   #copyright

Bible

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Religious texts

   The word "Bible" refers to the canonical collections of sacred writings
   of Judaism and Christianity.

   Judaism's Bible is often referred to as the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible,
   which includes the sacred texts common to both the Christian and Jewish
   canons. The Christian Bible is also called the Holy Bible, Scriptures,
   or Word of God. The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Old Testament
   canons contain books not found in the Tanakh, but which were found in
   the Greek Septuagint.

   More than 14,000 manuscripts and fragments of the Hebrew Tanakh exist,
   as do numerous copies of the Septuagint, and 5,300 manuscripts of the
   Greek New Testament, more than any other work of antiquity.

Derivation

   According to the Online Etymology Dictionary the word bible is from the
   early 1300s, from Anglo-Latin biblia, traced from the same word through
   Medieval Latin and Late Latin, as used in the phrase biblia sacra
   ("holy books"). This then stemmed from the term ( Greek: τὰ βιβλία τὰ
   ἅγια ta biblia ta hagia, "the holy books"), which derived from biblion
   ("paper" or "scroll", the ordinary word for "book"), which was
   originally a diminutive of byblos ("Egyptian papyrus"), possibly so
   called from the name of the Phoenician port from which Egyptian papyrus
   was exported to Greece. Biblical scholar Mark Hamilton states that the
   Greek phrase ta biblia ("the books") was "an expression Hellenistic
   Jews used to describe their sacred books several centuries before the
   time of Jesus," and would have referred to the Septuagint. The Online
   Etymology Dictionary concludes that the Christian scripture was
   referred to in Greek as Ta Biblia as early as 223 CE. The word "Bible"
   replaced Old English biblioðece ("the Scriptures") from the Greek
   bibliotheke (lit. "book-repository" from biblion + theke, meaning
   "case, chest, or sheath"), used of the Bible by Jerome and the common
   Latin word for it until Biblia began to displace it 9c. Use of the word
   in a figurative sense, as in "any authoritative book" is from 1804.

The Hebrew Bible

                                                       Part of a series on


                                                                   Judaism

                                                                   Judaism

                                                         Portal | Category
                                            Jews · Judaism · Denominations
                                          Orthodox · Conservative · Reform
                                       Haredi · Hasidic · Modern Orthodoxy
                                    Reconstructionist · Karaite · Rabbinic
                                                            Jewish history
                                        Timeline · Early history · Schisms
                                Israel, Judah · Temples · Babylonian exile
                                         Hasmoneans and Greece · Sanhedrin
                                      Jewish-Roman wars · Era of Pharisees
                                     Diaspora · Middle Ages · Muslim Lands
                                Enlightenment/Haskalah · Hasidism · Aliyah
                                                         Jewish philosophy
                                Principles of faith · Chosenness · Halakha
                                  God · Eschatology · Kabbalah · Holocaust
                                      Messiah · Ethics · Mussar · Hassidus
                                     Kashrut · Modesty · Minyan · Tzedakah
                                                           Religious texts
                                  Torah · Tanakh · Talmud · Zohar · Kuzari
                                    Chumash · Siddur · Mishneh Torah · Tur
                                   Shulkhan Arukh · Tosefta · Mishna Brura
                                Rabbinic works · Tanya · Midrash · Piyutim
                                                               Holy cities
                                    Jerusalem · Tzfat · Chevron · Tiberias
                                                           Jewish holidays
                                       Shabbat · Rosh HaShana · Yom Kippur
                                  Sukkot · Simchat Torah · Hanukkah · 9 Av
                                      10 Tevet · 15 Shvat · Purim · Pesach
                                    Rosh Chodesh · Shavuot · 3 Pilgrimages
                                                         Important figures
                                            Abraham · Isaac · Jacob/Israel
                                 The 12 Tribes of Israel · Lost Ten Tribes
                                           Sarah · Rebekah · Rachel · Leah
                                              Moses · Dvora · Ruth · David
                               Shlomo · Eliyahu · Hillel · Shammai · Rashi
                                          Ibn Ezra · Rif · Rambam · Ramban
                                    Gersonides · Saadia Gaon · Alter Rebbe
                                                 Besht · Tosafists · Rashi
                                         Albo · Karo · Ovadia Yosef · Rosh
                                       Lubavitcher Rebbe · Moshe Feinstein
                                                         Jewish life cycle
                                   Brit · Bar mitzvah · Shiduch · Marriage
                                         Niddah · Naming · Pidyon · Burial
                                                           Religious roles
                                                   Rabbi · Rebbe · Chazzan
                                         Kohen/Priest · Mashgiach · Gabbai
                                              Mohel · Dayan · Rosh yeshiva
                                                       Religious buildings
                                                 Three Temples · Synagogue
                                                 Mikvah · Sukkah · Mishkan
                                                      Liturgy and services
                                              Shacharit · Mincha · Ma'ariv
                                                 Musaf · Neilah · Havdalah
                                                        Religious articles
                                    Tallit · Tefillin · Kipa · Sefer Torah
                                      Tzitzit · Mezuzah · Menorah · Shofar
                                         4 Species · Kittel · Gartel · Yad
                                                            Jewish prayers
                                       Shema · Amidah · Aleinu · Kol Nidre
                                                Kaddish · Hallel · Ma Tovu
                                                 Judaism & other religions
                                 Christianity · " Judeo-Christian" · Islam
                                  Catholicism · Reconciliation · Pluralism
                                       " Judeo-Islamic" · Abrahamic faiths
                                         Mormonism · Noahide laws · Others

