PROF. BEN ONYEUKWU (REV)
NCE(Eng.) ND/HD (Journalism); BA (Hons)
MA, PhD.
Call:
+2348037346939
E-mail: profesorbenonyeukwu@yahoo.com
HISTORY OF THE BIBLE
INTRODUCTION:
The word “Bible” comes from the Greek
word, “Biblia” or “biblios”, which means the Book or Books. The Bible is a
library of sixty-six books, written by about forty different authors, over a
period of about one thousand five hundred years, (from 1400BC to AD 100),
though some scholars say it took about one thousand six hundred years to write
the Bible. Worthy of note here, is that there are some non-protestant groups
who do not agree that the Bible is but a collection of sixty-six books, and so,
have in their Bible extra books which experts refer to as the “apocryphal
books”, which are also called non-canonical books, for the fact that they were
not canonized by the Jewish council in Jerusalem, but by the council at
Alexandria in Egypt. Such books like: Tobit, Sirach, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon,
1 and 2 Maccabees and letter of Jeremiah are good examples of the “apocryphal
books”, and inform the reason why some religious groups have seventy-one or
more books in their Bibles. But, to the protestants and as cited above, the Bible
contains just sixty-six books , with thirty-nine books in the Old Testament,
which W.F. Albright (1957) says were written from approximately 1500 to 400BC,
and twenty-seven books in the New Testament, which he also says were written
from approximately 40+90AD.
TITLES
OF THE BIBLE
The Bible also carries other
designations that give insight into the meanings and values of the messages of
the book(s). In line with this, J. Edwin Hartin (1947) cites that the Bible is
as well referred to as;
(i)
The Word of God: Hebrews 4:12 refers
to the Bible as the word of God, as it stresses that, …”the Word of God is
quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the
dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrows, and is a
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart”. Also, the books of Mark 7:13,
Romans 10:17 and I Thessalonians 2:13, confirm this title. In the words of J.
Edwin Hartin (1947:7), “of all the names given to the Bible, this title is
perhaps the most significant and impressive. It signifies divine authority and
is used frequently in the Old Testament and about forty times in the New
Testament.
(ii)
The Scripture or
Scriptures:
J. Edwin Hartin further remarks that, “the Bible is called “the scripture” in
Mark 12:10, 15:28; Luke 4:21; john 2:22, 7:38, 10:35; Romans 4:3; Galatians
4:30; II Peter 1:20. It is called “the scriptures” in John 5:39; Acts 17:11;
Romans 1:2; II Timonthy 3:15 and II Peter 3:16. This designation is found once
in the Old Testament in Daniel 10:21. It was used more frequently in the early
church than it is at present. Some fifty-two times, the title is found in the
New Testament. The term “scripture” is from a Latin word, which means “writing”.
(iii)
The Oracles: The word of God is
some times referred to as oracles since, according to J. Edwin Hartin (1947:8),
“oracles originally meant the place where the word of God was kept and from
which it was communicated. It also has the thought of a person proclaiming the
word. This designation is found approximately fourteen times in the Old
Testament, (II Samuel 16:23; Psalm 28:2; Acts 7:38; Romans 3:2; and I Peter
4:11). (From the Internet or books, find out other titles given to the Bible).
WHY STUDY
THE BIBLE?
The importance of
the Bible cannot be over-emphasized. This Holy writ is necessary because;
(1)
It
is a great literature book.
(2)
It
is a history book.
(3)
It
influences civilization.
(4)
It
is a standard or norm for philosophy and ethics
(5)
It
is a book for general education.
(6)
It
is a book of religion.
(7)
It
is a redemptive book.
THE INSPIRATION
AND REVELATION OF THE BIBLE:
The Bible is an inspired book. By
inspiration, we mean “God’s breath”… This shows that God is the author behind
the authors of the books of the Bible; and by this, we authoritatively assert
that the Bible is the word of God. The second book of the Apostle Paul to
Timothy 3 verse 16 upholds this truth. Also, the Bible is God’s book of
revelation. And revelation includes all the ways God made Himself known to man.
Thus, the Bible is God’s revelation in word, while Jesus Christ is His
revelation in person.
ANCIENT
MANUSCRIPTS OF THE BIBLE:
By way of definition, a manuscript is
any hand written or typewritten copy or document of an author of a literary
work from which printed or mechanical copies of such work are produced.
