Bible: Difference between revisions

{{Redirect-several|Bible|Biblical|The Holy Bible}}

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The '''Bible'''<!-- Per consensus, please do not add the word 'holy'. --> (from [[Koine Greek]] {{lang|grc|τὰ βιβλία}}, {{transliteration|grc|tà biblía}}, 'the books') is a collection of [[religious text]]s or scriptures, some, all, or a variant of which, are held to be [[sacredness|sacred]] in [[Christianity]], [[Judaism]], [[Samaritanism]], [[Islam]], the [[Baha'i Faith]], and many other [[Abrahamic religions]]. The Bible is an [[anthology]], (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms,) [[biblical languages|originally written]] in [[Biblical Hebrew|Hebrew]], [[Aramaic]], and [[Koine Greek]]. TheseThe 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 [[Biblical inspiration|product of divine inspiration]], but the way they understand what that means and [[Biblical hermeneutics|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, called the [[Torah]] in [[Hebrew language|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. "[[Hebrew Bible|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.

The Bible<!-- Per consensus, please do not add the word 'holy'. --> is not a single book; it is a collection of books whose complex development is not completely understood. The oldest books began as songs and stories [[oral tradition|orally transmitted]] from generation to generation. Scholars of the twenty-first century are only in the beginning stages of exploring "the interface between writing, performance, memorization, and the aural dimension" of the texts. Current indications are that writing and orality were not separate so much as ancient writing was learned in a context of communal oral performance.<ref>Carr, David M. The formation of the Hebrew Bible: A new reconstruction. Oxford University Press, 2011. p. 5</ref> The Bible was [[Authorship of the Bible|written and compiled by many people]], whomwho many scholars say are mostly unknown, from a variety of disparate cultures and backgrounds.{{sfnm |1a1=Swenson |1y=2021 |1p=12 |2a1=Rogerson |2y=2005 |2p=21 |3a1=Riches |3y=2000 |3loc=ch. 2}}

The list of books included in the [[Catholic Bible]] was established as canon by the [[Council of Rome]] in 382, followed by those of [[Council of Hippo|Hippo]] in 393 and [[Council of Carthage#Synod of 397|Carthage]] in 397. Between 385 and 405 CE, the early Christian church translated its canon into [[Vulgar Latin]] (the common Latin spoken by ordinary people), a translation known as the [[Vulgate]].{{sfnm |1a1=Lim |1y=2017 |1p=40 |2a1=Hayes |2y=2012 |2loc=ch. 1 |3a1=Brown |3y=2010 |3loc=Intro. |4a1=Carr |4y=2010 |4pp=3–5 |5a1=Bandstra |5y=2009 |5pp=7–8, 480–481 |6a1=Gravett et al. |6y=2008 |6p=xv |7a1=Harris |7a2=Platzner |7y=2008 |7pp=3–4, 28, 371 |8a1=Riches |8y=2000 |8loc=ch. 3 }} Since then, Catholic Christians have held [[ecumenical council]]s to standardize their biblical canon. The [[Council of Trent]] (1545–63), held by the Catholic Church in response to the [[Protestant Reformation]], authorized the Vulgate as its official Latin translation of the Bible.{{sfnm |1a1=Lim |1y=2017 |1pp=40, 46, 49, 58–59 |2a1=Hayes |2y=2012 |2loc=ch. 1 |3a1=Brown |3y=2010 |3loc=Intro. |4a1=Carr |4y=2010 |4pp=3–5 |5a1=Bandstra |5y=2009 |5pp=7–8, 480–481 |6a1=Gravett et al. |6y=2008 |6pp=xv, 49 |7a1=Harris |7a2=Platzner |7y=2008 |7pp=3–4, 28, 31–32, 371 |8a1=Riches |8y=2000 |8loc=ch. 3}} A number of biblical canons have since evolved. Christian biblical canons range from the 73 books of the [[Catholic Church]] canon, and the 66-book canon of most [[Protestantism|Protestant]] denominations, to the 81 books of the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church]] canon, among others.{{sfn|Riches|2000|pp=7–8}} Judaism has long accepted a single authoritative text, whereas Christianity has never had an official version, instead having many different manuscript traditions.{{sfn|Barton|2019| p=15}}

