Hello there, friend. I was in my favorite chair the other morning, with my old, loved Bible open on my lap. The pages are soft, and some, for instance, have notes from over the years. As I ran my thumb over a verse in Isaiah, a thought hit me. How did this book get here? I don’t mean from the store. Instead, I mean, how did it become the Bible? Who chose these specific books? Furthermore, how did old scrolls written over many years become this one book that changed the world? In short, how was the Bible put together? It’s a big question. However, the answer is not a dry history lesson. To me, it is a great story of God’s love and His careful plan.
Many people think a group of old men just met in a room and then voted on which books to add. In fact, I used to think that, too. But that is not what took place at all. The real story is much better. It is a story of God leading people to write. It is also a story of His people hearing His voice in their words. Finally, it is a story of His power keeping these words safe through years of trouble.
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The Foundation: How Was the Old Testament Put Together?
The first and biggest part of our Bible is the Old Testament. This part tells the story of God’s walk with people and His chosen nation, Israel, before Jesus came. Putting these Bible books together was not a fast job. In fact, it took more than a thousand years. God was not in a rush. Instead, He was laying a firm base, one book at a time.
This part of the Bible has 39 books. These books are not all the same. For example, there are law books, like Leviticus, and history books, like 1 & 2 Kings. We also have beautiful songs in the Psalms and deep truth in Proverbs. And of course, there are the strong words from prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah. Each book is a piece of a big puzzle. When you put them all together, they make one great picture of God’s plan to save His people.
Who Decided Which Books Belonged in Answering How Was the Bible Put Together?
This is a key question. The simple answer is this: God chose, and His people saw His choice. The Jewish people had a deep walk with God. From the start, they could tell which words came from God. When Moses came down from the mountain with the Law, for instance, they knew it was from God. When David sang his songs of praise and pain, the people of Israel sang them, too. They knew these words brought them close to God.
The Jewish people saw the Old Testament books as God’s Word very early on. We have proof of this. For example, translators changed the Hebrew Bible into Greek long before Jesus was born. People call this new version the Septuagint. It has all the same books we have in our Old Testament today. This shows the list of God’s books was already set. Jesus Himself said so. He often used words from the Old Testament books and treated them as God’s true Word. He would talk about the “Law and the Prophets,” which was a common way to talk about the whole Hebrew Bible. So, the Christian church did not make the Old Testament list of books.
What was the role of scribes in preserving God’s Word?
Have you ever tried to copy one page from a book by hand? It is hard to do it with no mistakes. Now, think about copying the whole Bible! The Jewish scribes had this holy job. Consequently, they were some of the most careful workers in all of history. Their hard work is a huge part of the answer to how was the Bible put together.
Groups of scribes had very strict rules for copying the scrolls. First, they had to say each word out loud before they wrote it. Then, they counted every letter and every word on each page. This was to make sure it was the same as the first one. If they found even one error, they would often tear up the whole page and start over. Indeed, they treated the words with great respect because they believed they were handling the very words of God.
This great care is why our Old Testament today is so true. For instance, when people found the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947, they found copies of Old Testament books like Isaiah. These copies were a thousand years older than any they had before. When they checked them, the texts were almost the same. This was strong proof that God had used these good scribes to keep His word safe.
The Fulfillment: How Was the New Testament Put Together?
After the Old Testament was finished, there were about 400 years of silence when God did not send any new prophets with new words. Then, all at once, God broke the silence in the best way. He sent His Son, Jesus.
People wrote the New Testament in a much shorter time than the Old Testament, in less than 100 years. The story begins with the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These books tell the story of Jesus’s life from those who saw it. Then, the book of Acts tells the story of how the first church started and grew. After that, we have letters apostles like Paul, Peter, and John wrote to teach and help the new churches. At last, the New Testament, and the whole Bible, ends with the book of Revelation, a vision of the last days and Jesus’s final win.
Why were these specific New Testament books chosen?
Just like with the Old Testament, the question of how was the Bible put together is about God’s plan and His people seeing His plan. The first Christians lived in a time with many new writings. So how did they know which ones were really from God? They used a few simple rules as the Holy Spirit led them.
First, they asked if an apostle wrote the book, or if it was written by someone who knew an apostle well. For instance, Mark was a good friend of Peter. Luke was a travel friend of Paul. Therefore, their words had the weight of the apostles they knew.
Second, they checked if the book’s teaching matched the other holy books. The early church had the Old Testament and the words of Jesus. If a new book said something different, they did not accept it.
Third, they looked to see if churches everywhere were using the book. A book that was truly from God would be known by believers all over the world. You can find a great summary of this at sites like Biblica. The process was not about a group of men making a choice. Instead, it was about the whole church family agreeing as they saw God’s power in these books.
How Did the Early Church Recognize the Canon in Answering How Was the Bible Put Together?
