The Bible (from Koine Greek τὰ βιβλία, tà biblía, 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures, some, all, or a variant of which are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, Islam, the Baha'i Faith, and other Abrahamic religions. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek. The texts include instructions, stories, poetry, prophecies, and other genres. The collection of materials that are accepted as part of the Bible by a particular religious tradition or community is called a biblical canon. Believers in the Bible generally consider it to be a product of divine inspiration, but the way they understand what that means and 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 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. "Tanakh" is an alternate term for the Hebrew Bible composed of the first letters of those three parts of the Hebrew scriptures: the Torah ("Teaching"), the Nevi'im ("Prophets"), and the Ketuvim ("Writings"). The Masoretic Text is the medieval version of the Tanakh, 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 BC; 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 gospels, Pauline epistles, and other texts quickly coalesced into the New Testament.
With estimated total sales of over five billion copies, the Bible is the best-selling publication of all time. It 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 indirectly impacted culture and history as well. The Bible is currently translated or is being translated into about half of the world's languages. (Full article...)
Beersheba (/bɪərˈʃiːbə/ beer-SHEE-bə), officially Be'er-Sheva (usually spelled Beer Sheva; Hebrew: באר שבע, romanized: Bəʾēr Ševaʿ, IPA: [ˈbe(ʔ)eʁ ˈʃeva(ʕ)] ; Arabic: بئر السبع, romanized: Biʾr as-Sabʿ, IPA: [biʔr‿as.sabʕ]; lit. 'Well of the Oath' or 'Well of the Seven'), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most populous Israeli city with a population of 214,162,[1] and the second-largest city in area (after Jerusalem), with a total area of 117,500 dunams (45 mi2 / 117.5 km2).
Human habitation near present-day Beersheba dates back to the fourth millennium BC. In the Bible, Beersheba marks the southern boundary of ancient Israel, as mentioned in the phrase "From Dan to Beersheba." Initially assigned to the Tribe of Judah, Beersheba was later reassigned to Simeon. During the monarchic era, it functioned as a royal city but eventually faced destruction at the hands of the Assyrians. The Biblical site of Beersheba is Tel Be'er Sheva, lying some 4 km distant from the modern city, which was established at the start of the 20th century by the Ottomans. The city was captured by the British-led Australian Light Horse troops in the Battle of Beersheba during World War I. (Full article...)"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16–17 nkjv
Genesis - Exodus - Leviticus - Numbers - Deuteronomy - Joshua - Judges - Ruth - 1 Samuel - 2 Samuel - 1 Kings - 2 Kings - 1 Chronicles - 2 Chronicles - Ezra - Nehemiah - Esther - Job - Psalms - Proverbs - Ecclesiastes - Song of Solomon - Isaiah
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