The narratives, laws, wisdom sayings, parables, and unique genres of the Bible provide opportunity for discussion on most topics of concern to human beings: The role of women,<ref name="Barbara J. MacHaffie">{{cite book |last1=MacHaffie |first1=Barbara J. |title=Her Story Women in Christian Tradition |date=1992 |publisher=Fortress Press |isbn=978-1-4514-0402-9}}</ref>{{rp|203}} sex,{{sfn|Harper|2013|pp=1–14, 84–86, 88}} children, marriage,<ref name="Chadwick">Henry Chadwick, The Early Church, {{ISBN|978-0-14-023199-1}}</ref> neighborsneighbours,<ref name="Wayne Grudem">{{cite book |last1=Grudem |first1=Wayne |title=Christian Ethics: An Introduction to Biblical Moral Reasoning |date=2018 |publisher=Crossway |isbn=978-1-4335-4965-6}}</ref>{{rp|24}} friends, the nature of authority and the sharing of power,<ref>Praet, Danny (1992–1993). "Explaining the Christianization of the Roman Empire. Older theories and recent developments". Sacris Erudiri. Jaarboek voor Godsdienstgeschiedenis. A Journal on the Inheritance of Early and Medieval Christianity. 23: 5–119.</ref>{{rp|45–48}} animals, trees and nature,<ref name="Northcott96">{{cite book |last1=Northcott |first1=Michael S. |editor1-last=Clark |editor1-first=Stephen R. L. |title=The Environment and Christian Ethics |date=1996 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-57631-4}}</ref>{{rp|xi}} money and economics,<ref name="Hargaden">{{cite book |last1=Hargaden |first1=Kevin |title=Theological Ethics in a Neoliberal Age: Confronting the Christian Problem with Wealth |date=2018 |publisher=Wipf and Stock |isbn=978-1-5326-5500-5}}</ref>{{rp|77}} work, relationships,<ref name="Kieran Cronin">{{cite book |last1=Cronin |first1=Kieran |title=Rights and Christian ethics |date=1992 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-41889-8 |page=223}}</ref> sorrow and despair and the nature of joy, among others.{{sfn|Gericke|2012|p=207}} Philosopher and ethicist Jaco Gericke adds: "The meaning of good and evil, the nature of right and wrong, criteria for moral discernment, valid sources of morality, the origin and acquisition of moral beliefs, the ontological status of moral norms, moral authority, cultural pluralism, [as well as] axiological and aesthetic assumptions about the nature of value and beauty. These are all implicit in the texts."{{sfn|Gericke|2012|p=210}}