   The Hebrew Bible (Hebrew: תנ"ך‎) is a term that refers to the common
   portions of the Jewish and Christian biblical canons. Its use is
   favored by some academic Biblical scholars as a neutral term that is
   preferred in academic writing both to "Old Testament" and to "Tanakh"
   (an acronym used commonly by Jews but unfamiliar to many English
   speakers and others) .

   "Hebrew" in " Hebrew Bible" may refer to either the Hebrew language or
   to the Hebrew people who historically used Hebrew as a spoken language,
   and have continuously used the language in prayer and study, or both.

   Because "Hebrew Bible" refers to the common portions of the Jewish and
   Christian biblical canons, it does not encompass the deuterocanonical
   books (largely from the Koine Greek Septuagint translation (LXX),
   included in the canon of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches).
   Thus the term "Hebrew Bible" corresponds most fully to the Old
   Testament in use by Protestant denominations (adhering to Jerome's
   Hebraica veritas doctrine). Nevertheless, the term can be used
   accurately by all Christian denominations in general contexts, except
   where reference to specific translations or books is called for.

   The Hebrew Bible consists of 39 books. Tanakh is an acronym for the
   three parts of the Hebrew Bible: the Torah ("Teaching/Law" also known
   as the Pentateuch), Nevi'im ("Prophets"), and Ketuvim ("Writings", or
   Hagiographa).

   (see Table of books of Judeo-Christian Scripture)

Torah

   The Torah, or Jewish scripture. In the background are the Star of David
   and a Menorah, two important symbols of Judaism.
   Enlarge
   The Torah, or Jewish scripture. In the background are the Star of David
   and a Menorah, two important symbols of Judaism.

   The Torah, or "Teaching," is also known as the five books of Moses,
   thus Chumash or Pentateuch (Hebrew and Greek for "five," respectively).

   The Pentateuch is composed of the following five books:
     * I Genesis (Bereisheet בראשית),
     * II Exodus (Shemot שמות),
     * III Leviticus (Vayikra ויקרא),
     * IV Numbers (Bemidbar במדבר), and
     * V Deuteronomy (Devarim דברים)

   The Hebrew book titles come from the first words in the respective
   texts. The Hebrew title for Numbers, however, comes from the fifth word
   of that text.

   The Torah focuses on three moments in the changing relationship between
   God and people.
     * The first eleven chapters of Genesis provide accounts of the
       creation (or ordering) of the world, and the history of God's early
       relationship with humanity.
     * The remaining thirty-nine chapters of Genesis provide an account of
       God's covenant with the Hebrew patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
       (also called Israel), and Jacob's children (the " Children of
       Israel"), especially Joseph. It tells of how God commanded Abraham
       to leave his family and home in the city of Ur, eventually to
       settle in the land of Canaan, and how the Children of Israel later
       moved to Egypt.
     * The remaining four books of the Torah tell the story of Moses, who
       lived hundreds of years after the patriarchs. His story coincides
       with the story of the liberation of the Children of Israel from
       slavery in Ancient Egypt, to the renewal of their covenant with God
       at Mount Sinai, and their wanderings in the desert until a new
       generation would be ready to enter the land of Canaan. The Torah
       ends with the death of Moses.

   Traditionally, the Torah contains the 613 mitzvot, or commandments, of
   God, revealed during the passage from slavery in the land of Egypt to
   freedom in the land of Canaan. These commandments provide the basis for
   Halakha (Jewish religious law).

   The Torah is divided into fifty-four portions which are read in turn in
   Jewish liturgy, from the beginning of Genesis to the end of
   Deuteronomy, each Sabbath. The cycle ends and recommences at the end of
   Sukkot, which is called Simchat Torah.

