A COMPLETE WRITTEN RECORD

As a written (printed) book in one volume the Bible is a fairly recent development. For a very long time it didn't exist as a single volume. In fact, the earliest parts didn't even exist in written form at first – the earliest "Scriptures" were oral collections, memorised and passed on for generations, until the writing process became possible with the invention of the alphabet.

A Long Road

The Bible came into being through an incredible organic process lasting at least 1,900 years, from about 1500 BC to AD393, when the list of New Testament books was officially ratified. It was written by at least 40 authors, of whom some are identified in their writings, but most are unknown, with Jewish and Christian tradition ascribing authors to these books.
 
As we have seen in Unit 3, papyrus was the best writing material available from the time of Moses until, at the earliest, the 2nd century BC. This means that all the original manuscripts (known as the autographs) of the Old Testament, were written and copied onto papyrus, until the advent of parchment. The pages of papyrus, and later parchment and vellum, were stitched together to accommodate longer documents, and then rolled into scrolls for storage and reading.
(The New Testament situation is a bit uncertain: parchment was already coming into use, but we are not sure what the New Testament authors used. The fact that Paul requests Timothy to bring his scrolls, "especially the parchments", seems to indicate that it was in use, but not yet the standard material.)
 
The oldest papyrus copies we have are from among the Dead Sea Scrolls (250-50 BC) and the so-called Egyptian papyri (3rd to 7th centuries AD). The oldest parchment manuscripts of Old Testament books are also found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, and include copies of Deuteronomy, Psalms, and Isaiah. The oldest New Testament papyrus fragment is The Rylands Library Papyrus P52 (97-130 AD), which we discussed in the introduction of Unit 1. The oldest New Testament parchment is Codex 0162, from the third century, which contains portions of the Gospel of Matthew.
 
For most of its history, the Bible existed as such individual scrolls (and later as codices), preserved and copied using the resources available at the time.
 
But eventually people started making lists, and finally collections, of the various books.
¤  The first known lists of Old Testament books appeared around the 7th century BC, during and after the Babylonian captivity, when various lists were created of what was considered to be the Scriptures. The first one-volume collection is the Leningrad Codex, which dates to AD 1008.
¤  The first known lists of New Testament books appeared in the 2nd century AD, but apparently the early church never compiled a physical collection of only New Testament books: it seems that, from the start, Christians compiled the whole Bible, including both Old and New Testaments.
 
The oldest existing copies of the complete Bible in one volume date from the 4th century AD with the creation of Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus (which unfortunately did not represent the Old Testament in the original Hebrew). But creating codices was a difficult process, so "complete Bibles" were scarce and costly, until the development of the printing press brought the Bible in one volume to ordinary people.
 
(You might wonder who decided which books "should" go into the Bible. We will deal with this in Unit 5, when we discuss the canon of the Bible.)

A Process with a Purpose

Despite developing over centuries, being written by at least 40 authors over a period of about 1,600 years, the Bible shows a cohesion of development and message and purpose unheard of in any other ancient writing. Most writers of the Old Testament books didn't know each other, and as far as we know even those in close historical proximity never met each other. The New Testament writers knew each other, some quite well, with all the books being written in about 50 years. And yet the Bible's unity of message is unheard of in any other ancient compilations.
 
The Bible makes some extraordinary claims about itself, the most important of which is that "the Scriptures" are a communication from God, "the word of God", to humanity.
 
This book was not thought out by humans: its writers claimed, sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly, that their writings were really from God. According to the Bible itself, it is a record of truth revealed by God in words, deeds, and events. It is the communication (word) of God to humanity (see 2 Tim. 3:16-17 and 2 Pet. 1:21). (More about inspiration of the Bible books in Unit 5.)
 
It came to us in the form of a narrative covering historical events from from creation to approximately AD 95 – not as a collage of individual bits & pieces, but as a coherent progressive narrative. Events and people did not exist in isolation, they were part of a greater whole, and must be understood and interpreted in that light. In a very real sense everything is related to everything else, all part of the same story.
 
