| Question | Answer | Details |
| What is the meaning of the word Bible ? | Books | It is derived from the Greek word ta biblia, which means the books
Revelation 20:12 – the word translated books is biblia in the original |
| Is it a collection of Books? | Yes. | Protestant Canon has 66 books
39 in the Old Testament, 27 in the New Testament Jewish 24 books – Old Testament only The Protestant and Jewish canon are identical, differing only in the order of the books and their division. I and II kings is in the Jewis canon just one book of Kings, The 12 minor prophets are just one book in the Jewish canon. Catholic 46 in the Old Testament The Council of Trent in 1546 decreed that some books included only in the Greek Old Testament are considered inspired by the Roman Church and of equal authority with the Hebrew Scriptures. 27 in the New Testament |
| When was the Old Testament written ? | Between
XV – IV Century BC |
Moses wrote his books in the XV century BC.
The Minor Prophets were completed in the IV Century BC. |
| When was the New Testament written ? | Between
35 – 100 AD |
The disciples began to write the Gospels and the epistles after the death of Jesus. No exact date can be retraced. John’s Gospel was very probably the last one to be written in AD 100 c.ca. |
| What are the languages of the Bible | Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. | The Old Testament is almost all written in Hebrew. Some parts of it are written in Aramaic – half of the book of Daniel, Esdra – which was an international dialect spoken during the times of the Babylonian captivity.
The New Testament was all written in Greek. |
| Who wrote the Bible? | Men chosen by God | God chose Moses to write. He even commanded him to write. The same command is found in other portions of the Bible.
Exodus 17:14: “And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this [for] a memorial in a book.” Revelation 1:19: “Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; |
| Is the Bible also to be considered as one book ? | Yes. | The books have all the same subject – God revealing himself to men, showing them His Deity and Glory and His plan of saving mankind through Jesus Christ.
To those who studied the Bible its unity is undisputable. |
| Is the Bible only a good book? | No. | The Bible is the Word of God.
God inspired the writers so that the Bible is in a unique sense truly the Word of God.
I Timothy 3:16 All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. 2 Peter 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake [as they were] moved by the Holy Ghost. Acts 28:25 “… after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers…” |
| Is the Bible without mistakes? | Yes. | The Bible contains no mistakes or contradictions whatsoever.
Psalm 18:30 [As for] God, his way [is] perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he [is] a buckler to all those that trust in him. |
| What is the most famous Greek translation of the Old Testament ? | The Septuagint | Or LXX. So called because the Old Testament was translated into the Greek language in Egypt by 72 men in the III Century BC
It is often quoted in the New Testament, which was also written in Greek. |
| Which is the most famous ancient translation of the Bible ? | The Latin Vulgate | In IV Century AD, Jerome translated the Bible from the original tongues into Latin, both Old and New Testament.
Jerome lamented the non existence of the Apocripha books in the Hebrew Canon. |
| How was the Bible preserved in ancient times? | By patient copying processes.
Print entered the scene only in the XVI Century. |
The art of being a scribe was very important among the Jews. It was a very serious matter for a scribe to copy a book of the Old Testament. He would destroy his work if he made more than a certain number of mistakes.
The same care was taken for the New Testament by the early church.
Romans 3:2 “unto them were committed the oracles of God” Colossians 4:16 “And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the [epistle] from Laodicea.” I Thessalonians 5:27 “I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren” |
| When was the Old Testament Canon closed? | It was complete before the times of Jesus | It was complete in the division mentioned by Jesus, Luke 24:44.
The same books are found today in the Protestant Old Testament.
Luke 24:44 “And he said unto them, These [are] the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and [in] the prophets, and [in] the psalms, concerning me.” |