Nevi'im

   The Nevi'im, or "Prophets," tells the story of the rise of the Hebrew
   monarchy, its division into two kingdoms, and the prophets who, in
   God's name, judged the kings and the Children of Israel. It ends with
   the conquest of the Kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians and the conquest
   of the Kingdom of Judah by the Babylonians, and the destruction of the
   Temple in Jerusalem. Portions of the prophetic books are read by Jews
   on the Sabbath ( Shabbat). The Book of Jonah is read on Yom Kippur.

   According to Jewish tradition, Nevi'im is divided into eight books.
   Contemporary translations subdivide these into seventeen books.

   The eight books are:
     * I. Joshua or Yehoshua [יהושע]
     * II. Judges or Shoftim [שופטים]
     * III. Samuel or Shmu'el [שמואל] (often divided into two books;
       Samuel may be considered the last of the judges or the first of the
       prophets, as his sons were named judges but were rejected by the
       Hebrew nation)
     * IV. Kings or Melakhim [מלכים] (often divided into two books)
     * V. Isaiah or Yeshayahu [ישעיהו]
     * VI. Jeremiah or Yirmiyahu [ירמיהו]
     * VII. Ezekiel or Yehezq'el [יחזקאל]
     * VIII. Trei Asar (The Twelve Minor Prophets) תרי עשר
         1. Hosea or Hoshea [הושע]
         2. Joel or Yo'el [יואל]
         3. Amos [עמוס]
         4. Obadiah or Ovadyah [עבדיה]
         5. Jonah or Yonah [יונה]
         6. Micah or Mikhah [מיכה]
         7. Nahum or Nachum [נחום]
         8. Habakkuk or Habaquq [חבקוק]
         9. Zephaniah or Tsefania [צפניה]
        10. Haggai [חגי]
        11. Zechariah or Zekharia [זכריה]
        12. Malachi or Malakhi [מלאכי]

Ketuvim

   The Ketuvim, or "Writings," may have been written during or after the
   Babylonian Exile but no one can be sure. According to Rabbinic
   tradition, many of the psalms in the book of Psalms are attributed to
   David; King Solomon is believed to have written Song of Songs in his
   youth, Proverbs at the prime of his life, and Ecclesiastes at old age;
   and the prophet Jeremiah is thought to have written Lamentations. The
   Book of Ruth is the only biblical book that centers entirely on a
   non-Jew. The book of Ruth tells the story of a non-Jew (specifically, a
   Moabite) who married a Jew and, upon his death, followed in the ways of
   the Jews; according to the Bible, she was the great-grandmother of King
   David. Five of the books, called "The Five Scrolls" (Megilot), are read
   on Jewish holidays: Song of Songs on Passover; the Book of Ruth on
   Shavuot; Lamentations on the Ninth of Av; Ecclesiastes on Sukkot; and
   the Book of Esther on Purim. Collectively, the Ketuvim contain lyrical
   poetry, philosophical reflections on life, and the stories of the
   prophets and other Jewish leaders during the Babylonian exile. It ends
   with the Persian decree allowing Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild
   the Temple.

   Ketuvim contains eleven books:
     * I. Tehillim ( Psalms) תהלים
     * II. Mishlei ( Book of Proverbs) משלי
     * III. 'Iyyov ( Book of Job) איוב
     * IV. Shir ha-Shirim ( Song of Songs) שיר השירים
     * V. Ruth ( Book of Ruth) רות
     * VI. Eikhah ( Lamentations) איכה [Also called Kinnot (קינות) in
       Hebrew.]
     * VII. Kohelet ( Ecclesiastes) קהלת
     * VIII. Esther ( Book of Esther) אסתר
     * IX. Daniel ( Book of Daniel) דניאל
     * X. Ezra (often divided into two books, Book of Ezra and Book of
       Nehemiah (עזרא (נחמיה
     * XI. Divrei ha-Yamim ( Chronicles, often divided into two books)
       דברי

   הימים

Translations and editions

   The Tanakh was mainly written in Biblical Hebrew, with some portions
   (notably in Daniel and Ezra) in Aramaic.

   Some time in the 2nd or 3rd century BC, the Torah was translated into
   Koine Greek, and over the next century, other books were translated (or
   composed) as well. This translation became known as the Septuagint and
   was widely used by Greek-speaking Jews, and later by Christians. It
   differs somewhat from the later standardized Hebrew ( Masoretic Text).
   This translation was promoted by way of a legend that seventy separate
   translators all produced identical texts.