The recorded narrative is also not in the form of a simple chronological timeline, but a deliberately structured representation, influenced by many factors. One of the crucial differences is our views on recording history: today we think history should be recorded chronologically, but the Bible writers saw it differently, and as a result the Bible is not a strictly chronological ordering of material.
 
Both the Old and New Testaments are firstly arranged into sections, based on form and content, not necessarily in the sequence it happened, or were recorded. Within each section the historical narrative is usually chronological, but not always.
 
Also, the historical events do not always overlap with the time of writing. Some authors, like Jeremiah, recorded events as they happened; others, like the gospel writers, recorded shortly after the events took place.
 
We have to take all these factors into account when trying to understand the Bible, and we will look at that process in later study units.

For now, let's look at how the Bible in one volume, as we know it today, is structured. We will briefly look at the various sections of the Bible, and then list the authorship and probable time of writing of the various books. (At the end of this Study Unit you will find expanded discussions of the various sections, if you want to delve deeper into it.)

A Structured Narrative

The Old Testament
 
The Old Testament books are grouped together based on their typical content.
 
¤  The Pentateuch / Law (Torah)
This section contains the first 5 books of the Old Testament, Genesis to Deuteronomy. The title is derived from the Greek word pentateuchos, meaning "five books" or "five volumes", and in the Jewish tradition these books are collectively known as the Torah, which translates to "law' or "instruction".
 
¤  The Historical Books
Spanning from Joshua to Esther, these books narrate the history of Israel from their conquest of Canaan through their exile and return.
 
¤  Wisdom Literature
These writings reflect on the nature of wisdom, human suffering, and the search for meaning.
 
¤  Prophetic Books
These are divided into Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel) and Minor Prophets (Hosea through Malachi), and contain messages from God delivered through prophets who addressed both immediate concerns and future hopes. (The division has nothing to do with importance, but refers to the length of the books – the major prophets are longer books, the minor ones are shorter.)
 
The Minor Prophets, though they are shorter, usually address particular moments in the history of Israel, and provide essential insights into God's character and plans. They address various social and moral issues faced by Israel, as well as some eschatological (future or end-time) issues.
 
[For an expanded discussion of the Old Testament sections, including brief descriptions of all the books, please click here.]
 
 
The New Testament
 
The New Testament books are also grouped together based on their typical content and source
 
¤  The Gospels
The four Gospels focus on the ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus, each with a slightly different emphasis, and was written between 55 and 95.
 
¤  The Acts of the Apostles
Chronicles the founding and expansion of the early Church and the apostles' activities, with striong focus on the apostle Paul's missions, from about AD30 to 62.
 
¤  Paul's Epistles
Letters by the apostle Paul to various churches, written from about AD 48 to 67. It deals with various issues faced by the early churches, of which the relationship between Jewish and non-Jewish Christians was one of the most important.
 
¤  Pastoral Epistles
General epistles from other authors to various churches, addressing concerns and issues with which the churches were struggling.
 
¤  Revelation
Traditionally attributed to the apostle John, this is a prophetic account of future events, the end times, and messages to seven churches in Asia Minor.
 
[For an expanded discussion of the New Testament sections, including brief descriptions of all the books, please click here.]

Authorship and Time of Writing

Today authors copyright their works and go to great lengths to make sure they are recognised as the legitimate authors of their writings. In Biblical times the whole concept of copyright was unknown. Authors mostly didn't identify themselves (except for bragging rights of rulers, making sure everybody knew whom they conqured and subjugated).
 
With so little written material available to the general population, authorship and copyright were not really necessary – everybody knew who wrote what. Unfortunately we don't, so we have to rely on the traditional attribution of the Jewish scholars, and later the early Church Fathers.
 
The New Testament epistle writers clearly identified themselves by name because
¤ that was the letter format used at the time, and
¤ more importantly, there were false "apostles" pretending to be real apostles – that is why Paul insisted on writing his name at the end with his own hand, even though his assistant(s) wrote what he dictated.
 
There are no compelling reasons why we should doubt the traditionally accepted authors, so we will follow traditional authership and dating for the various books. Below is a table with the authors and date of writing of the Bible books, arranged as per the Bible's sections listed above.
 