The Nevi'im tell a story of the rise of the [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|Hebrew monarchy]] and its division into two kingdoms, the [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]] and the [[Kingdom of Judah]], focusing on conflicts between the [[Israelites]] and other nations, and conflicts among Israelites, specifically, struggles between believers in "the {{LORD}} God"<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Kings.18:24; 1 Kings.18:37–39|multi=yes}}</ref> ([[Yahweh]]) and believers in foreign gods,{{efn|"Each king is judged either good or bad in black-and-white terms, according to whether or not he "did right" or "did evil" in the sight of the Lord. This evaluation is not reflective of the well-being of the nation, of the king's success or failure in war, or of the moral climate of the times, but rather the state of cultic worship during his reign. Those kings who shun idolatry and enact religious reforms are singled out for praise, and those who encourage pagan practices are denounced." {{harvnb|Savran|1987|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=O4hYlvzWui8C&pg=PA146 146]}}}}{{efn|"The fight against Baal was initiated by the prophets" {{harvnb|Kaufmann|1956a|p=54}}}} and the criticism of unethical and unjust behaviour of Israelite elites and rulers;{{efn|"The immediate occasion of the rise of the new prophecy was the political and social ruin caused by the wars with Israel's northerly neighborneighbour, Aram, which continued for more than a century. They raged intensely during the reign of Ahab, and did not end until the time of Jeroboam II (784–744). While the nation as a whole was impoverished, a few&nbsp;– apparently of the royal officialdom&nbsp;– grew wealthy as a result of the national calamity. Many of the people were compelled to sell their houses and lands, with the result that a sharp social cleavage arose: on the one hand a mass of propertyless indigents, on the other a small circle of the rich. A series of disasters struck the nation&nbsp;– drought, famine, plagues, death and captivity (Amos 4: 6–11), but the greatest disaster of all was the social disintegration due to the cleavage between the poor masses and the wealthy, dissolute upper class. The decay affected both Judah and Israel ... High minded men were appalled at this development. Was this the people whom YHWH had brought out of Egypt, to whom He had given the land and a law of justice and right? it seemed as if the land was about to be inherited by the rich, who would squander its substance in drunken revelry. it was this dissolution that brought the prophetic denunciations to white heat." {{harvnb|Kaufmann|1956b|pp=57–58}}}}{{efn|"What manner of man is the prophet? A student of philosophy who runs from the discourses of the great metaphysicians to the orations of the prophets may feel as if he were going from the realm of the sublime to an area of trivialities. Instead of dealing with the timeless issues of being and becoming, of matter and form, of definitions and demonstrations, he is thrown into orations about widows and orphans, about the corruption of judges and affairs of the market place. Instead of showing us a way through the elegant mansions of the mind, the prophets take us to the slums. The world is a proud place, full of beauty, but the prophets are scandalized, and rave as if the whole world were a slum. They make much ado about paltry things, lavishing excessive language upon trifling subjects. What if somewhere in ancient Palestine poor people have not been treated properly by the rich? .... Indeed, the sorts of crimes and even the amount of delinquency that fill the prophets of Israel with dismay do not go beyond that which we regard as normal, as typical ingredients of social dynamics. To us a single act of injustice&nbsp;– cheating in business, exploitation of the poor – is slight; to the prophets, a disaster. To us an injustice is injurious to the welfare of the people; to the prophets it is a deathblow to existence; to us an episode; to them, a catastrophe, a threat to the world." {{harvnb|Heschel|2001|pp=3–4}}}}{{efn|"Samuel is thus a work of national self-criticism. It recognizes that Israel would not have survived, either politically or culturally, without the steadying presence of a dynastic royal house. But it makes both that house and its subjects answerable to firm standards of prophetic justice&nbsp;– not those of cult prophets or professional ecstatics, but of morally upright prophetic leaders in the tradition of Moses, Joshua, Deborah, Gideon, and others ..." {{harvnb|Rosenberg|1987|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=O4hYlvzWui8C&pg=PA141 141]}}}} in which prophets played a crucial and leading role. It ends with the conquest of the Kingdom of Israel by the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]], followed by the conquest of the Kingdom of Judah by the [[neo-Babylonian Empire]] and the destruction of the [[Solomon's Temple|Temple in Jerusalem]].

* ''Mishlei'' ([[Book of Proverbs]]) מִשְלֵי is a "collection of collections" on values, moral behaviorbehaviour, the meaning of life and right conduct, and its basis in faith.

[[File:Codex Vaticanus (1 Esdras 1-55 to 2-5) (The S.S. Teacher's Edition-The Holy Bible).jpg|thumb|A gragmentfragment of a Septuagint: A column of [[uncial]] book from [[1 Esdras]] in the ''[[Codex Vaticanus Graecus 1209|Codex Vaticanus]]'' c. 325–350&nbsp;CE, the basis of Sir [[Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton]]'s [[Greek language|Greek]] edition and [[Brenton's English Translation of the Septuagint|English translation]]]]

Theodotion's Daniel is closer to the surviving Hebrew Masoretic Text version, the text which is the basis for most modern translations. Theodotion's Daniel is also the one embodied in the authorisedauthorized edition of the Septuagint published by [[Sixtus V]] in 1587.<ref>[[s:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Book of Daniel|Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)]]</ref>

A Christian Bible is a set of books divided into the Old and New Testament that a [[Christian denomination]] has, at some point in their past or present, regarded as divinely inspired scripture by the [[holyHoly spiritSpirit]].{{sfn|Johnson|2012|p=374}} The [[Early Christianity|Early Church]] primarily used the Septuagint, as it was written in Greek, the common tongue of the day, or they used the [[Targum]]s among [[Aramaic]] speakers. Modern English translations of the Old Testament section of the Christian Bible are based on the [[Masoretic Text]].{{sfn|VanderKam|Flint|2013|p=87}} The Pauline epistles and the gospels were soon added, along with other writings, as the New Testament.{{sfn|Kelly|2000|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=UivDgM0WywoC&pg=PA31 31–32]}}

