Anexo:Dioses egipciosLas principales divinidades egipcias según su nombre egipcio, nombre helenizado y las deidades griegas relacionadas:

Dioses del Antiguo Egipto

Nombre

egipcio

Nombre en

griego

Deidad

griega

Iconografía:

cuerpoSer o ente asociado Corona Características

Amon Amón Zeus Hombre Carnero Dos plumas Dios creador

Inpu Anubis Hades Hombre Perro egipcio Dios de momificación

Anuket Anukis Mujer Gacela Tocado de plumas Diosa del Nilo y del agua

Hepu Apis Dioniso Buey Buey Disco solar Dios de la fertilidad

Iten AtónDisco solar con

rayosEl Sol Dios solar creador

Itemu Atum Hombre Ave Fénix o carnero Corona Doble Dios solar creador

Bastet Bastis Artemisa Mujer GataDiosa lunar protectora del

hogar

Dioses del Antiguo Egipto

Nombre

egipcio

Nombre en

griego

Deidad

griega

Iconografía:

cuerpoSer o ente asociado Corona Características

Keb Geb Crono Hombre verde La Tierra Oca Dios creador

Hep Hapy Hombre barrigudo El río Nilo Planta de loto Dios de la inundación

Hut-Hor Hathor Afrodita Mujer Vaca Disco solarDiosa del amor y la

felicidad

Hor Horus Apolo Hombre Halcón Corona Doble Dios del Cielo

Imhotep Imutes AsclepioHombre sentado

con un papiroLa sabiduría Casquete

Dios de la medicina y los

escribas

Ast Isis Deméter Mujer Árbol TronoDiosa de la maternidad y

el nacimiento

JepriHombre o

escarabajoLa transformación.Escarabajo Dios solar autocreado

Dioses del Antiguo Egipto

Nombre

egipcio

Nombre en

griego

Deidad

griega

Iconografía:

cuerpoSer o ente asociado Corona Características

Jnum Jnoumis Hombre Carnero Corona Atef Dios de la Creación

Jonsu Hombre Halcón Disco solar y LunaDios lunar, protector de los

enfermos

Maat Mujer Armonía cósmica Pluma de avestruz Verdad, Justicia y Armonía

MesjenetCuerpo de mujer o

ladrilloMujer o vaca

Dos vegetales

curvados

Diosa protectora de la

maternidad y la infancia

Menu Min Pan Humano itifálico Toro blanco o león Dos plumasDios lunar, de la fertilidad y

la vegetación

Montu Month Hombre Halcón Disco solar Dios solar y de la guerra

Mut Hera Mujer Buitre, vaca o leona Corona DobleDiosa madre, origen de lo

creado

Dioses del Antiguo Egipto

Nombre

egipcio

Nombre en

griego

Deidad

griega

Iconografía:

cuerpoSer o ente asociado Corona Características

Nebet-Het Neftis Mujer Milano Su jeroglífico Diosa de la oscuridad

Nejbet Ilitía Buitre o mujer Buitre Corona BlancaDiosa protectora, en

nacimientos y guerras

Net Neith Atenea Mujer con arcoLechuza, abeja, escarabajo,

etc.Corona Roja

Diosa de la guerra y la

caza

Nut Nut ReaMujer con cuerpo

arqueadoLa bóveda celeste Jarro de agua

Diosa del Cielo, creadora

del universo

Osiris Asar Hades Hombre momificado El Gran Juez Corona Blanca Dios de la resurrección

Ptah Hefesto Hombre momificado El Nun primigenio CasqueteDios creador y de los

artesanos

Ra Zeus Hombre Halcón Disco solar Dios Solar, demiurgo

Satet Satis Hera Mujer Antílope Corona Blanca Diosa protectora del faraón

Dioses del Antiguo Egipto

Nombre

egipcio

Nombre en

griego

Deidad

griega

Iconografía:

cuerpoSer o ente asociado Corona Características

Sejmet Sacmis Mujer Leona Disco solar Diosa de la guerra

Serket Heru Selkis Hécate Mujer o leona Escorpión EscorpiónDiosa protectora de la

magia

Seshat Mujer La astronomía EstrellaDiosa de la escritura y el

calendario

Suti Seth Tifón Hombre El desiertoDios protector-destructor y

del mal

Shu Agatodemon Hombre La atmósfera. León Pluma Dios del aire y la luz

Sobek Sucos Helios Hombre Cocodrilo Corona Atef Dios del Nilo

Sokar Sokaris hades Hombre momificado Halcón Corona Atef Dios de la oscuridad y

Dioses del Antiguo Egipto

Nombre

egipcio

Nombre en

griego

Deidad

griega

Iconografía:

cuerpoSer o ente asociado Corona Características

la Duat

Sopdet Sotis MujerLa estrella Sirio. Perro o

milanoCorona Blanca

La madre y hermana del

faraón

Tatenen HombreLa Colina primordial. Carnero

o serpiente

Cuernos retorcidos

y dos plumas

Dios creador y de lo que

nace bajo tierra

Taurt Tueris Mujer Hipopótamo Disco solarDiosa de la fertilidad y

protectora de mujeres

Tefnut Tfenis Mujer LeonaDisco solar y

dosuraeus

Diosa guerrera y de la

humedad

Dyehuty Thot Hermes Hombre Ibis o mandril Disco solarDios de la sabiduría y la

escritura

Uadyet Uto Leto Mujer o cobraEl calor ardiente del Sol. Cobra

o leonaCorona Roja Diosa protectora del faraón

Dioses del Antiguo Egipto

Nombre

egipcio

Nombre en

griego

Deidad

griega

Iconografía:

cuerpoSer o ente asociado Corona Características

Upuaut Ofois AresPerro negro de

cabeza blancaPerro negro o chacal

Dios de la guerra y la Duat

Dioses de la Antigua Grecia

Nombre Nombre romano Deidad egipcia y nórdica

Zeus Júpiter Ra y Odín

Poseidón Neptuno Njörðr

Hades Plutón Aron y Hell

Atenea Minerva Maat

Hermes Mercurio Thot

Ares Marte Tyr

Apolo Febo Horus; Frey y Bragi

Dioniso Baco Loki

Afrodita Venus Hator

Dioses de la Antigua Grecia

Nombre Nombre romano Deidad egipcia y nórdica

Artemisa Diana Bastet

Hefesto Vulcano Ptah

Hera Juno Isis y Frigga

Perséfone Proserpina Neftis

Hestia Vesta Dionisio

Dioses, demonios, héroes y otros personajes mitológicos[editar]

Adapa : Primer rey

Anat : diosa de la fertilidad y la guerra

Anshar : padre del cielo

Anu : el dios del cielo más elevado

Antu : diosa creadora

Apsu : el gobernante de los dioses y de los océanos subterráneos

Assur : dios nacional de los asirios

Atrahasis : Protagonista del poema épico del mismo nombre**

Baal : deidad superior a todas las demás y principal dios de los Caldeo-Asirios

Damkina : diosa de la madre tierra

Dumuzi : dios de la vegetación

Ea : dios de la sabiduría

Emesh : dios de la vegetación

Enbilulu : dios a cargo del Éufrates y el Tigris

Enmesarraa : dios de las leyes

Endursaga : dios heráldico sumerio

Enkimdu : dios de los ríos y canales

Enlil : dios del clima y las tormentas

Enten : dios agricultor

Enurta : dios de la guerra

Ereškigal : diosa del inframundo

Erra : dios de la guerra, disturbios y revueltas

Gilgameš : héroe de la gran epopeya de Gilgameš posterior al diluvio

Geshtu-E : dios menor de la inteligencia

Gugalanna : consorte de Ereshkigal

Gula : diosa de la sanación

Hadad : dios del clima

Huwawa : guardián del bosque de cedros de los corazones

Inanna : diosa del amor y la guerra, protectora de Uruk

Ištar : diosa del amor

Isimud : dios mensajero

Iskur : dios de las tormentas y las lluvias

Kabta : dios responsables de los picos, palas y moldes de ladrillos

Kingu : marido de Tiamat

Kishar : padre de la tierra

Lahar : diosa del ganado

Marduk : dios nacional de los babilonios

Mummu : dios de las neblinas

Mushdamma : dios puesto a cargo de los edificios y las casas

Mušḫuššu : animal mitológico

Nabu : dios de las artes de escribir

Namtar : dios sirviente en el inframundo

Nannar : dios de la luna

Nanse : diosa de la justicia

Nergal : dios del inframundo

Nidaba : diosa de la fertilidad y la escritura

Ninazu : dios secundario del inframundo

Ningal : diosa de las cañas

Ningikuga : diosa de la cañas

Ningizzida : dios de el árbol bueno

Ninhursag : diosa de la madre tierra

Ninkasi : diosa de la elaboración de alcohol

Ninkurra : diosa madre menor

Ninlil : diosa del aire

Ninmah : diosa creadora

Ninsar : diosa de las plantas

Ninsikil : diosa patrona del paraíso mítico de Dilmun

Ninsubur : diosa o dios mensajero

Ninsuna : diosa de las vacas

Nintu : deidad madre

Ninurta : dios de Nippur

Nunbarsegunu : diosa madre

Nusku : dios de la luz y el fuego

Oannes : Personaje mitad hombre mitad pez

Pasittu : demonio que arrebata bebés

Šamaš : dios del sol y de la justicia

Sin : dios de la luna (otro nombre de Nannar)

Tasmetu : diosa consorte de Nabu

Tiamat : diosa dragón

Tišpak : dios de Ešnunna

Uras : diosa ctónica (véase ctónico)

Utnapishtim : protagonista del diluvio

Utu : dios del sol

Uttu : diosa de los tejidos y la ropa

Utukki : demonios del inframundo

Zarpanitu : diosa del nacimiento

Ziusudra : protagonista del diluvio

The Epistle of Apollos The Prophet

APOLLOS TO HIERASTHENES, GREETING.-

1 TOUCHING the matter whereby thou didst enquire in thy last epistle, I will inform thee even as I have received. I Appollos was in my house in Nazareth after the Holy City had been taken by the Romans, and the Temple of God destroyed, even as the Lord had told us.

2 And as the sun went down and I was resting from my work, the room was filled with a bright light and there appeared unto me Agella., my sister (who had been reported as dead with many others of the brethren who were in the Holy City at the time of the siege and who have never since been seen by any to this day).

3 And Agella spake to me saying, BROTHER, why grievest thou for me, and for the fall of Ierusalem and for the Holy House. Grieve rather that thou wast left behind when we with others of the brethren who were ready were taken up from the earth.