OLD TESTAMENT
THE PENTATEUCH
Genesis	Traditionally Moses	ca 1445 BC
Exodus	Traditionally Moses	ca 1445 BC
Leviticus	Traditionally Moses	ca 1445 BC
Numbers	Traditionally Moses	ca 1407 BC
Deuteronomy	Traditionally Moses, probably with additions by Joshua	ca 1406 BC
HISTORICAL BOOKS
Joshua	Traditionally Joshua, probably with additions by Samuel	ca 1380 BC
Judges	Traditionally Samuel	ca 1050-1040 BC
Ruth	Traditionally Samuel	ca 1050 BC
1 & 2 Samuel	Traditionally Samuel, with possible additions by others	ca 1021-1000 BC
1 & 2 Kings	Traditionally Jeremiah	ca 560-540 BC
1 & 2 Chronicles	Traditionally Ezra, finalising a process started during the Babylonian captivity	ca 450-400 BC
Ezra	Traditionally Ezra	ca 450 BC
Nehemiah	Traditionally Nehemia	ca 430 BC
Esther	Traditionally Mordecai or an unknown Jewish author	ca 465 BC
WISDOM (or POETIC) BOOKS
Job	Traditionally Job, with possible additions by others	ca 2000-1500 BC
Psalms	Traditionally David and other authors, as indicated.	ca 1000-400 BC. Perhaps finally compiled around AD 400.
Proverbs	Traditionally Solomon, with additions by others	ca 950-700 BC
Ecclesiastes	Traditionally Solomon	ca 935
Song of Solomon (Song of Songs)	Traditionally Solomon	ca 965
THE PROPHETS
Major Prophets
Isaiah	Isaiah	ca 740-700 BC
Jeremiah	Jeremiah	ca 585 BC
Lamentations	Traditionally Jeremiah	ca 586 BC
Ezekiel	Ezekiel	ca 570 BC
Daniel	Daniel	ca 530 BC
Minor Prophets
Hosea	Traditionally Hosea	715 BC
Joel	Traditionally Joel	ca 500 - 400 BC
Amos	Traditionally Amos	750 BC
Obadiah	Traditionally Obadiah	590-586 BC
Jonah	Traditionally Jonah	ca 780 BC
Micah	Traditionally Micah	ca 700 BC
Nahum	Traditionally Nahum	ca 650 BC
Habakkuk	Traditionally Habakkuk	ca 610 BC
Zephaniah	Traditionally Zephaniah	ca 625 BC>
Haggai	Traditionally Haggai	ca 520 BC
Zechariah	Traditionally Zechariah	ca 518 BC
Malachi	Traditionally Malachi	ca 420 BC
NEW TESTAMENT
THE GOSPELS
Matthew	Traditionally the apostle Matthew, the tax collector	AD 54-55
Mark	Traditionally John Mark, who accompanied Paul and Barnabas on the first part of the first missionary journey	AD 50-60
Luke	Traditionally Luke, the physician and companion of Paul	AD 60-62
John	Traditionally John the apostle	AD 80-90
ACTS
Acts	Traditionally Luke, the physician and companion of Paul	AD 62-64
EPISTLES OF THE APOSTLE PAUL
Romans	In all of these letters the author is identified as Paul, and early church tradition accepted the apostle Paul as the author. Only in the late 98th and early 20th centuries did some liberal scholars reject this view. There is really no reason to doubt Paul's authorship and, as most conservative Bible scholars, we consider Pauk to be the author of all the letters traditionally ascribed to him.	AD 57
1 Corinthians		AD 54
2 Corinthians		AD 55
Galatians		AD 48-50
Ephesians		AD 61
Philippians		AD 61
Colossians		AD 61
1 Thessalonians		AD 50
2 Thessalonians		AD 51
1 Timothy		AD 60
2 Timothy		AD 64
Titus		AD 63
Philemon		AD 61
THE PASTORAL/GENERAL EPISTLES
Hebrews	The author is unknown, and does not indentify himself in the letter. Traditionally Paul and Barnabas were considered possible authors, also Apollos and others.	AD 60-70
James	Traditionally attributed to James, the brother of Jesus	AD 45
1 Peter	Traditionally the apostle Peter	AD 60-64
2 Peter	Traditionally the apostle Peter	AD 65-68
1 John	Traditionally the apostle John	AD 80-90
2 John	Traditionally the apostle John	AD 80-90
3 John	Traditionally the apostle John	AD 80-90
Jude/td>	Traditionally Jude, the brother of Jesus	AD 60's
REVELATION
Revelation	Traditionally the apostle John	AD 95

 
A list of Bible books in the chronological writing sequence is available here.

