Bible

The Bible is the collections of sacred scripture of Judaism and Christianity . There is no single Bible, and both the individual books (the Biblical cannon ), and their order, varies: the Hebrew Bible contains 39 books, while Christian Bibles range from the 66 books of the Protestant cannon to over 80 books in the Ethiopian Orthodox bible. The oldest Bibles to survive are in Greek and date from the 4th century CE; there are no Jewish Bibles in this sense (i.e., a collection of scriptures bound in a single volume) until the Middle Ages. The Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh , is divided into three parts: (1) The five books of the Torah ("teaching" or "law") comprise the origins of the Israelite nation and its covenant with God ; (2) the Nevi'im ("prophets") containing the historic account of ancient Israel and Judah plus works of prophecy; and (3) the Ketuvim ("writings"), poetic and philosophical works such as Psalms and Job. Christian Bibles include the books of the Hebrew Bible, but arranged in a different fashion: while the Hebrew scripture ends with the people Israel restored to Jerusalem and the Temple, the Christian Old Testament ends with a prophetic book (Malachi) which, in the opinion of the earliest Christians, foretold the coming of Jesus as the Messiah. All Christian bibles add to this the various books of what they term the New Testament , a collection of narratives and theological works setting out the doctrine of salvation through Jesus Christ , the Son of God . Harper & Row, 1988, quoted in Smith, Mark S. The early history of God: Yahweh and the other deities in ancient Israel.

There is no single "Bible" and many Bibles with varying contents exist. Various religious traditions have produced different recensions with different selections of texts. These do largely overlap however, creating an important common core. With estimated total sales of over 5 billion copies, the Bible is widely considered to be the best selling book of all time, has estimated annual sales of 100 million copies, and has been a major influence on literature and history, especially in the West where it was the first mass-printed book. The Gutenberg Bible was the first Bible printed using movable type . The Bible: A Very Short Introduction . Top 10 of Everything 2002 .

Collection of religious texts in Judaism and Christianity The Gutenberg Bible , the first printed Bible (mid-15th century) Interpretation Hermeneutics Pesher Midrash Pardes Allegorical interpretation Historical-grammatical method Inspiration Literalism Alcohol Conspiracy theory Ethics Capital punishment Homosexuality Humor Incest Muhammad Prophecy Rape Serpents Sex Slavery Violence Warfare Women Perspectives Gnostic Islamic Quranic Inerrancy Infallibility Criticism of the Bible Biblical authority Outline of Bible-related topics Bible portal v t e The Bible (from Koine Greek τὰ βιβλία, tà biblía , "the books") is a collection of sacred texts or scriptures. The Bible is generally considered to be a product of divine inspiration and a record of the relationship between God and humans by Christians , Jews , Samaritans , Rastafari and others. The Bible appears in the form of an anthology , a compilation of texts of a variety of forms that are all linked by the belief that they collectively contain the word of God. These texts include theologically-focused historical accounts, hymns, parables , didactic letters, erotica, sermons, poetry, and prophecies. Those books included in the Bible by a tradition or group are called canonical , indicating that the tradition/group views the collection as the true representation of God's word and will. A number of Biblical canons have evolved, with overlapping and diverging contents from denomination to denomination. The Hebrew Bible overlaps with the Greek Septuagint and the Christian Old Testament . The Christian New Testament is a collection of writings by early Christians , believed to be mostly Jewish disciples of Christ , written in first-century Koine Greek . Among Christian denominations there is some disagreement about what should be included in the canon, primarily about the biblical apocrypha , a list of works that are regarded with varying levels of respect. Attitudes towards the Bible also differ among Christian groups. Roman Catholics , high church Anglicans , Methodists and Eastern Orthodox Christians stress the harmony and importance of both the Bible and sacred tradition , while many Protestant churches focus on the idea of sola scriptura , or scripture alone. This concept rose to prominence during the Reformation , and many denominations today support the use of the Bible as the only infallible source of Christian teaching. Others though, advance the concept of prima scriptura in contrast. The Bible has had a massive influence on literature and history, especially in the Western world , where the Gutenberg Bible was the first book printed using movable type . According to the March 2007 edition of Time , the Bible "has done more to shape literature, history, entertainment, and culture than any book ever written. Its influence on world history is unparalleled, and shows no signs of abating." With estimated total sales of over 5 billion copies, it is widely considered to be the best-selling book of all time . As of the 2000s, it sells approximately 100 million copies annually. The Bible: the making and impact on the Bible a history . The United Methodists see Scripture as the primary source and criterion for Christian doctrine. They emphasize the importance of tradition, experience, and reason for Christian doctrine. Lutherans teach that the Bible is the sole source for Christian doctrine. The truths of Scripture do not need to be authenticated by tradition, human experience, or reason. Scripture is self authenticating and is true in and of itself. Simply put, the Bible is the most influential book of all-time... The Bible has done more to shape literature, history, entertainment, and culture than any book ever written. Its influence on world history is unparalleled, and shows no signs of abating. Even pop culture is deeply influenced by the Bible. The Wall Street Journal . Top 10 of Everything 2002 . There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).

