The ABC's of the BibleLloyd MarkleJune 1, 2007

Quick Facts● Translated into 1,000+ different languages● In 1998, the United Bible Societies distributed

20.8 million Bibles worldwide.● Divided into two main sections

– Old Testament (OT)– New Testament (NT)

Quick Facts● Over 5,300 Greek manuscripts for the New

Testament● Over 24,000 manuscript copies of portions of

the New Testament

“There are enough quotations from the early church fathers that even if we did not have a single copy of the Bible, scholars could still reconstruct all but 11 verses of the entire New Testament from material written within 150 to 200 years from the time of Christ.”

-- Ron Rhodes

History

Bible History● Stories passed for generations● Eventually written down● Copied for generations thereafter● Text is estimated to be have been written

between 1400 BC and 100 AD.

Bible History● OT canonized between 200 BC and 200 AD.● Current OT translations are based primarily on

three sets of documents– Masoretic texts– Septuagint– Dead Sea Scrolls

● NT was canonized in 397 AD.

Bible Structure● 66 books in total● Each book divided into chapters● Each chapter divided into verses● Bible references take this form:

“[BookAbbrev]. [Chapter]:[Verse]”

Bible Structure

Old Testament● 39 Books● Generally considered in three groups

– History/Law– Wisdom/Poetry– Prophecy

● Focus on the history of Israel

Bible Structure

New Testament● 27 Books● Generally divided into four groups

– Gospels– Acts– Letters– Revelation

● Focus on Jesus and the early Christian church

Bible BooksGenesisExodusLeviticusNumberDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1, 2 Samuel1, 2 Kings1, 2 ChroniclesEzra NehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of Songs

IsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachi

MatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1, 2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1, 2 Thessalonians1, 2 Timothy

TitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1, 2 Peter1, 2, 3 JohnJude Revelation

On the Lighter

Side

Famous Bible Typo's● “Thou shalt commit adultery.” Ex. 20:18

– Known as the “Wicked Bible”● “Printers have persecuted me.” Ps. 119:161

– Known as the “Printers Bible”● “... the unrighteous shall inherit the kingdom of

God” 1 Cor. 6:9– Known as the “Unrighteous Bible”

● Most of these have been destroyed

Bible Stories

In the beginning...● God made everything

– universe (planets, stars, etc.)– plants– animals– people

● He worked for six days● Rested the seventh

Adam and Eve[Gen. 1-4]

Noah[Gen. 6-9]

Abraham[Gen. 12-25]

Abraham

Isaac Ishmael

Abraham

Isaac Ishmael

Jacob/Israel Esau

Abraham

Isaac Ishmael

Jacob/Israel Esau

Reuben Gad Asher Naphtali Levi Simeon Joseph

Benjamin Dan Judah Issachar Zebulun

Abraham

Isaac Ishmael

Jacob/Israel Esau

Reuben Gad Asher Naphtali Levi Simeon Joseph

Benjamin Dan Judah Issachar Zebulun

Moses[Ex. 1 – Deut. 33]

Joshua[Josh. 1-24]

Judge Sampson[Judges 13-16]

King David[1 Sam. 16 – 1 Kings 2, 1 Chron. 11-29]

King Solomon[1 Kings 1-11, 2 Chron. 1-9]

Remaining Kings[Stories in books of Kings and Chronicles]

The Prophets[Books of prophecy]

Jesus[Matthew, Mark, Luke, John]

Acts[Book of Acts]

Paul[Acts, Various letters in the NT]

Revelation[Last book in the NT]

Fin.

Feedback● Too much/little information?● Interesting?● Useful?● Relevant?

● Presentation style?

References● “Printing errors in the Bible.” Accessed May 2007.

http://www.didyouknow.cd/Bible/errors.htm● “Biblical Facts.” Accessed May 2007.

http://www.godrules.net/bibledoc/facts.html● R. Anthony. “Old Testament Manuscripts.” Accessed May

2007. http://ecclesia.org/truth/ot_manuscripts.html● R. Rhodes. “Manuscript Support for the Bible's Reliability.”

Accessed May 2007. http://home.earthlink.net/~ronrhodes/Manuscript.html

ImagesSlide 1 – “ABC Blocks”

http://www.chbaalberta.ca/uploads/images/abc/misc/ABC_Blocks_White_smaller.bkg.jpg (used without permission)

Slide 1 - “Holy Bible” http://www.bible.ca/bible.gif (used without permission)

Slides 4,11,13,33 - “Scroll” http://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/misc/thanks/writing/scroll.gif (used without permission)