The Bible (from Koine Greek , t bibla, "the books) It is a collection of

texts sacred in Judaism and Christianity. It is a collection of scriptures written at different times by
different authors in different locations. Jews and Christians consider the books of the Bible to be
a product of divine inspiration or an authoritative record of the relationship
between God and humans.
The canonical Bible varies depending on traditions or groups; a number of Bible canons have
evolved, with overlapping and diverging contents.
The Christian Old Testament overlaps with the Hebrew Bible and the Greek Septuagint;
the Hebrew Bible is known in Judaism as the Tanakh.
The New Testament is a collection of writings by early Christians, believed to be mostly Jewish
disciples of Christ, written in first-century Koine Greek. These early Christian Greek writings
consist of narratives, letters, and apocalyptic writings.
Among Christian denominations there is some disagreement about the contents of the canon,
primarily in the Apocrypha, a list of works that are regarded with varying levels of respect.
Attitudes towards the Bible also vary amongst Christian groups.
Roman Catholics, Anglicans and Eastern Orthodox Christians stress the harmony and importance
of the Bible and sacred tradition, while Protestant churches focus on the idea of sola scriptura, or
scripture alone.
This concept arose during the Protestant Reformation, and many denominations today continue to
support the use of the Bible as the only source of Christian teaching.
With estimated total sales of over 5 billion copies, the Bible is widely considered to be the best-
selling book of all time. It has estimated annual sales of 100 million copies, and has been a major
influence on literature and history, especially in the West where the Gutenberg Bible was the first
mass-printed book. It was the first book ever printed using movable type.
A biblical canon or canon of scripture is a list of texts (or "books") which a particular religious
community regards as authoritative scripture.
The word "canon" comes from the Greek , meaning "rule" or "measuring stick". Christians
became the first to use the term in reference to scripture.
Most of the canons listed below are considered "closed" (i.e., books cannot be added or
removed), reflecting a belief that public revelation has ended and thus some person or persons
can gather approved inspired texts into a complete and authoritative canon, which scholar Bruce
Metzger defines as "an authoritative collection of books".
In contrast, an "open canon", which permits the addition of books through the process
of continuous revelation, Metzger defines as "a collection of authoritative books". (A table of
Biblical scripture for both Testaments, with regard to canonical acceptance
in Christendom's various major traditions, appears below.)
These canons have developed through debate (canonology) and agreement by the religious
authorities of their respective faiths and denominations. Believers consider canonical books
as inspired by God or as expressive of the authoritative history of the relationship between God
and his people. Some books such as the Jewish-Christian gospels, have been excluded from the
canon altogether, but many disputed books considered non-canonical or even apocryphal by some
are considered to be Biblical apocryphaor Deuterocanonical or fully canonical by others.
Differences exist between the Jewish Tanakh and Christian biblical canons, and between the
canons of different Christian denominations. The differing criteria and processes of canonization
dictate what the various communities regard as inspired scripture. In some cases where varying
strata of scriptural inspiration have accumulated, it becomes prudent to discuss texts that only
have an elevated status within a particular tradition. This becomes even more complex when
considering the open canons of the various Latter Day Saint sectswhich one may view as
extensions of Christianity and thus of Judaismand the scriptural revelations purportedly given to
several leaders over the years within that movement.
Apocrypha are works, usually written works, that are of unknown authorship, or of doubtful
authenticity, or spurious, or not considered to be within a particular canon. The word is properly
treated as a plural, but in common usage is often singular. In the context of the Jewish and
Christian Bibles, where most texts are of unknown authorship, Apocrypha usually refers to a set of
texts included in the Septuagint but not in the Hebrew Bible. The word's origin is the Medieval
Latin adjective apocryphus, "secret, or non-canonical", from
the Greek adjective (apokryphos), "obscure", from the verb (apokryptein),
"to hide away".
Deuterocanonical books (literally meaning a second principal, rule, or criterion) is a term used
since the 16th century in theCatholic Church and Eastern Christianity to describe certain books
and passages of the Christian Old Testament that are not part of the current Hebrew Bible. The
term is used in contrast to the protocanonical books, which are contained in the Hebrew Bible. This
distinction had previously contributed to debate in the early Church about whether they should be
classified as canonical texts. The term is used as a matter of convenience by the Ethiopian
Orthodox Tewahedo Church and other Churches to refer to books of their Old Testament which
are not part of the Masoretic Text.
The deuterocanonical books are considered canonical by Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental
Orthodox, and the Church of the East, but are considered non-canonical by most Protestants. The
word deuterocanonical comes from the Greek meaning 'belonging to the second canon'.
The original usage of the term distinguished these scriptures both from those considered non-
canonical and from those considered protocanonical. However, some editions of the Bible include
text from both deuterocanonical and non-canonical scriptures in a single section designated
"Apocrypha". This arrangement can lead to conflation between the otherwise distinct terms
"deuterocanonical" and "apocryphal".
