missionary, Benjamin
Bailey
Hemann Gundert updated Bailey’s
version and also produced the first
Malayalam-English dictionary
മലയാളം Translation
• Prior to 16th century, St. Thomas
Christians used a version of the Peshitta
• Official lectionaries of Mar Thoma church
exclude the five New Testament books
So which Bible should you use?