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How did we get the Bible?
The Bible is a book of revelation, revealing the great plan of God for humankind. It is a
book of communication from God to man. God inspired many people over a period of time,
from different places, revealed His purpose and plan for humankind. Thus the Bible in its
written form is a sum total of oral traditions of faith communities spanning a period of
about 1500 years. The “authors” were inspired by God to write with the result
that in spite of diversity of writers there is oneness and a systematic unfolding of
God’s plan of salvation for humankind.
The Bible is divided into two sections, one is called the
Old Testament, and the other is called the New Testament. The Old Testament is written in
Hebrew language and the New Testament in Greek language. A few sections of the Old
Testament and a few words in the New Testament are written in Aramaic language. |
Writing Materials |
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In ancient times, various materials
served as writing surfaces. Texts cut in stones were often found popular. Later on, wood
and metals were also used as writing surfaces. Over a period of time clay, bone, wood,
leather, various metals, potsherds, and parchment were used as writing surface. |
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Both the Old
Testament and New Testament were written on parchment (made from specially treated animal
skins) or papyrus (marsh reeds hammered together), which were rolled up for storage. The
writing on the scroll was done using reed pens and ink made from carbon, gum and oil. |
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Codex
During the second century A.D. the scroll began to be replaced by “codex”, the
ancestor of our book with pages. The codex was made of pages folded and fastened together.
Sometimes codex had covers like modern books. Codex became popular because it was easy to
be carried and also it was easier to find a particular passage as compared to the scroll. |
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Translations |
The first translation of the Scriptures was the translation of the
Hebrew Old Testament into Greek in Alexandria during 3rd century B.C. In the 2nd century
A.D. the Bible was translated into Latin and was called Latin Vulgate. In the 5th century
A.D. the Bible was translation into Anglo Saxon language. In the 14th century A.D., it was
translated into English. The printing process was not yet invented at that time so copies
were made by handwriting. |
Printed Bible
When John Gutenberg made the printing machine in Europe, the first book to roll
out of this printing press was the Latin Bible. The first English New Testament was
printed in 1525 A.D. The most popular translation of the Bible in English is called the
King James Version, which was published in the year 1611 A.D. This Bible is used in many
universities around the world for teaching English language. Later on, many other
translations in English like RSV, NIV, GNB, and many other versions were published. The
translation of the Bible in other languages of the world also continued. As on today the
Bible has been translated and printed in 364 languages of the world.
The GNB (Good News Bible) version uses simple English so that people whose mother tongue
is not English can easily understand the text. This version of the Bible Text will be used
in these web pages. |
Bible Society of India (BSI)
Christian following in India is as old as Christianity itself. A very
strong tradition attests that one of the disciples of Christ, Saint Thomas preached
Christianity to the Southwest of our country in the first century A.D. However the Bible
movement took off in a big way only about two centuries ago with the pioneering and
prolific translations work in several languages undertaken by the Serampore trio of
missionaries led by William Carey. This tradition was concurrently upheld and is carried
on to the present by the movement of the Bible Society of India which took its birth in
Calcutta in 1811 A.D.
The motto of the Society is to translate the word of God in languages, which people can
understand, and produce the scriptures (normally in book form) at a price people could
afford to buy. The Bible Society works together with many organizations in India to
translate the Bible into various languages of India. The Bible is now available in 49
Indian languages. |
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Contents of the Bible
Old Testament contains |
Narratives beginning from the creation of the world
Man’s separation from God
Manifestations of God’s grace and love.
God’s dealing with people, the Ten Commandments
The history of the Jewish people
Poetry and wisdom literature
Prophetic writings |
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| New
Testament contains |
Gospels narrating the birth, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Activities of the disciples of Jesus Christ
Writings of the disciples of Jesus Christ
Prophetic writing
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