The Bible (from Koine Greek , t bibla, "the books) It is a collection of
texts sacred in Judaism and Christianity. It is a collection of scriptures written at different times by
different authors in different locations. Jews and Christians consider the books of the Bible to be
a product of divine inspiration or an authoritative record of the relationship
between God and humans.
The canonical Bible varies depending on traditions or groups; a number of Bible canons have
evolved, with overlapping and diverging contents.
The Christian Old Testament overlaps with the Hebrew Bible and the Greek Septuagint;
the Hebrew Bible is known in Judaism as the Tanakh.
The New Testament is a collection of writings by early Christians, believed to be mostly Jewish
disciples of Christ, written in first-century Koine Greek. These early Christian Greek writings
consist of narratives, letters, and apocalyptic writings.
Among Christian denominations there is some disagreement about the contents of the canon,
primarily in the Apocrypha, a list of works that are regarded with varying levels of respect.
Attitudes towards the Bible also vary amongst Christian groups.
Roman Catholics, Anglicans and Eastern Orthodox Christians stress the harmony and importance
of the Bible and sacred tradition, while Protestant churches focus on the idea of sola scriptura, or
scripture alone.
This concept arose during the Protestant Reformation, and many denominations today continue to
support the use of the Bible as the only source of Christian teaching.
With estimated total sales of over 5 billion copies, the Bible is widely considered to be the best-
selling book of all time. It has estimated annual sales of 100 million copies, and has been a major
influence on literature and history, especially in the West where the Gutenberg Bible was the first
mass-printed book. It was the first book ever printed using movable type.
A biblical canon or canon of scripture is a list of texts (or "books") which a particular religious
community regards as authoritative scripture.
The word "canon" comes from the Greek , meaning "rule" or "measuring stick". Christians
became the first to use the term in reference to scripture.
Most of the canons listed below are considered "closed" (i.e., books cannot be added or
removed), reflecting a belief that public revelation has ended and thus some person or persons
can gather approved inspired texts into a complete and authoritative canon, which scholar Bruce
Metzger defines as "an authoritative collection of books".
In contrast, an "open canon", which permits the addition of books through the process
of continuous revelation, Metzger defines as "a collection of authoritative books". (A table of
Biblical scripture for both Testaments, with regard to canonical acceptance
in Christendom's various major traditions, appears below.)
These canons have developed through debate (canonology) and agreement by the religious
authorities of their respective faiths and denominations. Believers consider canonical books
as inspired by God or as expressive of the authoritative history of the relationship between God
and his people. Some books such as the Jewish-Christian gospels, have been excluded from the
canon altogether, but many disputed books considered non-canonical or even apocryphal by some
are considered to be Biblical apocryphaor Deuterocanonical or fully canonical by others.
Differences exist between the Jewish Tanakh and Christian biblical canons, and between the
canons of different Christian denominations. The differing criteria and processes of canonization
dictate what the various communities regard as inspired scripture. In some cases where varying
strata of scriptural inspiration have accumulated, it becomes prudent to discuss texts that only
have an elevated status within a particular tradition. This becomes even more complex when
considering the open canons of the various Latter Day Saint sectswhich one may view as
extensions of Christianity and thus of Judaismand the scriptural revelations purportedly given to
several leaders over the years within that movement.
Apocrypha are works, usually written works, that are of unknown authorship, or of doubtful
authenticity, or spurious, or not considered to be within a particular canon. The word is properly
treated as a plural, but in common usage is often singular. In the context of the Jewish and
Christian Bibles, where most texts are of unknown authorship, Apocrypha usually refers to a set of
texts included in the Septuagint but not in the Hebrew Bible. The word's origin is the Medieval
Latin adjective apocryphus, "secret, or non-canonical", from
the Greek adjective (apokryphos), "obscure", from the verb (apokryptein),
"to hide away".
Deuterocanonical books (literally meaning a second principal, rule, or criterion) is a term used
since the 16th century in theCatholic Church and Eastern Christianity to describe certain books
and passages of the Christian Old Testament that are not part of the current Hebrew Bible. The
term is used in contrast to the protocanonical books, which are contained in the Hebrew Bible. This
distinction had previously contributed to debate in the early Church about whether they should be
classified as canonical texts. The term is used as a matter of convenience by the Ethiopian
Orthodox Tewahedo Church and other Churches to refer to books of their Old Testament which
are not part of the Masoretic Text.
The deuterocanonical books are considered canonical by Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental
Orthodox, and the Church of the East, but are considered non-canonical by most Protestants. The
word deuterocanonical comes from the Greek meaning 'belonging to the second canon'.
The original usage of the term distinguished these scriptures both from those considered non-
canonical and from those considered protocanonical. However, some editions of the Bible include
text from both deuterocanonical and non-canonical scriptures in a single section designated
"Apocrypha". This arrangement can lead to conflation between the otherwise distinct terms
"deuterocanonical" and "apocryphal".
NAME:______________________________ Section:______________________