TRANSLATIONS OF TRANSLATIONS?

One of the criticisms against the Bible and Christianity that surfaces every now and then is that Christians make "translations of translations"!
 
Nothing could be further from the truth!
 
Almost all of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew (with a verses in Aramaic – see here for further discussion and explanation), and that text was the "official text" from the beginning.
 
And "official text" did not mean any copy of an Old Testament book: In preparing Israel for an eventual king, God laid down a principle in Deuteronomy 17:18: In other words, his copy had to be made from the "master" copy kept by the priests! It seems highly probable that the priests (and later the scribes) would have applied this principle to other books as they became accepted as Scripture, especially after the Exile, when lots of Jews lives all over the then-known world.
 
When the first Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint) was done, it was translated from the official Hebrew text. When Aramaic, Coptic, and Syrian translations were done later, they were translated from the official Hebrew text, not the Septuagint. Modern translations still translate the best original Hebrew text into all the nations of the world.
 
Apparently Christians continued the principle. The New Testament books were originally written in Greek, and from the beginning those Greek texts were considered the "official" text. With the decentralised nature of the Church there was no central repository of New Testament books to serve as the "source collection", but the Greek texts were held in high esteem and became the sources for new copies. Aramaic and other language translations appeared very quickly, but the official Greek text was used as the source, not other translations. That is why textual criticism is so vitally important – those scholars spend their lives working to ensure that we have the best text in the original Hebrew and Greek to translate into our modern languages.
 
Scholars definitely do use old translations and quotations from the Church Fathers as reference, especially when considering textual variants. They can offer valuable insight and assistance, but are never the prime base for determining the text.
 
"Updated" translations are not rewritten versions of that translation – translators working on it goes back to the original languages and
¤ incorporate old Greek or Hebrew manuscripts that were not yet discovered when the translation was originally made, and
¤ the language of the original translation is sometimes updated to a more modern dialect, based on the original Greek/Hebrew texts.
 
The only time the church really "dropped the ball" was after it became the official religion of the Roman Empire. The Bible was then already translated into Latin (known as the Vulgate), and that became the basis for all future updates and revisions until fairly recently. Even in 1610, with the creation of the Douay-Rheims Bible in English, the Vulgate was used as the base text!
 
Thank God for monks and other scholars, who protected original language manuscripts, and the oldest then-known text of the new Testament, known as the Textus Receptus. And thank God for the schism between the Roman Catholic and the Greek Orthodox traditions; we owe much to the latter for sticking to and protecting Greek manuscripts.
 
So trust your translation: Through the ages a lot of hard work went into identifying and protecting the best version of the text in the original languages, and a lot of hard work also went into producing the translation you currently use.
 
With English so widely spoken today, there are obviously a lot of English translations available. In this study we can't track all translations in all possible languages, but below is a table outlining the historical development of the major English translations. Most modern languages followed a similar process, and there are still language groups today that do not have the Bible in their own language.
 
Once again, thank God for translators who would spend years and years, first learning a language, and then translating Bible books (one by one) for such language groups!

HISTORY OF ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS

Since 1560 many English translations of the Bible have seen the light, sometimes under political or ecclesiastical influence, but lately due to the rapid increase of very early New Testament manuscripts. Below is a list of the major English translations since 1560.
 
Notice also the changes in the original texts used, based on discovery of earlier manuscripts and developments in scholarship.
 

