Resources

Biblical Texts

 

Greek:

Koine Greek is another name for Biblical Greek. The word “koine” means “common” from the word “koinonia” which means “fellowship” in the sense of being common to all involved.

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Koine Greek was the common form of Greek spoken and written during the Hellenistic period, the Roman Empire, and the early Byzantine Empire. This form of Greek spread following the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC, and it was used as the common language in a lot of the Mediterranean region and the Middle East during the following centuries.

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The Septuagint (also identified as: LXX) is a translation of the old Hebrew texts along with the spoken language; it was made by approximately seventy scholars in Alexandria, Egypt, during the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus from about 285 to 247 B.C.

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The Greek gospels and new covenant (new testament) writings or books were initially written in Koine Greek during from the 1st century which allowed the people from all backgrounds to be able to read and speak the words that were written.

• Septuagint: LXX

• Septuagint - Wikipedia

• Koine Greek - Wikipedia

• Greek-English Interlinear Bible (logosapostolic.org)

One of the oldest papyrus written in Koine Greek in existence today is titled P46. Various leaves are located in the University of Michigan and in the Chester Beatty Library. To view some papyri images, you may visit the following links:

• University of Michigan - (Papyrus Collection)

• Chester Beatty Library - (Western Collection, Papyri, Biblical)

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Hebrew:

The Masoretes received the Hebrew text of the old testament/covenant Scriptures after the scholars or scribes known as “Sopherim” (about 400 B.C. to the end of the first century A.D.) had already fixed the text as to its placement with countings or numbers, etc, to confirm the correct written letters of the Hebrew text.

 

Then the Masoretes added their notes between the columns of the Hebrew text and on the outside and insides of the pages by the margins – and these additional writings are known as the “Massorah (Masora)” (these are not the actual Hebrew text of Scripture).

 

As time progressed after the first century A.D. (after 1 A.D.), further additions and variations and additions as to the traditional teachings were made. What is known today as the “Masoretic Text (MT)” is the consolidation of the Hebrew text of Scripture and various additions made by the Masoretes during the following centuries. It should be noted that the Masoretes refused to change the actual Hebrew text set by the Sopherim, but they added their own traditional information and various signs and symbols to assist the reader to understand the words in the Hebrew text.

 

Various updates were made to the Septuagint and the Hebrew text over the years, and so it is the scholar’s privilege to allow the gift of holy spirit within all true Christians (holy-people) to decipher the truth of what are the words of prophecy in the Scripture.

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References:

https://www.bibleandscience.com/bible/sources/hebrew.htm

https://www.bibleandscience.com/bible/sources/deadseascrolls.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_Hebrew

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/masoretic-text

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