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Definition

The Bible takes its name from the Latin 'Biblia’ (book or books) which comes from the Greek 'Ta Biblia’ (the books) traced to the Phonecian port city of Gebal, known as Byblos to the Greeks because it was an exporter of papyrus (used in writing) and the Greek name for papyrus was 'bublos’, linking the city with the written word.

The book is a collection of writings by many different authors over many centuries on the subject of the creation of the world by a supreme deity and said deity’s continual intervention in the affairs of human beings, most notably the Hebrews of what is today known as the Middle-East.

In Judaism the scriptures are called the Tanakh and are recognized as comprising twenty-four books divided into three categories: The Pentateuch (or 'Teachings of the Five Books of Moses) The Prophets and The Writings. Christianity, which appropriated the Tanakh and claimed it as their own early theological history, call it the Old Testament. Early Christian writers (years after the historical death of the charismatic preacher Jeshua bar Joseph the Nazarene, known today as Jesus Christ) penned the gospels and Saul of Tarsus (who converted to Christianity and became Paul the Apostle) wrote most of the epistles which make up the twenty-seven books of the Christian New Testament along with The Book of the Revelation of St. John which is the last book of the Christian Bible.

It is difficult to accurately date the composition of the books which make up the Bible but scholars generally agree that the Pentateuch dates to the 10th and 6th centuries BCE and that the Tanakh was fixed as scripture well before the 1st century CE. The books of the Christian New Testament were composed between 60-110 CE (the Gospels) 45-130 CE (the Epistles) and 68-100 (The Book of the Revelation of St. John). Many people of the ancient world, and even today, believe the Bible to have been written by God. It is held to be the best-selling book in history and has influenced religious thought world-wide for centuries.

Written by JPryst.

Articles

  • Jezebel: Princess of Sidon, Queen of Israel

    Jezebel was the Phoenician Princess of Sidon (9th century BCE) whose story is told in the Hebrew Tanakh (the Christian Old Testament) in I and II Kings where she is portrayed unfavorably as a conniving harlot who corrupts Israel and flaunts the commandments of God. Recent scholarship, which has lead to a better understanding of the civilization of Phoenicia, the role of women, and the struggle of the adherents of the Hebrew god Yahweh for dominance over the indigenous worship of the Canaanite deities Astarte and Baal, suggest a different, and more favorable, picture of Jezebel as a woman ahead of her time married into a culture whose religious class saw her as a formidable threat (phoenicia.org).
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  • St. Augustine: from The Literal Meaning of Genesis

    Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE) most famous for his work Confessions and his City of God, is regarded as one of the Fathers of The Church in the tradition of Catholicism. In this brief essay from his The Literal Meaning of Genesis, Augustine denounces Christians who speak on subjects they know little or nothing about in an attempt to appear `wise’ among non-Christians. In this work, Augustine echoes and expands upon the sentiment of the Biblical author of the Christian New Testament Book of James who wrote, “If any man among you seem to be religious and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain” (James 1:26) and “Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth”(James 3:5). The piece is interesting on many levels but, certainly, for an understanding of how early Christians viewed non-Christians and how they were instructed to comport themselves among those outside of the Christian faith.
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