The Old Testament has been important to the life of the Christian church from its earliest days. Bible scholar [[N.T. Wright]] says "Jesus himself was profoundly shaped by the scriptures."{{sfn|Wright|2005|p=3}} Wright adds that the earliest Christians searched those same Hebrew scriptures in their effort to understand the earthly life of Jesus. They regarded the "holy writings" of the Israelites as necessary and instructive for the Christian, as seen from Paul's words to Timothy (2 Timothy 3:15), as pointing to the Messiah, and as having reached a climactic fulfillmentfulfilment in Jesus generating the "[[new covenant]]" prophesied by [[Jeremiah]].<ref name="Wright">{{harvnb|Wright|2005|p=}}</ref>

Books included in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Greek, and Slavonic Bibles are: [[Book of Tobit|Tobit]], [[Book of Judith|Judith]], [[Additions to Esther|Greek Additions to Esther]], the [[Book of Wisdom|Wisdom of Solomon]], [[Sirach]] (or Ecclesiasticus), [[Book of Baruch|Baruch]], the [[Letter of Jeremiah]] (also called the Baruch Chapter 6), [[1 Maccabees]], [[2 Maccabees]], the [[Additions to DanielEsther|Greek Additions to DanielEsther]], alongand withthe [[1Additions Maccabees]]to andDaniel|Greek [[2Additions Maccabeesto Daniel]].{{sfn|Reinhartz|2021|p=19}}

The [[Roman Catholic]] and [[Eastern Orthodox]] Churches use most of the books of the Septuagint, while [[Protestantism|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 ''[[apocrypha]]l''. The Apocrypha are included under a separate heading in the [[King James Version]] of the Bible, the basis for the [[Revised Standard Version]].<ref>{{cite web |title=NETS: Electronic Edition |url=http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/ |publisher=Ccat.sas.upenn.edu |date=11 February 2011 |access-date=13 August 2012 |archive-date=29 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110729150550/http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Gospel|The Gospels]] are narratives of Jesus's last three years of life, his death and resurrection.

The [[Acts of the Apostles (genre)|Narrativenarrative literature]], provideprovides an account and history of the very early Apostolic age.

The [[Pauline epistles]] are written to individual church groups to address problems, provide encouragement and give instruction.

The [[Pastoralpastoral epistles]] discuss the pastoral oversight of churches, Christian living, doctrine and leadership.

The [[Catholic epistles]], also called the general epistles or lesser epistles.

The [[Apocalypticapocalyptic literature]] (prophetical)

BothCatholicism, CatholicsProtestantism, and Protestants (as well as GreekEastern Orthodox) currently have the same 27-book New Testament Canon. They are ordered differently in the [[Slavonic translations of the Bible|Slavonic tradition]], the [[Syriac versions of the Bible|Syriac]] tradition and the Ethiopian tradition.{{sfn|Flinn|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=gxEONS0FFlsC&pg=PA103 103]}}

The Peshitta ({{lang-syc|ܦܫܺܝܛܬܳܐ}} ''or'' {{lang|syc|ܦܫܝܼܛܬܵܐ}} ''{{transliteration|syc|pšīṭtā}}'') is the standard version of the Bible for churches in the [[Syriac Christianity|Syriac tradition]]. The consensus within biblical scholarship, although not universal, is that the Old Testament of the Peshitta was translated into [[Syriac language|Syriac]] from [[biblical Hebrew]], probably in the 2nd century CE, and that the New Testament of the Peshitta was translated from the Greek.{{efn|"The Peshitta Old Testament was translated directly from the original Hebrew text, and the Peshitta New Testament directly from the original Greek" {{harvnb|Brock|1988|p=[https://archive.org/stream/TheBibleInTheSyriacTradition/BrockTheBibleInTheSyriacTradition#page/n7/mode/2up 13]}}}} This New Testament, originally excluding certain [[Antilegomena|disputed books]] ([[2 Peter]], [[2 John]], [[3 John]], [[Epistle of Jude|Jude]], [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]]), had become a standard by the early 5th century. The five excluded books were added in the [[Harklean Version]] (616 CE) of [[Thomas of Harqel]].{{efn|name="Bromiley1995"|"Printed editions of the Peshitta frequently contain these books in order to fill the gaps. D. Harklean Version. The Harklean version is connected with the laborslabours of Thomas of Harqel. When thousands were fleeing Khosrou's invading armies, ..." {{harvnb|Bromiley|1995|p=976}}}}<ref name="Erbes"/>

