How the Holy Bible Came to Us

The Bible from God to us…

Presented by
Rev. D. David
Celebrating God’ s Deliverance
 Introduction about the Bible
• The Bible is the classical name for the Hebrew Bible of Judaism or the combination of the Old
Testament and New Testament of Christianity. The word Bible comes from the Greek βιβλια
(biblia), meaning "books". The Bible is not a single book, but a collection of over sixty six
different writings composed by many different authors over hundreds of years.
• The Bible consists of 39 books that constitute the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New
Testament. The names "Old Testament" and "New Testament" have been used since the close of
the second century A.D. to distinguish the Jewish (God’s covenant with Israel) and Christian
(God’s new covenant people) Scriptures.
• The very first manuscripts of the books that make up the Old and New Testaments have never
been found, and most likely wore out from continued use or were destroyed centuries ago.
However, copies of these manuscripts were made by hand and became valued possessions of
synagogues, churches, and monasteries. Before these copies wore out new copies were made, and
then eventually copies were made from these copies-and so on, from one generation to the next.
• The Bible began with the people who were bound together by the conviction that God is a part
of and actively working in their history. As nomads, they would tell their faith stories of how
God protected them and acted on their behalf. As their history progressed, more stories were
told. Finally, about the 10th century BC, when David came to the throne, he had the holy
history put into written form.
• Although no original manuscripts of the Old Testament have been found – we have only copies
of copies of copies – the Jewish scribes were always aware they were writing out a holy text,
and took great care not to make mistakes. Despite this, some differences did occur between one
manuscript and another, and scholars today carry on the task of re-constructing as accurately
as possible the original Hebrew text.
Bible in the Oral Tradition: The oral tradition is likely dated to the time of Abraham, around
1800 BC. Each generation taught who God is and what He has done for their forefathers. Each
generation has memories, stories and values it wants to pass along to the next generation. Before
anything in the Bible was written down, people told stories about God and God's relationship with
the people. In the case of the Old Testament, some stories were told for centuries before they were
written down in a final form. Because of their desire to capture the stories for future generations
or to record the authentic version, believers began recording the oral tradition in writing.

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Preservation of the Bible: Eventually, as human societies in the Near East began to develop
forms of writing that were easy to learn and use (around 1800 B.C.), people began to write down the
stories, songs (Psalms), and prophecies that would one day become a part of the Bible. Their writings
were preserved in the Tablet Form/Papyrus Paper. Stone/Pottery, Vellum/Parchment, Scroll, then
Codex, Sheets of plant pulp, Paper, etc. The most ancient extant version of the Old Testament has
existed for less than 1,500 years, and the biblical preservation began with Moses (Deut 31:24-26).
The tribe of Levi was charged to protect the Scriptures. Starting at the time of Moses Israel's religious
leaders zealously preserved the writings that would become the first part of our modern Bibles.
 THE BIBLE
• Almost 1500 Years • One Story
• Over 10,000 events • Unity of Theme
• From 1450 BC to • No contradictions
90 AD • In different places –
wilderness, palace,
• By 40 different dungeon, prison, island
authors – kings,
statesmen, • In different environments
philosophers, – war, peace
fishermen, poets, • 66 Books, 40 writers, 15
scholars, peasants, centuries, yet claims
shepherds, tax ONE AUTHOR
collector, etc.
“Holy men of God spoke as they were moved
by the Spirit of God” (2 Peter 1:21)
 Transmission of the Bible
 The Old Testament was written mainly in
Hebrew, but some Jewish people, when they
came back from exile in Babylon, spoke the
language in use there, Aramaic.
 Many Jewish people, particularly merchants
and seafarers, had moved to various parts of
the world around the Mediterranean and as
Greek was the common language, they
gradually forgot most of their Hebrew.
 In the third and second centuries BC the first
translation of the Old Testament was made,
into Greek known as Septuagint which has
comes from the Latin for “70" and legend has
it that 70 or 72 people worked on the
translation.
