Sleepy History - The Bible

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Starting point is 00:01:03 so Dad can explore his roots across more than 3,600 regions, and discover the places and cultures that you can. shaped his story. Save now, give Ancestry DNA from only $69. Offer ends June 21st. Visit Ancestry.ca for details. Terms apply. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. So begins Genesis, the first book of the Bible. But who wrote these words? And how did the books of the Old and New Testament come to be united in a single text? Tonight, we'll explore the Bible in depth, from theories about its composition to its enduring cultural influence, but also look at its translations and the people who were determined to make the Bible accessible to all. So just relax and let your mind drift as we explore the sleepy history of the Bible.

Starting point is 00:02:29 Let's begin with the name itself. The word Bible comes from a term in Koine Greek, meaning the books or the scroll. It's thought that this term tabiblia was used by Hellenistic Jews to refer to their sacred books. For many people today, the books of the Bible are still considered sacred, a symbol of their faith and the representation of the Word of God. For many secular readers, or those of other faiths, the Bible remains widely viewed as one of the most important books of all time. In the Western world in particular, there's no denying its influence. But in order to understand the Bible, we need to consider it not as a single text, but as a collection of texts, written by different different books.

Starting point is 00:03:32 authors in different parts of the world and at different points in history. As you're probably aware, Christians divide the Bible into two main canons, the Old Testament and the New Testament. We'll begin by looking at them separately and then see how they were combined into the anthology we know as the Bible. The Old Testament is a collection of ancient religious writings in Hebrew or Aramaic. It largely corresponds to the Hebrew Bible, a collection of scriptures that includes the Torah. The question of authorship is a tricky one, and also a matter of religious belief. Traditionally, the prophet Moses is believed to have written the first five books, including Genesis and Exodus. Other books have been attributed

Starting point is 00:04:45 to David, King of Israel, or to prophets such as Isaiah or Jeremiah. Scholars tend to take a different view. They believe that the books of the Old Testament were written by multiple anonymous authors over the centuries. Let's take the book of Genesis as an example. According to both Jewish and Christian tradition, Genesis was written by Moses under divine inspiration. However, from around the 17th century, some people began to question whether Moses was really the author. They pointed to contradictions within the text, such as the inclusion of two separate creation narratives. It seemed more likely that Genesis, along with other parts of the Old Testament,

Starting point is 00:05:50 had been written by several different authors. An influential theory emerged among scholars in the 19th century. It's known as the Documentary Hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, the first five books of the Old Testament came from four distinct. sources. One hypothetical source, known as the Yahwist source, is thought to date back to around the 10th century BCE. It uses the term Yahweh for God, whereas other sources use different terms, such as Elohim. The other sources are more recent and are quite distinct from one another.

Starting point is 00:06:47 Now, these days, not all scholars are convinced by the documentary hypothesis, but it gives us some idea of the challenges of biblical scholarship. It's difficult to come to a consensus when dealing with such a complex ancient text. Adding to the complication is that the texts exist in many different and sometimes fragmented forms. In the mid-20th century, Bedouin shepherds went inside some caves near the Dead Sea and stumbled across several ancient manuscripts. There were seven scrolls stored in jars, but this was just the beginning.

Starting point is 00:07:42 To date, tens of thousands of fragments from around 900 manuscripts have been uncovered in the area. They're known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Many of them contain biblical texts, including much of the Hebrew canon that the Old Testament is based on. The scrolls were handwritten in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, on papyrus, parchment, and copper. They're an extraordinary find,

Starting point is 00:08:22 the oldest surviving biblical manuscripts that we know of. However, many of the texts are in poor condition. Brittle fragments that are hard to decipher, and again, their authorship is a mystery. They're thought to have been written about 2,000 years ago. But by whom exactly? Perhaps the scrolls were written by the Essines, a Jewish sect that once lived in the area. Alternatively, the authors may have been professional scribes who worked at the temple in Jerusalem. The ongoing debate about the Dead Sea Scrolls is another example of the challenges that scholars face.

