When was the bible compiled into what it is today?

Question

When were the books of the bible compiled together into what we know it as today?

Answer 1

4th century



Six years after Nicaea (331), Constantine commissioned Eusebius to create an official Christian Bible.

Answer 2

When Was The Bible Compiled

Answer 3

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 A.D. 250 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.

Answer 4

The Books have been compiled by skill of the Catholic Church which of direction the Church grew to become into nonetheless united between the Western Church and eastern Church. The Council of Hippo in 393 advert grew to become into the 1st consultation held by skill of the Catholic Church to start compiling the Books interior the Bible. on the third Council of Carthage in 397 advert is while the Bible were carried out in being compiled. the component is God works His Will by using guy people who desperate which Books may be included interior the Bible have been Bishops. Now the single how commissioned the previous Latin translations to be revised interior the 1st place grew to become into Pope St. Damasus I in 382 advert, and the single that had executed a large style of the translations grew to become into St. Jerome. If it grew to become into not for the efforts of Pope St. Damasus I there may be no Canonical Bible first of all. the 1st Canonical Bible is the Vulgate that is call grew to become into taken from Latin being the vulgar language. The Vulgate grew to become into carried out in translation interior the twelve months 405 advert. And yet another incorrect information which circulated is that the Church of Constantinople had the 1st Canonical Bible this may be incorrect. Emperor Constantine the large commissioned the Archbishop of Constantinople to situation 50 Bibles after the 1st Council of Nicaea in 325 advert, although those Bibles that have been issued have been Non-Canonical Bibles. the only Church which used those Bibles grew to become into the Church of Constantinople, the different considerable church homes Rome, Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria had there very own Non-Canonical Bibles. honestly the version between a Non-Canonical Bible as against a Canonical Bible is with the Canonical Bible each of the main effectual church homes are on an identical website while it got here all the way down to the determination of what Books may be included. So the Bible of right this moment originated from the Vulgate which grew to become into carried out in 405 advert.

Answer 5

Some interesting answers...



This depends on what you mean by "bible". Let me offer two definitions:



1) a collection of Scriptures, including at least all of the 66 books of the "minimal" canon, compiled under one cover and in one language



2) As above, except that only those Scriptures authorized (by agreement, not by an individual) for inclusion are to be included.



The earliest known bibles satisfying definition 1 are Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus, Greek "bibles" from the mid-4th century C.E. Vaticanus (dated slightly earlier, but Sinaitucus could be older) omits 1 & 2 Maccabees. Sinaticus includes Scriptures in the New Testament not normally included in any modern bibles. The reason: each of these was probably compiled under the direction of an individual, who chose what Scriptures to include.



In 393 C.E .the synod of Hippo agreed on which Scriptures were authoritative, and in 397 C.E. this decision was approved by the much larger council of Carthage. Using these authorizations, the Latin Vulgate (first produced about 405 C.E. or shortly after) was the first bible following definition 2. Note that the term "bible" (meaning "the book") as applied to a religious text first arose from Latin, so in fact the Latin Vulgate is the first bible **called** the bible (meaning "the book"). It should be noted that the Greek term "bibles" (books) was applied to the individual books of both Christian and Hebrew Scriptures prior to this time, but the first book identified as "the bible" was the Latin Vulgate.



http://www.bible-researcher.com/carthage.html



Note: the book of Baruch is missing from the list above. To the best of my knowledge, Baruch was first *formally* added to the biblical canon - by name, that is - by the 39 Articles in 1563. It was also added formally in 1564 when the decisions of the council of Trent were approved.

http://www.bible-reviews.com/charts_scriptures_d.html#Books



This seems very late to me, and I am hoping someone can direct me to evidence that Baruch was formally included, by name, at an earlier date. It is interesting, however, that our oldest complete Latin Vulgate, Codex Amiatinus, omits Baruch but includes the Letter of Jeremiah. This Codex is from the 8th century, so it would seem that Baruch was not formally authorized until after that time.



As for a "minimal canon" bible (sometimes erroneously referred to as a "Protestant" bible), the first "complete" bible (in any language) produced without the Scriptures of the Apocrypha was done by the Puritans in the late 1590s (they used the Geneva Bible). Source: HarperCollins Bible Dictionary. This practice caught on with other Protestant sects and in other languages afterward.