Therefore, by ancient manuscripts of the Bible, we mean the original hand
written scripts as penned down by the Biblical writers. Most of these documents
were lost in antiquity and were re-discovered by some scholars, as well as
through archaeological means. The three prominent ones are:
(1)
Codex Vaticanus: This is an old
manuscript written in bold letters on vellum made from animal skin. It was
written in the 4th century and it is the oldest. The only books of the Bible
that were not found in this manuscript are Genesis chapter 1-46:28, Psalms 27 –
137:6. The document was found in the library of the Vatican in 1481.
(2)
Codex Sinaiticus: This document also
dates to the 4th century, and is believed to be as old as codex vaticanus, and
was discovered by Dr. Constantine Tischendoxf. On discovery, Tischemdoxf
believed it was part of the codex vaticanus, but after a closer supervision by
Bishop Eusebius Caesarean, a historian, it was established that it was a
different manuscript. The document was discovered at the foot of the Mount
Sinai, where St. Cathrine’s Monastery was established.
(3)
Codex Alexandrius: This was the
manuscript stored at Alexandria Egypt. A man called Cyril Lucus, who was the
patriarch of Constantinopole gave the manuscript of King Charles the I of England
in 1627. This document was later transferred to the British Museum by George
the II in 1757. (From the internet or other sources find out other ancient
manuscripts of the Bible).
THE
FOUR OLDEST VERSIONS OF THE BIBLE
1.
The Septuagint (LXX
or 70):
The Septuagint forms the basis for many future translations of the Bible. It is
the most significant ancient version. The name was taken from a Greek term,
which means seventy (LXX or 70), because it was supposed to be the work of
seventy scholars. This version is also called the Alexandrian version because
the work was completed at Alexandria in Egypt.
2.
The Targums: This version is
considered as a collection of different writings known as the Aramaic Targums.
It was translated in Aramaic term, which means “to interpret” or “to
translate”. As the case of the Septuagint, which was translated from Hebrew to
Greek, with the objective of meeting the needs of the Hellenistic Jews who were
not familiar with the Hebrew language, the Targums were an answer to a
practical need. In fact, after the captivity, the Aramaic language gradually
replaced the Hebrew language as the popular language. the Targums were first
oral paraphrases of the Hebrew scriptures given in the synagogues, and eventually
were committed to writing.
3.
The Peshitta: The Syrian Peshitta
is the third ancient version to be considered. It is the work of the Syrian
Christians in the early part of the 5th century of the Christian era.
The Peshitta means “simple” or “literal”. Its testimony is of great value in
enabling scholars to determine the original Hebrew text from which the
translation was made.
4.
The Latin Vulgate: The Latin Vulgate
was written in about A.D. 382 on the demand of Pope Damascus who requested that
Eusehius, who is known today as Jerome revised the version of the bible that
was in use at that time. Eusebuis accepted and completed the work, though he
first completed the New Testament before embarking on the Old Testament. His
approach was to enable him get the basic facts. Also, to accomplish his task,
he had to seek the assistance of a Rabbi who helped him get the original. Eusebuis
encountered a lot of opposition at the start of the work. Some accused him of
looking down on the Septuagint, and concluded that there was no need for such a
translation hence the Septuagint was in use. However, when he finished his
work, those scholars who opposed him praised him for a work well done.
MODERN
VERSIONS OF THE BIBLE:
1.
Wycliffe’s Version: John Wycliffe was
an English scholar who lived between 1320 – 84AD. He was educated at the Oxford
University, and was popularly called the morning star of reformation because of
his struggles to eradicate Papal Supremacy in the European Politics. He was
chiefly noted for his English translation from the Latin Vulgate to the English
of his own time. Wycliffe took this task because he thought within himself that
the corruption involved in the church was because only the learned read and
knew the Bible. Many of the phrases used in Wycliffe’s translation are still
noticeable in our English translations of today. His work was completed in
1332.
2.
Tyndale’s Version: William Tyndale
lived between 1482 – 1536 AD. He was born 100 years after the death of John
Wycliff. Tyndale was also educated at the Oxford, as well as Cambridge. He had
series of conflicts with Catholicism. This drove him into translating the
Bible. He used the original Hebrew and Greek languages in translating his
version of the Bible.
3.
Intermediate English
Version: Between
the translations of William Tyndale and the authorized version (King James) in
1611, there were other versions of the Bible. These versions are what we know
as the Intermediate English versions. Among these are the Miles Coverdale. This
version was published first in 1535. The translation was from the Latin Vulgate
and the Luther German Coverdale and was printed under the approval of King
Henry VIII.
