BIBLE. The English word "Bible" is derived through Mediaeval Latin from the Greek Ta 1343X1a, which simply means "the books." It is the name given to the collection of books which Christian people regard as sacred and in which they find the record of the revelation that lies at the basis of their faith.
This article will deal with the collection as a whole. It will fall into two main sections, Old Testament and New Testament, and each section will treat of such topics as the Canon, Texts and Versions, Textual Criticism, Higher and Historical Criticism, and Chronology. But such an article may suitably be prefaced by some account of the conceptions which men in the past have formed of these books, and by some consideration of the char acteristics which from age to age have impelled men to regard them as sacred or which have been attributed to them because they were sacred. For the special problems presented by the individual books of the Bible and for a discussion of the historical origin and nature of each, the relevant separate articles should be consulted. For the English versions of the Bible, see BIBLE,