Bible Origin

The Origin and Development
Of the English Language Bible

The origin of the English Bibles of today can be traced to a time when men, under the divine inspiration of God, first wrote the books of the Bible. This word of God was transmitted from generation to generation by handwritten copies and by word-of-mouth. As men began to realize how valuable these teachings were, attempts were made to collate these teachings into a single comprehensive book.

Most of what we now know as the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew, and the New Testament largely in common (koine) Greek. Since no printing press existed until 1450 AD, all the original compilations of the Bible were done by hand.

The history and development of the English Bible can be divided into 3 sessions; ancient versions in other languages, early English versions, and the New English versions (since 1901). Brief descriptions of the significant versions in those time periods follow. A Bible “Family Tree” diagram is also included at the end of this historical section.

ANCIENT VERSIONS IN OTHER LANGUAGES

The Septuagint Version (285 BC) – This was a translation of the Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures into Greek. Probably done in Alexandria.

The Samaritan Pentateuch BC?) – A copy of the Hebrew text done in Samaritan characters.

The Peschito or Syriac (1^st or 2^nd Century AD) – A common language translation of the entire Bible used in parts of Syria.

The Codex Sinia us(330 AD) – A manuscript that contained the Greek Bible. It was purchased from Russia in 1933 by Great Britain and is now housed in the British Museum.

The Codex Vatican us (340 AD) – this manuscript is currently housed in the Vatican library in Rome. It originally contained the whole Bible, but parts have been lost.

The Vulgate (400 AD) – A Roman Catholic scholar in Bethlehem by the name of Jerome translated the entire Bible into Latin. This Bible became the standard in the Catholic church for well over 1,000 years.

The Codex Alexandrinus (425 AD) – This Bible is another Green translation. It is currently housed in the British museum, complete except 40 leaves.

Early English Versions

All of the earliest attempts at translating the Bible into English were fragmented. For example, Bishop Aldhelm of Sherbourne translated the Psalm into Old English around 709. Venerable Bede, a monk at Jarrow, translated a potion of the Gospel of John. By 900 AD all the Gospels and most of the Old Testament had been translated into Old English.

John Wycliffe (1380) – was the first to plan a complete English translation of the Bible from the Latin. His translation was based on the Latin Vulgate. He completed the New Testament prior to his death, and his friends completed the work after his death.

Printing Press Invented – 1450

William Tyndale (1525-30) – Driven from England by persecution, William Tyndale shared Wycliffe’s desire to produce a Bible that the common English speaking person could understand. Using the Latin Vulgate and other ancient sources, Tyndale was able to translate the New Testament and Pentateuch before he was martyred.

Miles Coverdale (1535) – A friend of Tyndale’s Coverdale was able to publish a complete Bible. It is generally believed Coverdale used Tyndale’s work in producing his New Testament. This Bible was done to honor King Henry, the VIII.

Matthew’s Bible (1537) – Despite the name, it is widely accepted that a friend of Tyndale, John Rogus, did most of the work on this Bible. Based largely on Tyndale’s previous work, it also contains evidences of Coverdale’s work as well. This might well be considered an updated Tyndale’s Bible.

The Great Bible (1539) – This Bible takes its name from its great physical size. Based on the Tyndale, Coverdale, and Matthew’s Bibles, it was used mainly in churches. Often chained to a reading desk in a church, people would come to listen as a minister read from the Great Bible.

The Geneva Bible (1560) – Produced in Geneva by scholars who had fled persecution in England under Queen Mary, this Bible was based not only on the Great Bible, but also on the English translations of that day. Though very scholarly, it was a popular Bible because of its small size.

The Bishop’s Bible (1568) – This was a revision of the Great Bible and Geneva Bible done under the direction of the Archbishop of Canterbury during the reign of Elizabeth.

Douay-Rheims Bible (1582-1610) – The New Testament was published in Rheims in 1582 and the Old Testament in Douay in 1610. A Revision of the Latin Vulgate, this has become the generally accepted English Version for the Roman Catholic Church.

