Q: What is The Holy Bible?
Q: What is The Holy Bible?
Short Answer:
A divine library, inspired, preserved, and passed down through generations
The bible is:
The journals of ancient men who followed God have inspired generations on how to live a life in accordance with God's will.
66 - 73 books and 40 Authors.
Answer:
The Holy Bible is a sacred collection of writings recorded by people inspired by God over the span of thousands of years. It is made up of two major sections—the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament, also called the Hebrew Bible, was originally written primarily in Hebrew (with some portions in Aramaic), while the New Testament was written in Greek.
Many of the oldest surviving copies of these writings have been confirmed through discoveries like the Dead Sea Scrolls (found in caves near the Dead Sea in the mid-20th century), which preserved portions of nearly every Old Testament book and date back to around 250 BC–AD 70.
Together, these writings form the foundation of both Jewish and Christian faith traditions, carrying forward the voices of prophets, poets, historians, and apostles—each inspired by God to tell the story of His relationship with humanity.
The Bible contains 66–73 books (depending on tradition), written by about 40 authors across many centuries, cultures, and walks of life
Q: What are The Dead Sea Scrolls?
Short Answer:
Ancient scrolls were discovered; these scrolls were the journals of the biblical authors.
Answer:
Discovered in 1947 - 1956 in caves near Qumran, by the Dead Sea.
Ancient scrolls dating from 250 BC – AD 70, containing parts of nearly every Old Testament book.
(Except Esther)
They confirm how accurately the Hebrew Bible was preserved over centuries.
Not all of the writtings found in the dead scroll made it into the bible.
( Books not in the Hebrew Bible but known in Jewish tradition and included in Catholic/Orthodox Bibles.Examples: Tobit, Sirach, Jubilees, 1 Enoch.)
Q: What is The Cannon Process?
Short Answer:
The writings that were selected to form the holy bible.
Answer:
Canon = the official collection of books recognized as Scripture.
Jewish canon (Tanakh/Old Testament) was shaped between 400 BC – AD 100.
The Christian canon (including the New Testament) was recognized by the church through councils (e.g., Council of Carthage, AD 397), confirming the books already widely used in worship.
Q: So, scholars just choose what books to put into the bible?
Answer:
YES, leaders, scholars, and faith communities discerned and affirmed the canon. But they didn’t just “choose” books randomly; they recognized the writings that had already proven authoritative and inspired.
Q: What books were not selected during the canonn process?
Answer:
1 Enoch – quoted in Jude, but not accepted as prophetic Scripture.
Jubilees – retelling of Genesis and Exodus with added detail.
Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), 1–2 Maccabees, Baruch – included in Catholic and Orthodox Bibles (Deuterocanon) but excluded by Protestants.
The Book of Esther (in Hebrew canon, but absent from Dead Sea Scrolls copies) sparked debate but was ultimately included.
The Shepherd of Hermas – widely read, but written too late (2nd century AD).
The Didache (“Teaching of the Twelve Apostles”) – early church manual, not Scripture.
Gospel of Thomas – collection of sayings attributed to Jesus, but Gnostic influence kept it out.
Gospel of Peter, Gospel of Mary, Gospel of Judas – apocryphal gospels with limited acceptance.
Acts of Paul and Thecla – popular story of Paul’s ministry, but not apostolic.
1–2 Clement, Epistle of Barnabas – respected letters, not part of the canon.
Authorship – not written by a prophet/apostle or close witness.
Consistency – some contained teachings at odds with accepted doctrine.
Usage – not widely read in worship across all churches.
Dating – many were written too late to be connected to eyewitnesses.
Q: How many revisions were made of The Holy Bible?
Answer:
Over centuries, the Bible has been copied, translated, and revised into thousands of versions and languages.
c. 1400–400 BC – Original Old Testament written (mostly Hebrew, some Aramaic).
c. 50–100 AD – New Testament written in Greek.
c. 250 BC – 100 AD – Septuagint (LXX): Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible.
c. 200–400 AD – Early translations into Syriac, Coptic, and Latin.
405 AD – Latin Vulgate by Jerome becomes the standard Bible of the Western church for over 1,000 years.
7th–13th centuries – Portions of the Bible translated into Old English, German, and other local languages (often forbidden by church authorities).
1382 AD – Wycliffe Bible (English translation from the Latin Vulgate).
1455 AD – Gutenberg Bible (first major book printed with movable type; Latin Vulgate).
1522 AD – Luther’s German Bible, translated from Hebrew & Greek.
1526 AD – Tyndale’s New Testament in English, translated from Greek.
1560AD - The Geneva Bible = Switzerland shaped English-speaking Christianity for nearly a century.
1611 AD – King James Version (KJV), authorized in England, became one of the most influential English Bibles.
1800s – Rise of modern Bible societies; translations spread worldwide.
1881–1885 – Revised Version (RV) in English, based on more reliable manuscripts.
1901 – American Standard Version (ASV).
1946–1952 – Revised Standard Version (RSV).
1971 – New American Standard Bible (NASB).
1978 – New International Version (NIV).
1989 – New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).
1996 – New Living Translation (NLT).
2001 – English Standard Version (ESV).
The Bible has been translated into over 3,600 languages (full or partial).
Digital versions, apps, and study tools make it accessible worldwide.