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|The Minor Prophets

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The [[Old Testament]], also called the [[Hebrew Bible]] or Tanakh, consists of thirty-nine books. The books themselves were originally written in [[Hebrew]], and later on in the [[Aramaic]] language of Palestine; the Greek language version written after the conquest of [[Alexander the Great]] is known as the [[Septuagint]].  [[Melito]], a bishop of [[Sardis]] in [[Lydia]] (in what is now [[Turkey]]), is said to have coined the phrase ''Old Testament'' about A.D. 170.  The Old Testament is divided in three parts (hence, "Tanakh") within the Jewish community: the [[Torah]] ("Law"), or [[Pentateuch]], the five books of [[Moses]]; [[Nevi'im]] ("Prophets"), and [[Ketuvim]] ("Writings,” or [[Hagiographa]]). Here the arrangment of the books differs somewhat from the Old Testament as used by Christians, however the actual writing of each book remains the same.

The [[Old Testament]], also called the [[Hebrew Bible]] or Tanakh, consists of thirty-nine books. The books themselves were originally written in [[Hebrew]], and later on in the [[Aramaic]] language of Palestine; the Greek language version written after the conquest of [[Alexander the Great]] is known as the [[Septuagint]].  [[Melito]], a bishop of [[Sardis]] in [[Lydia]] (in what is now [[Turkey]]), is said to have coined the phrase ''Old Testament'' about A.D. 170.  The Old Testament is divided in three parts (hence, "Tanakh") within the Jewish community: the [[Torah]] ("Law"), or [[Pentateuch]], the five books of [[Moses]]; [[Nevi'im]] ("Prophets"), and [[Ketuvim]] ("Writings,” or [[Hagiographa]]). Here the arrangement of the books differs somewhat from the Old Testament as used by Christians, however the actual writing of each book remains the same.

====Torah====

====Torah====

*Devarim (“words”), or [[Deuteronomy]]

*Devarim (“words”), or [[Deuteronomy]]

The first eleven chapters of ''Genesis'' provide the account of the [[Creation]], the history of God's early relationship with humanity, and the [[Deluge]] of [[Noah]]. The remaining thirty-nine chapters detail the account of God's covenant with the early Hebrew nation, led by the patriarchs [[Abraham]], [[Isaac]] and [[Jacob]] (or Israel), and one of Jacob's children, [[Joseph]]. It tells the beginnings of God's chosen people, of how God commanded Abraham to leave his family and home to settle in the land of [[Canaan]], and how the Children of Israel later moved to Egypt.  The remainder of the Torah, begining with ''Exodus'', tells the story of the great Hebrew leader [[Moses]], and of the Hebrews through their sojurn and slavery in Egypt, their escape from bondage, and their wanderings in the desert until they finaly enter the Promised Land.

The first eleven chapters of ''Genesis'' provide the account of the [[Creation]], the history of God's early relationship with humanity, and the [[Deluge]] of [[Noah]]. The remaining thirty-nine chapters detail the account of God's covenant with the early Hebrew nation, led by the patriarchs [[Abraham]], [[Isaac]] and [[Jacob]] (or Israel), and one of Jacob's children, [[Joseph]]. It tells the beginnings of God's chosen people, of how God commanded Abraham to leave his family and home to settle in the land of [[Canaan]], and how the Children of Israel later moved to Egypt.  The remainder of the Torah, beginning with ''Exodus'', tells the story of the great Hebrew leader [[Moses]], and of the Hebrews through their sojourn and slavery in Egypt, their escape from bondage, and their wanderings in the desert until they finally enter the Promised Land.

====Nevi'im====

====Nevi'im====

   

   

====[[Gospels|The Gospels]]====

====[[Gospels|The Gospels]]====

The ''Gospels'' contain the history of Jesus.  The ''Acts of the Apostles'' are a continuence of the Gospels, documenting the history of the early church, beginning immediately following Jesus' death and resurrection.  

The ''Gospels'' contain the history of Jesus.  The ''Acts of the Apostles'' are a continuance of the Gospels, documenting the history of the early church, beginning immediately following Jesus' death and resurrection.  

*[[Gospel of Matthew]]

*[[Gospel of Matthew]]

*[[Gospel of Mark]]

*[[Gospel of Mark]]

==History of the Bible==

==History of the Bible==

[[Image:Gutenburg1.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Printers copy of a page from a Gutenburg Bible, printed in Germany about 1469.]]

[[Image:Gutenburg1.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Printers copy of a page from a Gutenberg Bible, printed in Germany about 1469.]]

