when were the first texts of the bible found?

Question

im trying to work out when christianity started and when we went from lots of gods to 1. did it all start with jesus. did he start the preaching and the texts were wrote then? or was it way b4 and he was carrying an old message?

Answer 1

The original texts, which is the jewish books, what christian's call the Old Testament, was first written between 1200 and 100 BCE .

This is the information I found:
500 BC: Completion of All Original Hebrew Manuscripts which make up The 39 Books of the Old Testament.

200 BC: Completion of the Septuagint Greek Manuscripts which contain The 39 Old Testament Books AND 14 Apocrypha Books.

1st Century AD: Completion of All Original Greek Manuscripts which make up The 27 Books of the New Testament.

315 AD: Athenasius, the Bishop of Alexandria, identifies the 27 books of the New Testament which are today recognized as the canon of scripture.

382 AD: Jerome's Latin Vulgate Manuscripts Produced which contain All 80 Books (39 Old Test. + 14 Apocrypha + 27 New Test).

Answer 2

The term "canon" is used to describe the books that are divinely inspired and therefore belong in the Bible. The difficult aspect of determining the Biblical canon is that the Bible does not give us a list of the books that belong in the Bible. Determining the canon was a process, first by Jewish rabbis and scholars, and then later by early Christians. Ultimately, it was God who decided what books belonged in the Biblical canon. A book of Scripture belonged in the canon from the moment God inspired its writing. It was simply a matter of God convincing His human followers which books should be included in the Bible.

Compared to the New Testament, there was very little controversy over the canon of the Old Testament. Hebrew believers recognized God’s messengers, and accepted their writings as inspired of God. There was undeniably some debate in regards to the Old Testament canon. However, by 250 A.D. there was nearly universal agreement on the canon of Hebrew Scripture. The only issue that remained was the Apocrypha…with some debate and discussion continuing today. The vast majority of Hebrew scholars considered the Apocrypha to be good historical and religious documents, but not on the same level as the Hebrew Scriptures.

For the New Testament, the process of the recognition and collection began in the first centuries of the Christian church. Very early on, some of the New Testament books were being recognized. Paul considered Luke’s writings to be as authoritative as the Old Testament (1 Timothy 5:18; see also Deuteronomy 25:4 and Luke 10:7). Peter recognized Paul’s writings as Scripture (2 Peter 3:15-16). Some of the books of the New Testament were being circulated among the churches (Colossians 4:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:27). Clement of Rome mentioned at least eight New Testament books (A.D. 95). Ignatius of Antioch acknowledged about seven books (A.D. 115). Polycarp, a disciple of John the Apostle, acknowledged 15 books (A.D. 108). Later, Irenaeus mentioned 21 books (A.D. 185). Hippolytus recognized 22 books (A.D. 170-235). The New Testament books receiving the most controversy were Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2 John, and 3 John. The first “canon” was the Muratorian Canon, which was compiled in (A.D. 170). The Muratorian Canon included all of the New Testament books except Hebrews, James, and 3 John. In A.D. 363, the Council of Laodicea stated that only the Old Testament (along with the Apocrypha) and the 27 books of the New Testament were to be read in the churches. The Council of Hippo (A.D. 393) and the Council of Carthage (A.D. 397) also affirmed the same 27 books as authoritative.

The councils followed something similar to the following principles to determine whether a New Testament book was truly inspired by the Holy Spirit: 1) Was the author an apostle or have a close connection with an apostle? 2) Is the book being accepted by the Body of Christ at large? 3) Did the book contain consistency of doctrine and orthodox teaching? 4) Did the book bear evidence of high moral and spiritual values that would reflect a work of the Holy Spirit? Again, it is crucial to remember that the church did not determine the canon. No early church council decided on the canon. It was God, and God alone, who determined which books belonged in the Bible. It was simply a matter of God convincing His followers of what He had already decided upon. The human process of collecting the books of the Bible was flawed, but God, in His sovereignty, despite our ignorance and stubbornness, brought the early church to the recognition of the books He had inspired.

Recommended Resource: The Canon of Scripture by F.F. Bruce.

Answer 3

The Israelites were the chosen people of God, fulfilling a promise he made to Abraham, who was called "His friend." At that time the surrounding nations were pagan and worshiping many gods. Only the Israelites worshiped the True God Almighty. The Israelites were bound by the Law Covenant in order to have a good relationship with God, these commandments were written with God's finger on tablets of stone, (Ex.31:18,19). God had promised to produce a seed through Abraham's lineage that would bless the nations, that seed was Jesus Christ, and those that believed in him would no longer be bound by the Law Covenant but were able to enter into a good relationship with God through the merits of his son's perfect sacrifice. So Christianity started with Christ Jesus. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, some people were still worshiping lots of gods, and still do today. Amen

Someone who feels like researching the correct terms will "Tell it like it is." I'm doing this from memory, which is pretty foggy these days.

Answer 4

They were never "lost." The Torah (Old Testament) was treasured, copied painstakingly and handed down by rabbis in synagogues for centuries. The epistles and Gospels follow this tradition of conserving written texts. Jesus quotes from the Old Testament frequently; all Jewish boys learned the basics of their faith by memorising Torah.

Jesus wasn't carrying an "old" message but fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies. It's not "Old" as in "out-moded" but as in ancient, revered and conserved.

Answer 5

You will find the teaching that there was only One God as far back in the text of the scriputres as the early chapters of Genesis.

If you look at the "historical" evidence (for those who question the accuracy of the Bible's history), you will find evidence of people who believed in only One God as far back as the Sumarian Tablets (the earliest written records of a society known today). They date from around 1700-1500 BC, around the time of Abraham (the 15-20 chapters of the Bible). But it was not the "common" belief.

The Jew believed in only One God long before the time of Jesus. Non-Bible records can show that belief to at least 500BC. If you accept the Bible, it goes back another thousand+ year before that. But "secular" evidence from that time is difficult to find. To far back in history. But again, it was not the common belief.

Several of the ancient Greek philospher debated the idea of only One God. The ancient Egyptians had a pharoah who tried to get them to only worship One One (Ra), but it did not last beyond his lifetime.

The idea of only One God was advanced "world wide" by the Christian faith. But it did not begin with them. They were just the ones who most effectively spread the idea. They turned the majority of the world from "many gods" to only "one God".

As far as Bible text, the earliest extend (meaning more then scraps and pieces) manuscripts we have of the Old Testament date from around 400BC. The earliest of the New Testament manuscripts date from within 20 years of the time they were written, or about 50-60 years after the time Jesus lived.

Answer 6

Many were "miraculously" discovered in the 7th C BCE, just as King Josiah was in need of some religious lore to sell his empire-building ambitions to the people.

Answer 7

Well the OT started in oral tradition, no one really knows when it was written down for the first time.

Answer 8

its all made up dont waste your time