FOUNDATIONS  OF  THE   BIBLE

NEW TESTAMENT

ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPTS
The original manuscripts are those written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  Although there are good manuscript copies, no original manuscripts are in existence.

EARLY COPIES:

CODEX ALEXANDRINUS 425 AD
A well-preserved manuscript from the 5th century AD. Most likely copied by scribes in Alexandria, Egypt.

The original of this famous manuscript was written on thin vellum, each page being now about 13 ½ by 15 inches in size. This allows the letters to be quite large and clear. This page contains two notable corrections by a latter editor. In the upper right hand corner will be seen the reading: "They are not walking according to flesh but according to spirit" (Romans 8:1). In the space between the last two columns, a little over an inch from the top, is the word "grace", which answers the question of the seventh chapter of Romans (Romans 7:24). In the first line on the page are three abbreviations. These are indicated by horizontal strokes over the words. The first two letters stand for Christ. The second two (the strokes over them is invisible) are the first and last letters of Jesus. The next two are the article The. The seventh and eighth letters stand for Master or Lord. The name God is abbreviated in the fifth line from the bottom of the third column, the fifth and sixth letters from the end.

CODEX VATICANUS 340 AD
Perhaps the oldest uncial (print as opposed to cursive) on parchment or vellum, and one of the most important witnesses to the text of the New Testament. It includes most of the Septuagint version of the Old Testament and most of the New Testament in Greek.

CODEX SINAITICUS 330 AD
Greek manuscript generally considered to be the most important witness to the text because of its antiquity, accuracy, and lack of omissions.

Codex Sinaiticus (herein denoted by a small italic s) is the most complete and perfect manuscript we have. It is the latest great codex to be discovered. In 1844, Constantin Tischendorf, in search of ancient manuscripts, visited the monastery of St. Catherine on Mt. Sinai, in the desert of Arabia. While there he noticed several leaves of vellum in a waste paper basket.

They proved to be part of a copy of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures (285 BC). The monks were using these valuable books as fuel. He got possession of forty-three leaves, which he took to Europe and published. In 1853 he went back to recover the rest of the manuscript, but failed to find any trace of it.

In 1859, under the patronage of Tsar Alexander II., of Russia, he was once more at Mt. Sinai for a few days. As he was about to leave he had a conversation with the steward of the monastery regarding his edition of the Septuagint. The steward said that he too had a copy of the Septuagint, and brought out a copy which included the Greek Scriptures in their entirety, wrapped up in a napkin.

Here was the prize Tischendorf had sought for fifteen years! He persuaded the monks to let him take the manuscript to Cairo and have a transcript made, but was unable to get them to part with it except as a present to the Tsar, the protector of the Greek Church, to which they belonged. It was taken to the Russian Imperial Library, in St. Petersburg, where it remained till it was bought by the British.

   THE EDITOR OF SINAITICUS

The readings of Sinaiticus are of two classes:

First there are the corrections made at the time the manuscript was written or soon afterwards. These are sometimes called the A or B readings.

The second class of corrections are editorial in nature and were made some centuries later. They are sometimes called the C readings.

He was an editor, endeavoring, not merely to correct the mechanical slips of the scribe, but to conform the text to the best ancient evidence. It is supposed that this editorial work was done at Caesarea by comparison with Pamphilius’ manuscripts, which in turn had been compared with Origen’s Hexapla. If this be true, it is of the utmost importance that we recognize it and accord their readings the place they deserve.

Note: Another point is of principal importance. Many of the mistakes in the ancient manuscript are omissions. Only those actually engaged in transcribing will realize how easy it is to leave out a few words or a line. There can be no doubt that the scribe of Sinaiticus skipped many words which were restored by the corrector.

The Alexandrian manuscript has thus lost quite a few whole sentences and almost always the reason is apparent from the text itself.

