Who Originally Wrote The Bible
Moses is the initial author as the first five books of the Bible were ascribed to him. However, hes not the only person who was inspired by God to write parts of the Bible.
In fact, the Bible consists of 66 different books, most of which were written by different authors.
You could say that the Bible was written in one book-at-a-time manner.
Heres a list of all known and unknown human Bible authors who were inspired by the Lord Himself:
Moses Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
Unknown Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings
Ezra 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra
Nehemiah Nehemiah
Unknown Esther, Job
David , Asaph , Sons of Korah , Solomon , Moses , Ethan , Heman , unknown Psalms
Solomon , Agur , Lemuel Proverbs
Solomon Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon
Isaiah Isaiah
Its worth pointing out that some books like the Psalms have multiple authors.
Where Is The Original Bible
First editions of famous books are carefully kept by collectors or displayed in museums. So, where is the first edition of the Bible? Where is the original handwritten version of the various Bible books kept? Unfortunately, we dont have any originals. The Bible books were written on materials like papyrus, leather and parchment. These materials do not last very long. Therefore, the Bible books were copied by hand to preserve and multiply them. This was a lot of work, and every now and then copyists made a mistake which would then be corrected or taken over by the next copyist. That way, some small differences developed. Sometimes we cant be sure which version is original and which one has been changed over the centuries. The vast majority of these variations are just linguistic, they dont influence the meaning of the text.
Although the original Bible books have been lost, we do have almost 6000 very old manuscripts of the New Testament alone, dating from the 2nd to the 16th century.
Some cover entire Bible books, others just snippets. Carefully studying these manuscripts has helped scholars to establish the original wording of all Bible texts with great certainty. For more detailed information on the question whether our modern Bibles resemble the original Bible text, read our article about this topic. With this background information in mind, lets move on to the main question of this article.
Bible Possibly Written Centuries Earlier Text Suggests
Scientists have discovered the earliest known Hebrew writing an inscription dating from the 10th century B.C., during the period of King David’s reign.
The breakthrough could mean that portions of the Bible were written centuries earlier than previously thought.
Until now, many scholars have held that the Hebrew Bible originated in the 6th century B.C., because Hebrew writing was thought to stretch back no further. But the newly deciphered Hebrew text is about four centuries older, scientists announced this month.
“It indicates that the Kingdom of Israel already existed in the 10th century BCE and that at least some of the biblical texts were written hundreds of years before the dates presented in current research,” said Gershon Galil, a professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Haifa in Israel, who deciphered the ancient text.
BCE stands for “before common era,” and is equivalent to B.C., or before Christ.
The writing was discovered more than a year ago on a pottery shard dug up during excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa, near Israel’s Elah valley. The excavations were carried out by archaeologist Yosef Garfinkel of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. At first, scientists could not tell if the writing was Hebrew or some other local language.
Finally, Galil was able to decipher the text. He identified words particular to the Hebrew language and content specific to Hebrew culture to prove that the writing was, in fact, Hebrew.
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What Was The Language Of The Old Testament
Ancient Hebrew was the tongue of the ancient Israelites and the language in which most of the Old Testament was penned. Isaiah 19:18 calls it the language of Canaan, while other verses label it Judean and language of the Jews .
Ancient Hebrew is a Semitic language that dates back past 1500 B.C. Its alphabet consists of 22 characters, all consonants , and is written from right to left.
While Hebrew remained the sacred tongue of the Jews, its use as a common spoken language declined after the Jews return from exile . Despite a revival of the language during the Maccabean era, it was eventually all but replaced in everyday usage by Aramaic. Modern Hebrew can trace its ancestry to Biblical Hebrew, but has incorporated many other influences as well.
Aramaic Added Flavor To The Bible
Although not a major part of Bible writing, Aramaic was used in several sections of Scripture. Aramaic was commonly used in the Persian Empire after the Exile, the Jews brought Aramaic back to Israel where it became the most popular language.
The Hebrew Bible was translated into Aramaic, called the Targum, in the second temple period, which ran from 500 B.C. to 70 A.D. This translation was read in the synagogues and used for instruction.
Bible passages which originally appeared in Aramaic are Daniel 2-7 Ezra 4-7 and Jeremiah 10:11. Aramaic words are recorded in the New Testament as well:
- Talitha qumi 5:41
- Ephphatha Mark 7:34
- Eli, Eli, lema sebaqtani Mark 15:34, Matthew 27:46
- 1 Corinthians 16:22
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Was The Bible Written In Aramaic
Asked by: Dan Rohan
Aramaic had replaced Hebrew as the language of the Jews as early as the 6th century bce. Certain portions of the Biblei.e., the books of Daniel and Ezraare written in Aramaic, as are the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds. … Aramaic continued in wide use until about 650 ce, when it was supplanted by Arabic.