Starting point is 00:09:21 What's more, new discoveries occasionally turn up, new scroll fragments, and every now and then, findings that appear to corroborate details in the Old Testament itself. For example, in the 19th century, a block of basalt was found in Jordan. It's known as the Misha Steeley, or Moabite stone, and it's thought to date back to the 9th century BCE. The stone features a lengthy inscription in the Moabite language, which makes reference to a historical event in the region. King Misha's rebellion against Israel.

Starting point is 00:10:13 This corresponds with a section in the Book of Kings in the Old Testament. So while people may have differing views about the exact significance and historical accuracy of the Bible, this is something to keep in mind. Many historians view the Old Testament as a valuable historical source, both in itself and for its possible insights into the ancient world. The canon of the Old Testament was composed and assembled very gradually over the centuries. As copies were made and circulated throughout the Middle East, the canon became consolidated in stages. Many of the core texts of the Old Testament were widely recognized by the Second Century.

Starting point is 00:11:13 century BCE. The canon of the Catholic Church was mostly established by around the 4th century CE through regional councils. But there were further changes over the years, as late as the 16th and 17th centuries. In Europe, the Protestant Reformation led different Christian traditions to adopt slightly different canons. To this day, there are different views among Christians about which books form part of the canon. The Protestant Old Testament generally contains 39 books, while the Catholic and Orthodox churches have more. So while there's general agreement on the importance of the Old Testament, both as a spiritual text and a historical artifact, actually defining it is surprisingly difficult.

Starting point is 00:12:23 The Old Testament is, as the name suggests, the older part of the Bible. It begins with the creation of the world and covers the history of ancient Israel. The New Testament was written in the first century CE over a much shorter period of time. It records the life, death and resurrection of Christ, as well as the beginnings of the church. Compared to the Old Testament, tracing its own. origins and development is slightly more straightforward. The 27 books of the New Testament are written in Koina Greek. Many of the authors were likely Jewish Christians living in the Roman Empire. However, the exact authorship of individual books is still debated. The Gospel of Mark,

Starting point is 00:13:30 for instance, is traditionally believed to have been written by Mark the Evangelist. But, Most modern scholars believe that this gospel was actually written by an anonymous figure. By academic standards, it's hard to know with absolute certainty who wrote the New Testament. To give another example, the traditional author of the Gospel of John is John the Evangelist. But who was he exactly? His identity is still disputed, as he's. associated with at least three different John's, including John the Apostle. On the other hand, it's generally accepted that Paul the Apostle wrote many of the Epistles of the New Testament.

Starting point is 00:14:32 The issue of authorship aside, we know quite a lot about the New Testament. The books were composed roughly between 50 and 100 CE, starting from about 20 years after to the death of Christ. They were written on papyrus, and copies of the manuscripts circulated around early Christian churches. The canon of the New Testament was formalized slowly between the second and fourth centuries.

Starting point is 00:15:12 Bishops and theologians sometimes had differing views about which books were legitimate and authoritative. For instance, there was some debate about the Gospels and which ones should be recognized. There are now four recognized Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. A text by a second-century bishop, Ironaeus, suggests that not everyone shared this view at the time.

Starting point is 00:15:49 He writes, It is not possible that the Gospels can be either more or fewer in number than they are. for since there are four zones of the world in which we live and four principal winds, while the church is scattered throughout all the world, and the pillar and ground of the church is the gospel and the spirit of life. It is fitting that she should have four pillars, breathing out immortality on every side and vivifying men afresh.

Starting point is 00:16:26 It wasn't until the 4th century that the New Testament became finalized, more or less. After 200 years, much debate and many church conferences, Christian leaders mostly agreed on the New Testament. In the year 367, a theologian known as Athanasius of Alexandria wrote a letter in which he listed all the 27 books of the New Testament. He insisted that this was the canon, writing, These are the fountains of salvation, that he who thirsts may be satisfied with the living words they contain.

