FAQ: Basics of the Bible
Is the Bible one book, two books, or more?
The Bible is a collection of books written over centuries. The total list and order of books is called a canon; Jews, Protestants, Roman Catholics, and Orthodox Christians do not share a common canon. Bibles used by Episcopalians are divided into three sections. The first is the Old Testament. The second is called the Apocrypha. The third section is the New Testament. Each section includes multiple books.
How many books are in the Old Testament?
In the Bibles Episcopalians use there are 39 books in the Old Testament. Those 39 books match up with the Jewish scriptures, and sometimes you might encounter a Bible that refers to the Old Testament as the Hebrew Scriptures. It is worth noting that Jews divide up and organize their scriptures differently than Christians do (Chronicles is one book, the Twelve are lumped together, etc.), and though the contents are the same, Jews organize their Scriptures into 24 books. However it is organized, Jews and all Christians agree that these books are part of the Scriptures and every Bible includes them. Roman Catholic and Orthodox Bibles have 46 and 51 books in the Old Testament, respectively, and those extra books are explained in the section below entitled “How many books are in the Apocrypha”.
How many books are in the Apocrypha?
The second section in Bibles used by Episcopalians is called the Apocrypha, and this is where things get complicated. The Apocrypha includes additions to books in the Old Testament as well as several distinct books. Most Orthodox Christians include the majority of these additions and extra books for a total of 51 books in the Old Testament (even among the Orthodox Churches there is not universal agreement on this number). Roman Catholics include some of these additions and extra books for a total of 46 books in the Old Testament. Orthodox Christians and Roman Catholics usually refer to these extra books and additions as deutero-canonical, and recognize that they are not universally viewed as part of the Scripture. Protestants do not include any of these books or additions in the Old Testament. However, the majority of Protestant churches do recognize the importance of these extra books in Christian history and tradition, and for that reason they are included in Protestant Bibles under the section “Apocrypha”. The Episcopal Church includes selections from some of these books in our lectionary.
How many books are in the New Testament?
There are 27 books in the New Testament. This is agreed upon by all Christians of every denomination.
What language was the Bible written in?
The short answer is Hebrew and Greek. The long answer is a bit more complicated.
What language was the Old Testament written in?
The books of the Old Testament were written over many centuries and come to us in Hebrew and Greek. The books that are agreed upon by Christians and Jews were probably written in Hebrew (with bits of Aramaic). Most scholars believe that the forms of the books that we have today were finalized between the 8th Century BC and the 1st Century BC. Earlier versions of the books or sources used for a given book might date back centuries earlier.
What language was the Apocrypha written in?
Most scholars think that the books included in the Apocrypha were written at the time or even after the last the books of the Old Testament was written. These books were written in Greek, Hebrew, and/or Aramaic, though they come to us primarily in Greek.
What language was the New Testament written in?
The New Testament was written in Greek, though the language that Jesus and his disciples spoke was almost certainly Aramaic, a language that is related to Hebrew, and there are bits of Aramaic in the Gospels which indicate that some of the sources used by the New Testament writers may have been in Aramaic. Most scholars believe that the earliest New Testament books and letters date from about 50 AD (about twenty years after Jesus died and rose). There is disagreement on when the last books were written, the absolute latest cutoff date is about 150 AD, but most scholars agree that a date closer to 100 AD is more likely.
How do these ancient texts come to us?
We don’t have any of the original manuscripts for any book in the Bible. There were no printing presses or photo copiers, and everything was copied by hand onto parchment, stone, wood, or metal. The ancient Scriptures were often written on scrolls and copied, by hand, when a new copy was needed. Scribal errors and sometimes even additions or subtractions were incorporated into these scrolls over time. We have later generation copies and fragments that have been preserved for centuries. Some of the earliest copies are not even in the original language because the Scriptures were translated into the vernacular language, so they could be spread to new places and read by more people. Because of this these copies and fragments come to us in myriad languages, including Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Syriac, etc. The result is a massive amount of copies that are nearly identical but none are exactly identical. Translators (modern and ancient) had to find the most trustworthy sources to translate from. There isn’t a single Hebrew or Greek Bible out there that is the one source that all Bibles are translated from. For that reason scholars compile and compare every ancient fragment in every language and piece together what they think the original text probably was. Over 5000 ancient sources (including books and fragments) were used to put together the most recent scholarly Greek text of the New Testament. Having many different sources actually makes it far easier to determine what was original and what was added or excluded by an overzealous or overworked scribe. Still, the most ancient sources, regardless of the language, are generally of the most importance. An error might be carried forward through hundreds of copies, and because of that it might be more accurate to go back to a Latin translation of Genesis from 400 AD that to translate directly from a Hebrew text dating from 1000 AD. New manuscript sources are discovered from time to time which continue to help scholars. Each new translation of the Bible takes into account the most recent scholarship done with manuscripts.
