There simply are not many texts available today that were written before 500 B.C. which still exist in their entirety--even less which have been preserved in the original form.

Even the Epic of Gilgamesh--perhaps the best known ancient text, dating to 2150-2000 BC--exists in both the Sumerian and Akkadian versions and is missing sections.

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Much of this loss of our ancient literature is, naturally, due to the corrosion or destruction of the materials on which they were preserved--such as stone stella, clay tablets, ostraca, papyrus, copper sheets, etc... Another reason for their disappearance is the disastrous event of the destruction of the Library of Alexandria in Egypt when it is believed that approximately 40,000 ancient books and texts were either burned or lost within the first several centuries A.D., though there is disagreement as to the culpable party.

Amazingly, the Bible, which dates from as early as 2,000 B.C. to about the first century A.D., exists not only in its entirety, but in a very well-preserved form, with its original language, format and wording, despite many decided efforts to destroy it.

Here are just a few interesting facts about the miraculous survival of the Bible:

1. Late 7th Century B.C.--King Johioakim of Judah threw the scoll of Jeremiah's prophecy into the fire; however, God simply had his prophet write the same words again with additional material (Jeremiah 36:21-32).

2. 200 A.D.--During the persecution of the Jews under Antiochus Epiphanes, the Pentateuch (which are the first five Books) was torn up and burned. "...anyone found possessing the Book of the Covenant was condemned to death by the decree of the King." (I Maccabees 1:56-57)

3. Early 4th century A.D.--Diocletian attempted to rid the Roman Empire of the Bible, only to have it reinstated by Constantine a few years later.

4. 19th century--The government of Korea outlawed and tried to keep the Bible out of the land... of course, that failed, as evidenced by the Church's presence there today.

5. The Soviet Union also tried to outlaw the Bible; now it is wide open to the Word and is flourishing.

6. Mid-20th century--A patient in an American hospital in Turkey was given a Bible. When dismissed from the hospital, he took the Bible back to his hometown in Turkey and proudly showed it to his friends. A muslim teacher snatched it from him, tore out its pages and threw them into the street. The young man was afraid to pick them up. A passing grocer, however, did. The grocer took and used the pages for wrapping paper. Before long, they were scattered all over the town. His customers read the pages and returned to him for more. In a few days the entire Bible was distributed to interested readers. When a Bible salesman came to town, he was surprised to find a hundred people eager to purchase the Word of God!

7. The Church itself, thinking it was doing the right thing, attempted to keep the Bible out of the hands of "ordinary people".

a. Jerome (405 A.D.) completed his translation of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin so the ordinary people could read it. He was condemned by the bishop and accused of tampering with God's word. Still, his Latin version became the Bible of Europe.

b. John Wycliffe (1320) sought to give the English people a Bible they could read, but the Church fought him severely. The Archbishop described him as "that Pestilent wretch, John Wycliffe, the son of the old Serpent, forerunner of the anti-Christ who has completed his inequity by inventing a new translation of the scriptures." He was eventually hunted down and burned at the stake. Those who possessed copies of the Wycliffe Bible were also hunted down and burned at the stake with the scriptures hung about their necks.... but despite all of this, the English Bible spread like wildfire throughout Europe.

Excerpt from S. E. Thomas 2008 ​​​