   From the 800s to the 1400s, Jewish scholars today known as Karaites
   Masoretes compared the text of all known Biblical manuscripts in an
   effort to create a unified, standardized text. A series of highly
   similar texts eventually emerged, and any of these texts are known as
   Masoretic Texts (MT). The Masoretes also added vowel points (called
   niqqud) to the text, since the original text only contained consonant
   letters. This sometimes required the selection of an interpretation,
   since some words differ only in their vowels— their meaning can vary in
   accordance with the vowels chosen. In antiquity, variant Hebrew
   readings existed, some of which have survived in the Samaritan
   Pentateuch, the Dead Sea scrolls, and other ancient fragments, as well
   as being attested in ancient versions in other languages.

   Versions of the Septuagint contain several passages and whole books
   beyond what was included in the Masoretic texts of the Tanakh. In some
   cases these additions were originally composed in Greek, while in other
   cases they are translations of Hebrew books or variants not present in
   the Masoretic texts. Recent discoveries have shown that more of the
   Septuagint additions have a Hebrew origin than was once thought. While
   there are no complete surviving manuscripts of the Hebrew texts on
   which the Septuagint was based, many scholars believe that they
   represent a different textual tradition ("vorlage") from the one that
   became the basis for the Masoretic texts.

   Jews also produced non-literal translations or paraphrases known as
   targums, primarily in Aramaic. They frequently expanded on the text
   with additional details taken from Rabbinic oral tradition.

The two Torahs of Rabbinic Judaism

   By the Hellenistic period of Jewish history, Jews were divided over the
   nature of the Torah. Some (for example, the Sadducees) believed that
   the Chumash contained the entire Torah, that is, the entire contents of
   what God revealed to Moses at Sinai and in the desert. Others,
   principally the Pharisees, believed that the Chumash represented only
   that portion of the revelation that had been written down (i.e., the
   Written Torah or the Written Law), but that the rest of God's
   revelation had been passed down orally (thus composing the Oral Law or
   Oral Torah). Orthodox and Masorti and Conservative Judaism state that
   the Talmud contains some of the Oral Torah. Reform Judaism also gives
   credence to the Talmud containing the Oral Torah, but, as with the
   written Torah, asserts that both were inspired by, but not dictated by,
   God.

The Old Testament

   Christian Old Testament, while having most or all books in common with
   the Jewish Tanakh, varies from Judaism in the emphasis it places and
   the interpretations it gives them. The books come in a slightly
   different order. In addition, some Christian groups recognize
   additional books as canonical members of the Old Testament, and they
   may use a different text as the canonical basis for translations.

Differing Christian usages of the Old Testament

   The Septuagint (Greek translation, from Alexandria in Egypt under the
   Ptolemies) was generally abandoned in favour of the Masoretic text as
   the basis for translations of the Old Testament into Western languages
   from Saint Jerome's Vulgate to the present day. In Eastern
   Christianity, translations based on the Septuagint still prevail. Some
   modern Western translations make use of the Septuagint to clarify
   passages in the Masoretic text, where the Septuagint preserves an
   ancient understanding of the text. They also sometimes adopt variants
   that appear in texts discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls.

   A number of books which are part of the Greek Septuagint but are not
   found in the Hebrew Bible are often referred to as deutrcanonical books
   by Roman Catholics referring to a later secondary (i.e. deutero)
   canonisation. These books are not deuterocanonical for Orthodox
   Churches because they were always canonical for them. Most Protestants
   term these books as apocrypha. Evangelicals and those of the Modern
   Protestant traditions do not accept the deutrocanonical books as
   canonical, although Protestant Bibles included them until around the
   1820s. However the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental
   Orthodox Churches include these books as part of their Old Testament.
   The Roman Catholic Church recognizes seven such books ( Tobit, Judith,
   1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, and
   Baruch), as well as some passages in Esther and Daniel. Various
   Orthodox Churches include a few others, typically 3 Maccabees, Psalm
   151, 1 Esdras, Odes, Psalms of Solomon, and occasionally 4 Maccabees.

The New Testament

   The Bible as used by the majority of Christians includes the Hebrew
   Scripture and the New Testament, which relates the life and teachings
   of Jesus, the letters of the Apostle Paul and other disciples to the
   early church and the Book of Revelation.

