Was the first Bible the Catholic version or the King James version?

Answer 1

The Catholic Bible was not compiled until about 300 A.D. It was an agreement among Catholic Bishops as to what should be in and what should not be included, based on what was read at Mass (for the New Testament); the Old Testament was received from the Jews, the Septuagint that had been in used for about 600-700 years at that point, and was the version used by Jesus. The King James version, which dropped six or seven of the Old Testament Books was written over a thousand years later.

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Catholic AnswerThe New Testament was written in the first century, the canon of Scripture was closed with the death of the last Apostle. The canon of Scripture, like most other official Church decisions was not defined until there were objections or different viewpoints. So the Church at the Councils of Hippo and Carthage in the fourth century gave us lists of what constitutes the Scripture's canon. The Decree of Pope Damasus at the Council of Rome in 382 A.D. "Likewise it has been said: Now indeed we must treat of the divine Scriptures, which the universal Catholic Church accepts and what she out to shun." The list of books included in the canon was reiterated by the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century.

The Authorized Version (more popularly know as the King James Version) was ordered by King James 1st of England. "Taking as their basis the Bishops' Bible, a committee of 47 revisers whose names are not know produced what is known as the "Authorized Version" in 1611. In 1881 a new revised version was published, correcting some 5,000 mistakes in the Authorized Version." It has been subsequently revised.

So, The Bible, as used by the Catholic Church was in use by the beginning of the fourth century. The King James Version was published in the seventeenth century, so approximately 1,500 years after the "Catholic version", give or take a century. For an excellent history of the Bible containing the history of when it was written and how it was put together, please get Why Catholic Bibles Are Bigger by Gary Michuta.

Answer:

I have a chart showing the history of the Bible. There are two distinct history lines.

(see link below)

Additional Comments:

The Catholic version would be the oldest complete one by at least 1,000 years.

Assuming by 'Bible' you mean the entire work - OT and NT - then there was an evolutionary process that naturally occurred over time before the 'final' version in use today came about.

There is no clear and definite dating when the final list of writings of 'authoritative' Scripture was made but some tradition holds that the Old Testament or Covenant was done in stages with the Law about 400 BC, the Prophets about 200 BC and the Writings about 100 AD. In any event, it is easily shown that the Law of God was around from Genesis and was passed onto succeeding generations via tradition by word of mouth - even to this day in some places. Many point to 1446 BC as the date for which God gave Moses His Law on tablets and the first five books of the Bible were considered codified by Moses.

The New Testament or Covenant went through a similar evolution as many of the 1st Century writings, particularly Paul's were already completed and were being circulated in the late 1st Century AD. The first inclusive 'list' of NT writings however, came out in 367 AD via Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria. There were different 'canons' like the Eastern v. Western ones and subsequently that of Luther's. Most canons were closed (no more changes) between 1546 at the Council of Trent to 1672 and the Synod of Jerusalem for the Greek Orthodox (with others in between) and hence, our modern Bible.

Note: Because translations from original languages are not perfect, revisions to prior translations will always occur as new evidence presents itself. However, the Bible is perhaps the most consistent books translated over the millennia as the recent Dead Sea Scrolls attest to.