4 For when the city was sorely besieged and the battle was the most fierce and the confusion great and terrible, there was seen by all a great wonder in the heavens.

5 For the Lord himself appeared from the clouds with her to whom he first appeared after he rose from the dead, who announced his resurrection to the twelve, and the holy angels, according to the word that he Spake unto us while he was in the flesh.

6 And we who sore longed for deliverance and were ready for his appearance were caught up to him in the clouds with Iohn, who alone of the twelve remained (whether in the body or out of the body I knew not).

7 It was in a moment and we were changed in the twinkling of an eye, and those who were his enemies saw it and fled in great confusion and fell on the swords of the Romans and perished, and to me alone has it been given that I should appear unto thee for thy comfort my brother, and for the consolation of those that are left behind and those that shall come after them, that they may believe in the words spoken by the Lord before he suffered.

8 Farewell brother, and go and comfort those that are left, for there will arise those who will deny that he returned as he said, because none of those who saw his appearance are left behind to witness thereof.

9 But believe thou that the Christ shall return again at the end of the Age in glory. 

10 AND I arose and went to some of the brethren and told them these things, but they seemed to them as an idle tale, for they answered, If thy sister and the others were taken, why have we been left behind in the misery of this world? Surely they have fallen by the sword also, and it was a vision, and we which are left behind shall perish likewise?

11 And I returned to my home and held my peace, for I was in doubt, and said, If the thing is true it will be brought to light in a future day, for the Lord certainly did say that "before this generation should pass away all these things should be," even as my sister hath told me they have been.

12 They who are with me salute thee. Peace be with thee, and to all in thine house.

La Epístola de Apolos El Profeta

Apolos A HIERASTHENES, GREETING.-

1 Al tocar el tema por el que hiciste preguntar en tu última carta, yo te informará así como yo he recibido. Yo Appollos estaba en mi casa en Nazaret después de la Ciudad Santa había sido tomada por los romanos, y el Templo de Dios destruida, como también Cristo nos había dicho.

2 Y como el sol se puso y yo estaba descansando de mi trabajo, la habitación se llenó de una luz brillante y allí apareció a mí Agella., Mi hermana (que había sido reportado como muerto con muchos otros de los hermanos que estaban en el Ciudad Santa en el momento del asedio y que han puesto nunca ha sido visto por cualquier otro para el día de hoy).

3 Y Agella me habló diciendo: HERMANO, ¿por qué grievest tú por mí, y por la caída de Jerusalén y de la Santa Casa. Afligen en lugar de que tú fuiste dejado atrás cuando con otros de los hermanos que estaban listos llevaron de la tierra.

4 Para cuando la ciudad fue duramente asediada y la batalla fue la más feroz y la confusión grande y terrible, fue vista por todos una gran maravilla en los cielos.

5 Porque el Señor mismo apareció entre las nubes con ella a quien primero apareció después que resucitó de entre los muertos, que anunciaron su resurrección a los doce, y los santos ángeles, conforme a la palabra que habló a nosotros mientras él estaba en el carne.

6 Y nosotros, que anhelaba dolor por la liberación y estaban listos para su aparición se lo alcanzó en las nubes con Iohn, que es el único de los doce permanecieron (si en el cuerpo o fuera del cuerpo que no sabía).

7 Fue en un momento y nos cambió en un abrir y cerrar de ojos, y los que eran sus enemigos lo vio y huyó en una gran confusión y cayó sobre las espadas de los romanos y pereció, y para mí solo ha que dado que Debería aparecer a ti por tu comodidad mi hermano, y la consolación de los que se quedan atrás y los que vendrán después de ellos, para que crean en las palabras pronunciadas por el Señor antes de que él sufrió.

8 Adiós hermano, e ir a consolar a los que hayamos quedado, porque no se levantarán los que van a negar que regresó como él dijo, porque ninguno de los que vieron su aparición se quedan atrás para presenciar la misma.

9 Pero tú creen que el Cristo volverá otra vez al final de la Era en la gloria.

10 Y me levanté y fui a algunos de los hermanos y les estas cosas dije, pero parecían a ellos como un cuento ocioso, porque ellos respondieron: Si se tomaron tu hermana y los otros, ¿por qué se nos ha dejado en la miseria de ¿este mundo? Ciertamente ellos han caído a espada también, y era una visión, y nosotros, los que se quedan atrás perecerán del mismo modo?

11 Y me volví a mi casa y me cogió la paz, porque yo estaba en duda, y le dijo: Si la cosa es verdad que será traído a la luz en un día futuro, porque el Señor ciertamente sí dijo que "antes debe pasar esta generación lejos de todas estas cosas deben ser, "aun cuando mi hermana me dijo que han sido.

12 Los que están conmigo te saludan. La paz sea contigo, y para todos en tu casa.

La Asunción de MoisésLlamado también Testamento de Moisés

1El Testamento de Moisés, incluso las cosas que mandó en el cien y el vigésimo año de su vida, que es el dos mil cinco años centenario de la creación del mundo: [Sin embargo, según el cómputo orientales dos mil siete centenario, y cuarto centenario después de la salida de Fenicia], cuando la gente se había ido después de que el Éxodo que Moisés hizo a Ammán más allá del Jordán, en la profecía que hizo Moisés en el libro de Deuteronomio: y llamó a Josué le la hijo de Nun, un hombre aprobado de Dios, que podría ser el ministro de la población y del tabernáculo del testimonio, con todas sus cosas sagradas, y que podría llevar al pueblo a la tierra a sus padres, que debe darse a los mismos de acuerdo con el pacto y el juramento, que habló en el tabernáculo para dar (es) por Joshua: a Josué diciendo estas palabras: "(Sé fuerte) y de un buen valor para hacer con tu podrían todo lo que se ha mandado que usted puede ser libre de culpa a Dios. " Así dice el Señor del mundo. Él ha creado el mundo en nombre de su pueblo. Pero Él no se complace en manifestar este propósito de la creación de la fundación del mundo, a fin de que los gentiles lo que podría ser condenado, sí a su propia humillación podría por (su) argumentos condenar unos a otros. En consecuencia Diseñó y elaboró mí, y Él me preparó antes de la fundación del mundo, que debe ser el mediador de Su pacto. Y ahora yo os declaro que la época de los años de mi vida se ha cumplido y estoy fallecimiento a dormir con mis padres, incluso en presencia de todas las personas y recibir este escrito que usted puede saber cómo preservar los libros que me emitirá vosotros: y fijará el orden en estas y ungir con aceite de cedro y guárdelas en tierra los buques en el lugar que Él ha hecho desde el comienzo de la creación del mundo, que su nombre debe ser llamado hasta que el día de arrepentimiento en la visita con que el Señor los visite en la consumación del fin de los días.2Y ahora deberán ir a través de ustedes en la tierra que Él ha determinado y se comprometió a dar a sus padres, en la que se bendice y dar a ellos individualmente y les confirme su herencia en mí y para ellos establecer el reino, y que designará a los magistrados locales en función de la satisfacción de su Señor en el juicio y la justicia. Y cinco años después de su entrada en la tierra, que posteriormente serán gobernados por reyes y jefes de dieciocho años, y durante diecinueve años, el diez tribus se rompan. Y las doce tribus se bajan y la transferencia del tabernáculo del

testimonio. Entonces, el Dios del cielo hará que el tribunal de su tabernáculo y la torre de su santuario, y las dos tribus se santos (no) establecido, pero las diez tribus reinos establecerá por sí mismos de acuerdo con sus propias ordenanzas. Y deberán ofrecer sacrificios a lo largo veinte años, y siete se afianzan los muros, y voy a proteger a nueve, pero cuatro se transgreden el pacto de Jehová, y profana el juramento que el Señor hizo con ellos. Y que se sacrifican a sus hijos a dioses extraños, y que establecerá los ídolos en el santuario, el culto a ellos. Y en la casa del Señor que trabajará impiedad y grabar todo tipo de bestia, incluso muchas abominaciones. 

3Y en aquellos días un rey del este entrará en contra de ellos y su caballería se referirá a su tierra. Y que su colonia se quema con el fuego junto con el templo santo del Señor, y él se lleva todos los santos buques. Y deberá emitir sucesivamente todas las personas, y tendrá a la tierra de su nacimiento, sí que tendrá las dos tribus con él. A continuación, las dos tribus se pedirá a las diez tribus, y marzo como una leona sobre la polvorienta llanura, tener hambre y sed. Y que se lloran en voz alta: "Justos y santo es el Señor, para, en la medida en que habéis pecado, también nosotros, de la misma manera, se han llevado a acabar con ustedes, junto con nuestros hijos." A continuación, las diez tribus a llorar al oír los reproches de las dos tribus, y dirán: «¿Qué hemos hecho de vosotros, hermanos? No ha llegado esta tribulación en toda la casa de Israel? " Y todas las tribus se llorar, llorar al cielo y diciendo: «Dios de Abraham Dios de Isaac y Dios de Jacob, recordar tu pacto que Usted ha hecho con ellos, y el juramento que le hiciste a ellos juro por ti mismo, que sus semillas nunca fallan de la tierra que le has dado. " Entonces se acuerda de mí, diciendo, en ese día, la tribu hasta la tribu y cada hombre hacia su prójimo: «¿No es esto lo que Moisés hizo a continuación, declarar profecías en nosotros, que han sufrido muchas cosas en Egipto y en el Mar Rojo y en el desierto durante cuarenta años y seguramente el cielo y la tierra llamada a dar testimonio en contra de nosotros, que no debemos transgredir sus mandamientos, en el que fue mediador hasta nosotros? He aquí, estas cosas nos han ocurrido después de su muerte según su declaración, como nos dijo en ese momento, sí, he aquí que han tenido lugar incluso a nuestro ser arrastrado en cautividad en el país del este. " Que serán también en régimen de servidumbre alrededor de setenta y siete años.

