I think if you asked most Christians how we got the Bible I’m not sure many would be able to answer it.
You’d probably hear answers like “well, I know it’s 66 books and 40 authors and God inspired.” Which is all true — but to someone who has no idea what Christianity is, there’s a lot of unanswered questions in that line of reasoning.
I for one think it’s very important that we as Christians know where our scriptures came from.
So the idea in this newsletter is to briefly share with you the history of the Bible & how it came to be.
So, in 6 simple eras, here’s the History of the Bible:
1. The Ancient Beginnings (c. 2000–1400 BC)
The story of the Bible begins long before anything was written down. God spoke to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their stories were passed down orally for generations. The first written portions of Scripture likely began with Moses (c. 1400 BC) with the Torah or Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy). These five books form the foundation of the Old Testament.
2. The Kingdom and the Prophets (c. 1000–400 BC)
As Israel became a nation, new writings were added:
Historical books (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles) recorded the rise and fall of kings.
Wisdom literature (Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Job) captured the heart of matters, struggle, and worship of God’s people.
Prophetic books (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve “minor prophets”) called Israel back to covenant faithfulness and foretold a coming Messiah.
By around 400 BC, the Hebrew Scriptures, or what Christians call the Old Testament were complete and widely recognized within the Jewish community.
3. The Silent Years (400–5 BC)
Between the Old and New Testaments, there were roughly 400 years of silence.
No prophets, no new Scripture, but a lot of history.
Empires rose and fell (Persia, Greece, Rome), and Jewish life evolved. Books like 1 & 2 Maccabees, Enoch etc were written during this time (these are part of the Apocrypha in Catholic and Orthodox traditions).
It’s also known as the “intertestamental period”
4. The Life of Jesus and the Early Church (c. 4 BC–100 AD)
The New Testament begins with four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), written between roughly 50–90 AD, telling the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
Then came the Acts of the Apostles, describing how the message of Jesus spread through the Roman world.
Paul’s letters (Romans through Philemon) were written between 50–67 AD, offering instruction and theology for early Christians.
Other apostles and followers (Peter, James, John, Jude) wrote letters too. Finally, Revelation, written by John around 95 AD (debated year), closed the canon with a vision of the end of history and the return of Christ.
5. The Bible Comes Together (c. 100–400 AD
By the 2nd century, most churches were already using the same core writings like the Gospels and Paul’s letters as Scripture.
The official New Testament canon (the 27 books we have today) was affirmed by church councils in the 4th century, including the Council of Carthage (397 AD). These councils didn’t “decide” what books came in or out of the canon, rather, over time, it became clear via the Holy Spirit in the Church on what books to include.
The Old Testament was inherited from the Hebrew Scriptures, with some variations (the Greek Septuagint included extra books used by the early church).
6. Translation and Transmission (c. 400 AD–Present)
c. 405 AD: Jerome translated the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate), which became the standard for over a thousand years.
1300s–1500s: The Bible was translated into English by men like John Wycliffe and William Tyndale, often at the cost of their lives.
1455: The Gutenberg Bible became the first major book printed on a press.
1611: The King James Version was published, shaping English Christianity for centuries.
Today: The Bible is translated into over 3,600 languages, making it the most translated and studied text in human history.
I hope that gives you some semblance on the uniqueness of scripture & how it came to be!
With all that being said, what inspired me to talk about this topic is a new project I am working on.
Many of the thousands of you on this newsletter came here because you downloaded or interacted with my first Bible Study Guide I made.
Well, I am making another one — but the premise is a little bit different.
I wanted to make something I wish I had earlier as a Christian.
For awhile, although I’ve read the Bible & such, there wasn’t a clear chronological history of events that I could follow well enough in my head to understand when and where things happened & why some things were important enough to mention.
So, I’ve decided to make one, and I’ve made quite a lot of progress.
I wanted to take an A-Z look through scripture (although, from a 30,000 FT view while taking time to explore interesting topics/events throughout) chronologically and in a fun and interesting way.
Even though I’ve been viewing it as “the History of the Bible” — it’s a little different from how the Bible was formed, rather, the “history” of the chronological events of the Bible.
If that makes sense…
Below are some screenshots from it so far.
Just like my launch with the other guide, I will be looking for a select group of you to get early-access to it 🙂.
I might go ahead and give it away for free like I did with the other guide — but we’ll see!
Stay tuned…
I hope you enjoyed today’s newsletter, and I hope it edified you.
—Nils