Bible Manuscripts, Translations, Versions (Deuteronomy 30:11-14)
Factors to consider and Questions to ask when selecting Bibles – most to least important:
– What manuscripts are they translating?
– Are older manuscripts more reliable? (Protestant Christian)
– All Bibles are not the same! See verse comparison charts (Protestant Christian)
– How proficient are the translators with ancient languages and ancient history?
– What are the translators’ bias, beliefs, culture and religion? Messianic Bible Reviews – Izzy Avraham (Messianic Jew)
– What commentaries and footnotes has the translators included?
– Do you like the editing style and format? (E.g. King James Version uses italics to show which words have been inserted by the translators.)
Bible versions – most to least used:
– Unless stated, assume that the Bible reference is from one of the following versions. We highly recommend reading the previous, current and next chapter of a Bible reference for better context.
– The main manuscripts that a Bible version uses is listed.
– Archaic English simple grammar rule:
– Thee, thine, thou, thy are singular pronouns.
– Ye, you, your, yours are plural pronouns.
– James Strong’s Numbers (Christian) for TaNaK / Old Testament [OT] Biblical Hebrew and B’rit HaDasha / Re-New-ed Testament [NT] Koine Greek.
Messianic Jewish / Hebrew Roots Bibles – mostly Hebrew OT + mostly Greek NT
– Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) free on YouVersion Bible App (mobile + PC)
– Tree of Life Version (TLV) free on YouVersion Bible App (mobile + PC)
– The Scriptures 2009 (TS2009) free on YouVersion Bible App (mobile + PC)
– World Messianic Bible (WMB) free on YouVersion Bible App (mobile + PC)
– Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB) free on YouVersion Bible App (mobile + PC)
– Lanny Mebust’s English Interlinear Transliterated Bible (work in progress) – Hebrew OT, Greek OT, Hebrew/Aramaic NT, Greek NT
Hebrew OT
– ArtScroll Chumash (Torah + Rabbinic commentary) or TaNaK (no commentary)
– Jewish Publication Society (JPS) (1917 , 1985 – includes Rabbinic Jewish resources):
Hebrew OT – Masoretic Text.
– Hebrew OT Interlinear: Westminster Leningrad Codex – HELPS Ministries (Christian).
Aramaic OT
– Targums – see Rabbinic Judaism
– Aramaic English Standard Version of the Peshitta (Torah only) – E-sword
Hebrew NT?
– Jeff A. Benner (Written Torah Yeshua) – Semitic (Hebrew/Aramaic) Origins of the New Testament
– Nehemia Gordon (Karaite Jew)
– Fragments of Hebrew Gospels of Luke and John found in a Vatican Library Junk box
– Hebrew Manuscript of the Book of Revelation (1:1 – 2:13) British Library (17th Century)
Part 1 , Part 2
– Note: the fragments were written in the Middle Ages. But critics forget the main point: “these New Testament books were preserved / edited / translated into Hebrew for a Hebrew / Jewish audience. Hebrew by this time was supposed to be ‘dead language’ i.e. no longer spoken.”
– Hebrew OT Ginsberg + Hebrew NT Delitzsch | – Hebrew NT Delitzsch only | Description – translated to Greek NT manuscripts into Hebrew and conformed to Textus Receptus manuscript.
– Delitzsch Hebrew Gospels in English (DHE)
Aramaic NT
– Aramaic Hebrew Amplified Version – Baruch Ben Daniel and Adele Gorovenko (end of 2020)
– James Murdock (1852) (old english) https://studybible.info/Murdock
– John W. Etheridge (1846) (old english, difficult spelling) https://studybible.info/Etheridge
– James Murdock (1852) and John W. Etheridge (1846) (Christians) comparsion to KJV, NT Delitzsch
– Original Aramaic New Testament in Plain English with Psalms and Proverbs https://biblehub.com/aramaic-plain-english/matthew/25.htm (OANT) – David Bauscher (Christian)
– Aramaic Hebrew Amplified Version – Baruch Ben Daniel and Adele
Christian Bibles
– King James Bible with Strong’s Numbers (KJV+): Hebrew OT – Masoretic Text, Greek NT – Textus Receptus, blueletterbible.org , biblehub.com
– New American Standard Bible with Strong’s Numbers (NASB+): Hebrew OT – Rudolf Kittel’s Biblia Hebraica, Greek NT – Eberhard Nestle’s Novum Testamentum Graece. blueletterbible.org , biblehub.com
– Apostolic Bible Polyglot with Strong’s Numbers (ABP+): Greek OT + Greek NT Interlinear (1996), Intro – Charles Van der Pool
– Charles Thomson Bible (1808): Greek OT , Greek NT
– Greek NT Interlinear – HELPS Ministries
Hear or download Audio Bibles in many languages (Christian)
Bible Timelines
– psalm11918.org (Torah Yeshua) – Interactive Timelines | Useful Links | Messiah’s Passover Week
– Timeline of Bible History (Christian)
E-Sword – best bible software. Free for Microsoft Windows. Tutorials by Izzy Avraham
OT and NT Canon Tables https://infogalactic.com/info/Biblical_canon
The Apocrypha – https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/apo/index.htm
Recommended order – most to least closest to 66 Bible books:
– Orthodox Tewahedo/Ethopian christian tradition
– 1 Enoch
– Deuterocanonical Apocrypha – was in 1611 KJV
– Book of Jubilees
– Unknown origin – Book of Jasher – english version may exaggerate a few things