King James Version, KJV (1611) – The most popular translation ever produced, this Bible was done during the reign and at the urging of King James the I of England. Forty-seven (47) scholars, divided into 6 groups, worked on this translation. Based largely on the Bishop’s Bible, many Hebrew and Greek texts were also studies as well as all the other available English translations, to insure the best results. By choosing men of many different theological and educational backgrounds, it was hoped individual prejudices of the translators could be minimized. Printed in a handy size and in clear type, the KJV was supposed to please clergy and congregations alike. Despite initial resistance, the KJV became and still is the largest selling translation of the Bible.

Revised Version (1881-1884) – Designed to be a revision of the KJV, the Revised Version, had the advantage of being able to access some of the ancient manuscripts. Although this revision was sponsored by the Church of England, many American scholars were invited to participate.

New English Versions (1901 to Present)

American Standard Version, ASV (1901) – This revision of the Revised Version incorporates many of the readings first suggested by the American members of the Revision committee of 1881 – 1885.

Complete Bible: An American Translation (1939) – Often referred to as the Goodspeed Version, this translation was done by Edgar J. Goodspeed and J.M. Povis Smith. Using as many ancient texts as possible, Smith and Goodspeed produced a very readable and yet accurate translation. Also included in this translation was the Apocrypha.

Revised Standard Version, RSV (1952) – The National Council of Churches of Christ procured the copyright to the 1901 ASV Bible in the 1920’s. Work began on a revision to the ASV, but was abandoned in favor of an entirely new translation. Since many more Hebrew and Greek manuscripts were available to these scholars than were available in 1901, the RSV is considered to be much more accurate. A very readable translation, the RSV is used in many Protestant denominations today. The revision committee continued to meet at regular intervals and in 1971 a new release was made of the RSV. This has been dibbed the RSV II edition.

New Testament in Modern English (1958) – First published in 1958 and revised in 1973, this translation, done by British writer J.B. Phillips, is one of the best readings of the New Testament. It is published today by MacMillan Publishers of New York.

Berkley Version (1959) – This modern English version was done under the direction of Dr. Gerrit Verkuyl. Dr. Verkuyl translated the New Testament from the Greek himself. The Old Testament was translated by a committee of 20 scholars with Dr. Verkuyl overseeing the project. Although this was a very good translation, it never has been widely accepted or used.

Amplified Bible (1965) – this modern English Version was sponsored by the non-profit Lockman Foundation of California. Committees of Hebrew and Greek scholars tried to pay particular attention to the true translation of key words in the ancient texts. By bracketing explanatory words or phrases directly in the text, they eliminated the need to look elsewhere on the page for the other helps. A very popular Bible, the bracketing poses a problem for simple reading of the text. Currently this Bible is available in either KJV or in a parallel with other translations and is published by Zondervan Corporation of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Jerusalem Bible (1966) – Basically a Roman Catholic translation, this Bible was originally a multi-volume translation done in French at the Ecole Biblique et Archeologuque in Jerusalem. Using all available sources including the Dead Sea Scrolls, this translation also included extensive scholarly notes. In the English translation, the original documents were again used with references made to the original French translation. The Jerusalem Bible also includes the Apocrypha. Although the notes are strongly Roman Catholic, the translation is relatively non-sectarian. The Jerusalem Bible is published by Doubleday Publishers of Garden City, New York.

New Testament: A New Translation (1968-69) – Translated by William Barclay of England, this translation is neither technical nor difficult. The problem with this Bible is the extensive intrusion of Mr. Barclay’s own personal views in the text. To properly use this translation, another Bible should be available for comparison.

New English Bible, NEB (1970) – A committee of scholars from the leading denominations of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, cooperating with the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, was to produce a new translation from the Hebrew and Greek. This Bible was to be used as an authoritative version along side the KJV. Due the NEB’s rather free use of the English language, many verses of scripture became almost paraphrases rather than translations. The Apocrypha is included in the NEB. Since the NEB often uses unfamiliar British expressions, this Bible has not received wide acceptance in America. The NEB is jointly published by Cambridge and Oxford University Presses.

