How We Got Our Bible

A Personal Odyssey

The evolution of the Bible and how we ended up with the versions we have today has always fascinated me. But it wasn't until I began teaching an adult Sunday school class and began fielding questions about where the Bible came from, that I just knew I had to start digging into it.

In doing so, I knew I had to immerse myself in it spread eagle, because of course, nothing else would be sufficient when it comes to God's Word.

Those who revere the Bible recognize that God knows the power of words. From the very beginning of its pages, God uses words for the creation of the world. — Fullmer, How We Got the Bible

And so I began. I quickly found out it was no easy task. Many of the documents, movies, and videos, particularly of the origins of the New Testament, were rife with myth and controversy. The Old Testament was much less so because, of course, it had been carefully guarded by the Jewish religious leaders for thousands of years.

The Jews had been called the people of the Book from time immemorial because of their veneration for the Word of God preserved by their writers. — Fullmer, How We Git the Bible

Since it was easier to trace the evolution of the Old Testament, the two testaments are presented separately. They are, understandably, unequivocally linked, but following how we got the New Testament is far more complex than that of the Old Testament.

So, while they may be separated, understand that the Bibles written about usually contain both the Old and New Testament, unless otherwise noted. They both just got there two different ways.

The complexity of the New Testament versions we have today stems from the fact that they followed two parallel, but distinct, paths. One was called the Byzantine text-type and the other was called the Alexandrian text-type.

The Byzantine text-type, also referred to as the Majority text, rose to prominence in the 5th century AD, named after the Byzantine Empire. Its user-friendly style made the Byzantine text more accessible, contributing to its widespread use and acceptance within the Christian community. the Byzantine text-type's consistency across thousands of manuscripts suggests its careful preservation over centuries, indicating a high level of textual stability (Robinson & Pierpont, 2005).

The Alexandrian text-type originated from, of course, Alexandria, Egypt. It emerged between the 2nd and 4th centuries AD. Alexandria was a major center of learning in the ancient world, housing the Great Library and attracting scholars from all over the Mediterranean. The Alexandrian text-type is distinguished by its succinct and disciplined style, manifesting in often intricate syntax and vocabulary.

Each one of these will be covered in separate chapters, because they never really converge.