The Bible is the most copied, translated, and studied book ever written. It was composed by more than 40 authors from a variety of backgrounds and is used in many religions. But how many people have actually read it? Bible stories are often referenced or portrayed in the media today but it may be worth looking at the origins or those stories. In this talk we will examine the structure and layout of the Bible and give an overview of the history it provides. We'll also look over some of the more interesting stories that it tells. From the Un-Distinguished Lecture Series (http://ws.cs.ubc.ca/~udls/). The talk was given Jun. 1, 2007.

1. The ABC's of the Bible
Lloyd Markle
June 1, 2007

2. Quick Facts
● Translated into 1,000+ different languages
● In 1998, the United Bible Societies distributed
20.8 million Bibles worldwide.
● Divided into two main sections
– Old Testament (OT)
– New Testament (NT)

3. Quick Facts
● Over 5,300 Greek manuscripts for the New
Testament
● Over 24,000 manuscript copies of portions of
the New Testament
“There are enough quotations from the early church fathers that even if
we did not have a single copy of the Bible, scholars could still
reconstruct all but 11 verses of the entire New Testament from
material written within 150 to 200 years from the time of Christ.”
-- Ron Rhodes

4. History

5. Bible History
● Stories passed for generations
● Eventually written down
● Copied for generations thereafter
● Text is estimated to be have been written
between 1400 BC and 100 AD.

6. Bible History
● OT canonized between 200 BC and 200 AD.
● Current OT translations are based primarily on
three sets of documents
– Masoretic texts
– Septuagint
– Dead Sea Scrolls
● NT was canonized in 397 AD.

7. Bible Structure
● 66 books in total
● Each book divided into chapters
● Each chapter divided into verses
● Bible references take this form:
“[BookAbbrev]. [Chapter]:[Verse]”

8. Bible Structure
Old Testament
● 39 Books
● Generally considered in three groups
– History/Law
– Wisdom/Poetry
– Prophecy
● Focus on the history of Israel

9. Bible Structure
New Testament
● 27 Books
● Generally divided into four groups
– Gospels
– Acts
– Letters
– Revelation
● Focus on Jesus and the early Christian church

10. Bible Books
Genesis Isaiah Matthew Titus
Exodus Jeremiah Mark Philemon
Leviticus Lamentations Luke Hebrews
Number Ezekiel John James
Deuteronomy Daniel Acts 1, 2 Peter
Joshua Hosea Romans 1, 2, 3 John
Judges Joel 1, 2 Corinthians Jude
Ruth Amos Galatians Revelation
1, 2 Samuel Obadiah Ephesians
1, 2 Kings Jonah Philippians
1, 2 Chronicles Micah Colossians
Ezra Nahum 1, 2 Thessalonians
Nehemiah Habakkuk 1, 2 Timothy
Esther Zephaniah
Job Haggai
Psalms Zechariah
Proverbs Malachi
Ecclesiastes
Song of Songs

11. On the
Lighter
Side

12. Famous Bible Typo's
● “Thou shalt commit adultery.” Ex. 20:18
– Known as the “Wicked Bible”
● “Printers have persecuted me.” Ps. 119:161
– Known as the “Printers Bible”
● “... the unrighteous shall inherit the kingdom of
God” 1 Cor. 6:9
– Known as the “Unrighteous Bible”
● Most of these have been destroyed

13. Bible
Stories

14. In the beginning...
● God made everything
– universe (planets, stars, etc.)
– plants
– animals
– people
● He worked for six days
● Rested the seventh

15. Adam and Eve
[Gen. 1-4]

16. Noah
[Gen. 6-9]

17. Abraham
[Gen. 12-25]

18. Abraham
Isaac Ishmael

19. Abraham
Isaac Ishmael
Jacob/Israel Esau

20. Abraham
Isaac Ishmael
Jacob/Israel Esau
Reuben Gad Asher Naphtali Levi Simeon Joseph
Benjamin Dan Judah Issachar Zebulun

21. Abraham
Isaac Ishmael
Jacob/Israel Esau
Reuben Gad Asher Naphtali Levi Simeon Joseph
Benjamin Dan Judah Issachar Zebulun

22. Moses
[Ex. 1 – Deut. 33]

23. Joshua
[Josh. 1-24]

24. Judge Sampson
[Judges 13-16]

25. King David
[1 Sam. 16 – 1 Kings 2, 1 Chron. 11-29]

26. King Solomon
[1 Kings 1-11, 2 Chron. 1-9]

27. Remaining Kings
[Stories in books of Kings and Chronicles]

28. The Prophets
[Books of prophecy]

29. Jesus
[Matthew, Mark, Luke, John]

30. Acts
[Book of Acts]

31. Paul
[Acts, Various letters in the NT]

32. Revelation
[Last book in the NT]

33. Fin.

34. Feedback
● Too much/little information?
● Interesting?
● Useful?
● Relevant?
● Presentation style?

35. References
● “Printing errors in the Bible.” Accessed May 2007.
http://www.didyouknow.cd/Bible/errors.htm
● “Biblical Facts.” Accessed May 2007.
http://www.godrules.net/bibledoc/facts.html
● R. Anthony. “Old Testament Manuscripts.” Accessed May
2007. http://ecclesia.org/truth/ot_manuscripts.html
● R. Rhodes. “Manuscript Support for the Bible's Reliability.”
Accessed May 2007.
http://home.earthlink.net/~ronrhodes/Manuscript.html

36. Images
Slide 1 – “ABC Blocks”
http://www.chbaalberta.ca/uploads/images/abc/misc/ABC_Blocks_White_smaller.bkg.jpg
(used without permission)
Slide 1 - “Holy Bible” http://www.bible.ca/bible.gif (used without permission)
Slides 4,11,13,33 - “Scroll”
http://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/misc/thanks/writing/scroll.gif (used without
permission)