There was another
intermediate version called the Geneva Bible. This was done by the exiled
English scholars in Geneva in Swaziland. These scholars were in exile as a
result of the Roman Catholic persecution. The Geneva Bible came into
circulation between 1552 – 1558 AD. This very time was known in history as the
bloody years.
THE
AUTHORIZED KING JAMES VERSION: Without debate, the greatest and most
historic translation of the English versions of the Bible is the King James Version.
This was published in the year 1611, and was done under the instruction of the
King James I. As soon as he ascended the throne of leadership he appointed 54
scholars from all segments of the English Church who as well represented two
Universities, namely; the Oxford and the Cambridge. He gave them the task of
revising the English Bible. The team was later reduced to 47, who were divided
into six groups. The Authorized King James Version of the Bible took about six
years before its completion and publication. Before this time, they were using
the Geneva Bible, which lasted for 59 years before it was finally replaced with
the King James Version.
TOOLS
FOR BIBLE STUDY:
Tools as implements that we use to make our work easy and effective. As
artisans and professionals need various tools for their work, so the Gospel
Minister needs some valuable tools that would make the preparation and
presentation of his sermon easy and rewarding. Such tools range from his human
appendages to other external aids. Therefore, for effective study and sound
exegesis of the word of God, the preacher must:
1. Study the Bible with
an open mind;
2. He must also have in
mind that the Bible interprets itself;
3. He should learn to
use useful texts, that is, Bible that have marginal or center references, e.g.
Thompson Chain Reference Bible, Dake Annoted Bible, etc.
4. He should be in
possession, as well as use different versions of the Bible.
5. He should make use
of good Bible commentaries, e.g. Matthew Henry Bible Commentary, Wycliff Bible
commentary, etc.
6. He should as well
use Bible Concordances, like, Strong Exhaustive Concordance, Young Analytical
Concordance, Credence Complete Bible Concordance etc.
7. He should equally
make use of encyclopedias.
REASONS
FOR PREACHING THE WORD OF GOD
In the words of Alban Douglas (1991:89),
there are seven reasons for preaching messages from the word of God, and these,
he says are because;
(i)
Conviction
of sin come through the preaching of the word of God, (Acts 2:14-37).
(ii)
Faith
comes by hearing the word of God, (Romans 10:17).
(iii)
Cleaning
comes from the word of God, (II Corinthians 7:1).
(iv)
Assurance
comes from the word of God, (I John 5:13).
(v)
Comfort
comes from the word of God, (I Thessalonians 4:18).
(vi)
Truth
comes from the word of God, (Act 17:11).
(vii)
News
birth comes from the word of God, (I Peter 1:23).
THE
PURPOSE OF THE BIBLE:
The Bible is an account of what God has said and done in history to save or
redeem mankind from the bondage of sin and disobedience against his creator.
The central theme of the Bible is “Salvation”, and this theme is fulfilled in
the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In II Timothy 3:14-17, the Bible clearly
states that its purpose is to;
(a) Make people “wise into
salvation” which is through faith in Jesus Christ.
(b) Equip such believers
for “every good work”. Thus, after a person comes to faith in Christ, the Bible
is profitable for four things in equipping for “every good work”.
-
Doctrine
(Teaching)
-
Reproof
(Showing the wrong)
-
Correction
(Showing the right)
-
Instruction
in righteousness (right relationship with God and man).
THE
STRUCTURE OF THE BIBLE
From the Holy Bible, New International
Version (NIV) of 1984, as published by the International Bible Society of the
United States of America, comes the information that the Bible is divided into
two major divisions; the Old Testament and the New Testament.
The word “testament” here is used to
mean “covenant” or agreement between two or more parties where both parties are
mutually obliged according to the stipulations of the covenant. If one party
breaks the covenant, the other party is not obligated to keep up its end of the
bargain.
The
Old Testament
The Old Testament tells of the covenant
God made with Israel and events preceding and following it. It shows how God
responded to their treatment of the covenant, that is, how He responded when
they were obedient and when they were unfaithful.