We call the list of New Testament books we have today the canon. The word “canon” is like a ruler. It points to the books that people measured and found to be from God. It’s key to know that the early church did not make the canon. They knew it. The books were already from God from the time they were written. Therefore, the church’s job was just to state which books had God’s power.
Early church leaders played a big part in this. They wrote letters and talks where they used words from the New Testament books. By seeing which books they used as God’s Word, we can see what the early church believed. For example, a man named Athanasius wrote a letter in 367 AD. In it, he listed all 27 books of our New Testament today. He was not saying it was a new idea. Instead, he was just writing down the list that most Christians already knew was right.
Later, church meetings made the list official. For instance, the Council of Hippo (393 AD) and the Council of Carthage (397 AD) both named the same 27 books. Again, they were not voting on the books. They were just stating for all to know, “These are the books the church has known as God’s Word from the start.”
From Ancient Scrolls to the Book in Your Hands: How Was the Bible Put Together?
It is amazing to think about the Bible’s long trip to us. Today, we can just pick up a book or open an app. But at the start, writers used very different things for the Bible.
Scribes wrote the Old Testament mostly on scrolls made from animal skins. In contrast, they wrote the New Testament mostly on a kind of paper called papyrus, which came from plants by the Nile River. These things do not last forever. So, the fact that we have any old copies at all is a true wonder.
One of the key changes on this trip was the move from scrolls to the codex. A scroll is a long sheet you have to unroll to read. A codex, however, is the old form of a book with pages you can turn. Christians were some of the first people to widely use the codex. It made finding Bible verses much easier. You did not have to unroll a long scroll to get from one book to the next. Indeed, this simple change made the Bible easier to use and helped it to spread.
How Was the Bible Put Together: Getting the Bible to the People
The last step to see how was the Bible put together for us is translation. Scribes wrote the Old Testament almost all in Hebrew. In contrast, they wrote the New Testament in Greek. For the Bible to reach the world, people had to put it into other languages.
This work began very early. As we said, people translated the Old Testament into Greek hundreds of years before Jesus. After Jesus, as the Good News spread, people translated the Bible into languages like Latin, Syriac, and Coptic.
The story of the English Bible is very powerful. For hundreds of years, the Bible was only in Latin, so only priests could read it. Brave men like John Wycliffe and William Tyndale believed all people should read God’s Word for themselves. People even killed Tyndale for his work of putting the New Testament into English. His last prayer was for God to open the eyes of England’s King. Not long after, the king gave the okay for the work Tyndale had died for. The famous King James Version and all the good new versions we have today stand on the work of these heroes. You can read more about this great history at a site like the Bible Society.
Why Does It Matter How Was the Bible Put Together?
So, what do we see in this whole story? We see God’s hand in every step. He chose the writers and led them in what to write. He helped His people to know which books were His. Also, He used good scribes to keep the text safe. He oversaw the gathering of the books. Finally, He gave power to brave people to bring His Word to the world.
The question of how was the Bible put together is not just about history. It is also about faith. It shows a God who loves us so much that He went to great lengths to speak to us in a clear way. He has given us this book as a gift. It is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path.
The next time you open your Bible, take a moment to thank God for it. Thank Him for the prophets and apostles who wrote it. Also, thank Him for the scribes who copied it. Thank Him for the church leaders who knew it was His. And thank Him for the translators who risked their lives for it. You are holding a treasure that has been on a long trip to get to you. It is the very Word of God, kept safe for you. Read it, trust it, and live it.
FAQ – How Was the Bible Put Together
Why is understanding how the Bible was assembled important?
Understanding how the Bible was assembled shows God’s active involvement in preserving His Word for us, demonstrating His love and care. It helps us trust the Bible as a reliable and divine source of spiritual truth, a gift from God that guides our lives.
How was the New Testament put together so quickly after Jesus?
The New Testament books were written within less than 100 years after Jesus’ earthly ministry, by eyewitnesses or close associates, and were accepted into the canon based on their apostolic authorship, consistency with Christian teachings, and widespread usage among churches.
How did the Old Testament come together over time?
The Old Testament was compiled over more than a thousand years, including various types of writings like law, history, poetry, and prophecy. Jewish tradition recognized these texts as scripture early on, and the Septuagint translation into Greek confirmed the set list of these sacred books.
What role did scribes play in preserving the Bible?
Scribes played a crucial role by meticulously copying the biblical texts by hand, following strict rules to ensure accuracy, such as reading aloud and counting every letter and word. Their careful work helped preserve the text over centuries and confirmed its consistency through discoveries like the Dead Sea Scrolls.
How was the Bible officially assembled?
The Bible was assembled through a process where God’s people recognized which writings were truly inspired by God, based on whether they were authored by the apostles or their close associates, aligned with existing Scripture, and widely accepted by Christian communities. Early church leaders and church councils later formalized this collection, known as the canon.
