What Is The Bible?

WHAT IS THE BIBLE? 

The word 'Bible' means 'Book'. The chapters within the Bible are all books too... so the Bible is a Book of Books. The complete Bible that we have today is known as the Biblical Canon.

{A biblical canon, or canon of scripture, is a list of books considered to be authoritative scripture by a particular religious community. The word "canon" comes from the Greek "κανών", meaning "rule" or "measuring stick". The term was first coined in reference to scripture by Christians, but the idea is said to be Jewish. 
The textual basis of the canon can also be specified. For example, the Hebrew/Aramaic text as vocalized and pointed (cf. niqqud) in the medieval era by the Masoretes, the Masoreti text, is the canonical text for Judaism. A modern example of this closing of a textual basis, in a process analogous to the closing of the canon itself, is the King James Only movement, which takes either the actual English text of various redactions of the actual King James Bible itself, or alternately, the textual basis of the King James Version—Bomberg' Masoretic text for the Old Testament and the Textus Receptus in various editions, those of Erasmus, Beza, and Stephanus, alongside the Complutensian polyglot, for the New Testament—as the specified, correct, and inspired textual tradition. Similarly, certain groups specify their particular self-published version or translation of the Bible as the most reliable. Among these are Jehovah's Witnesses, who produce the New World Translation. Compliments of Wikipedia.}

The Old Testament or 'OT' is made up of various books written by Hebrew religious scholars and scribes. There are many thousands of books from this same era in time that have not been included in the current 'Canon' that was put together by the Catholic Religious Hierarchy. (Many were written by women but only the books of Ruth and Esther were regarded as applicable because they were written by men.)

The books included in the OT and their writers.

Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy... were all written by Moses in the wilderness or on the Plains of Moab between 1513 and 1473.
Joshua... was completed by Joshua in Canaan before 1450.
Judges... was completed by Samuel in Israel by 1100.
Ruth... was completed by Samuel in Israel by 1090.
1 Samuel... was written by Samuel, Gad and Nathan in Israel and completed by 1078.
2 Samuel... was completed by Gad and Nathan in Israel by 1040
1 & 2 Kings... was written by Jeremiah in Judah and Egypt by 580. 
1 & 2 Chronicles & Ezra... were all written by Ezra in Jerusalem and completed by 460.
Nehemiah... was written by Nehemiah in Jerusalem an completed in 443.
Esther... was written by Mordecai in Shushan and Elam and completed by 475.
Job... was written by Moses in the wilderness and completed by 1473. 
Psalms... was written by David and others and completed by 460.
Proverbs... was written by Solomon, Agur and Lemuel in Jerusalem and completed by 717.
Ecclesiastes... was written by Solomon in Jerusalem and completed by 1000.
Song of Solomon... was written by Solomon in Jerusalem and completed by 1020.
Isaiah... was written by Isaiah in Jerusalem and completed in 732. 
Jeremiah & Lamentations... were written by Jeremiah in Judah, Egypt or Jerusalem by 607.
Ezekiel... was written by Ezekiel in Babylon by 591.
Daniel... was written by Daniel in Babylon by 536.
Hosea... was written by Hosea in the district of Samaria in 745.
Joel... was written by Joel in Judah sometime around 820.
Amos... was written by Amos in Judah by 804.
Obadiah... was written by Obadiah by 607.
Jonah... was written by Jonah by 844. 
Micah... was written by Micah in Judah by 1717.
Nahum... was written by Nahum in Judah by 632.
Habakkuk... was written by Habakkuk in Judah sometime around 628.
Zephaniah... was written by Zephaniah in Judah by 648.
Haggai... was written by Haggai in the rebuilt Jerusalem in 520.
Zechariah... was written by Zechariah  in the rebuilt Jerusalem in 518.
Malachi... was written by Malachi in the rebuilt Jerusalem sometime around 443.

I wonder what the difference would be if all the books were collated by the date they were written? One also has to wonder why they were collated like this in the first place?

The New Testament or 'NT' is made up of various books written by Greek religious scholars and scribes. There are many hundreds of texts that were not thought desirable to be included in the NT Canon due to the conflicting nature of what was written or who they were written by.

The books included in the NT and their writers.