The New Testament apocrypha are a number of writings by early professed Christians that give accounts of [[Jesus in Christianity|Jesus]] and his teachings, [[God in Christianity|the nature of God]], or the teachings of his [[Apostles in the New Testament|Apostles]] and of their activities. Some of these writings were cited as Scripture by some early Christians, but since the fifth century a widespread consensus emerged limiting the New Testament to the [[Development of the New Testament canon|27 books of the modern canon]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Van Liere |first=Frans |date=2014 |title=An Introduction to the Medieval Bible |pages=68–69 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dwd-AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA68|isbn=9780521865784 }}</ref><ref name=Ehrman2003>{{cite book |last=Ehrman |first=Bart D. |author-link=Bart Ehrman |date=2003 |title=Lost Christianities: Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew |pages=230–231 |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HHDNe8KmMAIC&pg=PA230 |isbn=9780199756681 |access-date=20 May 2023 |archive-date=19 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119174747/https://books.google.com/books?id=HHDNe8KmMAIC&pg=PA230 |url-status=live }}</ref> Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Western Protestant churches do not view the New Testament apocrypha as part of the inspired Bible.<ref name=Ehrman2003/> Although some [[Oriental Orthodox Churches|Oriental Orthodox]] canons to some extent have. The [[Armenian Apostolic]] church at times has included the [[Third Epistle to the Corinthians]], but does not always list it with the other 27 canonical New Testament books. The New Testament of the [[Coptic Bible]], adopted by the [[Christianity in Egypt|Egyptian Church]], includes the two [[Epistles of Clement]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Canonization of Scripture {{!}} Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles |url=https://www.lacopts.org/orthodoxy/our-faith/the-holy-bible/the-canonization-of-scripture/ |access-date=2 April 2022-04-02 |language=en-US |archive-date=5 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605211553/https://www.lacopts.org/orthodoxy/our-faith/the-holy-bible/the-canonization-of-scripture/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

With a literary tradition spanning two millennia, the Bible is one of the most influential workworks ever written. From practices of personal hygiene to philosophy and ethics, the Bible has directly and indirectly influenced politics and law, war and peace, sexual morals, marriage and family life, letters and learning, the arts, economics, social justice, medical care and more.{{sfn|Riches|2000|loc=ch. 1}}

[[Nur Masalha]] argues that [[genocide]] is inherent in these commandments, and that they have served as inspirational examples of divine support for slaughtering national opponents.<ref>Masalha, Nur, ''The Bible and Zionism: invented traditions, archaeology and post-colonialism in Palestine-Israel, Volume 1'', Zed Books, 2007, pp. 273–276</ref> However, the "applicability of the term [genocide] to earlier periods of [[Human history|history]]" is questioned by sociologists Frank Robert Chalk and Kurt Jonassohn.<ref name="Frank Robert Chalk">{{cite book|author1-last=Chalk| author1-first=Frank Robert| author2-last=Jonassohn| author2-first=Kurt| title=The History and Sociology of Genocide: Analyses and Case Studies|url=https://archive.org/details/historysociology00chal|url-access=registration| year=1990| publisher = Yale University Press| location=New Haven, Connecticut| isbn=978-0-300-04445-4| pages=[https://archive.org/details/historysociology00chal/page/3 3], 23–27}}</ref> Since most societies of the past endured and practicedpractised genocide, it was accepted at that time as "being in the nature of life" because of the "coarseness and brutality" of life; the moral condemnation associated with terms like genocide are products of modern morality.<ref name="Frank Robert Chalk"/>{{rp|27}} The definition of what constitutes violence has broadened considerably over time.<ref name="Matthew Lynch">{{cite book |last1=Lynch |first1=Matthew |title=Portraying Violence in the Hebrew Bible: A Literary and Cultural Study |date=2020 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-49435-9}}</ref>{{rp|1–2}} The Bible reflects how perceptions of violence changed for its authors.<ref name="Matthew Lynch"/>{{rp|261}}

