How We Got the Bible — The Remarkable Story of Scripture

The Bible's Remarkable Journey

The Bible you hold in your hands today has an extraordinary history. Written over approximately 1,500 years by around 40 different authors on three continents, in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek), it remains the most printed, most translated, and most read book in human history.

What makes this even more remarkable is the Bible's unity. Despite being written by shepherds, kings, fishermen, prophets, and scholars across vastly different times and cultures, it tells one coherent story — God's plan for redemption. No other book in history can make this claim.

How the Old Testament Was Written

The Old Testament was written primarily in Hebrew (with small portions in Aramaic) over roughly a thousand years, from about 1400 BC to 400 BC. Moses is traditionally credited with writing the first five books (the Torah or Pentateuch), which form the foundation of the entire Bible.

After Moses, prophets, priests, kings, and scribes continued recording God's dealings with Israel. David and others wrote the Psalms. Solomon contributed Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. The prophets — Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the twelve minor prophets — recorded God's messages to His people.

These writings were carefully preserved on scrolls made from animal skins (parchment) or papyrus. Scribes treated the copying of Scripture with extreme reverence, developing detailed rules to ensure accuracy. The Masoretes, a group of Jewish scholars active from the 6th to 10th centuries AD, standardized the Hebrew text with a system of vowel marks and notes that preserved pronunciation and meaning.

How the New Testament Was Written

The New Testament was written in Greek over a much shorter period — approximately 45 to 95 AD. The earliest New Testament writings were likely Paul's letters (epistles) to young churches, beginning around 49-50 AD with Galatians or 1 Thessalonians.

The four Gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — record the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Most scholars believe Mark was written first (around 55-65 AD), with Matthew and Luke drawing on Mark and other sources, and John writing last (around 85-95 AD).

The final book of the New Testament, Revelation, was written by the Apostle John around 95 AD while exiled on the island of Patmos. With its completion, the Bible's written revelation was finished.

How the Canon Was Formed

The word "canon" comes from the Greek kanon, meaning "measuring rod" or "standard." The biblical canon is the official list of books recognized as inspired Scripture.

For the Old Testament, the Jewish community recognized these books as Scripture over centuries of use in worship and teaching. By the time of Jesus, the Old Testament canon was well established — Jesus Himself quoted from the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings (the three divisions of the Hebrew Bible).

For the New Testament, early churches circulated apostolic writings and read them alongside the Old Testament in worship. Over time, the church recognized which writings bore the marks of apostolic authority, consistency with established Scripture, and universal acceptance across churches. The Council of Carthage in 397 AD formally affirmed the 27 books that Christians had already widely recognized as the New Testament canon.

Preservation Through the Ages

The Bible's preservation is one of the most remarkable stories in history. Before the printing press (invented around 1440), every copy of Scripture had to be made by hand. Jewish and Christian scribes developed meticulous copying practices to ensure accuracy.

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 provided stunning confirmation of this accuracy. A scroll of Isaiah dating to approximately 150 BC was found to be virtually identical to copies made over a thousand years later — demonstrating extraordinary fidelity in transmission.

Today, we have more than 5,800 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament — far more than any other ancient document. By comparison, Homer's Iliad survives in about 1,800 manuscripts, and most classical works in fewer than 20. The Bible is, by a wide margin, the best-attested document from the ancient world.