The History of the Bible

Reading John A. Tvedtnes' book entitled "Defining the Word- Understanding the history and Language of the Bible", the textual problems and errant doctrinal problems that arose through translations and disputations came into sharp focus.

To begin I found it interesting to see in short form the various Bibles that arose throughout time:

The OT was written in Hebrew though some books such as Daniel have some Aramaic woven into the text. The NT was written primarily in Greek, so the OT went through a translation into Greek, now known as the Septuagint. Jerome then translated the Bible into Latin, "The Vulgate".

Then we turn to Anglo-Saxon Translations.

Wycliffe did a pretty good job translating the Vulgate into Middle English. circa 1830. However some of what was translated was from the French book of Revelation.

Then came Tyndale during the Protestant Reformation in the early 16th Century. English Bishops didn't like what he was doing so they forced him into exile into Germany. Cuthbert Tunstall, Bishop of London, claimed that he found 3,000 errors in Tyndale's Bible and sought to censure him in a unique way which I won't discuss here, but it's quite humorous. Tyndale introduced new words in the Bible like:

Jehovah
Passover
scapegoat
and most important, the self explanatory Atonement- At-one-ment, while the Hebrew word means "to cover"

Then Coverdales's Bible-Coverdale was an assistant to Tyndale and used a heavy reliance on Tyndale's work.

Then Bibles of Matthew and Taverner- A hodgepodge of all the Bible's before with a focus on "better" English

Then the Great Bible- written at the prodding of Anne Boelyn to King Henry the VIII so that all Church's might have a Bible.

Then the Geneva Bible- A response to the "heretical" Tyndale Bible.

Then the Bishops' Bible- Commissioned by Matthew Parker Arch Bishop of Canterbury and helped by 16 Bishops.

Then the Douai Bible- Basically a revision of the Vulgate to English for use by Catholics. Heavily influenced by Latin. there are quite a few words which I will not list here that have become common amongst our KJV and affect doctrinal issues.

Then we get to the KJV- Story is too long and complicated to tell

(Tvedtness pg. 5-18)


My point is this. It is obvious there are minor and major issues with the text of the Bible. My answer, and I believe Gods answer, is two fold.

1. Prophets and Apostles to declare doctrine and interpret scipture. There is scriptural evidence to support this pattern.
2. Personal revelation to guide and direct as we read and ponder sacred writ.

My formula is also applicable to the BoM. The worst possible problem for me with the text of the BoM is the "loose" or "Tight" translation question. And an answer in the negative or affirmative would not affect the verity and historicity of the Book for me.

Thoughts?


Big UP!

Lamanite