Jim

Answer 6

The Hebrew scriptures of the Old Testament reached their current form during the time of Ezra the priest following the return to Israel in the 5th century BC. The oldest of the Dead Sea scrolls appear to actually date back to this time.



The Hebrew scriptures would be translated into a Greek version between 250 and 100 BC, and several books written original in Greek and found in the Catholic Old Testament were added during this time.



The New Testament books were written between 48 and 95 AD. Because "the book" would not be invented until nearly 250 AD, the New Testament did not exist as a single volume before that time. Scrolls of that size would have been unusable. So the writings existed in several collections, such as the Four Gospels (and often the Book of Acts), the letters of Paul (often including the book of Hebrews), and various of the General Epistles (all the letter not written by Paul.)



The earliest listing of New Testament canons appeared about 120 AD. It included all the books found in the current NT, except the books of 2 and 3 John. It placed the books of Hebrew into a "questionable" category, because its author was unknown. It also included a list of reject books. The book of Revelation is found both in the accepted and the rejected list. Unclear whether this was a mistake in the list, or a reference to two different writings with the same name.



The first complete NT in a single volume appears to have been complied around 250 AD. Church historians recorded that it contained all the books we know today, as well as a letter written by Clements of Rome and an "allegory" story called "The Shephard" by Hermes. These last two books were placed after Revelation, and treated by the historians as being of lesser inspiration then the other books.



The Nicean Council around 325 AD was asked to publish 50 copies of the Christian scriptures. After debate, it was decided to include the Greek translation of the Old Testament (with its additional books). They all agreed with no debate on 22 of the 27 books currently found in the New Testament. There was debate over the letters of 2 and 3 John. Each is only a few lines in length, and contain no major theological teachings. They were personal letter written by John to friends. There were some who felt that, while they were of historical value, they really had nothing to contribute to the understanding of Christianity. But as they were the writings of an apostle, they were included.



There was also some debate about the letter of James. There were some who questioned the authorship of the letter. Same with Hebrews, as the author is unknown. But as both books were found in every collection of the epistles known to the church, showing their acceptance for the entire 300 year history of the church, they were included.



The book that almost did NOT make it was the book of Revelation. There was a second book of similar end time prophecies called the Apocalypse of Peter. The council when back and forth on whether in include both or neither books in the canon. They finally decided to include Revelation (as there was evidence that it was the older book) and exclude the Apocalypse of Peter.



The 50 Bibles that were finally completed around 350 AD contained the 27 NT books found in all Bibles today. It is possible that the Codex Sinaiticus, the oldest "complete" and still readable Bible manuscript is one of those 50 Bibles (or a direct copy from one of the 50).

Answer 7

The Old Testament books were compiled as they were written by the different prophets.



The New Testament books were written sometime in the mid- to late-first century A.D., and compiled around the 4th century A.D.

Answer 8

By virtue of this divinely-appointed authority, the Catholic Church determined the canon of Scripture (what books belong in the Bible) at the end of the fourth century. We therefore believe in the Scriptures on the authority of the Catholic Church. After all, nothing in Scripture tells us what Scriptures are inspired, what books belong in the Bible, or that Scripture is the final authority on questions concerning the Christian faith. Instead, the Bible says that the Church, not the Scriptures, is the pinnacle and foundation of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15) and the final arbiter on questions of the Christian faith (Matt. 18:17). It is through the teaching authority and Apostolic Tradition (2 Thess. 2:15; 3:6; 1 Cor. 11:2) of this Church, who is guided by the Holy Spirit (John 14:16,26; 16:13), that we know of the divine inspiration of the Scriptures, and the manifold wisdom of God. (cf. Ephesians 3:10).

Answer 9

The Bible as a whole was not compiled until the late 4th century and then it was compiled by a Catholic Saint (St. Jerome) at the request of a Catholic pope (St. Damasus I).

Answer 10

Depends on what version you're talking about, but the main Bible canon was finalized in the 4th century.

Answer 11

Lets just say the people that produced these books we have today did some altering to it, the bible is still inspired by god and i believe that, i just don/t believe the 1 i hold today is 100% accurate i have found that the bible contradicts itself in variouse ways