Origins of the Bible

[ohio jones]

Christians had no Bible for the first 300 years.

This is a common misconception. They had the Hebrew Bible from the very beginning. The entire New Testament was written by AD 90 at the very latest, and our preterist friend George would push that 20 years earlier. The Epistles were widely distributed almost immediately after they were received by the original addressees, and the other books followed. They just weren't collected in one leather-bound volume.

[Ken]

Christians had no Bible for the first 300 years.

This is a common misconception. They had the Hebrew Bible from the very beginning. The entire New Testament was written by AD 90 at the very latest, and our preterist friend George would push that 20 years earlier. The Epistles were widely distributed almost immediately after they were received by the original addressees, and the other books followed. They just weren't collected in one leather-bound volume.

I would think that only Jewish communities would have had copies of the Torah or Hebrew Bible available at local synagogues. Not Christian communities in far-flung corners of the empire like Corinth, Thessalonica, Philippi, Galatia, etc. Nor would most non-Jews in the Roman Empire have been able to read Hebrew. This was 1500 years before the invention of the printing press.

[JohnL]

Christians had no Bible for the first 300 years.

This is a common misconception. They had the Hebrew Bible from the very beginning. The entire New Testament was written by AD 90 at the very latest, and our preterist friend George would push that 20 years earlier. The Epistles were widely distributed almost immediately after they were received by the original addressees, and the other books followed. They just weren't collected in one leather-bound volume.

That’s my thinking too. Plus it’s backed up by scholarship. The Bible. The Scriptures. The Word. It’s been around since the beginning in one form or another.

[temporal1]

Christians had no Bible for the first 300 years.

This is a common misconception. They had the Hebrew Bible from the very beginning. The entire New Testament was written by AD 90 at the very latest, and our preterist friend George would push that 20 years earlier. The Epistles were widely distributed almost immediately after they were received by the original addressees, and the other books followed. They just weren't collected in one leather-bound volume.

^^i’m super-glad to get feedback. i meant to ask for it in my post. i count on “more info” on forum.

This is a common misconception. ..

An understatement, i’ve read and viewed documentaries over years based on this. This seems far more plausible.

Thanks.

Of course, as happens, the word, “Christian” was derogatory, from what i’ve read, early believers HID from sight, were persecuted, etc., there was no such thing as today’s casual reference to Christian communities, etc. So many labels began under dire circumstances, over time, people forget, eventually, those very labels that meant persecution if not death, are turned into points of pride, as if they always had been so.

The strange human condition.

related topic: A Lamp ..
viewtopic.php?t=3138

[Neto]

Christians had no Bible for the first 300 years.

This is a common misconception. They had the Hebrew Bible from the very beginning. The entire New Testament was written by AD 90 at the very latest, and our preterist friend George would push that 20 years earlier. The Epistles were widely distributed almost immediately after they were received by the original addressees, and the other books followed. They just weren't collected in one leather-bound volume.

I would think that only Jewish communities would have had copies of the Torah or Hebrew Bible available at local synagogues. Not Christian communities in far-flung corners of the empire like Corinth, Thessalonica, Philippi, Galatia, etc. Nor would most non-Jews in the Roman Empire have been able to read Hebrew. This was 1500 years before the invention of the printing press.

In fact, many JEWS (some of those from outside of Israel) very likely did not speak or read Hebrew. They apparently used the LXX, and Non-Jewish Christians probably used it as well. (I have not read, that I can recall, if Hellenistic Jews used the LXX in their synagogues or smaller gatherings in some cities where the Jewish population was very small - I would guess not, but I do not know.)

Exegetical commentaries comment when an OT quote is (or appears to be) based on the LXX, with differences from the Hebrew meaning.

Some people believe that the Gospel by Matthew was originally in Hebrew, but so far I do not find their arguments convincing. (Another translator on our mission center was convinced of this, and sometimes passed on issues of The Jerusalem Perspective to me to read. There is a Jewish Christian on FB that espouses this view, but I haven't heard his full argument yet, only bits and pieces. I would have to 'follow' him in order to hear it all, I think.)

[joshuabgood]

For quite a long time a lot of Christians couldn't read the Bible because they couldn't read. Nearly 100% literacy as we have known it in the last 100 years...is a relatively new social phenomenon.

[temporal1]

For quite a long time a lot of Christians couldn't read the Bible because they couldn't read. Nearly 100% literacy as we have known it in the last 100 years...is a relatively new social phenomenon.

i believe this is true.
my young grdaughter taught herself to read before kindergarten, i don’t remember exact age, i remember being shocked to notice she was reading - as i read to her! so young. i had no thought of teaching her to read. we read children’s devotions daily over the phone. i recommend it to long distance grandparents. get 2 books, follow along.

she was in Catholic elementary school when we informally discussed how Jesus was born into a Jewish family, she asked about a nearby synagogue. she was quite surprised. when we talked about how most people couldn’t read when Jesus was on earth, i thought she might weep.

i’ve never gotten to the part about how most formal ed was for boys until pretty recently. i don’t have the heart.
at 17, starting her senior year, with her interest in history, i would think she’s come across it without me. not sure.

i would also have to tell her about how i don’t believe this is evil, at all. just different.
and, God provides in all circumstances. she’s familiar with that.

[Bootstrap]

There were really two bottlenecks: most people couldn’t read, and writing materials were very expensive.

Synagogues kept Torah scrolls for public reading, and in the diaspora many Greek-speaking synagogues also had access to at least parts of the Septuagint (a Greek translation). These weren’t personal copies, but communal scrolls used in worship. Complete sets would have been rare and costly, but access in a communal sense was fairly widespread. People would hear them read aloud, like we see Jesus do in one passage.

Paul clearly sent his letters to the churches during his lifetime, and copies were circulated to other churches. He even asked for them to be read out loud in the gatherings, which made them accessible to people who couldn’t read for themselves. Later, churches also had copies of the Gospels. Different communities had access to different subsets of the writings that eventually became the Bible.

You can see the process begin with 1 Thessalonians — believers were starting to die, and urgent questions arose that needed to be addressed in writing. As time went on, and not everyone could rely on firsthand memories of Jesus’ life and teaching, the Gospels began to take shape.

[Bootstrap]

For quite a long time a lot of Christians couldn't read the Bible because they couldn't read. Nearly 100% literacy as we have known it in the last 100 years...is a relatively new social phenomenon.

But there are lots of people even in the United States who cannot read well, and the numbers are very different in some languages and cultures.

Regions like South Asia, West Asia, and sub‑Saharan Africa have much lower literacy rates.

And I think a lot of people simply prefer listening or watching videos even if they can read.

[JohnL]

In fact, many JEWS (some of those from outside of Israel) very likely did not speak or read Hebrew. They apparently used the LXX, and Non-Jewish Christians probably used it as well. (I have not read, that I can recall, if Hellenistic Jews used the LXX in their synagogues or smaller gatherings in some cities where the Jewish population was very small - I would guess not, but I do not know.)

I’ve read somewhere that the wealthier synagogues and their communities would have copies of the Torah made to give to smaller and less wealthy Jewish synagogues in the diaspora. Kind of their version of Bible societies like the Gideons.