4Luego entrará uno que es sobre ellos, y deberá difundir adelante sus manos, y de rodillas a sus rodillas y orar en su nombre diciendo: «Señor de todos, el Rey en el trono noble, que gobierna el mundo, e hizo que se este pueblo debe elegir a su gente, y luego (de hecho) que se le has Usted debe ser llamado su Dios, según el pacto que le hiciste hacer con sus padres. 3 Y, sin embargo, han pasado en cautiverio en otro terreno con sus esposas y sus hijos, y alrededor de las puertas de los pueblos y extraño, donde hay una gran vanidad. Respecto y tener compasión de ellos, oh Señor de los cielos. " Entonces Dios se les recuerde a cuenta del pacto que hizo con sus padres. Él y manifestar su compasión en esos tiempos también. Y él lo puso en la mente de un rey para tener compasión de ellos, y deberá enviar a retirarse a su tierra y el país. A continuación, algunas partes de las tribus se suben y se ponga en su lugar designado, y se rodean de nuevo el lugar con paredes. Y las dos tribus se seguirán en su fe prescrita, triste y lamentando porque no será capaz de ofrecer sacrificios a Dios de sus padres. Y las diez tribus aumentarán y se multiplican entre los gentiles durante el tiempo de su cautiverio.

5Y cuando el tiempo de castigo y la venganza extraer casi surge a través de los reyes que comparten en su culpabilidad y castigar a ellos, ellos mismos también se dividirá en cuanto a la verdad. Por lo cual ha sido dicho: «Los Estados miembros a su vez, aparte de la justicia y el enfoque iniquidad, y que se manchan con contaminaciones de la casa de su culto ', y [porque]' que se prostituyen con extraños dioses." Porque ellos no siguen la verdad de Dios, pero algunos se contaminan el altar con la (muy) los regalos que ofrecen al Señor, que no son esclavos, pero los sacerdotes, hijos de esclavos. Y muchas veces en esos tendrán el respeto hacia las personas y deseable recibir donaciones, y pervierten el juicio

[de recibir presenta]. Y en esta cuenta la colonia y de las fronteras de su habitación se llena de iniquidades y hechos al margen de la ley: los que salen de la maldad Señor se jueces: deberán estar dispuestos a juzgar por el dinero que cada uno puede desear.

6Luego se levantó a ellos reyes teniendo regla, y ellos se llaman a sí mismos sacerdotes del Dios Altísimo, que será seguramente la iniquidad en el trabajo santo de los santos. Y un insolente rey les sucederá, que no será de la carrera de los sacerdotes, un hombre valiente y descarada, y que estime como se merecen. Y que corte sus principales hombres con la espada, y se destruirá en lugares secretos, de modo que nadie puede saber dónde están sus cuerpos. Él se matan a los viejos y los jóvenes, y no se escatimará. Entonces, el miedo de él se les amarga en su tierra. Y que deberá ejecutar las sentencias en ellos como los egipcios que les ejecutado, durante treinta y cuatro años, y se les castigue. Y deberá engendrar niños, (que) él éxito se pronunciará por períodos más cortos. Partes en sus cohortes y un poderoso rey del oeste vendrá, que la conquista de ellos, y deberá tenerlas en cautiverio, y se quema una parte de su templo con el fuego, (y) se crucificar algunos en torno a su colonia.

7Y cuando esto se hace el tiempo se terminó, en un momento en que el (segundo) debe ser (terminado), las cuatro horas de venir. Serán forzados. . . . Y, en el momento de estos, destructivos y perversos hombres regla, diciendo que son justas. Y estos se revuelven el veneno de sus mentes, que los hombres traicioneros, auto-pleasers, dissemblers en todos sus propios asuntos y los amantes de banquetes a cada hora del día. gluttons, gourmets .... Devourers de los productos de la (mala), diciendo que lo hacen en el terreno de su justicia, pero en realidad para destruirlos, se quejan, engañosa, a fin de ocultar a sí mismos deberían ser reconocidos, perversos, llenos de maldad y la anarquía desde el amanecer hasta el puesta de sol: diciendo: "Tendremos feastings y lujo, comer y beber, y se estima a nosotros mismos como príncipes". Y aunque sus manos y sus mentes toque sucio cosas, sin embargo, su boca se hablan grandes cosas, y dirán, además: «No me toque sea que me contaminar en el lugar (donde estoy"). . .

8Y no vendrá sobre ellos una segunda visita y de ira, como no ha ocurrido desde el inicio hasta ese momento, en la que Él agitar contra ellos el rey de los reyes de la tierra y que las normas con un gran poder, que crucificar a los que confesar a su circuncisión, y los que ocultar (que) deberá entregar a la tortura y para ser atado y conducido a la cárcel. Y sus esposas se dará a los dioses entre los gentiles, y sus hijos serán operados por los médicos con el fin de adelantar su prepucio. Y otros entre ellos será castigado con pena de torturas y fuego y espada, y serán obligados a llevar en público a sus ídolos, ya que están contaminados, como los que guardan. les. Y que serán igualmente obligadas por los que la tortura a entrar en su santuario íntimo, y serán forzados por los aguijones para blasfemar insolencia con la palabra, finalmente después de estas cosas las leyes y lo que había encima de su altar.

9Luego, en ese día se procederá a un hombre de la tribu de Levi, cuyo nombre se taxo, teniendo siete hijos que se exhortaba a hablar con ellos (ellas): "Observar, mis hijos, he aquí un segundo despiadado (y) ha sucio visitas se llega a la gente, y un castigo implacable y muy superior a la primera. ¿Para qué nación o qué región o lo que la gente de los que son perversos hacia el Señor, que han hecho muchas abominaciones, han sufrido grandes calamidades que han asolado a nosotros? Ahora, por lo tanto, mis hijos, oír de mí: para observar y saber que tampoco los padres ni sus antepasados tentar a Dios, a fin de transgredir sus mandamientos. Y usted sabe que esta es nuestra fortaleza y, por tanto, que vamos a hacer. Hagamos rápido por el espacio de tres días y en el cuarto vayamos en una cueva que se encuentra en el terreno, y vamos a morir antes que transgredir las órdenes del Señor de los Lores, el Dios de nuestros padres. Porque si hacemos esto y morir, nuestra sangre se vengó ante el Señor.

10

Su reino y, a continuación, deberá figurar en todas su creación,

Satanás y, a continuación, no será más,

Y el dolor se salen con él.

Entonces las manos del ángel, se llenarán

¿Quién ha sido nombrado jefe,

Y él inmediatamente a vengarse de sus enemigos.

Uno de los Cielos se derivarán de su trono real,

Y él salir de su morada santa

Con indignación y la ira a causa de Sus hijos.

Y la tierra temblar: se limita a su ser sacudido:

Y la alta montaña se hará bajo

Y las colinas se agita y el otoño.

Y los cuernos del sol se rompe y él se convertirá en tinieblas;

Y la luna no dará su luz, y se convirtió en su totalidad en la sangre.

Y el círculo de las estrellas se inquieta.

Y el mar se retirará en el abismo,

Y las fuentes de las aguas no se,

Y los ríos se secan.

Por el Altísimo se producirán, el Eterno Dios,

Él aparecerá para castigar a los gentiles,

Él y destruir todos sus ídolos.

Entonces, Israel, se feliz,

Y que se monte en el cuello y las alas del águila,

Y se terminó.

Glorifica a Dios y ustedes,

Y Él hará que usted enfoque el cielo de las estrellas,

En el lugar de su habitación.

Y usted se verá desde lo alto y ver a tus enemigos en Ge (henna)

Y que se reconozca y se regocijan,

Y le dará las gracias y confesar a tu Creador.

¿Y, Joshua (el hijo de) Nun, mantener estas palabras y este libro, Por la muerte de mi [hipótesis] hasta su llegada allí será de 250 veces [= año semanas = 1750 años]. Y este es el curso de los tiempos que se perseguirá hasta que se consuma. Y voy a ir a dormir con mis padres. Por tanto, usted Josué (hijo de) Nun, (ser fuerte y) ser de buen valor, (por) Dios ha elegido (tú) a ministro en el mismo pacto.

11Y cuando Josué había escuchado las palabras de Moisés que eran tan escrito en su escritura todo lo que había dicho antes, el alquiler de la ropa y emitidos en el mismo Moisés pies. Moisés y le conforta y lloró con él. Y Joshua le respondió y dijo: '¿Por qué mi comodidad, (mi) señor Moisés? ¿Y cómo voy a ser consolado en cuanto a la amarga palabra que has hablado usted, que ha salido de tu boca, la cual está llena de lágrimas y lamentaciones, en que se aparten de este pueblo? (Pero) qué lugar recibirá usted? O lo que será la señal de que las marcas (su) sepulcro? O que se atreven a mover su cuerpo, desde allí, como la de un mero hombre de un lugar a otro? Para todos los hombres cuando mueren tienen de acuerdo con su edad sus sepulcros en la tierra, pero su sepulcro es el aumento a partir de la puesta del sol, y desde el sur hasta los confines del norte: todo el mundo es su sepulcro. Mi señor, usted está saliendo, y pienso que esta gente? O que hay que tendrá compasión de ellos y que será su guía por el camino? O que se ore por ellos, no omitir un solo día, para que pueda conducirlos a la tierra de sus antepasados? ¿Cómo, por lo tanto, soy yo para fomentar este pueblo como un padre (su) único hijo, o como un amante de su hija, una virgen que se está preparando para tener en cuenta el marido quien se veneran, mientras que la guardia de su persona y del sol (se ocupa) de que sus pies no son unshod para que se ejecute en la tierra. (Y cómo) que se les suministrará alimentos y bebidas de acuerdo con el gusto de su voluntad? Para ellos, se 600000 (hombres), para estos se han multiplicado a través de este grado a sus oraciones, (mi) señor Moisés. ¿Y qué sabiduría o he entendido que debo juez o respuesta por medio de la palabra en la casa (del Señor)? Y los reyes de los amorreos también cuando escuchan que están atacando a ellos, creyendo que ya no existe entre ellos el Espíritu Santo, que era digno del Señor, múltiple e incomprensible, el señor de la palabra, que fue fiel en todas las cosas , principal profeta de Dios en toda la tierra, la más perfecta de maestros en el mundo, [que él ya no está entre ellos], deberá decir "Vamos a ir en contra de ellos. Si el enemigo, pero una vez que han forjado impiously en contra de su Señor, que no tienen defensor a ofrecer oraciones en su nombre al Señor, como Moisés, el gran mensajero, que cada hora de día y de noche había fijado sus rodillas a la tierra, orando y buscando contribuir a que las normas que él todo el mundo con la compasión y la justicia, recordando a él de la alianza de los padres y

propiciando el Señor con el juramento. " Porque ellos dicen: "Él no está con ellos: vayamos, por lo tanto, y destruir de la faz de la tierra". ¿Qué será entonces de este pueblo, mi señor Moisés? "

12Y cuando había terminado de Josué (estos), es decir, él mismo elenco de nuevo a los pies de Moisés. Y Moisés tomó la mano y lo levantó en el asiento delante de él, y respondió y le dijo: Joshua, no desprecian a sí mismo, pero su mente establecidos a gusto, y escuchar mis palabras. Todas las naciones que están en la tierra que Dios ha creado y nosotros, Él ha previsto, y nosotros desde el principio de la creación de la tierra hasta el fin de la edad, y nada ha sido descuidado por el hombre, incluso a los menos, pero todas las cosas que ha previsto y ha causado a todos venir. (Sí) todas las cosas que van a estar en esta tierra que el Señor ha previsto y, mira, que se presentó (a la luz.... El Señor), ha nombrado en su nombre a (orar) por sus pecados y (interceder) para ellos. Para no por cualquier razón o la fuerza de la mía, sino de su buen gusto y su compasión han caído a mi paciente mucho. Porque yo os digo, Joshua: no es a causa de la piedad de este pueblo que se raíz de las naciones. Las luces del cielo, los cimientos de la tierra se han realizado y aprobado por Dios y están bajo el anillo de sello de su mano derecha. Aquellos, pues, que hacer y cumplir con los mandamientos de Dios y se aumentará prosperó, pero los que el pecado y la fija en los mandamientos nada se hará sin la bendición antes mencionado, y que será castigado con muchos tormentos por las naciones. Pero totalmente de raíz y destruir ellos no está permitido. Por Dios salir ha previsto que todas las cosas para siempre, y el pacto se ha establecido y que por el juramento. .