The Bible is the name of the Jewish and Christian Holy Book. The term carries various meanings,
depending on the religious context in which it is used. For Jews, the term "Bible" refers to
the Tanakh (Heb., ) , an acronym formed from the Hebrew names of the three divisions of the
Jewish Scriptures: Law (Torah), Prophets (Nevi'im), and Writings (Ketuvim). To Christians, the
term incorporates both the Tanakh, or "Old Testament," and the New Testament. Not all
Christians have the same number of books in the Bible, i.e Roman Catholics have 73 books to the
Bible, while Protestants have 66. The 7 extra books are usually referred to by the Roman Catholic
Church as "Deuterocanonicals" since they were added in a second phase to the original Bible
Canon.
Opinions vary as to the historical truth contained within the pages of the
Bible. Conservative Christians tend to view the Bible as it is described by Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16,
namely that "all Scripture is given by God's inspiration" (Gr., , literally "God-
breathed"). Thus, in their evaluation, the original text of the Bible was literally given by the
inspiration of God. Although they do not accept Paul's writing, Orthodox Jews assent to the view
that the Tanakh (especially the Torah) was given by God's inspiration. Among religious liberals,
this is subject to criticism. While most liberal theologians view the Bible as a book of inspired
history, others view it as a record from ancient history that reflects the specific perspectives of
those who recorded a religious story. The continuum of beliefs regarding the Bible's texts covers
the entire range of human experience, from full faith and trust to disbelief and criticism.

The Septuagint, or LXX, is a translation of the Hebrew Scriptures and some related texts
into Koine Greek, begun in the late 3rd century BCE and completed by 132 BCE,[44][45][46] initially
in Alexandria, but in time elsewhere as well.[47] It is not altogether clear which was translated
when, or where; some may even have been translated twice, into different versions, and then
revised.
As the work of translation progressed, the canon of the Greek Bible expanded. The Torah always
maintained its pre-eminence as the basis of the canon but the collection of prophetic writings,
based on the Nevi'im, had various hagiographical works incorporated into it. In addition, some
newer books were included in the Septuagint, among these are the Maccabees and the Wisdom
of Sirach. However, the book of Sirach, is now known to have existed in a Hebrew version, since
ancient Hebrew manuscripts of it were rediscovered in modern times. The Septuagint version of
some Biblical books, like Daniel and Esther, are longer than those in the Jewish canon.[ Some of
thesedeuterocanonical books (e.g. the Wisdom of Solomon, and the second book of Maccabees)
were not translated, but composed directly in Greek.
Since Late Antiquity, once attributed to a hypothetical late 1st-century Council of Jamnia,
mainstream Rabbinic Judaism rejected the Septuagint as valid Jewish scriptural texts. Several
reasons have been given for this. First, some mistranslations were claimed. Second, the Hebrew
source texts used for the Septuagint differed from the Masoretic tradition of Hebrew texts, which
was chosen as canonical by the Jewish rabbis. Third, the rabbis wanted to distinguish their
tradition from the newly emerging tradition of Christianity. Finally, the rabbis claimed a divine
authority for the Hebrew language, in contrast to Aramaic or Greek even though these
languages were the lingua franca of Jews during this period (and Aramaic would eventually be
given a holy language status comparable to Hebrew).