New American Bible, NAB (1970) – This Roman Catholic translation originally came directly from the Latin Vulgate. The Catholic Biblical Association of America compared this translation to the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts then available. The three volumes Old Testament and single volume New Testament were then combined into a single volume. Although some Protestant translators helped on this project, this is still basically a Roman Catholic Bible.

New American Standard, NAS (1971) – The Lockman Foundation f La Habra, California (see Amplified Bible) set out to produce the “Most technically accurate translation of the Bible possible.” Partially because of their dissatisfaction with the RSV’s revision of the 1901 American Standard version, the Lockman foundation chose to use the best Greek and Hebrew texts available to revise the ASV. Though many conservative scholars consider this to be the most accurate translation available, because of the NAS’s desire for technical accuracy, it is not the most readable of the modern translations.

Living Bible, LNB (1974) - This is the work of one man, Kenneth N. Taylor. Not a translation in the true sense, Mr. Taylor set out to produce a paraphrase of the ASV Bible using the words and terms his children could readily understand. After founding Tyndale House Publishing, Mr. Taylor then expanded the availability of the LNB to include study Bible and cassettes. The current Bible entitled “The Book” is essentially the LNB version.

Today’s English Version, TEV (1976) – Often referred to as the “Good News Bible,” this was a project sponsored by the American Bible Society to produce a Bible in English for people whose primary language was not English. Mr. Robert G. Bratcher did the work on the New Testament, and it was published in 1966. The Society then continued the work to include the Old Testament. Although particular attention was directed toward accuracy, the translators sometimes sacrificed this accuracy for readability. Due to the TEV’s very up-to-date language and in many cases some modern pop art illustrations, it has become a popular edition for teenagers.

New International Version, NIV (1978) – The New York Bible Society sponsored this translation of the Bible. A committee was formed to search worldwide for Bible scholars from colleges, universities and seminaries that would represent varied backgrounds and denominations. Each book of the Bible was assigned to a different team of scholars, who then used the best available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts to do the actual translation. Additional committees checked and re-checked the translations for accuracy as well as understandability. This combination of accuracy and readability has propelled the NIV to the Number 2 spot in Bible sales behind the KJV. Zondervan Publishing of Grand Rapids, Michigan owns the rights to the NIV Bible.

New King James Version, NKJV (1982) – Thomas Nelson Bible Publishers and the International Trust for Bible Studies co-sponsored this update of the 1611 KJV Bible. 119 scholars worked on this project to make the KJV version more accurate and readable and yet maintain the grace and beauty of the original KJV text. Generally, the translators used the best available texts in their work, but rather than assuming the oldest was the most accurate, they chose to use the texts found most often in the ancient writings. While not as popular as the old KJV or NIV versions, the KNJV consistently remains in the top 5 best selling versions in the United States.

Revised English Bible REB (1989) – Under the auspices of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, a committee of leading Bible scholars revised and updated the New English Bible. This was the first major revision of the New English Bible since its release in 1970. Particular attention was paid to archaic words, phrases, and sentence structure. This re-examination was done by referring to the most current manuscripts, commentaries and exegesis. The REB provides the reader with fluent, yet dignified English while still maintaining the full intent of the original texts.

New Revised Standard Version NSRV (1990) – This Bible was released in late 1990 and culminated 15 years of work by special committee of scholars. This committee was under the sponsorship of the division of Education and Ministry of the National Council of Churches. This original Revised Standard Version and the New Revised Standard Version can trance their roots to the King James Version. While maintaining the tradition of the KJV, the New Revised Standard Version aimed for accuracy rather than simply paraphrasing. It can then be considered a literal translation. The revision committee was chaired by Professor Bruce Metzger of the Princeton Theological Seminary. Mr. Metzger’s instructions were “introduce only changes as were warranted on the basis of accuracy, clarity, euphony and current English language usage.” The New Revised Standard version is available from several publishers.