The OrthodoxOld Testament[43][53][54]

Greek-basedname

ConventionalEnglish name

Law

Γένεσις Génesis Genesis

Ἔξοδος Éxodos Exodus

Λευϊτικόν Leuitikón Leviticus

Ἀριθμοί Arithmoí Numbers

Δευτερονόμιον Deuteronómion Deuteronomy

History

Ἰησοῦς Nαυῆ Iêsous Nauê Joshua

Κριταί Kritaí Judges

Ῥούθ Roúth Ruth

Βασιλειῶν Αʹ[55] I Reigns I Samuel

Βασιλειῶν Βʹ II Reigns II Samuel

Βασιλειῶν Γʹ III Reigns I Kings

Βασιλειῶν Δʹ IV Reigns II Kings

Παραλειπομένων Αʹ I Paralipomenon[56] I Chronicles

Παραλειπομένων Βʹ II Paralipomenon II Chronicles

Ἔσδρας Αʹ I Esdras 1 Esdras

Ἔσδρας Βʹ II Esdras Ezra–Nehemiah

Τωβίτ[57] Tobit Tobit or Tobias

Ἰουδίθ Ioudith Judith

Ἐσθήρ Esther Esther with additions

Μακκαβαίων Αʹ I Makkabaioi 1 Maccabees

Μακκαβαίων Βʹ II Makkabaioi 2 Maccabees

Μακκαβαίων Γʹ III Makkabaioi 3 Maccabees

Wisdom

Ψαλμοί Psalms Psalms

Ψαλμός ΡΝΑʹ Psalm 151 Psalm 151

Προσευχὴ Μανάσση Prayer of Manasseh Prayer of Manasseh

Ἰώβ Iōb Job

Παροιμίαι Proverbs Proverbs

Ἐκκλησιαστής Ekklesiastes Ecclesiastes

Ἆσμα Ἀσμάτων Song of Songs Song of Solomon or Canticles

Σοφία Σαλoμῶντος Wisdom of Solomon Wisdom

Σοφία Ἰησοῦ Σειράχ Wisdom of Jesus the son of Seirach Sirach or Ecclesiasticus

Ψαλμοί Σαλoμῶντος Psalms of Solomon Psalms of Solomon[58]

Prophets

Δώδεκα The Twelve Minor Prophets

Ὡσηέ Αʹ I. Osëe Hosea

Ἀμώς Βʹ II. Amōs Amos

Μιχαίας Γʹ III. Michaias Micah

Ἰωήλ Δʹ IV. Ioël Joel

Ὀβδίου Εʹ[59] V. Obdias Obadiah

Ἰωνᾶς Ϛ' VI. Ionas Jonah

Ναούμ Ζʹ VII. Naoum Nahum

Ἀμβακούμ Ηʹ VIII. Ambakum Habakkuk

Σοφονίας Θʹ IX. Sophonias Zephaniah

Ἀγγαῖος Ιʹ X. Angaios Haggai

Ζαχαρίας ΙΑʹ XI. Zacharias Zachariah

Ἄγγελος ΙΒʹ XII. Messenger Malachi

Ἠσαΐας Hesaias Isaiah

Ἱερεμίας Hieremias Jeremiah

Βαρούχ Baruch Baruch

Θρῆνοι Lamentations Lamentations

Ἐπιστολή Ιερεμίου Epistle of Jeremiah Letter of Jeremiah

Ἰεζεκιήλ Iezekiêl Ezekiel

Δανιήλ Daniêl Daniel with additions

Appendix

Μακκαβαίων Δ' Παράρτημα IV Makkabees 4 Maccabees[60]

BibleFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Bible (disambiguation).

"Biblical" redirects here. For the song by Biffy Clyro, see Biblical (song).

The Gutenberg Bible, the first printed Bible

Part of a series on the

Bible

Canons and books

[show]

Authorship and development

[show]

Translations and manuscripts

[show]

Biblical studies[hide]

Archeology

Artifacts

Dating

Historicity

Internal consistency

People

Places

Names

Novum Testamentum Graece

Documentary hypothesis

Wiseman hypothesis

Synoptic problem

NT textual categories

Science and the Bible

Biblical criticism

Historical

Textual

Source

Form

Redaction

Canonical

Interpretation[show]

Perspectives[show]

 Bible book      Bible portal

v

t

e

The Bible (from Koine Greek τὰ βιβλία, tà biblía, "the books") is a collection of texts sacred in Judaismand Christianity. It is an example of a collection of scriptures written at different times by different authors in different locations. Jews and Christians consider the Bible to be a product of divine inspiration or an authoritative record of the relationship between God and humans.

There is no single canonical "Bible": many Bibles have evolved, with overlapping and diverging contents.[1] The Christian Old Testament overlaps with the Hebrew Bible and the Greek Septuagint; the Hebrew Bible is known in Judaism as the Tanakh. The New Testament is a collection of writings by early Christians, consisting of narratives, letters and apocalyptic writings. Among Christian denominations there is some disagreement about the contents of the canon, primarily in the Apocrypha, a list of works that are regarded with varying levels of respect.

Attitudes towards the Bible also vary amongst Christian groups. Roman Catholics, Anglicans and Eastern Orthodox Christians stress the harmony and importance of the Bible and sacred tradition, whileProtestant churches focus on the idea of sola scriptura, or scripture alone. This concept arose during the Protestant Reformation, and many denominations today continue to support the use of the Bible as the only source of Christian teaching.

With estimated total sales of over 5 billion copies, the Bible is widely considered to be the best selling book of all time, [2][3] has estimated annual sales of 100 million copies,[4][5] and has been a major influence on literature and history, especially in the West where the Gutenberg Bible was the first mass-printed book. It was the first book ever printed using movable type.

Contents

  [hide] 

1 Etymology 2 Development 3 Hebrew Bible

o 3.1 Torah o 3.2 Nevi'im o 3.3 Ketuvim o 3.4 Original languages

4 Septuagint o 4.1 Incorporations from Theodotion o 4.2 Final form

5 Christian Bibles o 5.1 Old Testament o 5.2 New Testament o 5.3 Development of the Christian canons

6 Divine inspiration

7 Versions and translations 8 Views

o 8.1 Other religions o 8.2 Biblical studies o 8.3 Higher criticism

9 Archaeological and historical research 10 Criticism 11 Bibles Gallery 12 Illustrations 13 See also 14 Endnotes 15 References and further reading

EtymologyThe English word Bible is from the Latin biblia, from the same word in Medieval Latin and Late Latin and ultimately from Koine Greek τὰ βιβλία ta biblia "the books" (singular βιβλίον biblion).[6]

Medieval Latin biblia is short for biblia sacra "holy book", while biblia in Greek and Late Latin is neuter plural (gen. bibliorum). It gradually came to be regarded as a feminine singular noun (biblia, gen. bibliae) in medieval Latin, and so the word was loaned as a singular into the vernaculars of Western Europe.[7] Latin biblia sacra"holy books" translates Greek τὰ βιβλία τὰ ἅγια ta biblia ta hagia, "the holy books".[8]

The word βιβλίον itself had the literal meaning of "paper" or "scroll" and came to be used as the ordinary word for "book". It is the diminutive of βύβλος byblos, "Egyptian papyrus", possibly so called from the name of the Phoenician sea port Byblos (also known as Gebal) from whence Egyptian papyrus was exported to Greece. The Greek ta biblia (lit. "little papyrus books")[9] was "an expression Hellenistic Jews used to describe their sacred books (the Septuagint).[10][11] Christian use of the term can be traced to c. 223 CE.[6] The biblical scholar F.F. Bruce notes that Chrysostom appears to be the first writer (in his Homilies on Matthew, delivered between 386 and 388) to use the Greek phrase ta biblia ("the books") to describe both the Old and New Testaments together.[12]

Development

The Kennicott Bible, by Benjamin Kennicott, with illustration, Jonah being swallowed by the fish, 1476

See also: Authorship of the Bible

Professor John K. Riches, Professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism at the University of Glasgow, in an Oxford University Press introduction to the Bible, says that "the biblical texts themselves are the result of a creative dialogue between ancient traditions and different communities through the ages", [13] and "the biblical texts were produced over a period in which the living conditions of the writers – political, cultural, economic, and ecological – varied enormously".[14] Timothy H. Lim, a professor of Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Judaism at the University of Edinburgh, says that the Old Testament is "a collection of authoritative texts of apparently divine origin that went through a human process of writing and editing." [15] He states that it is not a magical book, nor was it literally written by God and passed to mankind. Parallel to the solidification of the Hebrew canon (c. 3rd century BCE), only the Torah first and than the Tanakh began to be translated into Greek and expanded, now referred to as the Septuagint or the Greek Old Testament.[16]

In Christian Bibles, the New Testament Gospels were derived from oral traditions in the second half of the first century CE. Riches says that:

Scholars have attempted to reconstruct something of the history of the oral traditions behind the Gospels, but the results have not been too encouraging. The period of transmission is short: less than 40 years passed between the death of Jesus and the writing of Mark's Gospel. This means that there was little time for oral traditions to assume fixed form.[17]

The Bible was later translated into Latin and other languages. John Riches states that:

The translation of the Bible into Latin marks the beginning of a parting of the ways between Western Latin-speaking Christianity and Eastern Christianity, which spoke Greek, Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopic, and other languages. The Bibles of the Eastern Churches vary considerably: the Ethiopic Orthodox canon includes 81 books and contains many apocalyptic texts, such as were found at Qumran and subsequently excluded from the Jewish canon. As a general rule, one can say that the Orthodox Churches generally follow the Septuagint in including more books in their Old Testaments than are in the Jewish canon.[17]

Hebrew Bible

Tanakh

Torah  (Instruction)[show]

Nevi'im  (Prophets)[show]

Ketuvim  (Writings)[show]

v

t

e

Main article: Development of the Hebrew Bible canon

The Nash Papyrus (2nd century BCE) contains a portion of a pre-Masoretic Text, specifically the Ten Commandments and theShema Yisrael prayer.