So which English translation is the most accurate to the original Hebrew & Greek Bibles?
It’s not so simple. Even after the bulk of the manuscript work has been done, decisions still have to be made. Some words have multiple meanings (for example, the Greek word for “spirit” also means “wind”). Sometimes a literal translation of a certain turn of phrase or expression renders the translation meaningless to an English speaker. A publication of the Bible requires many decisions, and usually involves a large team of scholars who spend years translating verses and making group decisions about thousands of words and phrases. Each translation committee also has a particular point of view and hopes to offer a translation that serves a purpose. One translation might be literal, but wooden. Another might be less literal but do a great job helping an English reader understand the meaning of the text. Newer translations take into account more recent scholarship and changes in the English language. Older translations are often more familiar to people who grew up hearing them.
OK, so which English translation is the best?
That also is not simple. There are many excellent English translations, but none are perfect. Every English speaking Christian eventually has his or her favorites. Below is a list of some of the best and most well known.
The King James or Authorized Version (KJV) – This is the classic English language Bible known throughout the world. It sounds great but sometimes the words used are lost on those listening. All in all, it is an excellent translation, though it reflects scholastic decisions that are now several centuries old. However, unless you are familiar with the style and the vocabulary, it can be tough to read. This Bible is the primary Biblical source for the Rite 1 services in the BCP.
The Revised Standard Version (RSV) – This is the 1960s update of the KJV to more modern English. It is meant to be a revised version of the KJV so wherever possible the decisions made for the KJV were kept – in other words unless there was strong scholarly reasons for changing the meaning of a word or translating a sentence differently the editors followed the KJV. This Bible is the primary Biblical source for the Rite 2 services in the BCP.
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) – This is the late 1980s “update” of the RSV. It was done by many of the same people who did the RSV, but it is not meant to be a revised version of either the KJV or the RSV. It was a new translation from start to finish in the spirit of the RSV. It, like the RSV and KJV, sounds great when used publicly. A major flaw in the translation is the overuse (in my view) of gender neutral terms and a habit by the editors to replace exact translations with implied meanings. For example Son of Man in the OT is never translated directly as Son of Man, but rather “mortal” or “one like a human being”. This removes the OT context of the term when it is used by Jesus in the NT. The NRSV does place the literal translation in the notes. If the notes are used, the NRSV is an excellent Bible.
New International Version (NIV) – The NIV is a very colloquial English translation. It’s a very good translation and easy to understand, but it doesn’t sound great when read publicly. It is used almost exclusively by Evangelicals.
New Jerusalem – A Roman Catholic translation that is excellent and sounds great when read publicly.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) – A wooden but very literal translation. It sounds awful, but it’s very literal.
New American Bible (NAB) – An official English Bible for Roman Catholics. It’s the Roman Catholic equivalent of the NIV.
Which translation should I buy?
Pick a passage that you know and find a Bible that translates it to your liking (some familiar selections are the second chapter of Luke, the first chapter of Genesis, or the first chapter of John). All of the above are great Bibles. Make sure you buy a Study Bible that includes the Apocrypha and has notes and an introduction to each book. There are also versions of the New Testament that contain several different translations side by side.
Do you have any suggestions on which Study Bible to but?
Click the links for these bibles available at Amazon. I usually use the New Oxford Annotated Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha. I also use the New Oxford Annotated New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha. Keep in mind, we use the New Revised Standard Version at Good Shepherd.
Good Online resource to view a bible: www.crosswalk.com
Good Online resource to buy a bible: www.amazon.com