Starting point is 00:17:18 In these alone, the teaching of godliness is proclaimed. Let no one add to these. Let nothing be taken away from them. Another key event was the Council of Carthage in the year 397, which took place in North Africa. Records show that church leaders agreed on a list of canonical books, both for the Old and New Testament. While the conversation wasn't quite over yet, the Bible as we know it, was slowly taking shape. Reflecting on this history so far, we can see why the Bible has such mystique, regardless of one's religious beliefs,

Starting point is 00:18:15 it's as though there's a kind of aura about it. After all, it wasn't simply written, but rather assembled over the centuries, through the contributions of many different people. In a sense, we might say that the Bible evolved into being. This was no ordinary book. And indeed, in a way the Bible can't exactly be considered a book until the appearance of the first codex. As we've seen, the parts of the Old and New Testament were mostly written on papyrus scrolls. Over time, people began to stitch papyrus sheets together, creating what's known as a codex. They were early books, with pages that could be

Starting point is 00:19:17 turned. Scholars believe that codices first appeared in the Greco-Roman world towards the end of the first century, or the early second. Early codices often contained Christian texts. Interestingly, when we look at the history of the book more generally, this is a pattern that's often repeated throughout the world. Many of the earliest books are religious texts. One of the first Bibles in this format is a manuscript known as the Codex Sinaiticus. Written in Greek and dating back to the 4th century,

Starting point is 00:20:05 it contains parts of the Greek Old Testament and the entirety of the New Testament. The Codex Sinaiticus is valuable for its age, its relative completeness, and for its state of preservation. Scholars still consider it one of the most important copies of the New Testament, a historical treasure. If you want to see it for yourself, however, you'll have to make quite a journey. The Codex has been divided into sections, with some parts in Germany, some in Russia, and some in Egypt.

Starting point is 00:20:52 Today, most of the manuscript is held by the British Library in London. For the next part of our story, we're turning our attention to Britain and the English language. Naturally, over the following centuries, the Bible continued to spread throughout the world. There are many different strands of history we could follow. But the story of the English language Bible is particularly interesting. These days, we probably take it for granted that we can turn to any page of the Bible and read it with ease. That wasn't always the case. Christianity arrived in Britain during the Roman era.

Starting point is 00:21:49 Over the years, it became increasingly widespread. And by the 6th century, the Christian church had become dominant in much of Britain. However, the average Britain at the time wouldn't have had direct access to the Bible. It was available only in the form of handwritten manuscripts, and levels of literacy were low. Another major obstacle was the fact that Bibles at the time were mainly written in Latin. In the late 4th century, St. Jerome had created a Latin translation of the Bible, based on revolutions. visions of earlier texts. This version came to be known as the Volgate, and it gradually became the main version of the Bible in Western Europe. But of course, most people couldn't read at all,

Starting point is 00:22:56 let alone read Latin. The Bible was only accessible to educated members of society, such as monks. In the 7th century, an English monk known as Bede attempted to make part of the world. of the Bible more accessible. While on his deathbed, he translated the Gospel of John into Old English. After completing the final passage, he apparently said, all is finished. Although the translation itself hasn't survived, this was still a significant event. It was one of the first times in history that a part of the Bible had been translated into a Western vernacular language, other than Latin. It would be quite a while before anyone attempted to translate the whole Bible into English. In the late 14th century, a team of scholars produced a translation in Middle English.

Starting point is 00:24:10 It became known as Wycliffe's Bible. Traditionally, authorship was attributed to a man named John Wickliff, a Catholic priest and a professor at the University of Oxford. Modern scholars have doubts about the extent of Wycliffe's authorship. But he certainly initiated the project and likely oversaw much of the work. For Wycliffe, Scripture was the source of truth. It had to be available to all. He's reported to have once said, Christ and his apostles taught the people in that tongue that was best known to them.

Starting point is 00:25:00 Why should men not do so now? However, translations of the Bible were highly controversial. There were even attempts to ban them. Translation was seen as a political act, and for some church authorities, Wycliffe was a heretic. Several decades later, in Germany, another version of the Bible came into existence, the Gutenberg Bible. It was created in the 1450s by Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the movable type printing press, and it represented a revolution in the making. The Gutenberg Bible was an addition of the Latin Vulgate, the standard version at the time. The introduction of the printing press revolutionized the production of books, making it quicker, easier, and cheaper to make copies of the Bible and other.