The Septuagint is the basis for the Old Latin, Slavonic, Syriac, Old Armenian,
Old Georgian and Coptic versions of the Christian Old Testament. The Roman
Catholic andEastern Orthodox Churches use most of the books of the Septuagint,
while Protestant churches usually do not. After the Protestant Reformation, many Protestant
Bibles began to follow the Jewish canon and exclude the additional texts, which came to be
called Biblical apocrypha. The Apocrypha are included under a separate heading in the King
James Version of the Bible, the basis for the Revised Standard Version.
NAME:______________________________ Section:______________________

The Bible is the name of the Jewish and Christian Holy Book. The term carries various meanings,
depending on the religious context in which it is used. For Jews, the term "Bible" refers to
the Tanakh (Heb., ) , an acronym formed from the Hebrew names of the three divisions of the
Jewish Scriptures: Law (Torah), Prophets (Nevi'im), and Writings (Ketuvim). To Christians, the
term incorporates both the Tanakh, or "Old Testament," and the New Testament. Not all
Christians have the same number of books in the Bible, i.e Roman Catholics have 73 books to the
Bible, while Protestants have 66. The 7 extra books are usually referred to by the Roman Catholic
Church as "Deuterocanonicals" since they were added in a second phase to the original Bible
Canon.
Opinions vary as to the historical truth contained within the pages of the
Bible. Conservative Christians tend to view the Bible as it is described by Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16,
namely that "all Scripture is given by God's inspiration" (Gr., , literally "God-
breathed"). Thus, in their evaluation, the original text of the Bible was literally given by the
inspiration of God. Although they do not accept Paul's writing, Orthodox Jews assent to the view
that the Tanakh (especially the Torah) was given by God's inspiration. Among religious liberals,
this is subject to criticism. While most liberal theologians view the Bible as a book of inspired
history, others view it as a record from ancient history that reflects the specific perspectives of
those who recorded a religious story. The continuum of beliefs regarding the Bible's texts covers
the entire range of human experience, from full faith and trust to disbelief and criticism.

The Septuagint, or LXX, is a translation of the Hebrew Scriptures and some related texts
into Koine Greek, begun in the late 3rd century BCE and completed by 132 BCE,[44][45][46] initially
in Alexandria, but in time elsewhere as well.[47] It is not altogether clear which was translated
when, or where; some may even have been translated twice, into different versions, and then
revised.
As the work of translation progressed, the canon of the Greek Bible expanded. The Torah always
maintained its pre-eminence as the basis of the canon but the collection of prophetic writings,
based on the Nevi'im, had various hagiographical works incorporated into it. In addition, some
newer books were included in the Septuagint, among these are the Maccabees and the Wisdom
of Sirach. However, the book of Sirach, is now known to have existed in a Hebrew version, since
ancient Hebrew manuscripts of it were rediscovered in modern times. The Septuagint version of
some Biblical books, like Daniel and Esther, are longer than those in the Jewish canon.[ Some of
thesedeuterocanonical books (e.g. the Wisdom of Solomon, and the second book of Maccabees)
were not translated, but composed directly in Greek.
Since Late Antiquity, once attributed to a hypothetical late 1st-century Council of Jamnia,
mainstream Rabbinic Judaism rejected the Septuagint as valid Jewish scriptural texts. Several
reasons have been given for this. First, some mistranslations were claimed. Second, the Hebrew
source texts used for the Septuagint differed from the Masoretic tradition of Hebrew texts, which
was chosen as canonical by the Jewish rabbis. Third, the rabbis wanted to distinguish their
tradition from the newly emerging tradition of Christianity. Finally, the rabbis claimed a divine
authority for the Hebrew language, in contrast to Aramaic or Greek even though these
languages were the lingua franca of Jews during this period (and Aramaic would eventually be
given a holy language status comparable to Hebrew).

The Septuagint is the basis for the Old Latin, Slavonic, Syriac, Old Armenian,
Old Georgian and Coptic versions of the Christian Old Testament. The Roman
Catholic andEastern Orthodox Churches use most of the books of the Septuagint,
while Protestant churches usually do not. After the Protestant Reformation, many Protestant
Bibles began to follow the Jewish canon and exclude the additional texts, which came to be
called Biblical apocrypha. The Apocrypha are included under a separate heading in the King
James Version of the Bible, the basis for the Revised Standard Version.