The Masoretic Text is the authoritative Hebrew text of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh. It defines the books of the Jewish canon, and also the precise letter-text of these biblical books, with their vocalization and accentuation.

The oldest extant manuscripts of the Masoretic Text date from approximately the 9th century CE, [18] and the Aleppo Codex (once the oldest complete copy of the Masoretic Text, but now missing its Torah section) dates from the 10th century.

The name Tanakh (Hebrew: תנ"ך) reflects the threefold division of the Hebrew Scriptures, Torah ("Teaching"), Nevi'im("Prophets") and Ketuvim ("Writings").

TorahMain article: Torah

See also: Oral Torah

The Torah (ה is also known as the "Five Books of Moses" or the Pentateuch, meaning "five scroll-cases".[19] The Hebrew names of the books are (תור»derived from the first words in the respective texts.

The Torah consists of the following five books:

Genesis, Bereshith (בראשית) Exodus, Shemot (שמות) Leviticus, Vayikra (ויקרא) Numbers, Bamidbar (במדבר) Deuteronomy, Devarim (דברים)

The first eleven chapters of Genesis provide accounts of the creation (or ordering) of the world and the history of God's early relationship with humanity. The remaining thirty-nine chapters of Genesis provide an account of God's covenant with the Biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (also called Israel) and Jacob's children, the "Children of Israel", especially Joseph. It tells of how God commanded Abraham to leave his family and home in the city of Ur, eventually to settle in the land of Canaan, and how the Children of Israel later moved to Egypt. The remaining four books of the Torah tell the story of Moses, who lived hundreds of years after the patriarchs. He leads the Children of Israel from slavery in Ancient Egypt to the renewal of their covenant with God at Mount Sinai and their wanderings in the desert until a new generation was ready to enter the land of Canaan. The Torah ends with the death of Moses.[20]

The Torah contains the commandments of God, revealed at Mount Sinai (although there is some debate among traditional scholars as to whether these were all written down at one time, or over a period of time during the 40 years of the wanderings in the desert, while several modern Jewish movements reject the idea of a literal revelation, and critical scholars believe that many of these laws developed later in Jewish history). [21][22][23][24] These commandments provide the basis forJewish religious law. Tradition states that there are 613 commandments (taryag mitzvot).

Nevi'imMain article: Nevi'im

Books of Nevi'im

Former Prophets

Joshua

Judges

Samuel

Kings

Latter Prophets (major)

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Ezekiel

Latter Prophets (Twelve minor)

Hosea

Joel

Amos

Obadiah

Jonah

Micah

Nahum

Habakkuk

Zephaniah

Haggai

Zechariah

Malachi

Hebrew Bible

v

t

e

Nevi'im (Hebrew: ים יא¹ ב¹ ºנ Nəḇî'îm, "Prophets") is the second main division of the Tanakh, between the Torah andKetuvim. It contains two sub-groups, the Former Prophets (Nevi'im Rishonim נביאים ראשונים, the narrative books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings) and the Latter Prophets (Nevi'im Aharonim נביאים אחרונים, the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel and the Twelve Minor Prophets).

The Nevi'im tell the story of the rise of the Hebrew monarchy and its division into two kingdoms, ancient Israel and Judah, focusing on conflicts between the Israelites and other nations, and conflicts among Israelites, specifically, struggles between believers in "the LORD God"[25] and believers in foreign gods,[26][27] and the criticism of unethical and unjust behavior of Israelite elites and rulers;[28][29][30] in which prophets played a crucial and leading role. It ends with the conquest of the Kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians followed by the conquest of the Kingdom of Judah by the Babylonians and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Former Prophets

The Former Prophets are the books Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings. They contain narratives that begin immediately after the death of Moses with the divine appointment of Joshua as his successor, who then leads the people of Israel into the Promised Land, and end with the release from imprisonment of the last king of Judah. Treating Samuel and Kings as single books, they cover:

Joshua's conquest of the land of Canaan (in the Book of Joshua), the struggle of the people to possess the land (in the Book of Judges), the people's request to God to give them a king so that they can occupy the land in the face of their enemies (in the Books of Samuel) the possession of the land under the divinely appointed kings of the House of David, ending in conquest and foreign exile (Books of Kings)

Latter Prophets

The Latter Prophets are divided into two groups, the "major" prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor Prophets, collected into a single book:

Hosea, Hoshea (הושע) Joel, Yoel (יואל) Amos, Amos (עמוס) Obadiah, Ovadyah (עבדיה) Jonah, Yonah (יונה) Micah, Mikhah (מיכה) Nahum, Nahum (נחום) Habakkuk, Havakuk (חבקוק) Zephaniah, Tsefanya (צפניה) Haggai, Khagay (חגי) Zechariah, Zekharyah (זכריה) Malachi, Malakhi (מלאכי)

KetuvimMain article: Ketuvim

Books of the Ketuvim

Three poetic books

Psalms

Proverbs

Job

Five Megillot (Scrolls)

Song of Songs

Ruth

Lamentations

Ecclesiastes

Esther

Other books

Daniel

o Ezra–Nehemiah (Ezra

o Nehemiah)

Chronicles

Hebrew Bible

v

t

e

Ketuvim or Kəṯûḇîm (in Biblical Hebrew: ים תוב¹ ºכ "writings") is the third and final section of the Tanakh. The Ketuvim are believed to have been written under the Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) but with one level less authority than that ofprophecy.[31]

The poetic books

In Masoretic manuscripts (and some printed editions), Psalms, Proverbs and Job are presented in a special two-column form emphasizing the parallel stichs in the verses, which are a function of their poetry. Collectively, these three books are known as Sifrei Emet (an acronym of the titles in Hebrew, ,איוב.("which is also the Hebrew for "truth ,אמ"ת yields Emet משלי, תהלים

These three books are also the only ones in Tanakh with a special system of cantillation notes that are designed to emphasize parallel stichs within verses. However, the beginning and end of the book of Job are in the normal prose system.

The five scrolls (Hamesh Megillot)

The five relatively short books of Song of Songs, Book of Ruth, the Book of Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Book of Esther are collectively known as the Hamesh Megillot (Five Megillot). These are the latest books collected and designated as "authoritative" in the Jewish canon even though they were not complete until the 2nd century CE.[32]

Other books

Besides the three poetic books and the five scrolls, the remaining books in Ketuvim are Daniel, Ezra–Nehemiah and Chronicles. Although there is no formal grouping for these books in the Jewish tradition, they nevertheless share a number of distinguishing characteristics:

Their narratives all openly describe relatively late events (i.e., the Babylonian captivity and the subsequent restoration of Zion). The Talmudic tradition ascribes late authorship to all of them. Two of them (Daniel and Ezra) are the only books in the Tanakh with significant portions in Aramaic.

Order of the books

Coloured title page from the Bishops' Bible quarto edition of 1569, the British Museum. Queen Elizabeth sits in the centre on her throne. The words on the four columns

read justice, mercy, fortitude and prudence, attributing these traits to the queen. Text at the bottom reads "God Save the Queene".

The following list presents the books of Ketuvim in the order they appear in most printed editions. It also divides them into three subgroups based on the distinctiveness of Sifrei Emet and Hamesh Megillot.

The Three Poetic Books (Sifrei Emet)

Tehillim (Psalms) ים ל¹ ה¹ ºת Mishlei (Book of Proverbs) י Èל ºש מ¹ Iyyôbh (Book of Job) יוב א¹

The Five Megillot (Hamesh Megillot)

Shīr Hashshīrīm (Song of Songs) or (Song of Solomon) ים יר¹ שש¹ Ëיר ה (Passover) ש¹ Rūth (Book of Ruth) רות (Shābhû‘ôth) Eikhah (Lamentations) איכה (Ninth of Av) [Also called Kinnot in Hebrew.] Qōheleth (Ecclesiastes) קהלת (Sukkôth) Estēr (Book of Esther) ר Èת ºס Ðא (Pûrîm)

Other books

Dānî’ēl (Book of Daniel) אל Èי נ¹ ד» ‘Ezrā (Book of Ezra-Book of Nehemiah) עזרא Divrei ha-Yamim (Chronicles) דברי הימים

The Jewish textual tradition never finalized the order of the books in Ketuvim. The Babylonian Talmud (Bava Batra 14b-15a) gives their order as Ruth, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Daniel, Scroll of Esther, Ezra, Chronicles. [33]

In Tiberian Masoretic codices, including the Aleppo Codex and the Leningrad Codex, and often in old Spanish manuscripts as well, the order is Chronicles, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ruth, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Esther, Daniel, Ezra. [34]

Canonization

The Ketuvim is the last of the three portions of the Tanakh to have been accepted as biblical canon. While the Torah may have been considered canon by Israel as early as the 5th century BCE and the Former and Latter Prophets were canonized by the 2nd century BCE, the Ketuvim was not a fixed canon until the 2nd century of the Common Era.[35]

Evidence suggests, however, that the people of Israel were adding what would become the Ketuvim to their holy literature shortly after the canonization of the prophets. As early as 132 BCE references suggest that the Ketuvim was starting to take shape, although it lacked a formal title. [36] References in the four Gospelsas well as other books of the New Testament indicate that many of these texts were both commonly known and counted as having some degree of religious authority early in the 1st century CE.

