THE BIBLE

 "Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path"
Ps 119:105

INTRODUCTION
 In this study we will examine what is commonly known as The Bible.
We will ask questions as to:
     What is the Bible? The Bible?
     Where Did It Come From?
     Why Is It Important?
     How Does It Function?
     How It Is Studied?

Click on the above topics highlighted in yellow to go to that material.

WHAT IS THE BIBLE?
The word "bible" is derived from a Latin word, biblia, which in turn is derived for the Greek word biblos - biblos .  The Greek word biblos was derived from the ancient Egyptian form of writing on papyrus which could be rolled up, hence a scroll (in the New Testament and Septuagint the Greek word translated scroll is biblos) then later as parchment was developed from animal skins and bound into a codex, it became the term for book.

The Bible is in actual fact a collection of "books" or writings that were written over a period of some 1600 years, form the earliest Old Testament book (scroll) written in Hebrew to the last New Testament book, Revelation written in Greek.

The Bible is the collection of sacred books of the Christian faith.

The Bible includes the 39 sacred writings of the Jewish religion called by Christians the Old Testament, and 27 sacred writings produced by the Christian religion.  There are therefore 66 books in the Bible.

When we speak of the Bible we have reference to the book of the Christian faith which contains 66 books, but Christians through the ages have differed somewhat as to what books should be included in the Bible.  Non Roman Catholic Christians have insisted that there are only 66 books in the sacred writings of the Christian faith, but Roman Catholic Bibles have included a number of other religious writings known as the Apocrypha.  Non Roman Catholic Christians (most often referred to as Protestants) recognize the religious value of the Apocrypha, but have not considered them on the same level as the sacred writings of the 39 Old Testament and 27 sacred writings of the New Testament.  Non Roman Catholic Protestant Bibles, therefore, do not normally include the Apocryphal books in the Bible.

Christians speak of the sacred writings of the Bible as the divinely, or Holy Spirit inspired Scriptures (we will discuss this concept below under another section of this study).  For Christians the Bible is normative for Christian faith (by normative we mean that Christian faith is shaped and determined by Scripture), and therefore authoritative.

We should note that the sacred writings of Judaism are the same sacred writings Christians include in their Old Testament.  The chief difference is the order in which they are grouped, and the names some of them are known by.

Although most of the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew (portions of it have come down to us in Aramaic), the Hebrew Old Testament was translated into Greek around 270 BC, possibly in Alexandria, since many Jews could no longer read Hebrew and Greek was the common language of the day.  We call the Greek Old Testament the Septuagint or simply the LXX (70 since it was believed to be translated by 70 Greek scholars).  Most of the Old Testament quotations in the New Testament are from the Septuagint since this was the "Bible" of the early Christian church before the New Testament books were written in the first century.

The Bible traces the saving working of God in history from the creation through the times of Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac, then through the Mosaic period and the times of the Jewish Kings and Prophets, finally culminating in the story of the coming of Jesus as God's chosen savior (Messiah or Christ) and the establishment and early growth of the Christian church.  We commonly speak, therefore, of the Bible revealing God's plan of salvation for fallen mankind.  The Bible is also understood as the history of man's redemption from sin.  It is the story of God's unfailing love for his creation which culminated in his sending his unique son, Jesus, to die on the cross to save his creation.  We could call the Bible the story of God's steadfast love for mankind

 
CLICK HERE TO GO BACK TO CENTER HOME
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Providing Bible, Missions, Ministry, and Leadership Resources
for the Enrichment of Christians and Churches throughout the World
        the Center for Church Resources