The philosophical foundation of [[human rights]] is in the Bible's teachings of natural law.<ref name="Levent Gönenç">{{cite book| last=Gönenç| first=Levent| title=Prospects for Constitutionalism in Post-Communist Countries| year=2002| publisher=Kluwer Law International| location=The Netherlands| isbn=978-90-411-1836-3| page=218}}</ref><ref name="David Kim">{{cite book|editor1-last=Kim|editor1-first=David|editor2-last=Kaul|editor2-first=Susanne|title=Imagining Human Rights|year=2015|publisher=de Gruyter| location=Berlin|isbn=978-3-11-037619-7|pages=13–17}}</ref> The prophets of the Hebrew Bible repeatedly admonish the people to practice justice, charity, and social responsibility. H. A. Lockton writes that "The Poverty and Justice Bible (The Bible Society (UK), 2008) claims there are more than 2000 verses in the Bible dealing with the justice issues of rich-poor relations, exploitation and oppression".<ref>Lockton, Harwood A. "When Doing Good is Not Good Enough: Justice and Advocacy." (2014). p. 130</ref> Judaism practicedpractised charity and healing the sick but tended to limit these practices to their own people.<ref name="Bullough"/> For Christians, the Old Testament statements are enhanced by multiple verses such as Matthew 10:8, Luke 10:9 and 9:2, and Acts 5:16 that say "heal the sick". Authors Vern and Bonnie Bullough write in ''The care of the sick: the emergence of modern nursing,'' that this is seen as an aspect of following Jesus's example, since so much of his public ministry focused on healing.<ref name="Bullough">Bullough, Vern L., and Bonnie Bullough. ''The care of the sick: The emergence of modern nursing''. Routledge, 2021. p. 28</ref>

The Christian religion and its sacred book are connected and influence one another, but the significance of the written text has varied throughout history. For Christianity, holiness did not reside in the written text, or in any particular language, it resided in the Christ the text witnessed to. [[David M. Carr]] writes that this gave early Christianity a more 'flexible' view of the written texts.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Carr |first1=David M. |title=Writing on the Tablet of the Heart: Origins of Scripture and Literature |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-534669-5}}</ref>{{rp|279}} Wilfred Cantwell Smith points out that "in the Islamic system, the Quran fulfills a function comparable to the role... played by the person of Jesus Christ, while a closer counterpart to Christian scriptures are the Islamic [[Hadith]] 'Traditions'."<ref name="Smith 71">{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Wilfred Cantwell |title=The Study of Religion and the Study of the Bible |journal=Journal of the American Academy of Religion |date=1971 |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=131–140 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1461797 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/jaarel/XXXIX.2.131 |jstor=1461797 |access-date=30 June 2022 |archive-date=30 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630053134/https://www.jstor.org/stable/1461797 |url-status=live |issn=0002-7189}}</ref>{{rp|133}} For centuries the written text had less significance than the will of the church as represented by the Pope, since the church saw the text as having been created by the church. One cause of the [[Reformation]] was the perceived need to reorient Christianity around its early text as authoritative.<ref>Barrett, Matthew. God's Word Alone – The Authority of Scripture: What the Reformers Taught... and Why It Still Matters. Zondervan Academic, 2016.</ref>{{rp|13}} Some [[Protestantism|Protestant]] churches still focus on the idea of ''[[sola scriptura]]'', which sees scripture as the only legitimate religious authority. Some denominations today support the use of the Bible as the only [[Biblical infallibility|infallible]] source of Christian teaching. Others, though, advance the concept of ''[[prima scriptura]]'' in contrast, meaning scripture primarily or scripture mainly.{{efn|name="WELS"|"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."<ref name="wels.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.wels.net/what-we-believe/questions-answers/christian/methodist-beliefs |title=Methodist Beliefs: In what ways are Lutherans different from United Methodists?|year=2014 |publisher=Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod |access-date=22 May 2014 |archive-date=22 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522105449/http://www.wels.net/what-we-believe/questions-answers/christian/methodist-beliefs |url-status=live}}</ref>}}{{efn|name="Humphrey2013"|"historically Anglicans have adopted what could be called a prima Scriptura position." {{harvnb|Humphrey|2013|p=16}}}}