Many scholars believe that the limits of the Ketuvim as canonized scripture were determined by the Council of Jamnia c. 90 CE. Against Apion, the writing ofJosephus in 95 CE, treated the text of the Hebrew Bible as a closed canon to which "... no one has ventured either to add, or to remove, or to alter a syllable..."[37]For a long time following this date the divine inspiration of Esther, the Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes was often under scrutiny.[38]

Original languages

The Tanakh was mainly written in biblical Hebrew, with some portions (Ezra 4:8–6:18 and 7:12–26, Jeremiah 10:11, Daniel 2:4–7:28) in biblical Aramaic, a sister language which became the lingua franca of the Semitic world.[39]

SeptuagintMain article: Septuagint

The Septuagint, or LXX, is a translation of the Hebrew scriptures and some related texts into Koine Greek, begun in the late 3rd century BCE and completed by 132 BCE,[40][41][42] initially in Alexandria, but in time elsewhere as well.[43] It is not altogether clear which was translated when, or where; some may even have been translated twice, into different versions, and then revised.[44]

As the work of translation progressed, the canon of the Greek Bible expanded. The Torah always maintained its pre-eminence as the basis of the canon but the collection of prophetic writings, based on the Nevi'im, had various hagiographical works incorporated into it. In addition, some newer books were included in the Septuagint, among these are the Maccabees and the Wisdom of Sirach. However, the book of Sirach, is now known to have been existed in a Hebrew version, since ancient Hebrew manuscripts of it were rediscovered in modern times. The Septuagint version of some Biblical books, like Daniel and Esther, are longer than those in the Jewish canon.[45] Some of these deuterocanonical books (e.g. the Wisdom of Solomon, and the second book of Maccabees) were not translated, but composed directly in Greek.[citation needed]

Since Late Antiquity, once attributed to a hypothetical late 1st-century Council of Jamnia, mainstream Rabbinic Judaism rejected the Septuagint as valid Jewish scriptural texts. Several reasons have been given for this. First, some mistranslations were claimed. Second, the Hebrew source texts used for the Septuagint differed from the Masoretic tradition of Hebrew texts, which was chosen as canonical by the Jewish rabbis. [46] Third, the rabbis wanted to distinguish their tradition from the newly emerging tradition of Christianity.[42][47] Finally, the rabbis claimed a divine authority for the Hebrew language, in contrast to Aramaic or Greek – even though these languages were the lingua franca of Jews during this period (and Aramaic would eventually be given a holy language status comparable to Hebrew).[48]

The Septuagint is the basis for the Old Latin, Slavonic, Syriac, Old Armenian, Old Georgian and Coptic versions of the Christian Old Testament.[49] The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches use most of the books of the Septuagint, while Protestant churches usually do not. After the Protestant Reformation, many Protestant Bibles began to follow the Jewish canon and exclude the additional texts, which came to be called Biblical apocrypha. The Apocrypha are included under a separate heading in the King James Version of the Bible, the basis for the Revised Standard Version.[50]

Incorporations from Theodotion

In most ancient copies of the Bible which contain the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, the Book of Daniel is not the original Septuagint version, but instead is a copy of Theodotion's translation from the Hebrew, which more closely resembles the Masoretic Text.[citation needed] The Septuagint version was discarded in favour of Theodotion's version in the 2nd to 3rd centuries CE. In Greek-speaking areas, this happened near the end of the 2nd century, and in Latin-speaking areas (at least in North Africa), it occurred in the middle of the 3rd century. History does not record the reason for this, and St. Jerome reports, in the preface to theVulgate version of Daniel, "This thing 'just' happened."[51] One of two Old Greek texts of the Book of Daniel has been recently rediscovered and work is ongoing in reconstructing the original form of the book.[52]

The canonical Ezra–Nehemiah is known in the Septuagint as "Esdras B", and 1 Esdras is "Esdras A". 1 Esdras is a very similar text to the books of Ezra–Nehemiah, and the two are widely thought by scholars to be derived from the same original text. It has been proposed, and is thought highly likely by scholars, that "Esdras B" – the canonical Ezra–Nehemiah – is Theodotion's version of this material, and "Esdras A" is the version which was previously in the Septuagint on its own.[51]

Final form

Some texts are found in the Septuagint but are not present in the Hebrew. These additional books are Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach, Baruch, the Letter of Jeremiah (which later became chapter 6 of Baruch in the Vulgate), additions to Daniel (The Prayer of Azarias, the Song of the Three Children, Susanna and Bel and the Dragon), additions to Esther, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, 3 Maccabees, 4 Maccabees, 1 Esdras, Odes, including the Prayer of Manasseh, the Psalms of Solomon, and Psalm 151.

Some books that are set apart in the Masoretic Text are grouped together. For example, the Books of Samuel and the Books of Kings are in the LXX one book in four parts called Βασιλειῶν ("Of Reigns"). In LXX, the Books of Chronicles supplement Reigns and it is called Paralipomenon (Παραλειπομένων—things left out). The Septuagint organizes the minor prophets as twelve parts of one Book of Twelve.[52]

The OrthodoxOld Testament[43][53][54]

Greek-basedname

ConventionalEnglish name

Law

Γένεσις Génesis Genesis

Ἔξοδος Éxodos Exodus

Λευϊτικόν Leuitikón Leviticus

Ἀριθμοί Arithmoí Numbers

Δευτερονόμιον Deuteronómion Deuteronomy

History

Ἰησοῦς Nαυῆ Iêsous Nauê Joshua

Κριταί Kritaí Judges

Ῥούθ Roúth Ruth

Βασιλειῶν Αʹ[55] I Reigns I Samuel

Βασιλειῶν Βʹ II Reigns II Samuel

Βασιλειῶν Γʹ III Reigns I Kings

Βασιλειῶν Δʹ IV Reigns II Kings

Παραλειπομένων Αʹ I Paralipomenon[56] I Chronicles

Παραλειπομένων Βʹ II Paralipomenon II Chronicles

Ἔσδρας Αʹ I Esdras 1 Esdras

Ἔσδρας Βʹ II Esdras Ezra–Nehemiah

Τωβίτ[57] Tobit Tobit or Tobias

Ἰουδίθ Ioudith Judith

Ἐσθήρ Esther Esther with additions

Μακκαβαίων Αʹ I Makkabaioi 1 Maccabees

Μακκαβαίων Βʹ II Makkabaioi 2 Maccabees

Μακκαβαίων Γʹ III Makkabaioi 3 Maccabees

Wisdom

Ψαλμοί Psalms Psalms

Ψαλμός ΡΝΑʹ Psalm 151 Psalm 151

Προσευχὴ Μανάσση Prayer of Manasseh Prayer of Manasseh

Ἰώβ Iōb Job

Παροιμίαι Proverbs Proverbs

Ἐκκλησιαστής Ekklesiastes Ecclesiastes

Ἆσμα Ἀσμάτων Song of Songs Song of Solomon or Canticles

Σοφία Σαλoμῶντος Wisdom of Solomon Wisdom

Σοφία Ἰησοῦ Σειράχ Wisdom of Jesus the son of Seirach Sirach or Ecclesiasticus

Ψαλμοί Σαλoμῶντος Psalms of Solomon Psalms of Solomon[58]

Prophets

Δώδεκα The Twelve Minor Prophets

Ὡσηέ Αʹ I. Osëe Hosea

Ἀμώς Βʹ II. Amōs Amos

Μιχαίας Γʹ III. Michaias Micah

Ἰωήλ Δʹ IV. Ioël Joel

Ὀβδίου Εʹ[59] V. Obdias Obadiah

Ἰωνᾶς Ϛ' VI. Ionas Jonah

Ναούμ Ζʹ VII. Naoum Nahum

Ἀμβακούμ Ηʹ VIII. Ambakum Habakkuk

Σοφονίας Θʹ IX. Sophonias Zephaniah

Ἀγγαῖος Ιʹ X. Angaios Haggai

Ζαχαρίας ΙΑʹ XI. Zacharias Zachariah

Ἄγγελος ΙΒʹ XII. Messenger Malachi

Ἠσαΐας Hesaias Isaiah

Ἱερεμίας Hieremias Jeremiah

Βαρούχ Baruch Baruch

Θρῆνοι Lamentations Lamentations

Ἐπιστολή Ιερεμίου Epistle of Jeremiah Letter of Jeremiah

Ἰεζεκιήλ Iezekiêl Ezekiel

Δανιήλ Daniêl Daniel with additions

Appendix

Μακκαβαίων Δ' Παράρτημα IV Makkabees 4 Maccabees[60]

Christian Bibles

Part of a series on

Christianity

Jesus

Christ

[show]

Bible

Foundations

[show]

Theology[show]

History

Tradition

[show]

Related topics[show]

Denominations

Groups

[show]

 Christianity portal

v

t

e

Main articles: Christian biblical canons and List of English Bible translations

The Bible translated into German byMartin Luther

A page from the Gutenberg Bible

A Christian Bible is a set of books that a Christian denomination regards as divinely inspired and thus constitutingscripture. Although the Early Church primarily used the Septuagint or the Targums among Aramaic speakers, theapostles did not leave a defined set of new scriptures; instead the canon of the New Testament developed over time. Groups within Christianity include differing books as part of their sacred writings, most prominent among which are the biblical apocrypha or deuterocanonical books.

Significant versions of the English Christian Bible include the Douay-Rheims Bible, the Authorized King James Version, the English Revised Version, the American Standard Version, the Revised Standard Version, the New American Standard Version, the New King James Version, the New International Version, and the English Standard Version.

Old TestamentMain article: Old Testament

The books which make up the Christian Old Testament differ between the Catholic (see Catholic Bible), Orthodox, and Protestant (see Protestant Bible) churches, with the Protestant movement accepting only those books contained in the Hebrew Bible, while Catholics and Orthodox have wider canons. A few groups consider particular translations to be divinely inspired, notably the Greek Septuagint and the Aramaic Peshitta.[citation needed]

Apocryphal or deuterocanonical books

The Isaiah scroll, which is a part of the Dead Sea Scrolls, contains almost the whole Book of Isaiah. It dates from the 2nd century BCE.

In Eastern Christianity, translations based on the Septuagint still prevail. The Septuagint was generally abandoned in favour of the 10th-century Masoretic Text as the basis for translations of the Old Testament into Westernlanguages.[citation needed] Some modern Western translations since the 14th century make use of the Septuagint to clarify passages in the Masoretic Text, where the Septuagint may preserve a variant reading of the Hebrew text. [citation needed] They also sometimes adopt variants that appear in other texts, e.g., those discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls.[61][62]

A number of books which are part of the Peshitta or Greek Septuagint but are not found in the Hebrew (Rabbinic) Bible (i.e., among the protocanonical books) are often referred to as deuterocanonical books by Roman Catholics referring to a later secondary (i.e., deutero) canon, that canon as fixed definitively by the Council of Trent 1545–1563.[63][64] It includes 46 books for the Old Testament (45 if Jeremiah and Lamentations are counted as one) and 27 for the New.[65]

Most Protestants term these books as apocrypha. Modern Protestant traditions do not accept the deuterocanonical books as canonical, although Protestant Bibles included them in Apocrypha sections until the 1820s. However, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches include these books as part of their Old Testament.