What Significance Does The Old Testament Have For Christians
In the Old Testament God reveals himself as the Creator and preserver of the world and as the leader and instructor of mankind. The Old Testament books are also Gods Word and Sacred Scripture. Without the Old Testament, we cannot understand Jesus.
In the Old Testament a great history of learning the faith begins, which takes a decisive turn in the New Testament and arrives at its destination with the end of the world and Christs second coming. The Old Testament is far more than a mere prelude for the New. The commandments and prophecies for the people of the Old Covenant and the promises that are contained in it for all men were never revoked. In the books of the Old Covenant we find an irreplaceable treasure of prayers and wisdom in particular, the Psalms are part of the Churchs daily prayer.
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In What Language Was The Bible First Written
The first human author to write down the biblical record was Moses. He was commanded by God to take on this task, for Exodus 34:27 records Gods words to Moses, Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. And what language did he use? He wrote in his native language, called Hebrew.
Hebrew is one of a group of languages known as the Semitic languages which were spoken throughout that part of the world, then called Mesopotamia, located today mainly in Iraq. Their alphabet consisted of 22 letters, all consonants.
During the thousand years of its composition, almost the entire Old Testament was written in Hebrew. But a few chapters in the prophecies of Ezra and Daniel and one verse in Jeremiah were written in a language called Aramaic. This language became very popular in the ancient world and actually displaced many other languages. Aramaic even became the common language spoken in Israel in Jesus time, and it was likely the language He spoke day by day. Some Aramaic words were even used by the Gospel writers in the New Testament.
Yes, we do have what God wanted us to have! By way of translation, we now have His revelation in our own language and in 2300 other languages, too. Today we have the very Bible that comes to us from the three languages used in the original. Truly we can say, God speaks my language, too!
What Language Did The Jesus Speak
Most religious scholars and historians agree with Pope Francis that the historical Jesus principally spoke a Galilean dialect of Aramaic. Through trade, invasions and conquest, the Aramaic language had spread far afield by the 7th century B.C., and would become the lingua franca in much of the Middle East.
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In Which Language Was The Bible First Written
Nowadays, the complete Bible is available in over 700 languages, and the New Testament in another 1500 languages around the world . All these versions are translations from the original Bible texts as they were written down centuries ago. So, in which language was the Bible first written? Was it written in English, Latin, Hebrew or Greek? The answer is more complicated and more interesting than one would expect. Let me first give a bit of background information.
What Is The Original Language Of God
But since God is portrayed as using speech during creation, and as addressing Adam before Gen 2:19, some authorities assumed that the language of God was different from the language of Paradise invented by Adam, while most medieval Jewish authorities maintained that the Hebrew language was the language of God, which …
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What Language Was The Bible Originally Written In
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The Hebrew Bible was written in Hebrew. Its Greek translation, the , made it accessible in the Hellenistic period and provided a language for the New Testament and for the Christian liturgy and theology of the first three centuries CE. The Bible in Latin, the Vulgate, shaped the thought and life of Western people for a thousand years. Bible translation led to the study and literary development of many languages.
New Testament: Who Wrote The Gospels
Just as the Old Testament chronicles the story of the Israelites in the millennium or so leading up to the birth of Jesus Christ, the New Testament records Jesuss life, from his birth and teachings to his death and later resurrection, a narrative that forms the fundamental basis of Christianity. Beginning around 70 A.D., about four decades after Jesuss crucifixion , four anonymously written chronicles of his life emerged that would become central documents in the Christian faith. Named for Jesuss most devoted earthly disciples, or apostlesMatthew, Mark, Luke and Johnthe four canonical Gospels were traditionally thought to be eyewitness accounts of Jesuss life, death and resurrection.
12th-13th century depiction of evangelists Luke and Matthew writing the Gospels.
DeAgostini/Getty Images
But for more than a century, scholars have generally agreed that the Gospels, like many of the books of the New Testament, were not actually written by the people to whom they are attributed. In fact, it seems clear that the stories that form the basis of Christianity were first communicated orally, and passed down from generation to generation, before they were collected and written down.