The oldest books of the Bible are certainly the five books of the Torah and ''Job''.  In ''1st Kings'' 6:1, Solomon is stated to have begun building the Temple "''in the 480th year after the children of Israel were come up out of the land of Egypt''".  It had been established by scholars and historians that Solomon had begun building the Temple in the fourth year of his reign, or 961 B.C., making the [[date of the Exodus]] under Moses to have been 1441 B.C.  During the following forty years Moses wrote the Torah and ''Job'', completing them before his death at [[Mt. Nebo]] about 1400 B.C.  According to Biblical scholar and historian Robert D. Wilson the Torah as it stands dates from the time of Moses, the five books constitute one continuous work, and was written by a single individual, Moses himself (Wilson, pg 11).

The oldest books of the Bible are certainly the five books of the Torah and ''Job''.  In ''1st Kings'' 6:1, Solomon is stated to have begun building the Temple "''in the 480th year after the children of Israel were come up out of the land of Egypt''".  It had been established by scholars and historians that Solomon had begun building the Temple in the fourth year of his reign, or 961 B.C., making the [[date of the Exodus]] under Moses to have been 1441 B.C.  During the following forty years Moses wrote the Torah and ''Job'', completing them before his death at [[Mt. Nebo]] about 1400 B.C.  According to Biblical scholar and historian Robert D. Wilson the Torah as it stands dates from the time of Moses, the five books constitute one continuous work, and was written by a single individual, Moses himself (Wilson, pg 11).

In the ''1st Timothy'' 5:8 Paul quoted as scripture ''"the laborer is worthy of his hire."''  This line is found nowhere else in the Bible except ''Matthew'' 10:10 and ''Luke'' 5:7.  In ''2nd Peter'' 3:15-16, Peter classes Paul's letters with "other scriptures".  Both lines are indicative of the writing down and general use of the New Testament prior to A.D. 60 (Halley, pg. 741-742).  Spurious "gospels" which are known to have appeared by A.D. 100, make references to the New Testament.  [[Clement of Rome]], writing in his own letter to the Corinthians in A.D. 95, refers to ''Matthew'', ''Luke'', ''Corinthians'', ''Hebrews'', ''1st Timothy'', and ''1st Peter'' (Halley, pg. 743).

In the ''1st Timothy'' 5:8 Paul quoted as scripture ''"the laborer is worthy of his hire."''  This line is found nowhere else in the Bible except ''Matthew'' 10:10 and ''Luke'' 5:7.  In ''2nd Peter'' 3:15-16, Peter classes Paul's letters with "other scriptures".  Both lines are indicative of the writing down and general use of the New Testament prior to A.D. 60 (Halley, pg. 741-742).  Spurious "gospels" which are known to have appeared by A.D. 100, make references to the New Testament.  [[Clement of Rome]], writing in his own letter to the Corinthians in A.D. 95, refers to ''Matthew'', ''Luke'', ''Corinthians'', ''Hebrews'', ''1st Timothy'', and ''1st Peter'' (Halley, pg. 743).

The oldest surviving New Testament fragment of which there is a reliable date is the John Rylands Fragment (P52)[http://rylibweb.man.ac.uk/data1/dg/text/fragment.htm] of the ''Gospel of John'', dating from 117-138 A.D., just decades from when the Gospel was first written.  The time span between the writing of the New Testament and the oldest surviving fragments are well under two hundred years.  By comparison, Greek classics such as Herodotus, Plato, Euripedes, and Homer have a time span well over a thousand years each between the date of the oldest known fragment of writing and the time period they were first written.

The oldest surviving New Testament fragment of which there is a reliable date is the John Rylands Fragment (P52)[http://rylibweb.man.ac.uk/data1/dg/text/fragment.htm] of the ''Gospel of John'', dating from 117-138 A.D., just decades from when the Gospel was first written.  The time span between the writing of the New Testament and the oldest surviving fragments are well under two hundred years.  By comparison, Greek classics such as Herodotus, Plato, Euripides, and Homer have a time span well over a thousand years each between the date of the oldest known fragment of writing and the time period they were first written.

===Gutenberg's Bible===

===Gutenberg's Bible===

[[Johannes Gutenberg]] of [[Mainz]], [[Germany]] invented the first mechanical printing press in 1448.  His machine consisted of a large press which when cranked down, pressed a sheet of paper upon a platform in which were set thousands of inked metal letter typefaces (called "movable type"), set in place to read for a particular page.  The result was the [[Gutenberg Bible]], of which 180 were printed, and approximately 50 survive today in varying conditions around the world.  The Gutenburg Bible marked another first: Bibles could be mass produced into the hands of many more people at a lower cost than if they were printed by hand.

[[Johannes Gutenberg]] of [[Mainz]], [[Germany]] invented the first mechanical printing press in 1448.  His machine consisted of a large press which when cranked down, pressed a sheet of paper upon a platform in which were set thousands of inked metal letter typefaces (called "movable type"), set in place to read for a particular page.  The result was the [[Gutenberg Bible]], of which 180 were printed, and approximately 50 survive today in varying conditions around the world.  The Gutenberg Bible marked another first: Bibles could be mass produced into the hands of many more people at a lower cost than if they were printed by hand.

==References==

==References==