What is it?
"The world is what the saints and sages have always said it was; but the modern man does not know what they have said, because he is contentedly deafened by the noise of his own ‘progress.’"
G.K. Chesterton
The collection of books we call "the Bible" has endured through the ages, fundamentally changing the course of peoples lives, and surviving relentless efforts to suppress, abuse or distort it. Its resilience seems more than just coincidence. While history and science helps us understand its origin and transmission, the improbable way it's been preserved suggests a force beyond human hands at work.
Where do you think the Bible came from?
There are so many different perspectives on where the Bible came from, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all the information. With pop culture, debates, and various interpretations in the mix, figuring out what’s fact and what’s fiction can feel like a challenge.
Sometimes, it’s tempting to just avoid the conversation and skip the argument altogether. But understanding the Bible’s origins is important—it shapes how we view faith, history, and even ourselves. These are some of the more popular views today. Do any of them speak to you?
“God wrote it down and gave it to people”
“Holy people from ancient history wrote it”
“It’s always been around”
“People have tried to figure it out, but no one knows for sure”
“The ancient church put it together”
“It’s just stories picked up over time to teach us moral lessons”
“It’s part of a ploy by colonialists to control the masses”
Tracing the Bible's Timeless Journey
"The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be consonant with what we desperately want to be true. But our preferences do not determine what's true."
Carl Sagan
...different groups of people encountered God in powerful ways. Ways that completely changed their lives. Since writing materials were rare and expensive, they held onto these encounters by sharing stories and poems about it. These were retold over and over again and eventually passed down to the next generations. Storytelling was sacred, it united these people and kept their shared memories alive, securing their identity.
In those times, memorisation wasn’t just a skill - it was an honourable duty and a treasured art form. Today, very few of us are still capable of this. But every so often we are reminded of just how much our minds can hold. We’ve only just begun to understand the strong grasp stories have on the human brain. With each retelling, whether in small or large gatherings, these stories were kept remarkably intact, being passed down with precision and reverence.
Did you know? People like Tom Meyer give us a modern glimpse into the lost art of memorisation. Tom can quote over 20 books of the Bible performatively to public audiences
Did you know? Recent research shows us that, in ideal conditions, orally shared knowledge can endure for well over 7,000 years
2. Marking Down Memories
At key moments, some of these stories were marked onto stone, animal skins, scrolls, papyrus, and parchment. Sometimes, the very process of writing was woven into the stories themselves, preserving the act of creation as well. Like pages in a journal, we can sometimes see how events unfolded over time.
“And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.” Exodus 24:4
"So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, 'On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.'" Genesis 17:14
“There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses.” Joshua 8:32
"Go now, write it on a tablet for them, inscribe it on a scroll, that for the days to come it may be an everlasting witness." Isaiah 30:8
"Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the other nations from the time I began speaking to you in the reign of Josiah till now." Jeremiah 36:2
"Then the Lord replied: 'Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.'” Habakkuk 2:2
"With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught." Luke 1:3-4
"Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." John 20:30-31
"For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope." Romans 15:4
3. Watching the Mosaic Form
Over time, these writings were carefully stitched together, refined, and expanded. Each individual story, poem, prophecy, law, or proverb carried its own significance, but together they became something more—a divine mosaic, intricately pieced together into one breathtaking masterpiece. This is how the books of the Bible were born.
In Hebrew and Aramaic, 24 scrolls were written, organised into 3 major groups—what we now call the Tanakh. These were later subdivided into the 39 books we recognize today as the Old Testament. The Greek texts followed a similar path, forming 27 books—what we know as the New Testament. Together, these collections—51 or 66 books depending on the breakdown—became the Christian Bible.
This process wasn’t quick. It took the work of many people across centuries—up to 1,500 years—to bring these sacred texts to completion. Today, we have a window into when these stories first began and when they likely were written down, but it all started with people keeping God’s word alive through memory, heart, and community.
Click this link for a detailed breakdown of each book of the Bible, including estimates of when the stories were first told and the time ranges when they were likely written.