ANCIENT COPIES
Most notably are the Dead Sea Scrolls

ANCIENT VERSIONS

VULGATE 382 AD
By the 3rd century AD, Latin had become the official language, as well as the common language of the west.   The  roots of the Old Latin versions are found in the Old Testament Greek text (Septuagint, also known as the LXX).  A revision of the Scriptures into Latin became necessary during the last half of the 4th century, and in AD 382, Jerome was commissioned by the Bishop of Rome to revise the Old Latin text.  This revision is known as the Latin Vulgate.

MODERN VERSIONS

WYCLIFFE 1380 AD
John Wycliffe, referred to as "the morning star of the Reformation" translated the Bible into English from the Latin Vulgate.

TYNDALE 1525 AD
In the wake of the Renaissance, William Tyndale brought one of the major contributions to the transmission of the English Bible: the first printed edition of any portion of the Bible in English.  Tyndale's version of the New Testament provided the basis for all successive revisions.  The King James Version is practically a 5th revision of Tyndale's revision.

COVERDALE 1535 AD
The key individual in the publication of the first complete English Bible in printed form was Miles Coverdale, Tyndale's assistant and proofreader.

MATTHEWS 1537 AD
Thomas Matthew was the pen name of John Rogers who had also been an assistant to Tyndale, and merely combined the Tyndale and Coverdale Old Testaments with the 1535 revision of Tyndale's New Testament.

GREAT 1539 AD
The Great Bible was done under the direction of Coverdale. It received it name because of its size.  The Great Bible was authorized by King Henry VIII of England for use in the churches.

GENEVA 1560 AD
Produced during the reign of Mary Tudor, by John Knox and a group of Protestant refugees who found refuge from Mary Tudor in Geneva. It was the first Bible to introduce italicized words into the text where English idiom required additional words.

BISHOPS 1568 AD
This was a revision of the Great Bible, for the most part by bishops of the Anglican church. These scholars were better equipped in Hebrew and Greek, and many of their innovations were carried over into the Rheims-Douay and the King James Versions.

DOUAY 1610 AD
During the first decade of Elizabeth's reign, a group of English Roman Catholics settled in Spanish Flanders, easily accessible to England and under Roman Catholic rulers.   While there they founded the English College at Douay, for the training of priests and the maintenance of their Catholic faith.  The Douay Version was taken primarily from the Latin Vulgate.

KING JAMES 1611 AD
Referred to as the "Authorized Version" because it was authorized by James I, king of England. The text was based largely on the previous English translations, most of which had their foundations in the Latin Vulgate.

REVISED VERSION 1881 AD
With the advances in the 19th century scholarship, the accumulation of earlier and better manuscript materials, the archaeological discoveries in the ancient world, and the actual changes in English society and its literary style, this revision of the King James Version on a more "official" basis was necessary.

AMERICAN STANDARD (ASV) 1901 AD
The American Standard Version was based on the English Revised Version of 1881 & 1885, and was the work of many hands and of several generations. The foundation was laid by William Tyndale.

SYRIAC PESHITTA    1933 AD
Translated from Aramaic into English in 1933 by George M. Lamsa. The Peshitta was the authorized Bible of the Church of the East, and the English translation is based on Peshitta manuscripts.   The Aramaic language was a language of empire extending from Persia to Europe, and down the Nile through  the length of Egypt.  It was spoken and written by the Jewish people at least equally with Hebrew, and was the common language used by Jesus in addressing the masses in His 3 1/2 years of earthly ministry.

Manuscripts used in making  this translation were

Old Testament	from the Codex Ambrosianus, currently in the Ambrosian Library at Milan, Italy, and has been identified as fifth century.
New Testament	from the Mortimer-McCawley manuscript, identified as sixth or seventy century.

Comparisons have been made with the

Peshitta manuscripts	Morgan Library, New York, N.Y.
Freer Collection	Washington D.C.
Urumiah edition
Peshitta Old Testament	British Museum   (the oldest dated Biblical manuscript in existence)

Comparisons show  no differences in text between these various manuscripts, and Lamsa's translation.

