What is the Bible?
It is a book considered by several scholars to be a work of high literary value. The word derives from the Greek Biblos, meaning 'scroll' or 'book'. Latin Bible, has reference to a collection of books. Saint Jerome was the
responsible for translating the Holy Book, created around the 4th century, naming it 'Divine Library', which referred to all the books contained in the Old and New Testament. Christianity adopted the word 'Bible', 200 years AD Many religions believe that it was written by scribes, priests, kings, prophets and poets, in approximately 1600 years.
See what materials were used to write the Bible
It has been written on different types of materials, such as stone, clay, ceramics, wood, leather, papyrus, vegetable fibers, on parchment made from sheep and goat skin and finally paper. Currently CD, CD-ROM and Internet. His texts were translated into Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, until reaching the present day. Before 1500, it had already been published in at least six languages – German, Italian, French, Czech, Dutch and Catalan, based on the Latin version.
The History of the Bible
At the beginning of the 16th century, manuscripts in Greek and Hebrew arrived in Western Europe, becoming accessible to priests. Erasmus of Rotterdam published the Greek version of the New Testament, side by side with Johannes Gutenberg's Latin translation, in the 15th century. This contributed to it being able to be read by people in their native language, even if Erasmus' original texts were not completely accurate.
The Catholic Bible considers seven more books in the Old Testament than the versions adopted by other Christian religions. The official Catholic Church has 73 biblical books – 46 from the Old Testament and 27 from the New Testament. In Judaism it contains the so-called Deuterocanonical books or books of the Second Canon, namely: Tobias, Judith, I Maccabees, II Maccabees, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus and Baruch, considered apocryphal (doubtful, false) by some churches. This Bible contains additional fragments in the books of Esther and Daniel, considered Protocanonical, or the First Canon. A scroll written by Isaiah in Hebrew, dating from the 2nd century BC, found in 1947 in the
Caves of the Dead Sea and a papyrus in which an excerpt from the Book of John 18.31-33, 37, 38, also from the 2nd century BC, are the most recent discoveries of the Holy Scriptures.
Professor Stephen Langton, in 1227 AD, and Robert Stephanus, in 1551, were responsible for creating the chapters and verses, respectively, making reading the Bible easier, as well as making locating quotes less complex. The Bible before Gutenberg was produced by hand, so few had access to it, it was considered a rare book. That is why the invention of graphics becomes important, as it made this work popular and accessible. The first edition of the Bible in Portuguese took place in 1748 AD, based on the Latin Vulgate - prepared by Saint Jerome.
The church for a long time intended to have a monopoly on biblical texts, this being one of the points considered most important for the Lutheran Reformation.
As a result, the sacred scriptures can be interpreted in different ways, as a consequence forming new churches and sects, opposed by the Catholic Church, but over the years being tolerated by its highest hierarchies.
Science already considers the Bible a source of historical knowledge and several narrated texts serve as the basis for archeology research and discoveries. Information present in its content is compared to other documents, as it contains the history and worldview of a people, a culture, which many believe to be chosen by God.
Due to the fact that several countries were born inspired by their texts, such as the United States and other extinct cultures, such as the Incas, Mayans and some indigenous peoples, their historical authority is not questionable.
