Biblical History Part 1: 1800-587 B.C.

Here is a brief overview of the story behind the Bible's creation. To understand the history of the Bible, you have to go back to the time of Abraham (about 1800 B.C.) when the Hebrew peoples used oral tradition. The tribes of the time did not have a written language and so passed on the oldest stories by mouth. Parents would verbally (orally) hand down (the Latin word traditio) the stories of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, the Tower of Babel, Noah's Ark, and so on. Bibles did not exist then and there was no parchment, either. It was all told by word of mouth.

Moses appeared on the scene around the year 1250 B.C. and led the Hebrews out of slavery under the Egyptians into the Promised Land. The era of Moses marked the beginning of Hebrew writing; Moses had been raised in the Pharaoh's court, and thus had learned to read and write. But the vast majority of revelation was still passed on via oral tradition, since most Hebrews remained illiterate. According to pious tradition, Moses wrote the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (which Christians call the Old Testament). These books were Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. There's no way to prove who the true writer was, however. Pious tradition is belief without any documented proof, and is different from Sacred Tradition, which is considered revealed, accurate, and true.

There are no more substantial writings until about 950 B.C. in the reign of King Solomon. After Solomon's death, the Hebrew Kingdom is divided into northern (Israel) and southern (Judah) kingdoms. The Assyrians conquered Israel in 721 B.C. and began the first diaspora, or scattering of the Jews so they wouldn't live in one area. The Babylonians conquered Judah in 587 B.C. and also scattered the locals so they were no longer an effective political force.