Editing Bible (section)

{{short description|Collection of religious texts}}
{{about|the religious book|other uses}}
{{Redirect-several|Biblical|The Holy Bible}}
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{{Use Oxford spelling|date=March 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox religious text
| name                    = Bible
| image                   = Gutenberg Bible, Lenox Copy, New York Public Library, 2009. Pic 01.jpg
| caption                 = The [[Gutenberg Bible]], published in the mid-15th century by [[Johannes Gutenberg]], is the first published Bible.
| religion                = {{ubl|[[Christianity]]|[[Judaism]]|}}
| period                  = ''See [[Dating the Bible]]''
| language                = [[Biblical Hebrew|Hebrew]], [[Biblical Aramaic|Aramaic]], and [[Koine Greek|Greek]]
| books                   = {{ubl|[[Judaism|Jewish]] Hebrew Bible: 24 books{{efn|This figure counts the [[Books of Samuel]], the [[Books of Kings]], the [[Twelve Minor Prophets]], the [[Books of Chronicles]], and the Books of [[Book of Ezra|Ezra]] and [[Book of Nehemiah|Nehemiah]] as one book each, as they are counted in Judaism. If these are counted separately, as they are in Christianity, there are 39 books in the Hebrew Bible. Both of these figures exclude the [[deuterocanonical books]].}}|[[Protestant]] canon ([[Luther's canon|Luther's]]): 66 books|[[Latin Catholic]] canon: 73 books|[[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern]] and [[Oriental Orthodox Churches|Oriental Orthodox]] canon: 76 books|''See [[Biblical canon]]''}}
| wikisource              = Bible
}}
{{Bible sidebar |expanded=all}}
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The '''Bible'''<!-- Per consensus, please do not add the word 'holy'. -->{{efn|from [[Koine Greek]] {{lang|grc|τὰ βιβλία}}, {{transliteration|grc|tà biblía}}, 'the books'}} is a collection of [[religious text]]s that are central to [[Christianity]] and [[Judaism]], and esteemed in other [[Abrahamic religions]] such as [[Islam]]. The Bible is an [[anthology]] (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) [[biblical languages|originally written]] in [[Biblical Hebrew|Hebrew]], [[Aramaic]], and [[Koine Greek]]. The texts include instructions, stories, poetry, prophecies, and other genres. The collection of materials accepted as part of the Bible by a particular religious tradition or community is called a [[biblical canon]]. Believers generally consider it to be a [[Biblical inspiration|product of divine inspiration]], but the way they understand what that means and [[Biblical hermeneutics|interpret the text]] varies.

The religious texts were compiled by different religious communities into various official collections. The earliest contained the first five books of the Bible, called the [[Torah]] in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] and the Pentateuch (meaning 'five books') in Greek. The second-oldest part was a collection of narrative histories and prophecies (the [[Nevi'im]]). The third collection, the [[Ketuvim]], contains psalms, proverbs, and narrative histories. ''[[Hebrew Bible|Tanakh]]'' ({{langx|he|תָּנָ״ךְ‎| translit=''Tanaḵ''}}) is an alternate term for the Hebrew Bible, which is composed of the first letters of the three components comprising scriptures written originally in Hebrew: the Torah ('Teaching'), the Nevi'im ('Prophets'), and the Ketuvim ('Writings'). The [[Masoretic Text]] is the medieval version of the Tanakh—written in Hebrew and Aramaic—that is considered the authoritative text of the Hebrew Bible by modern [[Rabbinic Judaism]]. The [[Septuagint]] is a Koine Greek translation of the Tanakh from the third and second centuries [[BCE]]; it largely overlaps with the Hebrew Bible.

[[Christianity]] began as an outgrowth of [[Second Temple Judaism]], using the Septuagint as the basis of the [[Old Testament]]. The [[early Church]] continued the Jewish tradition of writing and incorporating what it saw as inspired, authoritative religious books. The [[gospel]]s, which are narratives about the life and teachings of [[Jesus]], along with the [[Pauline epistles]], and other texts [[Development of the New Testament canon|quickly coalesced]] into the [[New Testament]]. The oldest parts of the Bible may be as early as {{circa|1200}} BCE, while the New Testament had mostly formed by 4th century CE. 

With estimated total sales of over five billion copies, the Christian Bible is the best-selling publication of all time. The  Bible has had a profound influence both on [[Western culture]] and history and on cultures around the globe. The study of it through [[biblical criticism]] has also indirectly impacted culture and history. The Bible is currently [[Bible translations|translated or is being translated]] into about half of the world's languages.

Some view biblical texts as morally problematic, historically inaccurate, or corrupted by time; others find it a useful historical source for certain peoples and events or a [[Ethics in the Bible|source of ethical teachings]].