For many centuries,the Old Testament was the only history of old Asia which our grandfathers could decipher and understand.But a century ago,we began to learn how to read the hieroglyphics of Egypt,and fifty years ago we discovered the key to the mysterious nail-writing of Babylon.We now know that there was a very different side to the stories which were related by the old Jewish chronicle writers.
We see them commit the mistakes of all patriotic historians and we understand how they perverted the truth to increase the glory and the splendour of their own race.
All this,however (I repeat it),does not properly belong in my book.I am not writing a history of the Jewish people.I am not defending them,or attacking their motives.I am merely repeating their own version of ancient Asiatic and African history.I shall not study the critical texts of learned historians.A little Bible,bought for a dime,will provide me with all the material I can possibly need.
If you had used the word “Bible”to a Jew of the first century of our era,he would not have known what you were talking about.The word is comparatively new.It was invented in the fourth century by John Chrysostom,the patriarch of Constantinople,who referred to the general collection of Holy Books of the Jews as the “Biblia”or the “Books.”
This collection had been growing steadily for almost a thousand years.With a few exceptions,the Chapters had all been written in Hebrew.But Hebrew was no longer a spoken language when Jesus was born.Aramaic (much simpler and widely known among the common people)had taken its place and several of the prophetic utterances of the Old Testament were written in that language.But please don't ask me “when the Bible was written,”because I could not answer you.
Every little Jewish village and every little Jewish temple possessed certain accounts of its own which had been copied on the skins of animals or on bits of Egyptian papyrus by pious old men,who took an interest in such things.Sometimes small collections were made of different laws and of prophecies for handy use among those who visited the temple.
During the eighth century B.C.,when the Jews had settled down to their life in Palestine,those compilations grew larger and larger.At some time or other between the third and the first century before our era,they were translated into the Greek language,and were brought to Europe.Since then they have been translated into every language of the world.
As for the New Testament,its history is quite simple.During the first two or three centuries after the death of Christ,the followers of the humble carpenter of Nazareth were forever in danger of trouble with the Roman authorities.The doctrines of love and charity were thought to be very dangerous to the safety of the Roman state,which had been founded upon the brute strength of the sword.The early Christians,therefore,could not go to a book store and say:“Please give me a ‘Life of Christ’and an account of the acts of his Apostles.”They got their information from secret little pamphlets which were passed from hand to hand.Thousands of such pamphlets were copied and re-copied,until people lost all track of the truth of their contents.
Meanwhile,the Church had been triumphant.The persecuted Christians became the rulers of the old Roman state.First of all they brought some order into the literary chaos caused by three centuries of persecution.The (head of the)Church called together a number of learned men.They read all the accounts which were popular,and discarded most of them.They decided to keep a few of the gospels and a few of the letters which had been written by the Apostles to the members of distant congregations.All the other stories were discarded.
Then followed several centuries of discussion and dispute.Many famous Synods were held in Rome and in Carthage (a new city built upon the ruins of the famous old seaport)and in Trullo,and seven hundred years after the death of Christ the New Testament (as we know it)was definitely adopted by the Churches of the East and by those of the West.Since then there have been countless translations made from the original Greek,but no very important changes have occurred in the text.