 The books and booklets were written on three
Continent of Asia, Africa and Europe. The
Bible was written down in three ancient
languages of the Mediterranean world.
Almost the entire Old Testament in Hebrew.
Some portions of Daniel and Ezra in Aramaic.
The entire New Testament in Greek:
Literary Styles of the Bible: When studying the books of the Bible, it is important to look
not only at the information a book contains but also at the literary form that the author has
used. The kind of literature used can give clues about what the author was trying to say. The
Bible includes a great number of types of literatures and of the forms are prose, narrative,
psalms, poetry, prayers, parables, prophesies(oracles), and long family lists(genealogies).
• Historical narrative
• Poetry
• Song
• Romance
• Personal letters
• Memoirs
• Biography
• Law
• Prophecy
• Parable
• Allegory
• Autobiography
Biblical Collection of the OT: The books of the Old Testament were written over several
centuries, beginning in the 10th century BC. The Old Testament, in roughly the form that we
know it, did not emerge until after the return from Babylonian exile around 500-450 BC. The
Old Testament contains 39 books, divided, very broadly, into the Pentateuch, the historical
books, the Wisdom books and the prophets. According to Jewish tradition, Ezra, a priest and
scribe, collects and arranges some of the books of the Hebrew Bible, around 450 BC.
• The OT events took place around
2000 BC
• The Authors began writing,
preserving literary heritage during
the Golden era of King David.
• OT writings gathered, Canon
formed (Ezra) during 465-424 BC
• Septuagint translation into Greek
around 280-250 BC.
• Qumran Community (Essenes),
originated in the north (Damascus),
persecution drove them to Qumran
(Dead Sea Scrolls) around 150 BC.
• Many OT verses quoted by NT
authors in the books of the NT
during 45-96 AD.
The Inter-Testamental Books(BC430-30AD): The Inter-Testamental books are called
Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha written between 430 BC - 30AD. No canon or council of the
church recognized the Apocrypha as inspired for about four centuries. the OT canon included
only the 39 books as they are found in today’s Protestant Bible. The apocrypha refers to the 11
books accepted as Scripture by the Catholic Church known as Deutro-Canonical Books..
Some Apocryphal Books
(Deutro-Canonical Books)
 Tobit
 Judith
 Wisdom of Solomon
 Ecclesiasticus(Ben Sirach)
 Baruch, with Letter to Jeremiah
 1 Maccabees
 2 Maccabees
 1 Esdras & 2 Esdras
 Daniel(Song of Three Young
Men, Susanna, Bel and the
Dragon)
 Additions to Esther(Mordecai
Dream, Esther Prayer)
 Psalm( Prayer of Manasseh)
The Greek Translation of the Bible(283 B.C): The conquests of Alexander the Great (336-
323 BC), Greek became the official language of Egypt, Syria and the eastern end of the Mediterranean
Sea. In the Jewish colonies of the Diaspora, there were many who no longer understood Hebrew,
because most of them spoke Greek instead of Hebrew. The legend says that 72 translators were shut in
a separate cell, and miraculously all the texts were said to agree exactly with one another, thus proving
that their version was directly inspired by God. The Greek version of Hebrew Bible known as
SEPTUGANT available both to the Jews who no longer spoke their ancestral language and to the entire
Greek-speaking world. The Septuagint Bible is identified by the Roman numeral for seventy(LXX).
Why Canonization of the Bible: The entire Old Testament canon, without any of the
apocryphal books, did not reach until the Council of Jamnia in 95 AD. The OT Canon was
largely a Jewish response to Christianity that was producing new writings (what we call the
New Testament) to add to what was already authoritative in Judaism. Already numerous
writings were extant purporting to be inspired. Hence the question arose, which of these are
really inspired? It was necessary to preclude the possibility of additions to the number of
inspired works. However, the 27 books of the New Testament did not emerge as an entire body
of collected writings until well into the third century AD at the Council of Carthage AD 397.