REVISED STANDARD VERSION (RSV) 1952 AD
The International council of Religious Education expressed its desire to utilize the great advances in biblical scholarship.  The revision committee consisted of 22 scholars who were to follow the meaning of the American Standard Version in the elegance of the King James Version, and change the readings only if two-thirds of the committee agreed.  It uses simpler, more current forms of pronouns such as "you" and "yours".

CONCORDANT GREEK 1955 AD
A restored Greek text with superlinear literal word-for-word translation. Based on earlier translations and the three most ancient manuscripts: Alexandrinus, Vaticanus and Sinaiticus.

BERKELEY 1945 AD
Based on the discovery of earlier and more reliable Greek manuscripts. They followed Tischendorf's Greek, as well as consulting Leusden's Greek and Latin New Testaments, and Weizsaeker's German Versions.

AMPLIFIED 1958 AD
By a committee of qualified Hebrew and Greek scholars, produced by the Lockman Foundation of La Habra California..  Its purpose is to revealing clarifying shades of meaning that may be concealed by the traditional word-for-word method of translation.  
The New Testament was first issued in 1958, Part 2  of the of the Old Testament (Job - Malachi) was published in 1962, and Part 1 (Genesis - Esther) was published in 1964.

An example: Acts 16:31 reads: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved."   What does the word "believe" mean?  Twenty-two New Testament versions out of 24 that the translators consulted render it as "believe".  They do so because there is no one English word that adequately conveys the intended meaning.  Actdually, the Greek word used here is "pisteuo".    It means "to adhere to, cleave to; to trust, to have faith in, to rely on."  Consequently, this verse really mean: "to have an absolute personal reliance upon the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour."

NEW ENGLISH BIBLE  (NEB) 1971 AD
Published by Oxford and Cambridge University.

NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE (NASB) 1971 AD
The translators had three stated goals: accuracy of translation, clarity of English, and adequacy of notes.

LIVING BIBLE 1971 AD
A paraphrase (thought-for-thought rather than word-for-word) by Kenneth N. Taylor.

TODAY'S ENGLISH VERSION (TEV) 1976 AD
Published by the American Bible Society, directed by Robert G. Bratcher,  it is a new translation which seeks to state clearly and accurately the meaning of the original texts in words and forms that are widely accepted by people who use English as a language. It attempts to set forth the Biblical content and message in a standard, everyday, natural form of English.

The first task was to understand correctly the meaning of the original. The next task was to express that meaning in a manner and a form easily understood by readers. Certain features as hours of the day and measures are given in modern equivalents.

The Tetragrammaton is translated as LORD, in capitals. Where "Adonai" is followed by "Yahweh", the rendering is Sovereign Lord.

Early drafts were reviewed by prominent theologians and Biblical scholars. Drafts were also sent to English-speaking Bible societies. The final approval of the text was given by American Bible Society's Board of Managers upon recommendation of its Translations Department Committee.

Today's English Version, First Edition is no longer in print, and has been superceded by Today's English Version, Second Edition copyright © 1992 American Bible Society. Print editions of the TEV (also known as the Good News Bible) are available from the American Bible Society.

NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV) 1978 AD
New International Version. The translators sought to produce a version that would be characterized by accuracy, clarity and literary quality.

NEW KING JAMES VERSION (NKJV) 1979 AD
Leading clergymen and lay Christians, under the leadership of Thomas Nelson Publishers decided to sensitively revise the King James Version. They used the Old Testament text of the Biblia Hebraica Stutgardensia.  The New Testament was based on the "Textus Receptus", a text presumed to be as identical as possible to that of the original manuscripts.

NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION (NRSV) 1989 AD
The International Council of Religious Education appointed a committee of scholars to have charge of the text of the American Standard Version and to undertake inquiry concerning the need for further revision. After studying the questions whether or not revision should be undertaken, and if so, what its nature and extent should be, in 1937 the Council authorized a revision.