   The New Testament is a collection of 27 books, produced by Christians,
   with Jesus as its central figure, written primarily in Koine Greek in
   the early Christian period. Nearly all Christians recognize the New
   Testament (as stated below) as canonical scripture. These books can be
   grouped into:
     * The Gospels
          + Synoptic Gospels
               o Gospel According to Matthew
               o Gospel According to Mark
               o Gospel According to Luke
          + Gospel According to John

     * Acts of the Apostles
     * Pauline Epistles
          + Epistle to the Romans
          + First Epistle to the Corinthians
          + Second Epistle to the Corinthians
          + Epistle to the Galatians
          + Epistle to the Philippians
          + Epistle to Philemon
          + First Epistle to the Thessalonians
          + Second Epistle to the Thessalonians
          + Epistle to the Ephesians
          + Epistle to the Colossians
          + Pastoral Epistles
               o First Epistle to Timothy
               o Second Epistle to Timothy
               o Epistle to Titus

                                                 * Epistle to the Hebrews
                                                 * General Epistles
                                                      + Epistle of James
                                                      + First Epistle of Peter
                                                      + Second Epistle of Peter
                                                      + First Epistle of John
                                                      + Second Epistle of John
                                                      + Third Epistle of John
                                                      + Epistle of Jude
                                                 * Revelation

Original language

   The New Testament was probably completely composed in Koine Greek, the
   language of the earliest manuscripts. Some scholars believe that parts
   of the Greek New Testament (in particular, the Gospel of Matthew) are
   actually a translation of an Aramaic or Hebrew original. Of these, a
   small number accept the Syriac Peshitta as representative of the
   original. See further Aramaic primacy.

Historic editions

   The Codex Gigas from the 13th century, held at the Royal Library in
   Sweden.
   Enlarge
   The Codex Gigas from the 13th century, held at the Royal Library in
   Sweden.

   Concerning ancient manuscripts, the three main textual traditions are
   sometimes called the Western text-type, the Alexandrian text-type, and
   Byzantine text-type. Together they compose the majority of New
   Testament manuscripts. There are also several ancient versions in other
   languages, most important of which are the Syriac (including the
   Peshitta and the Diatessaron gospel harmony), Ge'ez and the Latin (both
   the Vetus Latina and the Vulgate).

   The earliest surviving complete manuscript of the entire Bible is the
   Codex Amiatinus, a Latin Vulgate edition produced in eighth century
   England at the double monastery of Wearmouth-Jarrow.

   The earliest printed edition of the New Testament in Greek appeared in
   1516 from the Froben press. It was compiled by Desiderius Erasmus on
   the basis of the few recent Greek manuscripts, all of Byzantine
   tradition, at his disposal, which he completed by translating from the
   Vulgate parts for which he did not have a Greek text. He produced four
   later editions of the text.

   Erasmus was a Roman Catholic, but his preference for the textual
   tradition represented in Byzantine Greek text of the time rather than
   that in the Latin Vulgate led to him being viewed with suspicion by
   some authorities of his church.

   The first edition with critical apparatus (variant readings in
   manuscripts) was produced by the printer Robert Estienne of Paris in
   1550. The type of text printed in this edition and in those of Erasmus
   became known as the Textus Receptus (Latin for "received text"), a name
   given to it in the Elzevier edition of 1633, which termed it the text
   nunc ab omnibus receptum ("now received by all"). Upon it, the churches
   of the Protestant Reformation based their translations into vernacular
   languages, such as the King James Version.

   The discovery of older manuscripts, such as the Codex Sinaiticus and
   the Codex Vaticanus, led scholars to revise their opinion of this text.
   Karl Lachmann’s critical edition of 1831, based on manuscripts dating
   from the fourth century and earlier, was intended primarily to
   demonstrate that the Textus Receptus must finally be corrected by the
   earlier texts. Later critical texts are based on further scholarly
   research and the finding of papyrus fragments, which date in some cases
   from within a few decades of the composition of the New Testament
   writings. It is on the basis of these that nearly all modern
   translations or revisions of older translations have been made, though
   some still prefer the Textus Receptus or the similar "Byzantine
   Majority Text".

Christian Theology

   While individual books within the Christian Bible present narratives
   set in certain historical periods, most Christian denominations teach
   that the Bible itself has an overarching message.

   There are among Christians wide differences of opinion as to how
   particular incidents as described in the Bible are to be interpreted
   and as to what meaning should be attached to various prophecies.
   However, Christians in general are in agreement as to the Bible's basic
   message. A general outline, as described by C.S. Lewis, is as follows:
    1. At some point in the past, mankind learned to depart from God's
       will and began to sin.
    2. Because no one is free from sin, humanity cannot deal with God
       directly, so God revealed Himself in ways people could understand.
    3. God called Abraham and his progeny to be the means for saving all
       of mankind.
    4. To this end, He gave the Law to Moses.
    5. The resulting nation of Israel went through cycles of sin and
       repentance, yet the prophets show an increasing understanding of
       the Law as a moral, not just a ceremonial, force.
    6. Jesus brought a perfect understanding of the Mosaic Law, that of
       love and salvation.
    7. By His death and resurrection, all who believe are saved and
       reconciled to God.