4. Changing Hearts & Minds
While these books are masterpieces in their own right, they were never meant to just sit on a shelf and be admired. They worked their way into the minds and hearts of readers, transforming lives in profound ways. The impact was so great that entire cultures were shaped by them. First, the Tanakh influenced the Ancient Near East, the birthplace of modern civilization. Then, with the arrival of the New Testament, together with the Tanakh, their influence rippled across the globe—especially in shaping the values and institutions of the Western world. From politics and law to education, literature, morality, science, and the arts, these texts laid the foundation for many of the values that still hold strong in the West today.
"The fact that in Christianity we have a unifying principle which is common to all nations of the West, that it is deeply interwoven with the laws, customs, traditions and history of our civilization, is fundamental to our understanding of who we are"
Winston Churchill
"The West cannot be understood without Christianity. Without Christ, it will collapse morally and spiritually"
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
"The Western world has been built on Christianity. The individualism and democracy that we prize, the freedom of thought and the scientific method that have shaped our modern world, all have roots that go deep into the Christian faith"
TS Eliot
5. Copied, Translated, & Copied Again
Given this massive influence, it's no surprise that these texts were copied, translated, and passed down through the centuries, spreading across languages and nations. The chart below shows how this journey unfolded, bringing us to the present day.
In the Beginning...
...different communities encountered God in powerful ways that shaped who they were at their very core.
With writing materials scarce and expensive, they, like many ancient cultures, preserved these profound experiences through spoken word.
Memorization wasn’t just a skill—it was an art form. Those who mastered it were admired, and their stories and poems, designed to stick in the mind, were passed down verbally from generation to generation.
The act of storytelling
...wasn’t just for entertainment or a history lesson—it was sacred. It united these people, cementing their identity.
With each retelling, whether in small gatherings or large assemblies, these stories remained remarkably intact, passed down with precision and reverence.
At Key Moments
...some of these stories made their way onto stone, animal skins, scrolls, papyrus, and parchment. Sometimes, the very process of writing was woven into the stories themselves, preserving even the act of creation
Some time after their flight from slavery in Egypt, the Israelites were attacked by a group of people called the Amalekites. The Israelites were victorious, and believed this to be the hand of their God directly at work. They wrote down what happened
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered” Exodus 17:14
Exodus 17:8-16 shows us the full story
An Israelite named Moses had a series of experiences at the top of Mount Sinai, in today’s northern Egypt, where he believed God revealed specific laws or rules which the ancient Israelites were to follow. He wrote these down, and read them to the Israelites
“And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.” Exodus 24:4
The Israelites also had experiences which they believed confirmed the legitimacy of what Moses told them, and this, too, became part of their societal memory
“Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, 'You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” Exodus 20:18-19
Exodus 19:1 to 24:18 tells this story
After Moses passed away, we see his protégé, Joshua, continue to maintain the memory of the Mount Sinai experience.
“There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses.” Joshua 8:32
As time went on
...these writings were carefully stitched together, refined, and expanded.
Each individual story, poem, prophecy, law, or proverb carried its own significance, but together they became something more—a divine mosaic, intricately pieced together into one breath-taking masterpiece.
This is how the books of the Bible were born.
In Hebrew and Aramaic
...24 scrolls were written, organised into 3 major groups—what we now call the Tanakh. These were later subdivided into the 39 books we recognize today as the Old Testament.
The Greek texts
...followed a similar path, forming 27 books—what we know as the New Testament. Together, these collections—51 or 66 books depending on the breakdown—became the Christian Bible.
Torah (Law)
Nevi'im (Prophets)
Ketuvim (Writings)
Tanakh (The Old Testament)
The New Testament
Gospels
History
Letters of Paul
Other Letters
Prophecy
This process wasn't quick
...it took the work of many people across centuries—taking up to 1,500 years—to bring these sacred texts to completion. Today, we have a window into when these stories first began and when they likely were written down, but it all started with people keeping God’s word alive through memory, heart, and community.
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