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The Languages And Translations Of The Bible
READ FOR THIS WEEKSSTUDY:Isa.19:1815:34Acts21:37, 382Tim. 2:15Rev.14:622:18,19.
MEMORY TEXT:And I saw another angel flyin the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto themthat dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, andpeople.
KEY THOUGHT: Since the Tower of Babelthere has been an astounding increase of various languages and dialects.Languages also are in a constant process of change. This presents an enormouschallenge if we are to fulfill the commission to provide the Word of Godin every tongue.
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How Was The Kjv Translated
Here is how the KJV came about: 54 college professors, preachers, deans and bishops ranging in ages from 27 to 73 were engaged in the project of translating the KJV. To work on their masterpiece, these men were divided into six panels: two at Oxford, two at Cambridge, two at Westminster. Each panel concentrated on one portion of the Bible, and each scholar in the panel was assigned portions to translate. As guides the scholars used a Hebrew Text of the Old Testament, a Greek text for the New. Some Aramaic was used in each. They consulted translations in Chaldean, Latin, Spanish, French, Italian and Dutch. And, of course, they used earlier English Biblesat least six, including William Tyndales New Testament, the first to be printed in English. So what language did they use? Every language that was available to them.
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Could The Israelites Read What Moses Wrote At Mt Sinai
A key question that surfaced in the film, Patterns of Evidence: The Moses Controversy was related to whether or not Moses could have written the Torah. Arguments were related to whether or not an alphabet even existed at the time of Moses, and whether or not there was a reading public for which he could have or would have produced such a document.
The simple answer was that Yes, an alphabet existed that had already been developed from Egyptian hieroglyphics, by a Semitic person. This individual was someone who was able to read ancient Egyptian and was simultaneously motivated to adapt its characters for use in an alphabet for his Semitic readership. This resolved one key objection to the Mosaic authorship of the Torah.
Patterns of Evidence: The Moses Controversy
But what about the question of audience? Why would Moses write a Torah if there was no reading public? We have previously explored how this scenario gave rise to the development of delegated authority and to the role that the Torah played in the establishment of legal precedent. But there is more to the story.
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What Significance Does The New Testament Have For Christians
In the New Testament Gods revelation is completed. The four Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the centerpiece of Sacred Scripture and the most precious treasure of the Church. In them the Son of God shows himself as he is and encounters us. In the Acts of the Apostles we learn about the beginnings of the Church and the working of the Holy Spirit. In the letters written by the apostles, all facets of human life are set in the light of Christ. In the Book of Revelation we foresee the end of the ages.
Jesus is everything that God would like to tell us. The entire Old Testament prepares for the Incarnation of Gods Son. All of Gods promises find their fulfillment in Jesus. To be a Christian means to unite oneself ever more deeply with the life of Christ. To do that, one must read and live the Gospels. Madeleine Delbrêl says, Through his Word God tells us what he is and what he wants he says it definitively and says it for each individual day. When we hold our Gospel book in our hands, we should reflect that in it dwells the Word that wants to become flesh in us, desires to take hold of us, so that we might begin his life anew in a new place, at a new time, in a new human setting.
The words of God, expressed in human language, are in every way like human speech, just as the word of the eternal Father, when he took on himself the weak flesh of human beings, became like them.
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A Few Thousand People Still Speak Aramaic
The writers of the Bible lived among other tribes and nations and were involved in trade with not only one another but other far-flung locales. As such, it should come as no surprise that languages mixed, developed, and grew in much the same way that they do today. To that end, by 700 B.C., another language had crept into the vernacular of many of the people connected to Old Testament history: Aramaic. Described by TruthOnlyBible as a cousin to Hebrew, the language takes up so little of the language of the Old Testament that it was all but forgotten about by Biblical scholarship.
However, Aramaic never actually went away. According to The Times of Israel, a few hundred thousand people across the world still speak the ancient tongue. Nevertheless, the newspaper notes that in much the same way that a speaker of Modern English wouldn’t understand more than a few words of a passage by Middle Ages poet Geoffrey Chaucer, a Modern Aramaic speaker would be hard-pressed to understand so much as a word that Jesus spoke . Like similar languages spoken by comparatively few people, linguists are concerned that the language’s days are numbered without heroic preservation efforts.
Cyrus And The Persian Era
In 538 BC, Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon and established the Achaemenid Empire , which at the time was the largest empire the world had ever seen. However, this had no effect on the language of the Hebrews. Cyrus quickly issued the Edict of Restoration , which allowed the repatriation of various peoples conquered by the Babylonians to return home .
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