2007-03-19 06:08:54 · 5 answers · asked by tj 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
The world's first novel, supposedly, is "TheTale of Gengi" by Murasaki Shikibu written at the beginning of the Eleventh Century
2007-03-19 07:53:12 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It depends on what you mean by book. A story? A history?
Alphabetic writing emerged in Egypt around 1800 BC, and was used for writng everything from histories of rulers to accounts of the gods.
Papyrus scrolls first evidence is from the account books of King Neferirkare Kakai of the Fifth Dynasty, approx. 2400 BC.
The oldest scriptural text are the pentatuech...the first 5 books of the Bible.
As far as I know, the oldest book in the world is a toss up between several "books" from Egypt...I'd say it was The Book of the Coming Forth By Day, or more commonly known as The Book of the Dead.. The earliest known versions date from the 16th century BC during the 18th Dynasty (ca. 1580 BC–1350 BC). They substantially pre-date the Old Testament.
2007-03-19 06:20:17 · answer #2 · answered by aidan402 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Chris B has the correct answer. The Bible answers are silly as The Epic of Gilgamesh pre-dates Christianity.
2007-03-19 08:58:24 · answer #3 · answered by The Misanthrope 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The oldest story, I believe that is known, is the Epic of Gilgamesh, circa 3,700 years ago.
2007-03-19 08:30:46 · answer #4 · answered by Chris B 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The Old Testament.
2007-03-19 06:13:17 · answer #5 · answered by Jim 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