History of the Bible

Question 1

Bible’s Original Materials: Stone

Answer 1

The first two tablets of the Ten Commandments were written upon stone by the finger of God.

Question 2

Bible’s Original Materials: Wood

Answer 2

Words were engraved with a chisel upon wooden tablets. Often, the words were engraved upon wax that covered the tablet. The wax could then be cleaned, and a new message could be written on the same tablet.

Question 3

Bible’s Original Materials: Papyrus

Answer 3

Papyrus was made of split cane that was pressed together to form a material similar to rough paper. It was then bound together into a roll of about 20 pages. Words were written upon the papyrus with a thin reed and ink.

Question 4

Bible’s Original Materials: Parchment

Answer 4

Parchment was made of cured goatskin or sheepskin. The Scriptures were commonly recorded on parchment, which began to replace papyrus around 200 B.C. The NT would require 50 - 60 sheep, very costly.

Question 5

Bible’s Original Languages

Answer 5

OT: Hebrew (few Aramaic texts)
NT: Greek (Attic Greek and Koine Greek)

Question 6

Bible’s Original Form

Answer 6

The Bible did not have chapters or verses. In 1228, Steven Lanton, the Archbishop of Canterbury, divided the Bible into chapters. The chapters/verses were to facilitate reading.

Question 7

Ancient Copies of the Old Testament

Answer 7

1. The Dead Sea Scrolls
2. The Septuagint (LXX)
3. The Masoretic Text

Question 8

Ancient Copies of the New Testament

Answer 8

The ancient copies of the NT can be divided according to two distinct categories:
1. according to their date and the material upon which the copies were written;
2. according to their similarities or common characteristics.

Question 9

Ancient Copies of the NT: Dates & Material

Answer 9

1. Papyri: Greek manuscripts from 2nd/3rd centuries written on papyrus.
2. Uncials: Green manuscripts from 4th/9th centuries written with all uppercase letter, no spacing, and no punctuation.
3. Minuscules: Greek manuscripts from 9th-15th centuries written with upper and lowercase letters.

Question 10

Ancient Copies of the NT: Similarities/Common Characteristics

Answer 10

1. The Byzantine Text (aka Majority Text, Antiochene Text, Syrian Text): Lots of clarity/detail, most accepted/highly circulated text. Used in KJV.
2. The Alexandrian Text: Known for brevity/conciseness. Used in NASH, ESV, NKJV.
3. The Western Text: Circulated in Italy, Gaul, N. Africa, and Egypt. Known for length, and use of parentheses. Words, phrases, sentences were changed, removed, and added to clarify, harmonize, and enrich the meaning.
4. The Caesarean Text (Egyptian Text): Probably originated in Egypt. Believed that Origen brought a copy to Caesarea, then it was carried to Jerusalem. It’s the middle ground between Alexandrian and Western Text.