No other single book in Earth's history has impacted civilization so greatly, achieved a longer, wider distribution, or stirred the blood of its opponents and supporters so powerfully as the Bible. It remains Earth's longest lasting bestseller, moral challenger, and conviction catalyst. The Bible is no usual book. Men and women have died for its message. Three major world religions-Christianity, Judaism, and Islam-claim the Bible or portions of the Bible as a holy book. Christianity claims the Bible as its only holy Book.

The Bible's creation and passage through history has been almost as unusual as the impact of the book itself. Essentially a miniature library, it is a compilation of 66 books written by an estimated 40 writers over a period of about 1600 years. The amazing harmony and consistent theme which run's through each of these books, tying them all into one complete whole, is perhaps the greatest testament to the Bible's source in something beyond the writers themselves. This is the crux of the Bible; it's assertion of ultimate authorship by God himself.

The Bible's message is that we can know God because He has chosen to reveal truths about Himself in words and deeds, (2 Peter 1:16-21) recording this revelation in human language, despite its limitations (2 Timothy 3:16). God's method for making this possible, as Peter, one of its writers shares, is supernatural yet simple. Whether God supplied the information Himself or simply supervised the writing, His Holy Spirit, the Bible states, is ultimately responsible for all Holy Scripture (2 Peter 1:21).

The Bible as it is today, has passed every test of time. In A.D. 90, the Council of Jamnia affirmed the canonicity of the OT books, which had already been accepted as the Divinely inspired Word of God for three hundred years. The New Testament was officially canonized in A.D. 365.

The English word "bible" comes from the Greek word "biblion," meaning, "a little book". Over the centuries the word bible has become entirely identified with the sacred writings of the Old and New Testament. The word scripture is used in the NT to refer to the OT. Today it too has come to refer to the whole volume of both testaments.

Bible book records were in existence long before they were collected into their final form. Ezra, one of the Old Testament writers, was the first to create a compilation of the books. Around 536 B.C. he compiled much of what we now call the Old Testament. Prior to that time, the books of the OT were circulated and read individually, as were the books of the NT prior to their conization.

The Bible we have today is translated from various ancient Manuscripts such as the Septuagint (LXX) which contains a copy of the Old Testament in Greek, the Codex Sinaiticus, which contains a copy of the New Testament in Greek, and the Vulgate which is a copy of the OT in Latin.

During the Dark Ages (A.D. 476-1000) scarcely any Bible translation work was done. The Waldensians, under much persecution, were the first to break this trend and rekindle interest in the Bible. Following them, in 1378 John Wycliffe, a teacher at Oxford, England, no doubt influenced by their example and message, begin to translate the Latin Bible, used in the churches of his day, into the language of the common people. A friend, Nicholas of Hereford assisted him.

On May 27, 1524, some years after Wycliffe's death, William Tyndale, a teacher at Cambridge for a time, followed his example and began another translation. Tyndale was martyred before he completely finished the OT. Miles Coverdale picked up the torch and continued on. Another Englishmen, Coverdale dedicated his 1535 edition of the Bible to Henry VIII, the king who had tried to apprehend Tyndale. Amazingly, Coverdale's Bible was given royal license by England.

The Matthews Bible, the Great Bible, the Geneva Bible, the Douay Bible and others followed many of them created under persecution. Finally in 1611 King James Stuart of Scotland, and by then England, convened the Hampton Court Conference in an effort to reconcile the religious parties in his kingdom. The attempt failed. However, an action taken at the Conference brought into being the King James Bible, a version destined to be used for hundreds of years. Many scholars agree that the KJV contains the most beautiful form of English the world has ever known, and that the lyrical style of this translation lends itself to memorization.

Numerous translations have been created in the years that have followed. Each one offering their unique style to generations of readers. Whichever translation of the Bible you choose to read, expect to be impacted as you too open the pages of this volume that has for centuries - for millenniums, moved, empassioned and empowered the hearts of its readers.

To read WORD SIGHT'S special summary edition of the Bible, click here:

SOURCES

The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible Survey, Howard A. Hanke, World Books, Waco, Texas Nelson's Illustrated Encyclopecia of Bible Facts, J.I. Packer, Merrill C. Tenney, William White, Jr., Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennisee