The Foundation of a Book

This is the first in a short series I will be presenting on the History of the English Bible.  I hope this will help people understand the significance of this incredible book's journey through history.  It is being published to show the power and magnificence of the mighty God we serve and his ability to preserve his Word so that we might have access to it even today.

The Bible is one of the most controversial books in history. It was started in the nation of Israel and was passed down through oral traditions. Later it became one of the most sought after written works throughout history.

The past of the written word is one filled with fighting, arguing, and pandering to vanity. Many gave their very lives to ensure the rights of all men to access the Holy Scriptures. This is a brief look at the process of how books developed, how the scriptures begin their path down the translation road, and how English was the hardest road to travel.

The Foundation of a Book

The history of the church cannot be fully understood or appreciated without considering the history of the book that encompasses all the teaching that the church is founded upon and holds dear. It is generally and credibly asserted that more copies of the Bible have been published since its inception than any other text.[1] So where does the Bible as we know it come from? We should first start by looking at the word Bible. The word Bible comes from the Greek, biblia, which means “books” or “scrolls”.[2]

Most early writings were written on papyrus, which was made of the reed of the plants from the Nile. It was commonly made and was used in building the extensive library in Alexandria, Egypt. Parchment was made because the library at Pergamom, Asia was challenging Alexandria in status and they cut off the supply of the papyrus. So in order to prevent the loss of writing materials parchment was used.

Parchment is made using animal skins. Originally most all of the old writings would have been on scrolls that were rolled up and may contain one book, or one section, but as the materials advanced these parchments were able to be assembled into a codex or a bound collection, which is the precursor to our modern books.[3] Through the use of these tools the book of the Bible was now born.

[1] Christopher De Hamel, The Book. A History of The Bible (New York: Phaidon Press Inc., 2001), 6.

[2] William M. Schniedewind, How the Bible Became a Book (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004), 3.

[3] Schniedewind, How the Bible Became a Book , 3.