The Revised Standard Version Bible Committee is a continuing body, comprising about thirty members, both men and women. Ecumenical in representation, it includes scholars affiliated with various Protestant denominations, as well as several Roman Catholic members, an Eastern Orthodox member, and a Jewish member who serves in the Old Testament section. For a period of time the Committee included several members from Canada and from England.

As for the style of English adopted for the present revision, among the mandates given to the Committee in 1980 by the Division of Education and Ministry of the National Council of Churches of Christ (which now holds the copyright of the RSV Bible) was the directive to continue in the tradition of the King James Bible, but to introduce such changes as are warranted on the basis of accuracy, clarity, euphony, and current English usage. Within the constraints set by the original texts and by the mandates of the Division, the Committee has followed the maxim, "As literal as possible, as free as necessary." As a consequence, the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) remains essentially a literal translation.

INTERLINEAR TRANSLITERATED BIBLE  1994 AD
Published by Biblesoft.
Utilizing: Nestle-Aland Greek-English New Testament Greek text Novum Testamentum Graece,  in the tradition of Eberhard Nestle and Erwin Nestle.
Edited by Barbara and Kurt Alan,  Johannes Karavidpopoulos,  Carlo M. Martini,  Bruce M. Metzger.
Deutsche Biblegesellschaft
The translated Bible text is from: The King James Version Electronic Database Published by Biblesoft

(Interlinear Transliterated Bible. Copyright © 1994, 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc.)

PHILLIP'S TRANSLATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
What began as a pastor's effort to make the New Testament understandable to a London youth group turned into an entirely new translation.

Encouraged by C. S. Lewis's favorable reaction to his translation of the Pauline Epistles, J.B. Phillips went on to translate the Gospels. At first reluctant, fearing that people would object to his paraphrasing the words of Jesus, he completed the Gospels in 1952, the Acts in 1955, and the Book of Revelation in 1957. The entire NT was published in 1958. He translated four books of the OT (Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah) in 1963, and revised his translation of the NT in 1973.

The strength of his translation is in its readability. The NT reads as if it were originally written in 20th century English.

THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
(See also Pillars of the Church)

Clement of Rome  (95 AD)

A contemporary of the apostles, wrote his letter to the Corinthians (95-97 AD) after the pattern of the apostle Paul. In it he quotes the synoptic gospels (Matt 9:13; Mark 2:12; Luke 5:32) after calling them "Scripture.  He urges his readers to "act according to that which is written.   (from "a General Introduction To the Bible, by Norman L Geisler & William E. Nix)

          Polycarp  (110 AD)

The disciple of the apostle John. He referred to the New Testament several times in his letter to the Philippians.  He introduces Galatians 4:26 as "the word of truth",  and Philippians 2:16 and 2 Timothy 4:10 as "the word of righteousness".  (from "a General Introduction To the Bible, by Norman L Geisler & William E. Nix)

Irenaeus (130 AD)

Presbyter of the church at Lyons. As a boy, before he moved to Rome for studies prior to his ordination as a presbyter (elder) and later bishop of Lyons, France, he is reported to have actually heard Polycarp.  Irenaeus himself was a seminal figure in the development of Christian doctrine in the West, and his role makes him a key individual in understanding the doctrine of scripture in the early church.  In his treatise Against Heresies (3.1.1), he referred to the authority of the New testament when stated,  

"for the Lord of all gave the power of the Gospel to his apostles, through whom we have come to know the truth, that is, the teaching of the Son of God ... This Gospel they first preached. Afterwards, by the will of God, they handed it down to us in the Scriptures, to be 'the pillar and ground' of our faith."

    (from "a General Introduction To the Bible, by Norman L Geisler & William E. Nix)

                 Clement of Alexandria (150)

At this time, also, flourished Clement, at Alexandria, of the same name with him who anciently presided over the church of Rome, and who was a disciple of the apostles. This Clement was devoted to the study of the same Scriptures with Pantyaenus, and in his Institutions expressly mentions the latter by name as his teacher.