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HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH BIBLE TRANSLATIONS

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TRANSLATION	DATE COMPLETED	SOURCE TEXTS	NOTABLE FEATURES
Geneva Bible	1560	Old Testament: Masoretic Hebrew text New Testament: Textus Receptus (Greek)	Produced by English Protestants exiled in Geneva during the reign of Queen Mary I. The first English Bible translated directly from Hebrew and Greek texts. Popular among English Protestants, including the Pilgrims and Puritans. Notable for its extensive marginal notes that supported Reformed theology and were critical of the Church of England. First English Bible to use numbered verses and italics for added words in translation. Popular among English-speaking Protestants for nearly a century before the King James Version overtook it.
Bishop's Bible	1568	Old Testament: Hebrew Masoretic Text New Testament: Textus Receptus	Commissioned by the Church of England to counter the influence of the Geneva Bible. Authorized for use in Anglican worship but not widely accepted by the public. Lacked the Calvinist commentary found in the Geneva Bible. Served as one of the base texts for the King James Version.
Douay-Rheims Bible	1610	Old Testament: Latin Vulgate New Testament: Latin Vulgate	The first complete English Catholic Bible. Translated from the Latin Vulgate by English Catholic scholars in exile in Douay (Old Testament) and Rheims (New Testament). Contained annotations supporting Catholic doctrine. Predecessor to the later revisions that led to the Challoner Revision (1752).
King James Version (KJV)	1611	Old Testament: Masoretic Hebrew text New Testament: Textus Receptus (Greek)	Authorized by King James I of England, it became the most enduring English translation. Aimed to be a politically neutral and ecclesiastically accepted translation, and unify the Church of England: free of the Geneva Bible's controversial annotations. Distinguished by its majestic, poetic language, it remains one of the most widely read Bible translations. Revised several times, with the 1769 edition being the most commonly used version today.
Revised Version (RV)	1885	Old Testament: Hebrew Masoretic Text (with some influence from Septuagint) New Testament: Westcott and Hort's Greek Text (more critical edition than Textus Receptus)	First major revision of the King James Version since 1611. Aimed to reflect advances in textual criticism and to make the language more contemporary, though still very formal in style. Aimed at incorporating more accurate renderings of the Hebrew and Greek texts. Included British spellings and language, giving it less popularity in America.
American Standard Version (ASV)	1901	Old Testament: Hebrew Masoretic Text New Testament: Westcott and Hort's Greek Text	American edition of the Revised Version. Popular in academic and conservative circles, but less so for public reading due to its formality. Preferred by many for its literalness and closer adherence to the Hebrew and Greek texts. Significant influence on later American translations, such as the NASB and RSV.
Revised Standard Version (RSV)	1952	Old Testament: Hebrew Masoretic Text (with some influence from Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint) New Testament: Updated critical Greek texts	A revision of the ASV, it modernized the language of the Bible while maintaining a high degree of literalness. Became popular among mainline Protestant churches. Sometimes controversial for its handling of certain passages, such as translating saiah 7:14's "virgin" as "young woman".
New American Standard Bible (NASB)	1971	Old Testament: Hebrew Masoretic Text (with use of Dead Sea Scrolls) New Testament: Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament	Extremely literal translation, known for its strict adherence to formal equivalence (word-for-word translation). Favored by scholars and conservative Christian groups for study purposes. Updated in 1995 and again in 2020 to reflect advances in biblical scholarship and more natural English.
New International Version (NIV)	1978 Revised 2011	Old Testament: Hebrew Masoretic Text (with consultation of Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint) New Testament: Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament	A dynamic equivalence translation, aiming for a balance between accuracy and readability. Emphasized dynamic equivalence, making it easier to understand without sacrificing essential meanings. Written in modern, accessible English, making it very popular for public and private reading. Updated in 1984, 2011 to reflect changing language usage and improved scholarship. Widely used by evangelicals and non-denominational Christians. Became the best-selling modern English translation of the Bible.
New King James Version (NKJV)	1982	Old Testament: Masoretic Hebrew Text New Testament: Textus Receptus (same as KJV).	A modern update of the KJV, preserving much of its structure and literary style. Replaces archaic words while maintaining a formal equivalence approach. Popular among those who appreciate the KJV tradition but seek more comprehensible language.