   Many people who identify themselves as Christians, Muslims, or Jews
   regard the Bible as inspired by God yet written by a variety of
   imperfect men over thousands of years. Belief in sacred texts is
   attested to in Jewish antiquity, and this belief can also be seen in
   the earliest of Christian writings. Various texts of the Bible mention
   Divine agency in relation to prophetic writings, the most explicit
   being: 2 Timothy 3:16: "All scripture, inspired of God, is profitable
   to teach, to reprove, to correct, to instruct in justice." However, the
   Bible neither gives a list of which texts are inspired and their exact
   contents, nor a precise theological definition of what inspiration
   entails. In their book A General Introduction to the Bible, Norman
   Geisler and William Nix wrote: "The process of inspiration is a mystery
   of the providence of God, but the result of this process is a verbal,
   plenary, inerrant, and authoritative record." Some Biblical scholars,
   particularly Evangelicals, associate inspiration with only the original
   text; for example some American Protestants adhere to the 1978 Chicago
   Statement on Biblical Inerrancy which asserted that inspiration applied
   only to the autographic text of Scripture.

The canonization of the Bible

   It has been theorized that canonical status of some books of the Hebrew
   Bible was still being discussed between 200 BC and AD 100, and that it
   had yet to reach definitive form. It is unclear at what point during
   this period the Jewish canon was fixed, though the Jewish canon which
   did eventually form did not include all the books found in the various
   editions of the Septuagint.

   The Old Testament canon entered into Christian use in the Greek
   Septuagint translations and original books, and their differing lists
   of texts. In addition to the Septuagint, Christianity subsequently
   added various writings that would become the New Testament. Somewhat
   different lists of accepted works continued to develop in antiquity. In
   the fourth century a series of synods produced a list of texts equal to
   the 27-book canon of the New Testament that would be subsequently used
   to today. Also c. 400, Jerome produced a definitive Latin edition of
   the Bible (see Vulgate), the canon of which, at the insistence of the
   Pope, was in accord with the earlier Synods. With the benefit of
   hindsight it can be said that this process effectively set the New
   Testament canon, although there are examples of other canonical lists
   in use after this time. A definitive list did not come from an
   Ecumenical Council until the Council of Trent (1545-1563).

   During the Protestant Reformation, certain reformers proposed different
   canonical lists than what was currently in use. Though not without
   debate, the list of New Testament books would come to remain the same;
   however, the Old Testament texts present in the Septuagint, but not
   included in the Jewish canon, fell out of favour. In time they would
   come to be removed from most Protestant canons. Hence, in a Catholic
   context these texts are referred to as deuterocanonical books, whereas
   in a Protestant context they are referred to as Apocrypha, the label
   applied to all texts excluded from the Biblical canon. (Confusingly,
   Catholics and Protestants both describe certain other books, such as
   the ‘’Acts of Peter’’, as apocryphal).

   Thus, the Protestant Old Testament of today has a 39-book canon—the
   number varies from that of the books in the Tanakh (though not in
   content) because of a different method of division—while the Roman
   Catholic Church recognizes 46 books as part of the canonical Old
   Testament. The term “Hebrew Scriptures” is only synonymous with the
   Protestant Old Testament, not the Catholic, which contains the Hebrew
   Scriptures and additional texts. Both Catholics and Protestants have
   the same 27-book New Testament Canon.

   Canonicity, which involves the discernment of which texts are divinely
   inspired, is distinct from questions of human authorship and the
   formation of the books of the Bible.

Bible versions and translations

   A Bible handwritten in Latin, on display in Malmesbury Abbey,
   Wiltshire, England. This Bible was transcribed in Belgium in 1407 for
   reading aloud in a monastery.
   Enlarge
   A Bible handwritten in Latin, on display in Malmesbury Abbey,
   Wiltshire, England. This Bible was transcribed in Belgium in 1407 for
   reading aloud in a monastery.

   In scholarly writing, ancient translations are frequently referred to
   as "versions", with the term "translation" being reserved for medieval
   or modern translations. Bible versions are discussed below, while Bible
   translations can be found on a separate page.

   The original texts of the Tanakh were in Hebrew, although some portions
   were in Aramaic. In addition to the authoritative Masoretic Text, Jews
   still refer to the Septuagint, the translation of the Hebrew Bible into
   Greek, and the Targum Onkelos, an Aramaic version of the Bible.