The
New Testament
The New Testament is a fulfilling of the
old covenant through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
BOOKS
OF THE BIBLE
(i)
The Old Testament: The Old Testament,
as already cited above, has 39 books and is divided into:
The Torah or Law of
Moses (Or Pentateuch)
* Genesis
* Exodus
* Leviticus
* Numbers
* Deuteronomy
History
* Joshua
* Ruth
* 1 and 2 Kings
* Ezra
* Esther
* Judges
* 1 and 2 Samuel
* 1 and 2 Chronicles
* Nehemiah
Poetry and Wisdom;
* Job
* Proverbs
* Songs of Solomon
* Psalms
* Ecclesiastes
Major Prophets
* Isaiah
* Lamentation
* Daniel
* Jeremiah
* Ezekiel
Minor Prophets
* Hosea
* Amos
* Jonah
* Nahum
* Zephaniah
* Zachariah
* Joel
* Obadiah
* Micah
* Habakkuk
* Haggai
* Malachi
(ii)
The New Testament
The New Testament, as also cited above, has
27 books, which includes;
The Gospels
*
Matthew
*
Mark
*
Luke and John
History
*
Acts
Epistles
By Paul
*
Romans
*
1 and 2 Corinthians
*
Galatians
*
Ephesians
*
Philippians
*
Colossians
*
1 and 2 Thessalonians
*
1 and 2 Timothy
*
Philemon
Epistle
by Unknown Author
Hebrews
Epistle
by others
*
James
*
1 and 2 Peter
*
1, 2 and 3 John
*
Jude
Prophecy
*
Revelation
CHAPTERS AND VERSES OF THE BIBLE
According to J. Edwim Hartin
(1947:11), the divisions of the Bible into chapters and verses are really the
efforts of mortal men, probably, for easy understanding and communication of
its contents. In this connection, he says;
(i)
The
Chapters: of the Bible are 1189, and they are
man-made. Credit for this, is given to Stephen Langdon who died in 1227.
Originally, chapter division of the Bible was thought to have been done by
Cardinal Sancto who died in 1263, but Stephen Langdon is still given the credit
for the work.
(ii)
The
Verses
of the Bible, Edwin Hartin also says are 31,163. This
division he notes is as well man-made, and was done in 1550 AD by Sir Robert
Stevens. The Geneva Bible, printed in 1560, was the first Bible to be printed
in verse form. The Revised Version of 1881 has not the verse division. There
are 3,566,480 letters in the bible.
UNITY OF THE BIBLE
Despite the fact that the writing of the
Bible took a period of about 15 or 16 centuries, from Moses to John, the
revelator, and was written by 40 authors, who were princess, kings, priests, prophets,
herdsmen, farmers, fishers, tax collectors, physicians, lawyers and teachers,
as well as wrote from different places, not knowing or have documents from one another,
the unity of the Bible cannot be disputed. Second Peter 2 verse 21,
holds that the scripture did not come by the will of man, but by the Holy
Spirit. This means that the Author behind the authors of the Bible is the Holy
Spirit, and concretizes the fact that, though the Bible was written by people
of different backgrounds, the books remain one and indivisible, as they present
a central and unifying theme, which is “redemption” or “salvation”.
In
summary, W.F. Albright (1957) remarks that, the history of the “Bible” begins
with the Jewish scriptures. The historical record of the Jews was written down
on leather scrolls and tablets over centuries. The first five books are called
the law, which were written and/or edited primarily by Moses in the early
1400’s B.C. Therefore, other scriptural texts were written and collected by the
Jewish people during the next, 1,000 years. In about 450B.C, the law and the
other Jewish Scriptures were arranged by councils of rabbis (Jewish teachers),
who then recognized the complete set as the inspired and sacred authority of
God (Elohim). At some time during this period, the books of the Hebrew bible
were arranged by topic(s), including, the law (Torah), the Prophets (Nebiim),
and the writings (Kekubim)……..
Starting
in about 40A.D, and continuing to about 90 A.D., the eye-witnesses to the life
of Jesus, including Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Peter and Jude,
wrote the Gospels, letters and books that became the Bible’s New Testament.
These authors quoted from 31 books of the Old Testament, and widely circulated
their material(s) so that by about 150 A.D, early Christians were referring to
the entire set of writings as the “New Covenant”. During the 200s A.D, the original
writings were translated from Greek into Latin Coptic (Egypt) and Syriac
(Syria), and widely disseminated as “inspired scripture” throughout the Roman
Empire (and beyond). In 397 A.D, in an effort to protect the scripture from
various heresies and offshoot religious movements, the current 27 books of the
New Testament were formally and finally confirmed and “canonized” in the Synod
of Carthage.
REFERENCES
Hartin, Edwin J.
(1947), Principles of Biblical Hermeneutics, Frontline Christian Bookshops,
Benin City, Nigeria.
Douglas, Alban
(1991), 100 Bible Lessons, Overcomers Bookshop, Nigeria.
Old Testament Survey
Lecture Note, Defunct Weslecy International Bible College (WIBC), Owerri,
Nigeria.
Albright, W.f.
(1957), The Doyen of Biblical Archaeology, Internet Search.
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