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)	1989	Old Testament: Hebrew Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint New Testament: Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament	Update of the RSV, with an emphasis on gender-inclusive language. Committed to gender-accuracy, gender-inclusivity, and gender-clarity. Widely accepted by mainline Protestant denominations, Roman Catholics, and scholars. Used in many seminaries and by various denominations for liturgy and scholarship.
New Living Translation (NLT)	1996 Revised 2004	Old Testament: Hebrew Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint New Testament: Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament	Dynamic equivalence or thought-for-thought translation, not strictly word-for-word. Readability: designed for easy comprehension, making it accessible for a broad audience. Clarity in modern language: uses contemporary, everyday English that reflects how people communicate today. Scholarly accuracy, ensuring fidelity to the original texts. Smooth flow and storytelling quality: a flowing narrative style, making it especially suitable for public reading and personal devotional study.
World English Bible (WEB)	2000	Old Testament: Hebrew Masoretic Text New Testament: Textus Receptus (Greek)	A public domain update of the ASV with modernized language and formatting
English Standard Version (ESV)	2001	Old Testament: Hebrew Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint New Testament: Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament	Essentially a revision of the RSV, it aimed to provide a literal, word-for-word translation while maintaining readability. Favored by conservative evangelicals for its balance between accuracy and readability. Retains traditional theological language, such as "virgin" in Isaiah 7:14.
The Message	2002	Old Testament: Hebrew Masoretic Text New Testament: Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament	A paraphrase translation by Eugene Peterson intended for devotional reading rather than formal study. Very modern, conversational language, focusing on making the text accessible to contemporary readers. Less emphasis on literal translation; more on conveying the thought and emotion of the original text.
New English Translation (NET)	2005	Old Testament: Masoretic Text New Testament: Nestle-Aland Greek Text	Distributed for free online. Notable for its extensive translation notes (60,000+), making it a good study Bible. Balances accuracy with modern language, aiming to clarify difficult passages. Used widely in digital contexts and for study purposes.
Common English Bible (CEB)	2011	Old Testament: Masoretic Text New Testament: Nestle-Aland Greek Text	Aimed to be accessible, readable, and relevant for a wide audience. Focuses on contemporary, easy-to-understand language without sacrificing accuracy. Emphasized by mainline Protestant denominations and used in diverse worship settings. Committed to gender-accuracy, gender-inclusivity, and gender-clarity.
Modern English Version (MEV)	2014	Old Testament: Hebrew Masoretic Text New Testament: Textus Receptus	An update of the KJV aimed at maintaining its traditional tone while modernizing the language.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)	2017	Old Testament: Hebrew Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint New Testament: Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament	A revision of the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB). Uses an "optimal equivalence" approach, balancing literal accuracy with readability. Popular among evangelical groups as a clear, accessible translation. Simplified from the HCSB's previous translation decisions, such as removing the term "Yahweh" in favor of "Lord."
Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)	2021	Old Testament: Hebrew Masoretic Text New Testament: Greek Text, Textus Receptus-based	A revision of the New American Standard Bible (NASB) by a group of conservative scholars. Emphasizes word-for-word accuracy with formal equivalence. Particularly well-received by conservative Christians seeking a precise translation. Retains the divine name "Yahweh" in the Old Testament rather than using "LORD."

IN SUMMARY

From paryrus and parchment pages to scrolls and codices to printed books to today's digital files, the Bible developed through a remarkable organic process into the finished product we have today.
 
From individual books being written and treasured to lists and the final confirmation of the canon, generations of believers participated in the creation of a Book unlike any other. They protected the original manuscripts (sometimes with their lives) and meticulously copied it so that each new generation could read God's communication to humanity.
 
And finally it was translated into almost all languages of the world, so that people could read and understand God's message to them.
 
We are in a more blessed position today than almost any generation of believers preceding us. We have almost unlimited access to a wide variety of translations of the Bible in a staggering number of languages, with more resources for understanding the Bible and its historical background than most of our spiritual ancestors ever had.
 
The question is, what will we do with it?

 
 

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