The Roman Catholic Church recognizes:[66]

Tobit Judith 1 Maccabees 2 Maccabees Wisdom Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus) Baruch The Letter of Jeremiah (Baruch Chapter 6) Greek Additions to Esther (Book of Esther, chapters 10:4 – 12:6) The Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children verses 1–68 (Book of Daniel, chapter 3, verses 24–90) Susanna (Book of Daniel, chapter 13) Bel and the Dragon (Book of Daniel, chapter 14)

In addition to those, the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches recognize the following:[citation needed]

3 Maccabees 1 Esdras Prayer of Manasseh Psalm 151

Russian and Georgian Orthodox Churches include:[citation needed]

2 Esdras i.e., Latin Esdras in the Russian and Georgian Bibles

There is also 4 Maccabees which is only accepted as canonical in the Georgian Church, but was included by St. Jerome in an appendix to the Vulgate, and is an appendix to the Greek Orthodox Bible, and it is therefore sometimes included in collections of the Apocrypha. [citation needed]

The Syriac Orthodox tradition includes:[citation needed]

Psalms 151–155

The Apocalypse of Baruch The Letter of Baruch

The Ethiopian Biblical canon includes:[citation needed]

Jubilees Enoch 1–3 Meqabyan

and some other books.

The Anglican Church uses some of the Apocryphal books liturgically. Therefore, editions of the Bible intended for use in the Anglican Church include the Deuterocanonical books accepted by the Catholic Church, plus 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras and the Prayer of Manasseh, which were in the Vulgate appendix.[citation

needed]

Pseudepigraphal textsMain article: Pseudepigrapha

The term Pseudepigrapha commonly describes numerous works of Jewish religious literature written from about 300 BCE to 300 CE. Not all of these works are actually pseudepigraphical. It also refers to books of the New Testament canon whose authorship is misrepresented. The "Old Testament" Pseudepigraphal works include the following:[67]

3 Maccabees 4 Maccabees Assumption of Moses Ethiopic Book of Enoch (1 Enoch) Slavonic Book of Enoch (2 Enoch) Hebrew Book of Enoch (3 Enoch) (also known as "The Revelation of Metatron" or "The Book of Rabbi Ishmael the High Priest") Book of Jubilees Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch (2 Baruch) Letter of Aristeas (Letter to Philocrates regarding the translating of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek) Life of Adam and Eve Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah Psalms of Solomon Sibylline Oracles Greek Apocalypse of Baruch (3 Baruch) Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs

Book of Enoch

Notable pseudepigraphal works include the Books of Enoch (such as 1 Enoch, 2 Enoch, surviving only in Old Slavonic, and 3 Enoch, surviving in Hebrew, c. 5th to 6th century CE). These are ancient Jewish religious works, traditionally ascribed to the prophet Enoch, the great-grandfather of the patriarch Noah. They are not part of the biblical canon used by Jews, apart from Beta Israel. Most Christian denominations and traditions may accept the Books of Enoch as having some historical or theological interest or significance. It has been observed that part of the Book of Enoch is quoted in the Epistle of Jude (part of the New Testament) but Christian denominations generally regard the Books of Enoch as non-canonical or non-inspired.[68] However, the Enoch books are treated as canonical by theEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

The older sections (mainly in the Book of the Watchers) are estimated to date from about 300 BC, and the latest part (Book of Parables) probably was composed at the end of the 1st century BCE.[69]

Denominational views of Pseudepigrapha

There arose in some Protestant biblical scholarship an extended use of the term pseudepigrapha for works that appeared as though they ought to be part of the biblical canon, because of the authorship ascribed to them, but which stood outside both the biblical canons recognized by Protestants and Catholics. These works were also outside the particular set of books that Roman Catholics called deuterocanonical and to which Protestants had generally applied the term Apocryphal. Accordingly, the term pseudepigraphical, as now used often among both Protestants and Roman Catholics (allegedly for the clarity it brings to the discussion), may make it difficult to discuss questions of pseudepigraphical authorship of canonical books dispassionately with a lay audience. To confuse the matter even more, Eastern Orthodox Christians accept books as canonical that Roman Catholics and most Protestant denominations consider pseudepigraphical or at best of much less authority. There exist also churches that reject some of the books that Roman Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants accept. The same is true of some Jewish sects. Many works that are "apocryphal" are otherwise considered genuine.

Role of Old Testament in Christian theologyFurther information: Sola scriptura and Christian theology

The Old Testament has always been central to the life of the Christian church. Bible scholar N.T. Wright says "Jesus himself was profoundly shaped by the scriptures."[70] He adds that the earliest Christians also searched those same Hebrew scriptures in their effort to understand the earthly life of Jesus. They regarded the Israelites' "holy writings" as instructive for the Christian, and as pointing to the Messiah, and as having reached a climactic fulfillment in Jesus himself, generating the "new covenant" prophesied by Jeremiah.[71]

New TestamentMain article: Development of the New Testament canon

The New Testament is a collection of 27 books[72] of 4 different genres of Christian literature (Gospels, one account of the Acts of the Apostles, Epistles and anApocalypse). Jesus is its central figure. The New Testament presupposes the inspiration of the Old Testament. [73](2 Timothy 3:16) Nearly all Christians recognize the New Testament as canonical scripture. These books can be grouped into:

The Gospels

Synoptic Gospels Gospel According to Matthew Gospel According to Mark Gospel According to Luke

Gospel According to John

Narrative literature, account and history of the Apostolic age

Acts of the Apostles

Pauline Epistles

Epistle to the Romans First Epistle to the Corinthians Second Epistle to the Corinthians

Pastoral epistles

First Epistle to Timothy Second Epistle to Timothy Epistle to Titus Epistle to Philemon Epistle to the Hebrews

General epistles, also called catholic epistles

Epistle of James First Epistle of Peter Second Epistle of Peter First Epistle of John Second Epistle of John Third Epistle of John

Epistle to the Galatians Epistle to the Ephesians Epistle to the Philippians Epistle to the Colossians First Epistle to the Thessalonians Second Epistle to the Thessalonians

Epistle of Jude

Apocalyptic literature, also called Prophetical

Revelation, or the Apocalypse

The New Testament books are ordered differently in the Catholic/Orthodox/Protestant tradition, the Slavonic tradition, the Syriac tradition and the Ethiopian tradition.

Original languageSee also: Language of the New Testament

The mainstream consensus is that the New Testament was written in a form of Koine Greek,[74][75] which was the common language of the Eastern Mediterranean[76][77][78][79] from the Conquests of Alexander the Great (335–323 BCE) until the evolution of Byzantine Greek (c. 600).

Historic editions

The Codex Gigas from the 13th century, held at the Swedish Royal Library in Stockholm

See also: Biblical manuscript and Textual criticism

The original autographs, that is, the original Greek writings and manuscripts written by the original authors of the New Testament, have not survived.[80] But historically copies exist of those original autographs, transmitted and preserved in a number of manuscript traditions. When ancient scribes copied earlier books, they sometimes wrote notes on the margins of the page (marginal glosses) to correct their text—especially if a scribe accidentally omitted a word or line—and to comment about the text. When later scribes were copying the copy, they were sometimes uncertain if a note was intended to be included as part of the text. Over time, different regions evolved different versions, each with its own assemblage of omissions and additions. [81]

The three main textual traditions of the Greek New Testament are sometimes called the Alexandrian text-type (generally minimalist), the Byzantine text-type (generally maximalist), and the Western text-type (occasionally wild). Together they comprise most of the ancient manuscripts.

Development of the Christian canonsMain articles: Development of the Old Testament canon and Development of the New Testament canon

The Old Testament canon entered into Christian use in the Greek Septuagint translations and original books, and their differing lists of texts. In addition to the Septuagint, Christianity[vague] subsequently added various writings that would become the New Testament. Somewhat different lists of accepted works continued to develop in antiquity. In the 4th century a series of synods produced a list of texts equal to the 39, 46(51),54, or 57 book canon of the Old

Testament and to the 27-book canon of the New Testament that would be subsequently used to today, most notably the Synod of Hippo in 393 CE. Also c. 400, Jerome produced a definitive Latin edition of the Bible (see Vulgate), the canon of which, at the insistence of the Pope, was in accord with the earlier Synods. With the benefit of hindsight it can be said that this process effectively set the New Testament canon, although there are examples of other canonical lists in use after this time.

The Protestant Old Testament of today has a 39-book canon—the number of books (though not the content) varies from the Jewish Tanakh only because of a different method of division—while the Roman Catholic Church recognizes 46 books (51 books with some books combined into 46 books) as the canonical Old Testament. The Eastern Orthodox Churches recognise 3 Maccabees, 1 Esdras, Prayer of Manasseh and Psalm 151 in addition to the Catholic canon. Some include 2 Esdras. The Anglican Church also recognises a longer canon. The term "Hebrew Scriptures" is often used as being synonymous with the Protestant Old Testament, since the surviving scriptures in Hebrew include only those books, while Catholics and Orthodox include additional texts that have not survived in Hebrew. Both Catholics and Protestants (as well as Greek Orthodox) have the same 27-book New Testament Canon.[82]

The New Testament writers assumed the inspiration of the Old Testament, probably earliest stated in 2 Timothy 3:16, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God".[9]

Ethiopian Orthodox canonMain article: Ethiopian Biblical canon

The Canon of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is wider than the canons used by most other Christian churches. There are 81 books in the Ethiopian Orthodox Bible.[83] The Ethiopian Old Testament Canon includes the books found in the Septuagint accepted by other Orthodox Christians, in addition to Enoch andJubilees which are ancient Jewish books that only survived in Ge'ez but are quoted in the New Testament,[citation needed] also Greek Ezra First and the Apocalypse of Ezra, 3 books of Meqabyan, and Psalm 151 at the end of the Psalter. The three books of Meqabyan are not to be confused with the books of Maccabees. The order of the other books is somewhat different from other groups', as well. The Old Testament follows the Septuagint order for the Minor Prophets rather than the Jewish order.[citation needed]

