Getting Our Bible

THE BIBLE!  An astounding book comprised of writers spanning centuries that all speak about the same thing - GOD!   2 Pet. 1:20,21 states, "But you need to realize that no one alone can understand any of the prophecies in the Scriptures. The prophets did not think these things up on their own, but they were guided by the Spirit of God."  So, this brings up an interesting question - How did we get our Bible? 

Old Testament writers depended on scribes, men who patiently copied the Scriptures by hand when extra copies were needed and when the original scrolls became too worn. Even so they did not always avoid technical mistakes in copying at of some points. The original Hebrew language slowly changed, and after the dispersion of the Jews into Persia, Babylon, and Assyria, the Aramaic language was adopted  by the Jews during these years of exile. Being a Semitic (Languages spoken by nations descending from Noah's son Shem - Gen.10:21-31) Language, the Jews were able to adapt the Aramaic language to stand for the same words, phrases, and meanings. Around 300 B.C., with the evolving empire of Alexander the Great, Greek became the dominant and spoken language, even through the time of Jesus. The scriptures which were still in Aramaic, were now translated into Greek, and its publication was called the "Septuagint."  Both the Aramaic and the Greek versions were in existence during the time of Jesus, and both He and his apostles freely quoted from them in the New Testament record. 

During the time of the apostles and the church of the first century, Common Greek was the spoken language and the New Testament was written entirely in this language. But - going from Greek to English - HOW DO WE KNOW IF IT WAS TRANSLATED CORRECTLY AND THINGS WERE NOT LEFT OUT OR FORGOTTEN?

Concerning the correctness of translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew to Aramaic, to Greek,  and the writing of the Greek in the New Testament, the Bible itself says the following:

• 2 Tim.3:16,17 "Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness. That the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work." 
• Rom 15:4  "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that through patience and through comfort of the scriptures we might have hope." 

Copies of manuscripts of the original scriptures dating as far back as 500 B.C. have been preserved intact. New Testament manuscripts dating from the latter part of the first century have been found preserved, lately among these as recent as March 2012, fragments of the gospel of Mark have been found and authenticated.  Comparing these with other versions produced through the years, demonstrates the contextual correctness of the newer English renditions of the scripture. 

Development of the Major English versions of the Bible evolved as follows:

• 1320-1384 A.D. John Wycliffe - translated the first Bible into common English of his day from the Latin version of the scriptures.
• 1525-1530 A.D. William Tyndale - translated the Bible into common English, from the Greek text of Erasmus
• 1609-1611 A.D. The King James Version - translated the Bible from both Hebrew and Greek manuscripts by 47 different scholars of the day.
• 1881-1884 A.D. The Revised Version - was a revision of the King James Version, developed by English and American scholars.
• 1900-1901 A.D. The American Standard Bible - was promoted as the first word for word translation of the Bible, especially in the New Testament.
• 1950-1952 A.D. The Revised Standard Version - is the authorized version of the American Standard Bible, copyrighted in 1928 and finished in 1952.
• 1970-1971 A.D. The New American Standard - is a revision of the American Standard Version, and was written with the intent of obtaining the most accurate translation from the earliest manuscripts available to translators.
• 1977-1978 A.D. The New International Version - was developed to obtain the best translation of the scriptures, while maintaining accuracy, clarity, and literary style.
• 1980-1982 A.D. The New King James Version - was developed by 119 biblical scholars to improve the accuracy of and to promote the purity of the original King James Version.

In upcoming articles, we will look into the development of these versions, their biases and how God's word is preserved intact.

Jim