   The primary Biblical text for early Christians was the Septuagint or
   (LXX). In addition they translated the Hebrew Bible into several other
   languages. Translations were made into Syriac, Coptic, Ge'ez and Latin,
   among other languages. The Latin translations were historically the
   most important for the Church in the West, while the Greek-speaking
   East continued to use the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament
   and had no need to translate the New Testament.

   The earliest Latin translation was the Old Latin text, or Vetus Latina,
   which, from internal evidence, seems to have been made by several
   authors over a period of time. It was based on the Septuagint, and thus
   included books not in the Hebrew Bible.

   Pope Damasus I assembled the first list of books of the Bible at the
   Council of Rome in 382 A.D. He commissioned Saint Jerome to produce a
   reliable and consistent text by translating the original Greek and
   Hebrew texts into Latin. This translation became known as the Latin
   Vulgate Bible and was declared by the Church to be the only authentic
   and official Bible.

   Bible translations for many languages have been made through the
   various influences of Catholicism, Orthodox, Protestant, etc especially
   since the Protestant Reformation. The Bible has seen a notably large
   number of English language translations.

   The work of Bible translation continues, including by Christian
   organisations such as Wycliffe Bible Translators ( wycliffe.net), New
   Tribes Missions ( ntm.org) and the Bible Societies ( biblesociety.org).
   Of the world's 6,900 languages, 2,400 have some or all of the Bible,
   1,600 (spoken by more than a billion people) have translation underway,
   and some 2,500 (spoken by 270m people) are judged as needing
   translation to begin.

Differences in Bible Translations

   As Hebrew and Greek, the original languages of the Bible, have idioms
   and concepts not easily translated, there is an on going critical
   tension about whether it is better to give a word for word translation
   or to give a translation that gives a parallel idiom in the target
   language. For instance, in the English language Protestant translations
   of the Christian Bible, translations like the King James Version, the
   New Revised Standard Version and the New American Standard Version are
   seen as literal translations (or "word for word"), whereas translations
   like the New International Version and New Living Version attempt to
   give relevant parallel idioms. The Living Bible and The Message are two
   paraphrases of the Bible that try to convey the original meaning in
   contemporary language. The further away one gets from word to word
   translation, the text becomes more readable while relying more on the
   theological, linguistic or cultural understanding of the translator,
   which one would not normally expect a lay reader to require.

Inclusive Language

   Further, both Hebrew and Greek, like some of the Latin-origin
   languages, use the male gender of nouns and pronouns to refer to groups
   that contain both sexes. This creates some difficulty in determining
   whether a noun should be translated using terms that refer to men only,
   or men and women inclusively. Some translations avoid the issue by
   directly translating the word using male only terminology, whereas
   others try to use inclusive language where the translators believe it
   to be appropriate. Translations that attempt to use inclusive language
   are the New Revised Standard Version and the latest edition of the New
   International Version.

The introduction of chapters and verses

   The Hebrew Masoretic text contains verse endings as an important
   feature. According to the Talmudic tradition, the verse endings are of
   ancient origin. The Masoretic textual tradition also contains section
   endings called parashiyot, which are indicated by a space within a line
   (a "closed" section") or a new line beginning (an "open" section). The
   division of the text reflected in the parashiyot is usually thematic.
   The parashiyot are not numbered.

   In early manuscripts (most importantly in Tiberian Masoretic
   manuscripts, such as the Aleppo codex) an "open" section may also be
   represented by a blank line, and a "closed" section by a new line that
   is slightly indented (the preceding line may also not be full). These
   latter conventions are no longer used in Torah scrolls and printed
   Hebrew Bibles. In this system the one rule differentiating "open" and
   "closed" sections is that "open" sections must always begin at the
   beginning of a new line, while "closed" sections never start at the
   beginning of a new line.

   Another related feature of the Masoretic text is the division of the
   sedarim. This division is not thematic, but is almost entirely based
   upon the quantity of text.

   The Byzantines also introduced a chapter division of sorts, called
   Kephalaia. It is not identical to the present chapters.

   The current division of the Bible into chapters and the verse numbers
   within the chapters have no basis in any ancient textual tradition.
   Rather, they are medieval Christian inventions. They were later adopted
   by many Jews as well, as technical references within the Hebrew text.
   Such technical references became crucial to medieval rabbis in the
   historical context of forced debates with Christian clergy (who used
   the chapter and verse numbers), especially in late medieval Spain.
   Chapter divisions were first used by Jews in a 1330 manuscript, and for
   a printed edition in 1516. However, for the past generation, most
   Jewish editions of the complete Hebrew Bible have made a systematic
   effort to relegate chapter and verse numbers to the margins of the
   text.

