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Question |
Answer |
Details |
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What is the meaning of
the word Bible ? |
Books |
It is derived from the
Greek word ta biblia, which means the books
Revelation 20:12 – the
word translated books is biblia in the original
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Is it a collection of
Books? |
Yes. |
Protestant Canon
has 66 books
39 in the Old Testament
- 27 in the New Testament
Jewish
24 books – Old
Testament only
The Protestant and
Jewish canon are identical, differing only in the order of the books and
their division. I and II kings is in the Jewis canon just one book of
Kings, The 12 minor prophets are just one book in the Jewish canon.
Catholic
46 in the Old Testament
- 27 in the New Testament
The Council of Trent in
1546 decreed that some books included only in the Greek Old Testament
are considered inspired by the Roman Church and of equal authority with
the Hebrew Scriptures.
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When was the Old
Testament written ? |
Between
XV – IV
Century BC |
Moses wrote his books
in the XV century BC.
The Minor Prophets were
completed in the IV Century BC. |
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When was the New
Testament written ? |
Between
40 – 100 AD |
The disciples began to
write the Gospels and the epistles after the death of Jesus. No exact
date can be retraced. John’s Gospel was very probably the last one to be
written in AD 100 c.ca. |
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What are the languages
of the Bible |
Hebrew, Aramaic and
Greek. |
The Old Testament is
almost all written in Hebrew. Some parts of it are written in Aramaic -
half of the book of Daniel, Esdra - which was an international dialect
spoken during the times of the Babylonian captivity.
The New Testament was
all written in Greek. |
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Who wrote the Bible? |
Men chosen by God |
God chose Moses to
write. He even commanded him to write.
The same command is
found in other portions of the Bible.
Exodus 17:14
“And the LORD said unto
Moses, Write this [for] a memorial in a book.”
Revelation 1:19
“Write the
things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things
which shall be hereafter; |
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Is the Bible also to be
considered as one book ? |
Yes. |
The books have all the
same subject – God revealing himself to men, showing them His Deity and
Glory and His plan of saving mankind through Jesus Christ.
To those who studied
the Bible its unity is undisputable. |
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Is the Bible only a
good book? |
No. |
The Bible is the
Word of God.
God inspired the
writers so that the Bible is in a unique sense truly the Word of God.
I Timothy 3:16
All scripture
[is] given by inspiration of God,
and [is] profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the
man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
2 Peter 1:21
For the prophecy came
not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake [as they
were] moved by the Holy Ghost.
Acts 28:25
“… after that Paul had
spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto
our fathers…” |
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Is the Bible without
mistakes? |
Yes. |
The Bible contains no
mistakes or contradictions whatsoever.
Psalm 18:30
[As for]
God, his way [is] perfect: the word of the
LORD is tried: he [is] a buckler to all those that trust in him. |
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What is the most famous
Greek translation of the Old Testament ? |
The Septuagint |
Or LXX. So called
because the Old Testament was translated into the Greek language in
Egypt by 72 men in the III Century BC
It is often quoted in
the New Testament, which was also written in Greek. |
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Which is the most
famous ancient translation of the Bible ? |
The Latin Vulgate |
In IV Century AD,
Jerome translated the Bible from the original tongues into Latin, both
Old and New Testament.
Jerome lamented the non
existence of the Apocripha books in the Hebrew Canon. |
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How was the Bible
preserved in ancient times? |
By patient copying
processes.
Print entered the scene
only in the XVI Century. |
The art of being a
scribe was very important among the Jews. It was a very serious matter
for a scribe to copy a book of the Old Testament. He would destroy his
work if he made more than a certain number of mistakes.
The same care was taken
for the New Testament by the early church.
Romans 3:2
“unto them were
committed the oracles of God”
Colossians 4:16
“And when this epistle
is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the
Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the [epistle] from Laodicea.”
I Thessalonians 5:27
“I charge you by the
Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren” |
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When was the Old
Testament Canon closed? |
It was complete before
the times of Jesus |
It was complete in the
division mentioned by Jesus, Luke 24:44.
The same books are
found today in the Protestant Old Testament.
Luke 24:44
“And he said unto them,
These [are] the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you,
that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of
Moses, and [in] the prophets, and [in] the psalms, concerning me.” |