 Canon: The Biblical canon is the collection of books
the Church recognizes as the inspired Word of God.
A Canonical book, therefore, passes the test of
being authentic, genuine, and of divine
authority and inspiration.
 Four Classifications of Canon: 1). Homo-logoumena:
Those books which were accepted by all 2). Anti-
legomena: Those books which were questioned 3).
Pseudopigrapha: Those non-biblical works rejected
by all 4). Apocrypha: Those non-biblical works
accepted by some.
• Apocrypha Excluded Because: 1). Historical and
geographical inaccuracies and anachronisms
2). False doctrines and practices at variance
with inspired Scripture, 3). Use literary types

© Saint Mary’s Pres/Paul Casper

out of keeping with inspired Scripture, 4). No
distinctive elements such as prophetic power or
poetic feeling of Scripture.
The Greek Bible into Latin by Jerome(405 A.D): As the Roman Empire began to spread,
the Latin language so too did the language of Rome. In 382, the Pope commissioned Jerome to
translate the Greek bible into Latin. He produced his Latin version of the Bible which is known as
Vulgate in 405 AD. At that time, many church leaders thought it would be dangerous if everyone
could read and interpret God’s word for themselves. For more than a thousand years, Latin was the
international language of Europe; the language of politics, scholarship, the Church and the Bible.
The church said that only Priests can read the text and Interpret for Congregations.
The Roman Catholic Church (600-1600AD) and the Bible.
In 500 AD Bible translated into over 500 languages.
In 600 AD, restricted to 1 language: the Latin Vulgate!
The Catholic Church insistence that it alone could explain the Word of
God.
Those in possession of non-Latin scriptures would be executed!
Only the Roman Catholic Priests were educated to understand Latin and
nobody could question their “Biblical” teachings.
For 1,000 year rule (600 AD to 1,600 AD) known as the “Dark and Middle
Ages” of Christianity according to Protestant Christianity.
The Chapters in the Bible were inserted by Hugo (1240 AD). New
Testament divided into Verses (1151 AD). Old Testament divided into
Verses (1445 AD).
The Roman Catholic Council of Trent in 1546 AD, officially defined the
Catholic Canon including the Apocryphal books.
The Roman Catholic Church with its opposition to Bibles in the Vernacular,
hindered Bible translation by hand and hindered Bible distribution.
English Translation of the Bible from Latin: Not until the fourteenth century did England
have a complete Bible in its own language. One of their chief complaints was that the people
could not understand the priests’ mumbled Latin. To most of the Christian West these
languages were almost unknown for a thousand years.
• John Wycliffe was a Oxford professor,
scholar, and theologian. He lead the Christian
world out of the Dark Ages. He was known
as “the Morning Star of Reformation”.
• He opposed organized church teachings. He
said that “Get the Word of God back into the
hands of the masses in their own native
language”.
John Wycliffe (1382 AD): • John Wycliffe translated the complete Bible
from Latin into English, so that the ordinary
people could read or hear it in their own
tongue and understand it. But, the Catholic
Church had banned Wycliffe English bible in
1408 AD.
• The Pope was so infuriated by his teachings
and his translation of the Bible into English,
that 44 years after Wycliffe had died, he
ordered the bones to be dug-up, crushed, and
scattered in the river!
 • John Huss was a follower of John Wycliffe, a
John Hus(1415 AD) Czech theologian, Roman Catholic Priest, and
a Philosopher who became a reformer. He
opposes the tyranny of the Roman church.
Hus used his pulpit to campaign for clerical
reform and against church corruption.
• The Roman Catholic Church, were anxious to
give the people the chance to read the Bible.
Hus believed that social reform could only be
achieved through Biblical literacy. Giving the
people a Bible written in the Czech language,
instead of Latin, was an imperative. Hus
assembled a team of scholars and publish a
Czech translation called “St. Miulovsky Bible”
which include the New Testament, the Psalms
and the Proverbs in 1406.