Starting point is 00:26:12 other books. Books became much more widespread, which contributed to improvements in literacy across Europe. And of course, it was the Bible that many people were reading, or wanting to read. Increasingly, there was demand for translations. The printing press helped to make the Bible ever more accessible. Still, there was also another side to this shift, which is worth acknowledging. Before the printing press, copies of the Bible were produced by hand. They were often works of art called illuminated manuscript, with pages and pages of meticulous calligraphy and the most exquisite illustrations. While many beautiful editions of the Bible have been produced since, some might argue that the Bible.

Starting point is 00:27:21 that these manuscripts were particularly special. They were labours of love, where the creator's care and devotion was visible in every stroke of the quill. As the printing press spread throughout Europe, some people saw an opportunity. An English scholar named William Tyndale was inspired by Protestant reformers such as Martin Luther. Tyndale, who was living in exile in Germany,

Starting point is 00:27:59 translated parts of the Bible into English in the 1520s. Several thousand copies were printed and then smuggled into England, hidden inside bales of cloth. Tyndale's translation, along with his other controversial works, made him many enemies. He was viewed as a troublemaker and a heretic.

Starting point is 00:28:27 In 1535, Tyndale was arrested near Brussels and executed the following year. A letter survives from his time in prison. Rather touchingly, he wrote, I ask to be allowed to have a lamp in the evening. It is indeed wearisome, sitting alone in the dark. But most of all, I beg to have the Hebrew Bible, grammar and dictionary. that I may pass the time in that study. The great irony is that Tyndale died on the cusp of a historical turning point.

Starting point is 00:29:17 At the time, the King of England was Henry VIII, who was in the process of breaking away from the Catholic Church. In 1538, just two years after Tyndale's death, Henry VIII authorized an English translation of the Bible. It was published the following year as the Great Bible. A further irony is that much of it was based on Tyndale's translation. Certain parts, deemed to be controversial, were altered. So, by 1539, there was an official edition of the Bible in English,

Starting point is 00:30:09 approved by both the King and the Church of England. Thousands of copies were printed and sent to churches throughout the country. The English Bible was now mainstream, and it was a work of such importance and influence that it would help to standardise the English language itself. Even if you're not familiar with other editions of the Bible, you've probably heard of the King James version. King James, the 6th of Scotland, became James'

Starting point is 00:30:51 the first of England in 1603. Not long after, he commissioned a new edition of the Bible that was to be based on earlier translations, including Tyndales. Over the next few years, a team of 47 scholars worked on their translations. They had specific instructions, such as avoiding marginal notes that might cause controversy, and using wording that conformed with Church of England teaching. This edition of the Bible was intended to be accessible to readers, a new version that nonetheless felt familiar with some similarities to previous translations. Ever since the publication of the King James Bible in 1611, readers have admired its literary style. It's often smooth, elegant, and dignified.

Starting point is 00:32:03 One might even say, majestic. The translators were highly skilled and influenced by the languages they were working from, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. It's been observed that some parts of the English translation seem to imitate the cadence of the original Hebrew text. The translation wasn't without its flaw. or quirks. For instance, a Hebrew term referring to a horned animal was repeatedly translated as unicorn. There are also a few other details one might quibble with. And translators and scholars do have that tendency. Still, many believe that the King James Version, or

Starting point is 00:33:02 KJV, is one of the greatest editions of the Bible ever produced. Some Christian groups would even say it's the best, hands down, a perfect or near-perfect translation. Until the early 20th century, the KJV was the standard English Bible. It's still viewed as a major literary accomplishment. Interestingly, there's a popular myth that William Shakespeare contributed to the KJV. Although there's no credible evidence, the existence of the myth is telling. It shows just how highly both are regarded, arguably the greatest writer in the English language,

Starting point is 00:34:00 and one of the most important works in the English literary canon. Wouldn't it be nice if they were somehow connected? But even without the involvement of Shakespeare, there's plenty to admire in the KJV. Here's an extract from one of the most celebrated passages. Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.