   The division of the Bible into chapters and verses has often elicited
   severe criticism from traditionalists and modern scholars alike.
   Critics charge that the text is often divided into chapters in an
   incoherent way, or at inappropriate rhetorical points, and that it
   encourages citing passages out of context, in effect turning the Bible
   into a kind of textual quarry for clerical citations. Nevertheless, the
   chapter divisions and verse numbers have become indispensable as
   technical references for Bible study.

   Stephen Langton is reputed to have been the first to put the chapter
   divisions into a Vulgate edition of the Bible, in 1205. They were then
   inserted into Greek manuscripts of the New Testament in the 1400s.
   Robert Estienne (Robert Stephanus) was the first to number the verses
   within each chapter, his verse numbers entering printed editions in
   1565 (New Testament) and 1571 (Hebrew Bible).

Advocacy of the Bible

   Christian apologists advocate a high view of the Bible and sometimes
   advocate the doctrine of Biblical inerrancy.

   Christian scholar Bernard Ramm is often quoted by conservative
   Christians for writing the following in his work Protestant Christian
   Evidences:

     "Jews preserved it as no other manuscript has ever been preserved.
     With their massora they kept tabs on every letter, syllable, word
     and paragraph. They had special classes of men within their culture
     whose sole duty was to preserve and transmit these documents with
     practically perfect fidelity – scribes, lawyers, massorettes.

     In regard to the New Testament, there are about 13,000 manuscripts,
     complete and incomplete, in Greek and other languages, that have
     survived from antiquity.

     A thousand times over, the death knell of the Bible has been
     sounded, the funeral procession formed, the inscription cut on the
     tombstone, and committal read. But somehow the corpse never stays
     put. No other book has been so chopped, knifed, sifted, scrutinized,
     and vilified. What book on philosophy or religion or psychology or
     belles lettres of classical or modern times has been subject to such
     a mass attack as the Bible? With such venom and skepticism? With
     such thoroughness and erudition? Upon every chapter, line and tenet?

     The Bible is still loved by millions, read by millions, and studied
     by millions."

Criticism of the Bible

   Theologians and clerics, most notably Abraham Ibn Ezra, think that
   there are contradictions in the Bible. Benedict Spinoza concluded from
   a study of such contradictions that the Torah could not have had a
   single author, and thus, neither God nor Moses could be the authors of
   the Torah. By the 19th century, critical scholars, such as Hermann
   Gunkel and Julius Wellhausen argued that the various books of the Bible
   were written not by the presumed authors but by a heterogeneous set of
   authors over a long period. Although Biblical archeology has confirmed
   the existence of some of the people, places, and events mentioned in
   the Bible, many critical scholars have argued that the Bible be read
   not as an accurate historical document, but rather as a work of
   literature and theology that often draws on historical events — and
   often draws on non-Hebrew mythology — as primary source material. For
   these critics the Bible reveals much about the lives and times of its
   authors. Whether the ideas of these authors have any relevance to
   contemporary society is left to clerics and adherents of contemporary
   religions to decide.

The documentary hypothesis

   The documentary hypothesis posits that the Pentateuch (written Torah)
   has its origins in sources who lived during the time of the United
   Monarchy or later, labeled J ( Yahwists), E ( Elohim), D (
   Deuteronomists), and P ( Priests). These in turn are said to go back to
   oral traditions, drawing on (and sometimes parodying) earlier ancient
   Near Eastern mythology. Julius Wellhausen, who in the late 19th century
   gave this hypothesis a definitive formulation, suggested that these
   sources were edited together or redacted during the time of Ezra,
   perhaps by Ezra himself. Since that time Wellhausen's theory has been
   widely debated by critical scholars (e.g. Yehezkel Kaufman).

Trivia

     * The In-N-Out fast food chain has hidden bible references on its
       foods packaging.
     * John 3:16 is often parodied in wrestling and sports by its fans,
       with a favorite team or team members name, with 3:16, put on a sign
       held up when cheering.
     * Family Guy references the bible in a similar manner, when Brian
       reads outloud a non existant line in the bible "And the lord said,
       Go Sox"
     * Many manga or graphic novels are alternativly talled Literary
       Bibles, with no connection to the Christian bible.
     * The Japanese sometimes carry a different meaning for the word Bible
       (Baibaru), meaning a phrase that one takes to heart. This is
       notably mentioned in the Japanese pop song "Zankoku Na Tenshi no
       TE-ZE".

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