THE GOSPEL
According to Matthew... was written by Matthew in Palestine by 41.
According to Mark... was written by Mark in Rome between 60 and 65.
According to Luke... was written by Luke in Caesarea between 56 and 58.
According to John... was written by the Apostle John near Ephesus by 98.

Acts of the Apostles... was written by Luke in Rome by 61.

LETTERS
Romans.
1 & 2 Corinthians.
Galatians.
Ephesians.
Phillipians.
Colossians.
1 & 2 Thessalonians.
1 & 2 Timothy.
Titus.
Philemon.
Hebrews... were all written by Saul, who was a Roman Centurion who changed his own name to Paul after becoming a self-appointed Apostle. He had previously been murdering the Christians and had never met Jesus as he only came onto the scene seven years after Jesus was slain. The dates of all of his 'Letters to the congregations' are disputable as is his authority and the relevance of any of his writings in the completed Biblical Canon! 
Under Essenic Jewish Tradition the next in line to take the position of High Priest after Jesus was Jesus own brother James. Saul/Paul was not even of the Davidic bloodline! (Personally... I do not believe they should even rate a mention as so much of what is written goes completely against the message of Unconditional Love that Jesus preached on behalf of his Father who was one of The Elohim.)

LETTERS
James... was written by Jesus brother James in Jerusalem in 62.
1 & 2 Peter... were written by Peter in Babylon by 64.
1, 2 & 3 John... are all thought to be written by the Apostle John near Ephesus by 98.
Jude... was written by Jesus brother Jude in or near Palestine in 65.

The Revelation of John... was thought to be written by the Apostle John on the island of Patmos in 96.

All other texts that were not considered suitable to be included as a part of the Biblical Canon are still a part of the Roman Catholic Bible under the heading of THE APOCRYPHA. Most modern day Christian Bibles do not include The Apocrypha and it is rarely, if ever, referred to by their clergy or in their churches.

The books included in the Apocrypha. 

1 & 2 Esdras.
Tobit.
Judith.
The rest of the chapters of the book of Esther... was written by Mordecai in Shushan and Elam by 475.
The wisdom of Solomon.
Ecclesiasticus or the Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach.
Baruch.
A Letter of Jeremiah.
The Song of the Three.
Daniel and Susanna.
Daniel, Bel and the Snake.
The Prayer of Manasseh.
1 & 2 Maccabees.

None of the Gnostic texts or 'Gospels' are included in any of the translations of the Bible despite all of them either referring to or being written by people mentioned in the bible. They are still deemed as 'Heretical' or 'Blasphemous' texts in most 'main stream' religious circles. (These Gospels are widely available through most religious book shops and are well worth reading and considering as a valuable contribution to religious history or Theological understanding.)

There are also many documents referred to as 'Spurious Texts' due to their contradictory nature. Though this is not always the case... much of the information just throws a different light of understanding on current Biblical texts as they were meant to read and highlights the inconsistencies of the mis-translations. (I will add eventually go into these texts at a later date.)

There are many different versions and translations of the Bible with most of the modern versions being extrapolated from the original King James Version, or KJV!
  
My own choice of Bible is The New English Bible with the Apocrypha. It was first printed in 1961 by representatives of; 
The Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland. 
The Church of England, The Church of Scotland. 
The Congregational Church in England and Wales. 
The Council of Churches for Wales. 
The Irish Council of Churches. 
The London Yearly Meeting of The Society of Friends. 
The Methodist Church of Great Britain. 
The Presbyterian Church of England. 
The British and Foreign Bible Society. 
The National Bible Society of Scotland.  
It is written in modern day English, unlike the KJV which is written in Shakespearean English, and the translation is far more accurate than any other translation to date.
I also cross reference most texts using; a very old version of the KJV printed by the University Press in Oxford UK, a New KJV printed in 1983 by Thomas Nelson Publishers of Nashville USA, a New International readers Version or NIrV printed in 1998 by the International bible Society of UK and the USA, and a 1984 copy of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures printed by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania USA.

While reading through the Biblical Chapters in the following posts it would be advisable to have your own version of the Bible, or as many versions as you wish, to compare them word for word. This will assist you to develop a clearer understanding of how the original texts have been perverted and mis-translated into the Bible as we know it today! 
__/\__ <3