The original texts of the Tanakh were almost entirely written in Hebrew with about one percentper cent in Aramaic. The earliest translation of any Bible text is the Septuagint which translated the Hebrew into Greek.{{sfn|Lavidas|2021|p=75}} As the first translation of any biblical literature, the translation that became the Septuagint was an unparalleled event in the ancient world.{{sfn|Marcos|2000|p=18}} This translation was made possible by a common Mediterranean culture where Semitism had been foundational to Greek culture.{{sfn|Marcos|2000|p=19}} In the Talmud, Greek is the only language officially allowed for translation.{{sfn|Marcos|2000|p=21}} The [[Targum Onkelos]] is the Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Bible believed to have been written in the second century CE.{{sfn|Lavidas|2021|p=75}} These texts attracted the work of various scholars, but a standardized text was not available before the 9th century.{{sfn|Lavidas|2021|p=75}}

Biblical criticism made study of the Bible secularized, scholarly, and more democratic, while it also permanently altered the way people understood the Bible.{{sfn|Soulen|Soulen|2001|p=22}} The Bible is no longer thought of solely as a religious artifactartefact, and its interpretation is no longer restricted to the community of believers.{{sfn|Fishbane|1992|p=129}} Michael Fishbane writes, "There are those who regard the desacralization of the Bible as the fortunate condition for" the development of the modern world.{{sfn|Fishbane|1992|p=121}} For many, biblical criticism "released a host of threats" to the Christian faith. For others biblical criticism "proved to be a failure, due principally to the assumption that diachronic, linear research could master any and all of the questions and problems attendant on interpretation".{{sfn|Harrisville|2014|p=vii}} Still others believed that biblical criticism, "shorn of its unwarranted arrogance," could be a reliable source of interpretation.{{sfn|Harrisville|2014|p=vii}} Michael Fishbane compares biblical criticism to [[Job (biblical figure)|Job]], a prophet who destroyed "self-serving visions for the sake of a more honest crossing from the divine ''textus'' to the human one".{{sfn|Fishbane|1992|p=129}} Or as Rogerson says: biblical criticism has been liberating for those who want their faith "intelligently grounded and intellectually honest".{{sfn|Rogerson|2000|p=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00hast/page/298 298]}}

File:Jephthah's daughter laments - Maciejowski Bible.JPG|Jephthah's daughter laments – Maciejowski Bible (France, ca. {{circa|1250}})

* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Bromiley |first=Geoffrey W. |author-link=Geoffrey W. Bromiley |title=The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Q–Z |year=1995 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans |isbn=978-0-8028-3784-4}}

* {{cite book |editor-last1=Fahlbusch |editor-first1=E. |editor-link1=Erwin Fahlbusch |editor-last2=Bromiley |editor-first2=G. W. |editor-link2=Geoffrey W. Bromiley |title=The encyclopedia of Christianity |volume=4(P–Sh) |date=2004 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans |isbn=978-0-8028-2416-5}}

* {{Cite book |last=Grudem |first=Wayne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=moZrzQEACAAJ |title=Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine |publisher=[[Zondervan]] |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-310-51797-9 |edition=Second |location=Grand Rapids, MI |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719025547/https://books.google.com/books?id=moZrzQEACAAJ |archive-date=July 19, July 2023 |url-status=live}}

* {{cite journal |author1-last=Metzger |author1-first=David |author2-last=Katz |author2-first=Steven B. |title=The 'Place' of Rhetoric in Aggadic Midrash |journal=College English |volume=72 |issue=6 |publisher=National Council of Teachers of English |year=2010 |pages=638–653 |doi=10.58680/ce201011553 |jstor=20749307 |url=https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/english_fac_pubs/18 |ref={{sfnref|Metzger & Katz|2010}}}}

* {{cite journal|last=Porter|first=Stanley E. |title=Early Apocryphal Non-Gospel Literature and the New Testament Text|journal= Journal of Greco-Roman Christianity and Judaism| volume= 8|issue=12|year=2011|pages= 192–98|url=http://www.jgrchj.net/volume8/JGRChJ8-9_Porter.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.jgrchj.net/volume8/JGRChJ8-9_Porter.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}