Translation, production, and distribution of the Bible

Abstract

Abstract ‘Translation, production, and distribution of the Bible’ examines the translation, production, and distribution of the Bible. For centuries, the religious texts were preserved in Hebrew on scrolls. By the 4th century ce, the whole of the Bible would be found in codex form. Later, the 15th century saw the growth of lay movements based on private prayer and bible reading. It also saw the development of printing using movable type, which made possible the production of cheaper bibles. This prepared the way for the Protestant Reformation with its powerful desire to make the Bible available to all. New methods of producing cheap bibles were developed in the 19th century and led to a remarkably dynamic process of distributing bibles across the world. In this the Bible societies played a vital role.