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Email: jwalsh@laurelstreetchurchofchrist.com

	The origin of the English Bibles of today can be traced to a time when men, under the divine inspiration of God, first wrote the books of the Bible. This word of God was transmitted from generation to generation by handwritten copies and by word-of-mouth. As men began to realize how valuable these teachings were, attempts were made to collate these teachings into a single comprehensive book.
	Most of what we now know as the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew, and the New Testament largely in common (koine) Greek. Since no printing press existed until 1450 AD, all the original compilations of the Bible were done by hand.
	The history and development of the English Bible can be divided into 3 sessions; ancient versions in other languages, early English versions, and the New English versions (since 1901). Brief descriptions of the significant versions in those time periods follow. A Bible “Family Tree” diagram is also included at the end of this historical section.

	*ANCIENT VERSIONS IN OTHER LANGUAGES*
	*The Septuagint Version (285 BC)* – This was a translation of the Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures into Greek. Probably done in Alexandria.
	*The Samaritan Pentateuch BC?)* – A copy of the Hebrew text done in Samaritan characters.
	*The Peschito or Syriac (1^st or 2^nd Century AD)* – A common language translation of the entire Bible used in parts of Syria.
	*The Codex Sinia us(330 AD)* – A manuscript that contained the Greek Bible. It was purchased from Russia in 1933 by Great Britain and is now housed in the British Museum.
	*The Codex Vatican us (340 AD)* – this manuscript is currently housed in the Vatican library in Rome. It originally contained the whole Bible, but parts have been lost.
	*The Vulgate (400 AD)* – A Roman Catholic scholar in Bethlehem by the name of Jerome translated the entire Bible into Latin. This Bible became the standard in the Catholic church for well over 1,000 years.
	*The Codex Alexandrinus (425 AD) –* This Bible is another Green translation. It is currently housed in the British museum, complete except 40 leaves.

	*Early English Versions*
	All of the earliest attempts at translating the Bible into English were fragmented. For example, Bishop Aldhelm of Sherbourne translated the Psalm into Old English around 709. Venerable Bede, a monk at Jarrow, translated a potion of the Gospel of John. By 900 AD all the Gospels and most of the Old Testament had been translated into Old English.
	*John Wycliffe (1380)* – was the first to plan a complete English translation of the Bible from the Latin. His translation was based on the Latin Vulgate. He completed the New Testament prior to his death, and his friends completed the work after his death.

	*Printing Press Invented – 1450*
	*William Tyndale (1525-30)* – Driven from England by persecution, William Tyndale shared Wycliffe’s desire to produce a Bible that the common English speaking person could understand. Using the Latin Vulgate and other ancient sources, Tyndale was able to translate the New Testament and Pentateuch before he was martyred.
	*Miles Coverdale (1535)* – A friend of Tyndale’s Coverdale was able to publish a complete Bible. It is generally believed Coverdale used Tyndale’s work in producing his New Testament. This Bible was done to honor King Henry, the VIII.
	*Matthew’s Bible (1537) –* Despite the name, it is widely accepted that a friend of Tyndale, John Rogus, did most of the work on this Bible. Based largely on Tyndale’s previous work, it also contains evidences of Coverdale’s work as well. This might well be considered an updated Tyndale’s Bible.
	*The Great Bible (1539)* – This Bible takes its name from its great physical size. Based on the Tyndale, Coverdale, and Matthew’s Bibles, it was used mainly in churches. Often chained to a reading desk in a church, people would come to listen as a minister read from the Great Bible.
	*The Geneva Bible (1560)* – Produced in Geneva by scholars who had fled persecution in England under Queen Mary, this Bible was based not only on the Great Bible, but also on the English translations of that day. Though very scholarly, it was a popular Bible because of its small size.
	*The Bishop’s Bible (1568*) – This was a revision of the Great Bible and Geneva Bible done under the direction of the Archbishop of Canterbury during the reign of Elizabeth.
	*Douay-Rheims Bible (1582-1610)* – The New Testament was published in Rheims in 1582 and the Old Testament in Douay in 1610. A Revision of the Latin Vulgate, this has become the generally accepted English Version for the Roman Catholic Church.
	*King James Version, KJV (1611)* – The most popular translation ever produced, this Bible was done during the reign and at the urging of King James the I of England. Forty-seven (47) scholars, divided into 6 groups, worked on this translation. Based largely on the Bishop’s Bible, many Hebrew and Greek texts were also studies as well as all the other available English translations, to insure the best results. By choosing men of many different theological and educational backgrounds, it was hoped individual prejudices of the translators could be minimized. Printed in a handy size and in clear type, the KJV was supposed to please clergy and congregations alike. Despite initial resistance, the KJV became and still is the largest selling translation of the Bible.
	*Revised Version (1881-1884)* – Designed to be a revision of the KJV, the Revised Version, had the advantage of being able to access some of the ancient manuscripts. Although this revision was sponsored by the Church of England, many American scholars were invited to participate.