• He was commanded to recant or be burned at
the stake but he refused. He was burned at the
stake for heresy against Roman Catholic
Church doctrines in 1415, with Wycliffe’s
manuscript Bibles used as kindling for the
fire. The last words of John Huss that, “in 100
years, God will raise up a man whose calls for
reform cannot be suppressed.”
Girolamo Savonarola in Italy(1452-1498): He denounced clerical corruption, despotic
rule and the exploitation of the poor. He spoke out against the papacy, auricular confession,
purgatory, pilgrimages, worship of saints, relics, etc. He prophesied the coming of a biblical flood and
a new Cyrus from the north who would reform the Church. In retaliation, the Pope excommunicated
him in May 1497, and threatened to place Florence under an interdict.. Savonarola and two of his
supporting friars were imprisoned. On 23 May 1498, Church and civil authorities condemned,
hanged, and burned the three friars in the main square of Florence.
New Era in Communication by Johann Guttenberg(1454): In 1455, Gutenberg
invented the movable type printing press, and printed the first Book in Germany. He had printed
the Latin Bible in 1456. The Advent of Printing greatly aided the transmission of the biblical texts.
And as more people began to learn to read, there was a new demand for the Bible in vernacular
languages. The use of vernacular (local or national) languages was becoming acceptable and
widespread in official, educational, and religious settings. Within 25 years, more than 100 presses
were established in Europe (Italy-50, Germany- 80, and England-4). The demand for Bibles grew,
and particularly for Bibles which could be understood by someone who was not a scholar.
Erasmus(1466-1536 AD) • Erasmus was a Catholic Priest, Latin Professor
and Greek Scholar at Cambridge. He found
many Greek and Hebrew manuscripts of the
Bible and early Church writings which were
previously unknown or ignored.
• He published a New Greek edition and a more
accurate Latin translation of the New Testament
in AD 1516. His Greek text, with its several
later revisions, became the basis for translation
in many languages, including English.
• He focused attention on just how corrupt and
inaccurate the Latin Vulgate had become, and
how important it was to go back and use the
Greek-Latin Parallel Bible original Greek NT & original Hebrew (OT).
• He said that the Latin was corrupted that it no
longer even preserved the message of the
Gospel.“Either this (the original Greek) is not
the Gospel… or we are not Christians.”
• The Church still threatened to kill anyone who
read the scripture in any language other than
Latin… though Latin was not an original
language. In 1516, he corrected the corrupt
Latin Vulgate and published a Greek-Latin
Parallel New Testament.
 • William Tyndale, priest, Oxford Scholar fluent in
8 languages and the Captain of the Army of
Reformers. He first printed NT in English made
from Erasmus Greek but he did not get approval
to publish it in England.
• The Church still banned English Scriptures when
William Tyndale translated his New Testament
which was printed in Germany. The books were
smuggled into England by sympathetic merchants
in bales of wool and wine casks with false
bottoms. This illustrates the Church’s efficiency in
English Bible by tracking down and destroying Tyndale’s
William Tyndale(1485-1536) Testaments.
• The church banned his English Bible translation
with the Royal power. The Copies ended up in the
bedroom of King Henry VIII. Tyndale’s biggest
customer was the King’s men, who would buy up
every copy available to burn them… and Tyndale
used their money to print even more!
• In 1536 Tyndale was betrayed, arrested, and tried
for heresy in Belgium. He was strangled to death
while tied at the stake, his last prayer was “O Lord,
open the king of England’s eyes.” and then his
dead body was burned.
German Bible by Martin Luther(1534): Martin Luther, the most important name in
German Bible translation. He spoke and wrote bitterly against what he felt were wrong
practices and beliefs in the Roman Catholic Church. So the Church had excommunicated him
for his 95 thesis. During the Middle Ages, Latin was no longer the language of ordinary people.
