Category Bible Basics and Introduction

From hand-copied manuscripts to the King James Version and modern translations: the story of how the Bible was translated into English, often at great cost.

Some Bibles contain extra books between or within the Old Testament, called the Apocrypha or deuterocanonical books. Here is what they are and why Christian traditions differ.

The 'canon' is the list of books Christians accept as Scripture. Learn what the word means, how the Old and New Testament canons were recognised, and why some books were included and others not.

Before printing, the Bible was copied by hand for centuries. Learn about scribes, the Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient New Testament manuscripts and how scholars check the text.

The Bible was first written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Learn which parts were written in each language, why it matters, and how translators bring them into English and Indian languages.

The Bible was written over roughly 1,500 years by around forty authors. Here is a simple look at when its main parts were written and why that long span matters.

The Bible was written by around forty human authors over many centuries — kings, shepherds, prophets, fishermen and a doctor. Here is what we know about them and how Christians understand God's role.

A one-line summary of every book of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, grouped by section so you can see the whole Bible at a glance.

The Bible has two main parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament. Learn what each contains, how they are arranged, and why they belong together.

The Bible is a collection of 66 books written over many centuries that Christians believe is God's Word. Here is a clear, simple introduction to what it is and why it matters.