Collection of religious texts Several terms redirect here. The Gutenberg Bible , published in the mid-15th century by Johannes Gutenberg , is the first published Bible. Interpretation Hermeneutics Pesher Midrash Pardes Allegorical interpretation Historical-grammatical method Inspiration Literalism Alcohol Conspiracy theory Ethics Capital punishment Homosexuality Humor Incest Muhammad Prophecy Rape Serpents Sex Slavery Violence Warfare Women Perspectives Gnostic Islamic Quranic Inerrancy Infallibility Criticism of the Bible Biblical authority Outline of Bible-related topics Bible portal v t e The Bible (from Koine Greek τὰ βιβλία , tà biblía , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures, some, all of which, or a variant of which, are held to be sacred in Christianity , Judaism , Samaritanism , Islam , Baha'i'ism and many other religions . The Bible is an anthology , a compilation of texts of a variety of forms, originally written in Hebrew , Aramaic , and Koine Greek . These texts include instructions, stories, poetry, and prophecies, and other genres. The collection of materials that are accepted as part of the Bible by a particular religious tradition or community is called a biblical canon . Believers in the Bible generally consider it to be a product of divine inspiration , but the way they understand what that means and interpret the text varies. The religious texts were compiled by different religious communities into various official collections. The earliest contained the first five books of the Bible. It is called the Torah in Hebrew and the Pentateuch (meaning five books ) in Greek; the second oldest part was a collection of narrative histories and prophecies (the Nevi'im ); the third collection (the Ketuvim ) contains psalms, proverbs, and narrative histories. " Tanakh " is an alternate term for the Hebrew Bible composed of the first letters of those three parts of the Hebrew scriptures: the Torah ("Teaching"), the Nevi'im ("Prophets"), and the Ketuvim ("Writings"). The Masoretic Text is the medieval version of the Tanakh, in Hebrew and Aramaic, that is considered the authoritative text of the Hebrew Bible by modern Rabbinic Judaism . The Septuagint is a Koine Greek translation of the Tanakh from the third and second centuries BC; it largely overlaps with the Hebrew Bible. Christianity began as an outgrowth of Second Temple Judaism , using the Septuagint as the basis of the Old Testament . The early Church continued the Jewish tradition of writing and incorporating what it saw as inspired, authoritative religious books. The gospels , Pauline epistles , and other texts quickly coalesced into the New Testament . With estimated total sales of over five billion copies, the Bible is the best-selling publication of all time. It has had a profound influence both on Western culture and history and on cultures around the globe. The study of it through biblical criticism has indirectly impacted culture and history as well. The Bible is currently translated or is being translated into about half of the world's languages.

Collection of religious texts This article is about the religious book. Interpretation Hermeneutics Pesher Midrash Pardes Allegorical interpretation Historical-grammatical method Inspiration Literalism Alcohol Conspiracy theory Ethics Capital punishment Homosexuality Humor Incest Muhammad Prophecy Rape Serpents Sex Slavery Violence Warfare Women Perspectives Gnostic Islamic Quranic Inerrancy Infallibility Criticism of the Bible Biblical authority Outline of Bible-related topics Bible portal v t e The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism , and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam . The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally written in Hebrew and Koine Greek , with some parts in Aramaic . The texts include instructions, stories, poetry, prophecies, and other writings that convey ethical beliefs and values, and historical accounts. The collection of materials accepted as part of the Bible by a particular religious tradition or community is called a biblical canon . Believers generally consider it to be a product of divine inspiration , but the way they understand what that means and interpret the text varies. The religious texts, or scriptures, were compiled by different religious communities into various official collections. The earliest contained the first five books of the Bible, called the Torah in Hebrew and the Pentateuch (meaning 'five books') in Greek. The second-oldest part was a collection of narrative histories and prophecies (the Nevi'im ). The third collection, the Ketuvim , contains psalms, proverbs, and narrative histories. Tanakh ( Hebrew : תָּנָ״ךְ‎ , romanized : Tanaḵ ) is an alternate term for the Hebrew Bible, which is composed of the first letters of the three components comprising scriptures written originally in Hebrew: the Torah ('Teaching'), the Nevi'im ('Prophets'), and the Ketuvim ('Writings'). The Masoretic Text is the medieval version of the Tanakh—written in Hebrew and Aramaic—that is considered the authoritative text of the Hebrew Bible by modern Rabbinic Judaism . The Septuagint is a Koine Greek translation of the Tanakh from the third and second centuries BCE ; it largely overlaps with the Hebrew Bible. Christianity began as an outgrowth of Second Temple Judaism , using the Septuagint as the basis of the Old Testament . The early Church continued the Jewish tradition of writing and incorporating what it saw as inspired, authoritative religious books. The gospels , which are narratives about the life and teachings of Jesus , along with the Pauline epistles , and other texts quickly coalesced into the New Testament . The oldest parts of the Bible may be as early as c. 1200 BCE, while the New Testament had mostly formed by 4th century CE. With estimated total sales of over five billion copies, the Christian Bible is the best-selling publication of all time. The Bible has had a profound influence both on Western culture and history and on cultures around the globe. The study of it through biblical criticism has also indirectly impacted culture and history. Some view biblical texts as morally problematic, historically inaccurate, or corrupted by time; others find it a useful historical source for certain peoples and events or a source of ethical teachings . The Bible is currently translated or is being translated into about half of the world's languages. There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).