He said that everyone should have the chance to read the Bible in their own language. Luther
believed that a good Bible translation must be made directly from the original languages and in
words everyone would understand. In 1516, he had translated the NT into German for the first
time from the Greek-Latin New Testament of Erasmus, and published it in September of 1522.
French Bible by Jacobus Faber • He was a French theologian, Roman Catholic
Priest, and a significant contemporary of Erasmus.
Stapulensis (1455-1536): He sought to reform the Church. He was well-
aware that human teachings and philosophy had
corrupted the Catholic Church(Mk 7:7, Col 2:8).
• He strongly believed in “the right, indeed, the duty,
of every Christian to read and learn the Bible
personally.” But the Catholic Church opposed the
use of translations of the Bible in common
languages which is harmful to the Church.
• To expose their faulty argument; he worked so
hard to make the Bible accessible to all. His
translation of the French New Testament was
published in Paris in 1523, followed by the French
Old Testament in 1528. Both men and women
were so eager to read Jesus’ words in their mother
tongue.
• The Roman Catholic Church soon ordered that his
translation of the Greek Bible be burned publicly,
and several of his books were condemned as
heretical, and he spent some time in exile.
Meanwhile, his translation had been put on the
Church’s Index of Prohibited Books in 1546 and
persecuted him by Inquisition.
Great English Bible by • In 1509, Henry VIII became King of England. Initially
he was to be the perfect Catholic leader, defending
King Henry VIII(1534): Catholicism against the rebel Protestants. The Bible had
no royal license to translate into English. Henry had
banned all translations under Tyndale’s name in 1536.
• The King Henry VIII motives were evil. Henry and
his wife Catherine had one surviving child, Mary.
He wanted a male heir. So, he wanted to divorce
Catherine because she had not given birth to a son
in 23 years of marriage. He requests the Pope to
divorce Catherine and marry his mistress Anne
Boleyn but the Pope refused. So the King Henry
VIII had denounces the Catholic Church and
taking England out from under Rome’s religious
control, and declaring himself as the head of the
Church of England.
• Finally, William Tyndale prayer was answered. Just
three years later in 1539, King Henry VIII
authorized edition of the “Great Bible” and ordered
to provide one book of the bible of the largest
volume in English, He ordered to keep the Bible in
some convenient place within the church so that
the parishioners may read it.
Queen Mary as “Bloody • After King Henry VIII, King Edward VI took the
Mary”(1555 AD) throne. Queen Mary was the next obstacle to the
printing of the Bible in English.
• She was possessed in her quest to return England
to the Roman Church. England’s Queen Mary bans
Protestant translations of the English Bible. Mary
went on to burn reformers at the stake by the
hundreds for the "crime" of being a Protestant.
• During the reign of Mary I, Protestants were
persecuted as heretics, and many fled to Geneva, a
strongly Protestant city. One such refugee, William
Whittingham, produced a New Testament in 1557.
He was also one of the main contributors to a
complete revision of the Bible, published in 1560
and known as the Geneva Bible.
• In 1537 another Bible appeared by “Thomas
Matthew”, probably the penname of Tyndale’s
friend John Rogers, with whom Miles Coverdale
was later burnt to death during Queen Mary’s
persecution of Protestants.
• In 1555, John Rogers & Thomas Cranmer were
burned at the stake. Later some 300 men, women,
and children were also burned.
 • The Queen Elizabeth of England died on March 24, 1603,
after ruling 45 years. So, the Scotland's James VI succeeded
Elizabeth, thus becoming James I of England.
• In 1604, King James I convened the Hampton Court
Conference, where a new English version was conceived
in response to the problem of the earlier translations in the
Church of England.
• King James I commissions 54 scholars and gave the
instructions intended to ensure that the new version
would conform to the Ecclesiology of, and reflect the
Episcopal structure of, the Church of England.
