1. Origins of the Bible
Asking a random sample of individuals about the ultimate origin of the Bible will
result in a wide variety of answers. An individual's theoretical and religious
background will likely play a role in his or her thoughts about the Bible's history.
However, the Bible is still deeply connected to history and its own complex
origins.
Biblical scholars will argue that the Bible is directly the word of God or perhaps
the word of God through the hands of man. Others in academia find more earthly
origins are appropriate. Regardless of the religious or irreligious author, the Bible
came into existence somewhere at sometime. The Bible, as it is known today, did
not spring into existence in its current form. It is theorized that the Good Book was
written over the span of about 1,600 years, and at least 40 different authors have
made contributions. The 66 books of the complete Bible include 39 Old Testament
texts and 27 New Testament texts.
To discover Biblical origins, one must first look at Jewish history, which was
preserved by the people through inherited historical record. Moses is credited with
writing the first five books around the 1400s BC. Other texts were composed over
the next millennium, and these books were later bound to the first five books to be
recognized as sacred texts, which were eventually arranged to form the Hebrew
Bible or Tanakh. This occurred around 450 BC. Two-hundred years later, the
Hebrew Bible was translated to Greek and the order of the books was changed to
that of the modern Bible. Unfortunately, translation, not to mention replication in
the days before movable type, resulted in some copy errors. Later, in the 1490s,
Thomas Linacre would compare the Greek and Latin translations and find the
Latin text to be lacking. Erasmus would later create a dual Greek-Latin New
Testament Bible.
Between 40 and 90 AD, the books of the New Testament were written by the men
who were believed to have experienced life in contact with Jesus. Emperor
Constantine held the title of the first Roman emperor to embrace Christianity, and
Constantine attempted to preserve, unify, and organize the Christian world by
commissioning copies of the Bible which featured the New Testament. Fifty of
these Bibles were supposedly commissioned, and it is suspected that the Codex
Vaticanus and the Codex Sinaiticus are survivors of this early edition of the New
Testament.
A Latin translation was eventually introduced, and the church in Rome eventually

2. deemed that Latin would be the only translation allowed. However, John Wycliffe
produced the first English language Bible in 1380 AD, and he continued to create
more translated copies, which did not endear him to the church. The Latin Bible
was the first book to be printed using Johann Gutenberg's printing press. Naturally,
this text is known as the Gutenberg Bible.
Many other adaptations occurred over the years, but King James I combined the
efforts of many scholars and existing Bibles between 1607 and 1609 to create what
is known today as the King James Bible. While this Bible was not as popular as
some other printings during the time of King James, this version is currently one of
the most popular in the world, though changes have occurred throughout the
centuries.
The Bible has a long history that might never be fully uncovered. Many versions of
the Bible still exist today to suit the many denominations that fall under the
umbrella of Christianity.