	*New English Versions (1901 to Present)*
	*American Standard Version, ASV (1901)* – This revision of the Revised Version incorporates many of the readings first suggested by the American members of the Revision committee of 1881 – 1885.
	*Complete Bible: An American Translation (1939)* – Often referred to as the Goodspeed Version, this translation was done by Edgar J. Goodspeed and J.M. Povis Smith. Using as many ancient texts as possible, Smith and Goodspeed produced a very readable and yet accurate translation. Also included in this translation was the Apocrypha.
	*Revised Standard Version, RSV (1952)* – The National Council of Churches of Christ procured the copyright to the 1901 ASV Bible in the 1920’s. Work began on a revision to the ASV, but was abandoned in favor of an entirely new translation. Since many more Hebrew and Greek manuscripts were available to these scholars than were available in 1901, the RSV is considered to be much more accurate. A very readable translation, the RSV is used in many Protestant denominations today. The revision committee continued to meet at regular intervals and in 1971 a new release was made of the RSV. This has been dibbed the RSV II edition.
	*New Testament in Modern English (1958) –* First published in 1958 and revised in 1973, this translation, done by British writer J.B. Phillips, is one of the best readings of the New Testament. It is published today by MacMillan Publishers of New York.
	*Berkley Version (1959)* – This modern English version was done under the direction of Dr. Gerrit Verkuyl. Dr. Verkuyl translated the New Testament from the Greek himself. The Old Testament was translated by a committee of 20 scholars with Dr. Verkuyl overseeing the project. Although this was a very good translation, it never has been widely accepted or used.
	*Amplified Bible (1965)* – this modern English Version was sponsored by the non-profit Lockman Foundation of California. Committees of Hebrew and Greek scholars tried to pay particular attention to the true translation of key words in the ancient texts. By bracketing explanatory words or phrases directly in the text, they eliminated the need to look elsewhere on the page for the other helps. A very popular Bible, the bracketing poses a problem for simple reading of the text. Currently this Bible is available in either KJV or in a parallel with other translations and is published by Zondervan Corporation of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
	*Jerusalem Bible (1966)* – Basically a Roman Catholic translation, this Bible was originally a multi-volume translation done in French at the Ecole Biblique et Archeologuque in Jerusalem. Using all available sources including the Dead Sea Scrolls, this translation also included extensive scholarly notes. In the English translation, the original documents were again used with references made to the original French translation. The Jerusalem Bible also includes the Apocrypha. Although the notes are strongly Roman Catholic, the translation is relatively non-sectarian. The Jerusalem Bible is published by Doubleday Publishers of Garden City, New York.
	*New Testament: A New Translation (1968-69)* – Translated by William Barclay of England, this translation is neither technical nor difficult. The problem with this Bible is the extensive intrusion of Mr. Barclay’s own personal views in the text. To properly use this translation, another Bible should be available for comparison. *New English Bible, NEB (1970)* – A committee of scholars from the leading denominations of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, cooperating with the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, was to produce a new translation from the Hebrew and Greek. This Bible was to be used as an authoritative version along side the KJV. Due the NEB’s rather free use of the English language, many verses of scripture became almost paraphrases rather than translations. The Apocrypha is included in the NEB. Since the NEB often uses unfamiliar British expressions, this Bible has not received wide acceptance in America. The NEB is jointly published by Cambridge and Oxford University Presses.
	*New American Bible, NAB (1970)* – This Roman Catholic translation originally came directly from the Latin Vulgate. The Catholic Biblical Association of America compared this translation to the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts then available. The three volumes Old Testament and single volume New Testament were then combined into a single volume. Although some Protestant translators helped on this project, this is still basically a Roman Catholic Bible.