• For six years, six teams of scholars work to complete the
KJV English Bible new version in AD 1611, just 85 years after the first
by King James I(1605): translation of the New Testament into English appeared
(Tyndale, 1526). The KJV is the translation from the
original Hebrew and Greek into English.
• Because King James I had commanded it, it became
known as the King James Version(KJV), or the Authorized
Version. The KJV quickly became the standard for English-
speaking Protestants. For more than 400 years it remained
the most widely read book in the English language.
• Even today, many consider the KJV is the ultimate
translation in English and will allow none other for use in
Church or personal devotions.
Why is the Bible Important Today: The Bible is the most translated book in the world. As
of October 2017 the full Bible has been translated into 670 languages, the New Testament
alone into 1521 languages and Bible portions or stories into 1121 other languages. As of today
at least 1.3 billion people do not have the full Bible in their first language. These people cannot
hear God speak to them in the language they understand best. Kindly pray for the ministries so
that many more people will have access to God’s Word in the language they understand best.
• Why is the Bible Important:
• The Bible has transformed the world: It would be
impossible to claim to be an educated person in
today's world without having at least some
familiarity with the events contained in this book.
• People are willing to die for this book: People have
died torturous deaths simply to gain access to this
book. You may, even now, be in a country where
this book is discouraged or even banned outright.
• It is the most accurate book of Antiquity: The Bible
is the most copied book of antiquity. Written over a
time period of some 1,500 years, it was completed
approximately 2,000 years ago.
• It contains a Life-Changing Message of Freedom: The
Bible has liberated many from oppression by its clear
teachings. It raises the dignity and rights of every
human being ever born. It contains clear teaching on
the value and worth of every individual.
 Conclusion
• The Bible came into being through a fascinating, but complicating process. The Bible is the Word
of God, penned by human agent, inspired by Holy Spirit. The Biblical books which Christians
accept as telling of the God and Christ who form the centre of their quest and their life.
• The Bible is a very old book that has come to us because many men and women have
worked hard copying and studying manuscripts, examining important artifacts and ancient
ruins, and translating ancient texts into modern languages. Their dedication has helped
keep the story of God’s people alive.
• The Bible has been translated far more than any other book. Yet, the history of Bible
translations is not only contentious but bloody, with many who dared translate it being
burned at the stake. The Bible has been and can be an extremely valuable resource as we try
to understand our lives today and try to find meaning in a fragmented world. The Bible is
the greatest monument of humankind. No other book has influenced the thinking of
humankind and the moulding of their character as the Bible.
• The Bible continues to be translated into new languages every day – over 1,218 at last
count! Today we still find that many languages are being written down for the first time by
missionaries who want to translate the Bible.
• As Christianity spread, it is certainly true that people desired to have the Bible in their own
language which required translations from the original Hebrew and Aramaic languages of
the Old Testament and the Greek of the New Testament.
• The sacred book which we read, study, obey, and preach deserves to unreservedly be called
The Bible or "The Book without peer," since its author is God and it bears the qualities of
total truth and complete trustworthiness as also characterizes its divine source.
The Challenges of Today’s Churches:The Bible is the answer for today’s crisis. The Bible
is not to inform but to transform. The Bible is your sword you cant go into the battle without it.
All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and
for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good
work. II Tim 3: 16,17. The Bible means: B= Basic, I= Instruction, B=before, L=leaving, E-earth.
The Holy Bible: The Bible—banned, burned, beloved. More widely read, more frequently
attacked than any other book in history. Generations of intellectuals have attempted to discredit it;
dictators of every age have outlawed it and executed those who read it. Yet soldiers carry it into
battle believing it more powerful than their weapons. Fragments of it smuggled into solitary prison
cells have transformed ruthless killers into gentle saints. Let’s praise God that we can have his
Word in our hands, Love studying God’s Word and Live out God’s Word. The Bible is your sword
you cant go into the battle field without it. The Bible is not to inform but to transform.
 Produced By: Gamaliel Bible College, Mumbai, India
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