History Of The Bible

A discussion of the history of Bible versions appropriately begins with understanding that the original manuscripts, the actual papyrus written on by Moses or Paul, no longer exist. These documents, called autographs, were lost or destroyed long ago. But God's Word has been preserved in an overwhelming multitude of scrolls and fragments that are copies of the autographs. The earliest Old Testament is actually a Greek translation of the original Hebrew language dating to 300-200 B.C. Known as the Septuagint, it is the careful and meticulous work of seventy Jewish scholars, who, for the first time ever, translated a text from one language into another. In their honor, the Septuagint is sometimes referred to by the Roman numeral LXX. The oldest copy of the Hebrew Old Testament, written in approximately 916 A.D., is known as the Masoretic Text or MT. The name comes from the scholars, the Masoretes, who standardized the pronunciation keys and spelling of the ancient texts. The history of the Bible isn't just about scholarly research, however. Sometimes it involves a common person minding his own business.



One of the most important archaeological finds of the last century was made by a wandering Bedouin goat herder in 1947 when he tossed a rock into a cave and heard the sound of breaking pottery. He had unwittingly discovered a treasure trove, the Dead Sea Scrolls, in the Qumran and Masada caves of Israel. The approximately 190 scrolls were protected by linen cloths, clay jars, and the dry, arid climate. Amongst these treasures, scholars found manuscripts and fragments of Old Testament writings, written in the ancient Hebrew language, and dating from between 250 B.C. and 70 A.D. One of these, found in Cave 1, was almost a complete manuscript of the book of Isaiah. When scholars compared these ancient texts with the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text, they found that the differences between the three were minor. This brief history of Bible versions shows how the Old Testament writings were preserved throughout the centuries despite the loss of the autographs.



The New Testament autographs also are lost, but archaeologists have discovered numerous copies and copies of copies dating from the first century A.D. Though scribal errors certainly occurred, the science of textual criticism provides assurance that these copies are a close match to the lost originals. In fact, no other literature from the ancient world, including the writings of Homer and Shakespeare, have as much evidence of what the original text must have been as the New Testament literature. As the prophet foretold, "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever" (Isaiah 40:8). Studying the history of the Bible shows God's providence in protecting His Word.



This background information provides the foundation for the history of Bible versions. The first, a Latin translation dating to 382 A.D., is known as the Vulgate. When Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable type printing press in 1455 A.D., he chose to print the Vulgate Bible. A copy of the Gutenberg Bible is kept under glass at the British Museum in London, England. The first English translation of the New Testament was made in 1526 A.D. by William Tynsdale. The Geneva Bible, printed in 1599-1560 A.D., was the first to use numbered verses. This version, which was used by the Pilgrims, was the most popular in its time. Eventually, it was replaced by the King James Version, first printed in 1611 A.D. In the centuries since then, the King James Version has been printed more than any other book -- over one billion times. Too many versions belong on a history of the Bible timeline to include them all here. For example, the first Bible printed in America was a translation into the native language of the Algonquin Indians by John Eliot in 1663. The same Noah Webster of dictionary fame published his own King James Version revision in 1883.



An older source for New Testament translations is the Textus Receptus, or Received Text, a series of Greek New Testament translations dating from 1516 to 1633 and based on the translating work of the scholar Erasmus. A second source, referred to as Westcott and Hort, is based on two critical texts, the Vaticanus and Sinaiticus. When B. F. Westcott and F. J. A. Hort published their work in 1881, the Vaticanus and Sinaiticus were based on the oldest known manuscripts that were available at that time. Neither the King James Version nor the more modern English translations are wholly based on either of these critical texts, however. Current sources are the Nestle or Nestle Aland text and the United Bible Societies' Greek New Testament. The former was first published in 1898; its twenty-seventh edition in 1993. The USB's text first edition appeared in 1966 and its fourth in 1993. Researching the history of the Bible demonstrates that scholars use the relevant critical texts and ancient manuscripts as a basis for their translating work.



The more popular modern English translations and the date of their printing include the English Revised Version (1880s), American Standard Version (1901), New American Standard Version Bible (1971), New International Version (1973), and English Standard Version (2002). Though the modern English translations vary, each one is based on either a word-by-word or phrase-by-phrase translation from the original language of the earliest manuscripts. Popular English versions exist that are not translations, but paraphrases, such as The Living Bible, printed in 1971, and The Message, printed in 2002.



This history of Bible versions briefly summarizes a few of the critical texts, early translations, and archaeological findings that have preserved God's Word throughout the centuries. Meticulous, thoughtful scholarship researched and compared ancient manuscripts to ensure as much accuracy as possible in our modern English translations.