Bible continues to be the foundation of modern ethics and law
While various religious researchers have brought different concepts when describing the Bible, history still presents the word Bible to be from a Greek word biblia, which refers to books. The Bible is, therefore, a small library that contains different types of books written by many authors (The Learning Bible 1). On the other hand, the Bible remains to be the world’s most fascinating and best-selling book of all time. The book has seemingly been translated into various languages and continues to be the foundation of modern ethics and law.
The books of the Bible seemingly have different stories about God and the relationship between God and the people we now read about in the Bible. The origin of the stories during the oral tradition when stories were passed by word of mouth (The Learning Bible 1). The stories told in the Old Testament majorly come from the period before the birth of Jesus and included the story relating to the beginning of the earth and other stories about how God interacted with the Jews through prophets.
Significant developments in terms of recordings and writings to the stories told in the books of the Bible can further be traced around 1800 B.C. when societies in the Near East started developing different types of writings that were simple to use and learn. During this period, people began writing down songs (Psalms), stories, and prophecies that would eventually grow and become part of the Bible (The Learning Bible 1). Nevertheless, it is essential to note that not all stories, especially in the Old Testament, were written down at one time. Researchers contend that it as a process that took centuries. Religious researchers also argue that the very first manuscripts of the stories that comprise of both old and new testaments have disappeared, and there is no trace whatsoever. Significant arguments are on the basis that such manuscripts are likely to have worn out due to continued use, destroyed centuries ago.
Jewish scriptures, which up to today remain to be a significant part of the Bible, were collected at a period around 400 B.C. (The Learning Bible 2). Researchers, however, contend that it is not possible to ascertain when all the books of the Jewish Scriptures were collected. Fundamental discussions rely on the fact that some writings in the Jewish Scriptures are traced as far as 1100 B.C., but the process of collecting the books began later around 400 B.C., as discussed above.
From the Old Testament, it is evident that the Bible as divided into three sections by the Jews, i.e., the Pentateuch, the Prophets, and the writings. Bible researchers believe that the Hebrew canon was divided into three because of the different historical stages when the canonization of the books took place. The three texts represented three stages of development, and the Pentateuch was the first to be canonized in the fifth century B.C. (Wansbrough 1). The prophets then followed and were canonized in the third century B.C. The Writings, on the other hand, were the last to be canonized and came much later at the beginning of the first century A.D. The law is also known as Pentateuch comprised of five books, which include, Numbers, Exodus, Genesis, Leviticus and Deuteronomy. The Prophets consist of eight books like Joshua, Samuel, Judges, and Kings, to name a few. Examples of the Writings included wisdom literature and religious poetry like Proverbs, Psalms, Song of Songs, Job Esther, Lamentations, and Ecclesiastes.
The Septuagint (LXX), on the other hand, refers to the Old Greek version of the Bible. Bible researchers contend that Septuagint included translations of all books recorded in the Hebrew canon and comes out as the first known bible translation. The word Septuagint is obtained from a Latin name for “seventy” and frequently identified by (LXX) which is a Roman numeral for seventy (Wansbrough 4). Major translations of the Bible were done by seventy-two scholars who started translating Jewish Scriptures all at the same time from Hebrew. Meaningful translations involved interpretations in the language of Rome, Latin, Coptic, Syriac, and the style of Egypt.
Stories about Jesus, on the other hand, started to emerge around A.D. 30 after He had died and raised to life. During this period, such stories about Jesus as well as his sayings were passed on by word of mouth. Around A.D. 65 saw significant developments to how the stories of Jesus emerged as it was a period when sayings and stories began to be written down and gathered in books that today are referred to as Gospels (The Learning Bible 3). Such gospels in the form of stories about Jesus make up about half of the New Testament. Biblical researchers, however, contend that the earliest writings of the New Testament were letters written by Apostle Paul to the followers of Jesus, who were all over the Roman Empire.
Early Christian texts, according to various Bible scholars, included letters, especially those written by Paul. Letters written by James are also considered as first Christian writings, and scholar presumes that they were written much earlier (Wansbrough 6). Such letters were meant to respond to particular problems from the communities directed to Paul. Thessalonians is believed to be the first letter for the early Christians and was intended to explain to Christians how they could have died when Paul had already completed the teaching that Christ had conquered death.
The four gospel found in the New Testament include the Gospel of Mark, John, Luke, and Matthew, and according to scholars, the Gospel of Mark was the first to be written at a period of AD 65-75. The Gospel of Mark, on the other hand, incorporates techniques that are closely related to oral teaching, like superfluous repetition (Wansbrough 8). The Gospel of Matthew, on the other hand, was intended for a community coming from Judaism and the Gospel further justifies how Jesus fulfills the scriptures. The Gospel, according to Matthew, was composed after the Gospel of Mark after 70 A.D. and was initially in Greek. The Gospel, according to Luke, on the other hand, stresses that the message from Jesus included the gentiles, and the style adopted by Luke is more sophisticated (Wansbrough 10). The Gospel depicts mixed characters who do the right thing but for the wrong reason. The Gospel is written between A.D. 63 and 68. The Gospel of John seemingly follows an entirely different chronological and geographical pattern and stands under the authority of the Beloved Disciple. The Gospel shows Jesus visiting Jerusalem during his ministry on four occasions, and the documentation of the Gospel is between 90 and 100 CE.
The most ancient scrolls of the Bible include the Qumran Scroll of Isaiah and the Masada Scroll of Ben Sira. The Qumran Scroll of Isaiah dates between 170 BC-AD 66 from the time of settlement at Qumran, and it was the precious library of the inhabitants of the settlement (Wansbrough 13). The Masada Scroll of Ben Sira, on the other hand, dates back in A.D. 70 after the sack of Jerusalem, where Zealots made a final stand in the palace constructed by King Herod. Ancient codex is seemingly documented in the Bible, and examples include codex Vaticanus, perceived to be the best manuscripts from a Greek bible perspective written in the mid-fourth century in Egypt. Codex Sinaiticus is also another example found in 1844 at St Catherine’s monastery and believed to be a fourth-century Greek manuscript. Another example of the ancient codex is the codex Bezae that contains most of the Acts of the Apostles and the four gospels.