"These books," says he, "were not fabricated as a work of ostentation, but they are treasured up by me as a kind of commentaries for my old age, and an antidote to forgetfulness, as a natural image and sketch of those efficacious and inspired doctrines which I was honored to have from those blessed and truly excellent men…….These, indeed, preserved the true tradition of the salutary doctrine, which, as given by Peter and James, John and Paul, had descended from father to son. "       (Ecclesiastical History Chapter 11 Eusebius Page 191)

Origen (185 AD)

Origen began his Commentaries on the sacred Scriptures, to which he was particularly urged by Ambrose, who presented innumerable incentives, not only by verbal exhortation but by furnishing the most ample supplies of all necessary means; for he had more than seven amanuenses, when he dictated, who relieved each other at appointed times. He had not fewer copyists, as also girls, who were well exercised in more elegant writing. For all which, Ambrose furnished an abundant supply of all the necessary expense. "As I have understood from tradition, respecting the four gospels, which are the only undisputed ones in the whole church of God throughout the world. The first is written according to Matthew, the same that was once a publican, but afterwards an apostle of Jesus Christ, who having published it for the Jewish converts, wrote it in the Hebrew. The second is according to Mark, who composed it, as Peter explained to him, whom he also acknowledges as his son in his general Epistle, saying, ‘The elect church in Babylon, salutes you, as also Mark my son.’ And the third, according to Luke, the gospel commended by Paul, which was written for the converts from the Gentiles, and last of all the gospel according to John." Ecclesiastical History Pages 243,245,246

From these letters we come to the conclusion that the early Church fathers who some times hazard their lives to believe in Jesus and to spread His doctrine also had a great love and admiration of the Holy Scriptures that were written by the Disciples of Christ. So I believe that all Scripture did come from inspiration of the Holy Spirit and that man has and will not be able to corrupt the Living Word of God.

"…..When ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe" I Thessalonians 2:13

Tertullian (160 AD)

In his "Father of Latin Theology," never wavered in his support of the inspiration of both the Old and New testaments.  He maintained that the four gospels "are reared on the certain basis of apostolic authority, and so are inspired in a far different sense from the writings of the spiritual Christian.  (from "a General Introduction To the Bible, by Norman L Geisler & William E. Nix)

Jerome  (340-419 AD)

The most learned, the most eloquent, and the most interesting author among the Latin fathers. 
His writings contain the whole spirit of the church of the middle ages, its monasticism, its contrast of sacred things with profane, its credulity and superstition, its subjection to hierarchical authority, its dread of heresy, its passion for pilgrimages.
The Vulgata, or Latin version of the whole Bible,  Old Testament and New,  is by far the most important and valuable of his works
(from Schaff's History of the Church, Electronic Database Copyright (c)1999 by Biblesoft)

A  COMPARISON:

To see how different translations can give a complete picture without diluting the pure Word of God:

    Mark 4:26-29

King James Version (KJV)
26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
27 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

American Standard Version (ASV)
26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed upon the earth;
27 and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he knoweth not how.
28 The earth beareth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
29 But when the fruit is ripe, straightway he putteth forth the sickle, because the harvest is come.

New American Standard (NAS)
26 And He was saying, "The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil;
27 and goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts up and grows-- how, he himself does not know.
28 "The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.
29 "But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

New International Version (NIV)
26 He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground.
27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.
28 All by itself the soil produces grain-- first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.
29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."

New King James (NKJ)
26 And He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground,
27 "and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.
28 "For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.
29 "But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

The Living Bible (TLB)
26 "Here is another story illustrating what the Kingdom of God is like: "A farmer sowed his field
27 and went away, and as the days went by, the seeds grew and grew without his help.
28 For the soil made the seeds grow. First a leaf-blade pushed through, and later the wheat-heads formed and finally the grain ripened,
29 and then the farmer came at once with his sickle and harvested it."
 

Bibliography