Divine inspirationMain articles: Biblical inspiration, Biblical literalism, Biblical infallibility and Biblical inerrancy

The Second Epistle to Timothy says that "all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness". (2 Timothy 3:16)[84] Some Christians believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, that God, through the Holy Spirit, intervened and influenced the words, message, and collation of the Bible.[85] For many Christians the Bible is also infallible, and is incapable of error in matters of faith and practice, but not necessarily in historic or scientific matters. A related, but distinguishable belief is that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, without error in any aspect, spoken by God and written down in its perfect form by humans. Within these broad beliefs there are many schools of hermeneutics. "Bible scholars claim that discussions about the Bible must be put into its context within church history and then into the context of contemporary culture."[71] Fundamentalist Christians are associated with the doctrine of biblical literalism, where the Bible is not only inerrant, but the meaning of the text is clear to the average reader.[86]

Belief in sacred texts is attested to in Jewish antiquity,[87][88] and this belief can also be seen in the earliest of Christian writings. Various texts of the Bible mention divine agency in relation to its writings.[89] In their book A General Introduction to the Bible, Norman Geisler and William Nix wrote: "The process of inspiration is a mystery of the providence of God, but the result of this process is a verbal, plenary, inerrant, and authoritative record." [90] Most evangelical biblical scholars[91][92][93]associate inspiration with only the original text; for example some American Protestants adhere to the 1978 Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy which asserted that inspiration applied only to the autographic text of Scripture.[94] Among adherents of Biblical literalism, a minority, such as the King-James-Only Movement, extend the claim of inerrancy only to a particular translation.[95]

Versions and translationsFurther information: Bible translations and List of Bible translations by language

A Bible handwritten in Latin, on display in Malmesbury Abbey,Wiltshire, England. This Bible was transcribed in Belgium in 1407 for reading aloud in a monastery.

Title page from the first Welshtranslation of the Bible, 1588. William Morgan (1545-1604)

The original texts of the Tanakh were mainly in Hebrew, with some portions in Aramaic. In addition to the authoritative Masoretic Text, Jews still refer to the Septuagint, the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, and the Targum Onkelos, an Aramaic version of the Bible. There are several different ancient versions of the Tanakh in Hebrew, mostly differing by spelling, and the traditional Jewish version is based on the version known as Aleppo Codex. Even in

this version there are words which are traditionally read differently from written, because the oral tradition is considered more fundamental than the written one, and presumably mistakes had been made in copying the text over the generations.[citation needed]

The primary biblical text for early Christians was the Septuagint. In addition, they translated the Hebrew Bible into several other languages. Translations were made into Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopic, and Latin, among other languages. The Latin translations were historically the most important for the Church in the West, while the Greek-speaking East continued to use the Septuagint translations of the Old Testament and had no need to translate the New Testament.

The earliest Latin translation was the Old Latin text, or Vetus Latina, which, from internal evidence, seems to have been made by several authors over a period of time. It was based on the Septuagint, and thus included books not in the Hebrew Bible.

Pope Damasus I assembled the first list of books of the Bible at the Council of Rome in 382 CE. He commissioned SaintJerome to produce a reliable and consistent text by translating the original Greek and Hebrew texts into Latin. This translation became known as the Latin Vulgate Bible and in 1546 at the Council of Trent was declared by the Roman Catholic Church to be the only authentic and official Bible in the Latin Church.

Since the Protestant Reformation, Bible translations for many languages have been made. The Bible continues to be translated to new languages, largely by Christian organisations such as Wycliffe Bible Translators, New Tribes Mission andBible societies.

Bible translations, worldwide (as of November 2014)[96]

Number Statistic

7,000 Approximate number of languages spoken in the world today

2,195 Number of translations into new languages currently in progress

1,329 Number of languages with a translation of the New Testament

531 Number of languages with a translation of the Bible (Protestant Canon)

ViewsJohn Riches, professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism at the University of Glasgow, provides the following view of the diverse historical influences of the Bible:

It has inspired some of the great monuments of human thought, literature, and art; it has equally fuelled some of the worst excesses of human savagery, self-interest, and narrow-mindedness. It has inspired men and women to acts of great service and courage, to fight for liberation and human development;

and it has provided the ideological fuel for societies which have enslaved their fellow human beings and reduced them to abject poverty. ... It has, perhaps above all, provided a source of religious and moral norms which have enabled communities to hold together, to care for, and to protect one another; yet precisely this strong sense of belonging has in turn fuelled ethnic, racial, and international tension and conflict. [97]

Other religionsMain article:  Islamic view of the Christian Bible

In Islam, the Bible is held to reflect true unfolding revelation from God; but revelation which had been corrupted or distorted (in Arabic: tahrif); which necessitated the giving of the Qur'an to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, to correct this deviation.

Members of other religions may also seek inspiration from the Bible. For example, Rastafaris view the Bible as essential to their religion [98] and Unitarian Universalists view it as "one of many important religious texts".[99]

Biblical studiesMain articles: Biblical studies and Biblical criticism

Biblical criticism refers to the investigation of the Bible as a text, and addresses questions such as authorship, dates of composition, and authorial intention. It is not the same as criticism of the Bible, which is an assertion against the Bible being a source of information or ethical guidance, or observations that the Bible may havetranslation errors.[100]

Higher criticismMain articles: Higher criticism and Lower criticism

In the 17th century Thomas Hobbes collected the current evidence to conclude outright that Moses could not have written the bulk of the Torah. Shortly afterwards the philosopher Baruch Spinoza published a unified critical analysis, arguing that the problematic passages were not isolated cases that could be explained away one by one, but pervasive throughout the five books, concluding that it was "clearer than the sun at noon that the Pentateuch was not written by Moses . . ."[101][102]Despite determined opposition from Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, the views of Hobbes and Spinoza gained increasing acceptance amongst scholars.

Archaeological and historical researchMain articles: Biblical archaeology school and The Bible and history

Biblical archaeology is the archaeology that relates to and sheds light upon the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Greek Scriptures (or "New Testament"). It is used to help determine the lifestyle and practices of people living in biblical times. There are a wide range of interpretations in the field of biblical archaeology. One broad division includes biblical maximalism which generally takes the view that most of the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible is based on history although it is presented through the religious viewpoint of its time. It is considered the opposite of biblical minimalism which considers the Bible a purely post-exilic (5th century BCE and later) composition. Even among those scholars who adhere to biblical minimalism, the Bible is a historical document containing first-hand information on the Hellenistic and Roman eras, and there is universal scholarly consensus that the events of the 6th century BCE Babylonian captivity have a basis in history.

The historicity of the biblical account of the history of ancient Israel and Judah of the 10th to 7th centuries BCE is disputed in scholarship. The biblical account of the 8th to 7th centuries BCE is widely, but not universally, accepted as historical, while the verdict on the earliest period of the United Monarchy (10th century BCE) and the historicity of David is unclear. Archaeological evidence providing information on this period, such as the Tel Dan Stele, can potentially be decisive. The biblical account of events of the Exodus from Egypt in the Torah, and the migration to the Promised Land and the period of Judges are not considered historical in scholarship.[103][104]

CriticismMain article: Criticism of the Bible

In modern times, the view that the Bible should be accepted as historically accurate and as a reliable guide to morality has been questioned by many mainstream academics in the field of biblical criticism. Most Christian groups claim that the Bible is inspired by God, and some oppose interpretations of the Bible that are not traditional or "plain reading". Some groups within the most conservative Protestant circles believe that the Authorized King James Version is the only accurate English translation of the Bible, and accept it as infallible. They are generally referred to as "King James Only". Many within Christian fundamentalism – as well as much of Orthodox Judaism—strongly support the idea that the Bible is a historically accurate record of actual events and a primary source of moral guidance.

In addition to concerns about morality, inerrancy, or historicity, there remain some questions of which books should be included in the Bible (see canon of scripture). Jews discount the New Testament, most Christians deny the legitimacy of the New Testament apocrypha, and a view sometimes referred to as Jesusism does not affirm the scriptural authority of any biblical text other than the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels.

Bibles Gallery

Bibles

Old Bible from a Greek monastery

 

Imperial Bible, or Vienna Coronation Gospels from Wien (Austria), c 1500.

 

The Kennicott Bible, 1476

 

A Baroque Bible

 

The bible used by Abraham Lincoln for his oath of office during his first inauguration in 1861

 

A miniature Bible

 

19th century Victorian Bible

 

Shelves of the Bizzell Bible Collection at Bizzell Memorial Library

IllustrationsMost old Bibles were illuminated, they were manuscripts in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders (marginalia) and miniature illustrations. Up to the twelfth century, most manuscripts were produced in monasteries in order to add to the library or after receiving acommission from a wealthy patron. Larger monasteries often contained separate areas for the monks who specialized in the production of manuscripts called ascriptorium, where “separate little rooms were assigned to book copying; they were situated in such a way that each scribe had to himself a window open to the cloister walk.”[105] By the fourteenth century, the cloisters of monks writing in the scriptorium started to employ laybrothers from the urban scriptoria, especially in Paris, Rome and the Netherlands.[106] Demand for manuscripts grew to an extent that the Monastic libraries were unable to meet with the demand, and began employing secular scribes and illuminators.[107] These individuals often lived close to the monastery and, in certain instances, dressed as monks whenever they entered the monastery, but were allowed to leave at the end of the day. [108]

The manuscript was “sent to the rubricator, who added (in red or other colors) the titles, headlines, the initials of chapters and sections, the notes and so on; and then – if the book was to be illustrated – it was sent to the illuminator.” [105] In the case of manuscripts that were sold commercially, the writing would “undoubtedly have been discussed initially between the patron and the scribe (or the scribe’s agent,) but by the time that the written gathering were sent off to the illuminator there was no longer any scope for innovation.”[109]

Bible illustrations

Bible from 1150, from Scriptorium de Chartres, Christ with angels

 

Blanche of Castile and Louis IX of France Bible, 13th century

 

Bible moralisée : Christ the architect of the Universe.

 

Maciejowski Bible, Leaf 37, the 3rd image, Abner (in the center in green) sends Michal back to David.

 

Jephthah's daughter laments - Maciejowski Bible (France, ca. 1250)

 

Colored version of the Whore of Babylon illustration from Martin Luther's 1534 translation of the Bible.

 

An Armenian Bible, illuminated by Malnazar, Armenian) illuminator.

 

Fleeing Sodom and Gomorrah, Foster Bible