Starting point is 00:34:34 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me. in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Here we can see how the language has a certain weight,

Starting point is 00:35:10 a dignity and grandeur. It's especially powerful when read aloud at the pulpit. The KJV has also helped to shape the English language. language. The linguist David Crystal has identified 257 phrases in English that come from this version of the Bible. While some of the phrases first appeared in earlier translations, including Tyndales, the KJV undoubtedly helped to popularize them. The list includes The Blind Leading the Blind, Flesh and Blood, Wight as Snow. eye for an eye, to set one's teeth on edge, and many more.

Starting point is 00:36:09 If you've ever used one of these phrases, you have almost certainly without knowing it, been quoting the King James Bible. Indeed, the Bible has had such a profound influence on the world, and the Western world in particular, that sometimes we're barely aware of it. names, for instance, David, John, Daniel, Sarah, Mary, Elizabeth. Many of the most common first names in the West come from the Bible. Similarly, biblical stories have entered the wider culture to such an extent. We may forget their origins.

Starting point is 00:37:00 Certain phrases come to us almost instinctively. A kind stranger is a good Samaritan. Or when there's a competition with an underdog, we think of David versus Goliath. These concepts have become part of our vocabulary and influenced the stories we tell. Of course, sometimes the inspiration is more direct. Visit just about any gallery in Europe, and you'll see countless artworks depicting biblical scenes. For hundreds of years, stories from the Bible inspired some of Europe's greatest artists. Leonardo da Vinci painted The Last Supper, Christ's final meal with the apostles, as told

Starting point is 00:37:58 in the Gospel of John, and in the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo put a scene from Genesis, the creation of Adam, right at the center of the ceiling. Another aspect of the Bible's influence can be found in American history. During the American Revolution in the 18th century, some patriots were inspired by scripture, including parts of Exodus. They saw America as a new Israel, fighting against tyranny. In the 18th and 19th centuries, during the abolitionist movement, the Bible was used by both sides, both to defend slavery and to call for its abolition. For instance, in 1852, the abolitionist leader Frederick Douglas paraphrased Psalm 137 in one of his speeches. In this speech, known as what to the slave is the 4th of July, Douglas said,

Starting point is 00:39:16 if I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth. In this biblical allusion, Douglas is comparing enslaved people in the United States to Hebrew captives, people longing for freedom. A century later, during the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. also took inspiration from the Bible, in terms of both philosophy and rhetoric. As well as being a civil rights activist, King was a Baptist minister who knew the Bible well. Consider these words from his most famous speech, I have a dream.

Starting point is 00:40:18 No, no, we are not satisfied. and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. This is a clear reference to the Book of Amos in the Old Testament. Some of the wording is almost identical. The Bible and its language have a unique resonance. When people make reference to the Bible, whether subtly or evidences, Verklee, it's almost as though they're speaking a specific language, one with weight and authority. Over the years, the Bible has become a kind of cultural shorthand and a means of communication

Starting point is 00:41:15 in itself. So far, it's estimated that the Bible in its entirety has been translated into more than 700 languages, a statistic that would surely warm William Tyndale's heart. However, consider the fact that there are more than 7,000 known languages in the world. There's plenty of work to keep translators busy for the foreseeable future. And indeed, it seems the work never ends. Scholars continue to study the Bible in the hopes of gaining a deeper understanding. It's also possible that more ancient manuscripts will be uncovered, and who knows? Maybe there will be other archaeological findings, shining a new light on the Old Testament. Despite its age, the Bible is in many ways a living book, one that remains relevant and widely read.

Starting point is 00:42:39 In fact, it's considered the best-selling book of all time. Even today, more than 18 million Bibles are printed each year. But to access the Bible, a physical copy is no longer necessary. You can simply go online and with a couple of clicks, there it is, the entire Bible in the language of your choice. It's amazing to think about, considering the history we've just experienced. explored how the Bible started off on papyrus scrolls and how for centuries it was only available to the privileged view. Nowadays, it's there for anyone who wants it.

Starting point is 00:43:39 For some, the Bible is a source of spiritual guidance, inspiration and consolation. For others, it's a literary masterpiece, or a text providing insight into the ancient world. While the book is universal, its significance is often deeply personal. The many creators of the Bible would no doubt be delighted if they could know how many people they've reached. Millions of hearts, minds and souls.

Sleepy History - The Bible

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