The Old Testament Scriptures were first written in Hebrew, upon scrolls, or rolls of parchment, linen, or papyrus. These were later translated into Greek, the oldest translation being known as the Septuagint, or “Version of the Seventy,” made at Alexandria, for the Alexandrian Library, by a company of seventy learned Jews, under the patronage of Ptolemy Philadelphus, [pg 014] about 285 b.c. The original order for this translation is said to have been given by Alexander the Great, who previously, upon visiting Jerusalem in 332 b.c., had learned from the prophecy of Daniel that Grecia was to overthrow the Persian kingdom. See Josephus's “Antiquities of the Jews,” book 11, chap. 8, par. 5. This was the version in common use in the time of Christ.

The New Testament was all originally written in Greek, except Matthew, which was first written in Hebrew, and later translated into Greek.

At an early date, Latin translations, both of the Septuagint and of the Greek New Testament, were made by different individuals, and the more carefully prepared Latin Vulgate of Jerome, the Bible complete, was made a.d. 383-405.