How we get the word ‘Bible’ is tied to the history of the Bible itself. This is the story…
History of the word Bible
The word Bible is not directly derived from the Greek word for papyrus. Papyrus was used to make a parchment for writing which was rolled into scrolls. The Ancient Egyptians had used papyrus for writing on for 1000’s of years. In fact the English word ‘paper’ comes from the word ‘papyrus’, but in Greek it was called βύβλος (byblos).
By the twelfth century BC, Phoenician traders were importing these papyrus reeds from Egypt, after which traded in paper and scrolls. The predominant Mediterranean port which they used was Gebal in Lebanon. It is mentioned within the Bible in 1 Kings 5:18, Psalm 83:7 and in Ezekiel 27:9.
Today the port known as Jubayl (جُبَيْل) in Arabic. However, the Greeks got here to call the port Βύβλος due to its trade in papyrus. Or some people think it was the opposite way round, and the word for paper got here from the name of the port. Either way Byblos gave its name to the scrolls, and later books, comprised of the papyrus. The name for the item as linked to the place stuck, in an analogous way that today we are saying champagne which was originally a region of France, or cologne which is known as after a city in Germany.
How the word evolved in Greek
The word βίβλος (from the port of Byblos) got here to mean a scroll, and its diminutive form βιβλίον (biblion) was used to mean a small certain book or booklet. In plural these became βιβλία (biblia), meaning books.
These words were utilized in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, called the Septuagint. In Daniel 9:2 we now have Daniel ‘meditating on the books’ (ἐν ταῖς βίβλοις).
In the Bible Daniel refers back to the prophetic writings as ‘the books’ (Daniel 9:2). In the early Jewish historical writing of 1 Maccabees, the creator refers back to the Hebrew Scriptures as ‘the holy books’ (1 Maccabees 12:9). In the New Testament Jesus refers to ‘the Scriptures’ in Matthew 21:42, and 22:29 and in Mark 14:49. St Paul also refers to ‘the Holy Scriptures’ in Romans 1:2. St Paul wrote to Timothy asking him to bring ‘books, especially parchments’ (2 Timothy 4:13) where books translates τὰ βιβλία (ta biblia).
Holy Books
Then within the Jewish and Christian context τὰ βιβλία τὰ ἅγια (ta biblia ta hagia) was used to mean the holy books, i.e. the Scriptures. Christian use of the term might be traced to the early centuries with the terms utilized by St Clement and Chrysostom. In the Bible itself we discover books of the Old Testament known as the Scriptures, or the holy books in 1 Maccabees 12:9.
Latin
The Greek Empire was conquered by the Roman Empire, which adopted most of the ideas, and adapted a number of the words. The Greek phrase τὰ βιβλία τὰ ἅγια (ta biblia ta hagia) got here into ancient Latin as ‘biblia sacra’ meaning sacred books. In ancient Latin ‘biblia’ was a plural neuter noun, but by mediaeval times the sense of ‘biblia’ in Latin modified for use as a singular feminine noun. Biblia then entered English via Norman French, which had adopted it from Latin, because the word for the Bible. The word ‘Bible’ often only appears on the quilt and never within the text itself, however the American Lutheran scholar William F Beck (1904-66) in his ‘The New Testament within the Language of Today’ published in 1963, used the word ‘Bible’ within the Gospels relatively than the term Scriptures.
Singular or plural?
So in accordance with the event of the word ‘Bible’, it has the sense of a plural word which got here for use as a singular word. In fact this is sort of fitting because the Bible is printed as a single book, nevertheless it is an anthology or set of long books and small books or booklets.
Bible as a prefix
The word ‘Bible’ to mean book might be seen within the ‘biblio-‘ prefix, derived from Greek βιβλίον (biblíon) in several words. The prefix can been seen in lots of European languages within the local word for library, equivalent to bibliothèque in French, biblioteca in Portuguese and Spanish, and Bibliothek in German. In English a bibliophile is someone who loves books, and a bibliography is a listing of books used as a source in an essay. There is even the word bibliomancy to explain the superstitious practice of picking a random book, opening it at random, to hunt a solution to an issue. A biblioclast is someone who destroys books, and a biblioklept is someone who steals books. Bibliolatry is the worship of books, used metaphorically to mean dependence upon books, or the excessive reverence for the Bible as literally interpreted, to the purpose of idolatry.
Alternatives to the word ‘Bible’
The word ‘Bible’ or a type of it has been adopted into many languages, especially in countries where Western missionaries have introduced the Bible. However in lots of languages, especially those not from Western Europe, a word like ‘Bible’ will not be used. In many languages the local equivalent of ‘Bible’ is a phrase which translates into English because the Holy Book. Many Jews also use the term Tanakh for the Scriptures, and Christians in Israel who speak modern Hebrew often use a phrase which translates into English because the Book of the Covenants.
One word, different contents
Today the word ‘Bible’ is utilized by Christians and plenty of Jews, within the English language. The word is sort of flexible and it will not be the exact same set of books. The Bible for Orthodox Christians has more books within the Old Testament than the Bible for Catholic Christians, which in turn also has more books within the Old Testament than the Bible for Protestant Christians. When Jews talk in regards to the Bible of their context, it doesn’t include the New Testament in any respect.
Even inside these traditions the books could also be ordered in a different way. In Orthodox Bibles the General epistles come before the Pauline epistles, but in Catholic and Orthodox Bibles Paul’s epistles come before the epistles by the opposite apostles. The books of the Jewish Bible have the identical set of books as present in the Old Testament of Protestant Bibles, but ordered in a different way.
Bible as an authoritative book
Whatever people might imagine in regards to the Bible, in our society the word Bible itself has taken on the positive meaning as an authoritative or reliable book. If you go right into a bookstore yow will discover a “Cookery Bible” or a “Baking Bible”; yow will discover the “Cycling Bible”, “Motorcycle Bible”, “Biker’s Bible”, or a “Plumber’s Bible” etc. These are usually not religious books, but in lots of subjects yow will discover books which use the word Bible of their title so as to add the claim to be the authoritative last word on a subject.
Today the Bible is probably the most translated, most printed, most studied, and most distributed and most influential book on the planet, in print and online.