	*New American Standard, NAS (1971)* – The Lockman Foundation f La Habra, California (see Amplified Bible) set out to produce the “Most technically accurate translation of the Bible possible.” Partially because of their dissatisfaction with the RSV’s revision of the 1901 American Standard version, the Lockman foundation chose to use the best Greek and Hebrew texts available to revise the ASV. Though many conservative scholars consider this to be the most accurate translation available, because of the NAS’s desire for technical accuracy, it is not the most readable of the modern translations.
	*Living Bible, LNB (1974)* - This is the work of one man, Kenneth N. Taylor. Not a translation in the true sense, Mr. Taylor set out to produce a paraphrase of the ASV Bible using the words and terms his children could readily understand. After founding Tyndale House Publishing, Mr. Taylor then expanded the availability of the LNB to include study Bible and cassettes. The current Bible entitled “The Book” is essentially the LNB version.
	*Today’s English Version, TEV (1976)* – Often referred to as the “Good News Bible,” this was a project sponsored by the American Bible Society to produce a Bible in English for people whose primary language was not English. Mr. Robert G. Bratcher did the work on the New Testament, and it was published in 1966. The Society then continued the work to include the Old Testament. Although particular attention was directed toward accuracy, the translators sometimes sacrificed this accuracy for readability. Due to the TEV’s very up-to-date language and in many cases some modern pop art illustrations, it has become a popular edition for teenagers.
	*New International Version, NIV (1978*) – The New York Bible Society sponsored this translation of the Bible. A committee was formed to search worldwide for Bible scholars from colleges, universities and seminaries that would represent varied backgrounds and denominations. Each book of the Bible was assigned to a different team of scholars, who then used the best available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts to do the actual translation. Additional committees checked and re-checked the translations for accuracy as well as understandability. This combination of accuracy and readability has propelled the NIV to the Number 2 spot in Bible sales behind the KJV. Zondervan Publishing of Grand Rapids, Michigan owns the rights to the NIV Bible.
	*New King James Version, NKJV (1982)* – Thomas Nelson Bible Publishers and the International Trust for Bible Studies co-sponsored this update of the 1611 KJV Bible. 119 scholars worked on this project to make the KJV version more accurate and readable and yet maintain the grace and beauty of the original KJV text. Generally, the translators used the best available texts in their work, but rather than assuming the oldest was the most accurate, they chose to use the texts found most often in the ancient writings. While not as popular as the old KJV or NIV versions, the KNJV consistently remains in the top 5 best selling versions in the United States.
	*Revised English Bible REB (1989)* – Under the auspices of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, a committee of leading Bible scholars revised and updated the New English Bible. This was the first major revision of the New English Bible since its release in 1970. Particular attention was paid to archaic words, phrases, and sentence structure. This re-examination was done by referring to the most current manuscripts, commentaries and exegesis. The REB provides the reader with fluent, yet dignified English while still maintaining the full intent of the original texts.
	*New Revised Standard Version NSRV (1990)* – This Bible was released in late 1990 and culminated 15 years of work by special committee of scholars. This committee was under the sponsorship of the division of Education and Ministry of the National Council of Churches. This original Revised Standard Version and the New Revised Standard Version can trance their roots to the King James Version. While maintaining the tradition of the KJV, the New Revised Standard Version aimed for accuracy rather than simply paraphrasing. It can then be considered a literal translation. The revision committee was chaired by Professor Bruce Metzger of the Princeton Theological Seminary. Mr. Metzger’s instructions were “introduce only changes as were warranted on the basis of accuracy, clarity, euphony and current English language usage.” The New Revised Standard version is available from several publishers.