The Bible -An Overview
Introduction
The Bible is actually a collection of 66 books of various genres, written in three different languages, by 40 God-inspired authors, over a period of approximately 1,500 years. Together, they give us an understanding of God, of mankind, and of God’s past, present, and future work. As noted already, each author was inspired by God as to what they should write. Thus, the Bible is The Word of God.
Old Testament: The Bible is divided into two major sections. The first section of the Bible is called the Old Testament. The writings in this section were all originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic, between approximately 1446 BC and 400 BC, thus written before the time of Christ’s life on earth. It was 400 years after the completion of the Old Testament when Christ was born.
New Testament: The second section of the Bible is called the New Testament. The books in this section, originally written in Greek and Aramaic, were written between approximately 49 AD and 96 AD, all after the time of Christ’s ministry on earth.
The Old Testament
The Old Testament, originally written mainly in Hebrew, but with some portions written in Aramaic (a closely related language), contains 39 books which are grouped into five major categories:
Pentateuch: This is the title for the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The Jews also call the Pentateuch the Torah. These five books, attributed to Moses, cover: God’s creation, destruction of the world by the flood (except Noah, his family, and the animals on the Ark), the lives of Abraham and his offspring, the life of Moses, the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, their wondering in the dessert, and God’s giving of His laws and instructions on how the people should live and worship Him.
History Books: These twelve books (by various authors) recount various historical events in the history of the Israelites. These books are: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.
Poetry and Wisdom: These five books (by various authors) include proverbs, hymns, dramatic accounts and poems. These books are: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs (also called Song of Solomon).
Major Prophets: These books talk about various people and the messages that God revealed to them in order that they would communicate these messages to the people of Israel. (Note: The distinction of Major versus Minor Prophets does not reflect the importance of their messages, but rather the length of the book that bears their name.) The books of the Major Prophets are: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations (not the name of a prophet; this book may have been written by Jeremiah), Ezekiel, and Daniel.
Minor Prophets: As noted above, these books talk about various people and the messages that God revealed to them in order that they would communicate these messages to the people of Israel. The books of the Minor Prophets, named after their authors, are: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
The New Testament
A period of approximately 400 years of “silence”, i.e., no messages from God, followed the writings of the Old Testament. This is referred to as the Inter-Testamental Period. This silence was broken with the coming of Jesus Christ. God was again speaking directly to people! The New Testament was written after the time of Christ’s earthly life, and it talks about His birth, life, teachings, ministry, death and resurrection. It also addresses the beginning of the Christian church and includes God’s instructions on how to live, warnings to heed, guidance, and encouragement. In addition, it gives further understanding of the previous, Old Covenant (before Christ) teaching, and declares the New Covenant (after Christ) provisions and teaching. It also foretells events of the future, including Christ’s return, the final judgment of the peoples of the earth, Christ’s future 1000-year reign on earth, and eternity.
The New Testament was originally written primarily in Greek (the common language of the Eastern Mediterranean at that time, which thus could be understood by many people), with some parts written in Aramaic (the language most likely spoken by Jesus and those around Him), depending on the author and audience of each section. The New Testament is divided into five major categories.
New Testament Major Categories
The Gospels: The first four books of the New Testament are the four Gospels. The word “gospel” means “good news”. Thus, these four books talk about the good news of Jesus Christ. Collectively, they describe His birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection from the dead. They are written by four different authors. Two of the gospels were written by two of Jesus’ twelve apostles, Matthew and John. Thus, they were eyewitnesses to what Jesus said and did. The other two gospels were written by disciples who knew well of Christ’s work and life. Luke was a physician who accompanied Paul on his missionary journeys, and Mark (a.k.a., John Mark) was a young believer who accompanied Paul and Barnabas on their missionary journeys. The four Gospels are: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Acts: This book was written by Luke, the physician who accompanied the Apostle Paul during much of Paul’s ministry. (Luke also wrote the Gospel of Luke.) The book of Acts records the beginning of the Christian church. (Note: The word “church” does not refer to a building, but rather to all the people who have true faith in Jesus Christ.) The book of Acts begins with God sending His Holy Spirit to indwell His people, and then talks about the spreading of the Gospel to Judea and Samaria. It also talks about Paul (a.k.a. Saul), coming to faith in Christ, and describes how he and other believers continued spreading the news of Christ, to both Jews and non-Jews (Gentiles), in other places in the Roman Empire.
Paul’s Epistles (Letters): These thirteen books are letters written by the Apostle Paul to various churches (groups of believers in different cities in the Roman Empire) or to various individuals. Paul was a highly educated Jew and had a thorough knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures. Prior to his conversion to faith in Christ, he had been a Pharisee (an extremely devout, legalistic sect of the Jews), and an avid persecutor of Christians. After his conversion, Paul eventually became a missionary and an extremely important leader/teacher in the early Christian Church. Paul’s Epistles, named for the audiences that were to receive them, are: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.
General Epistles (Letters): These eight books are letters written by other apostles and leaders in the early church, and sent to various individuals or groups. They contain guidance and encouragement to believers, and warnings about false teachings, which had already infiltrated the churches. The General Epistles are: Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude.
Revelation: This is the final book in the Bible, dated approximately AD 90 – to AD 96. It was written by the Apostle John to seven Churches in Asia Minor (current day Turkey). It is a description of a vision given to the Apostle John by Jesus Christ, while John was a prisoner on the island of Patmos. It corrects and encourages believers, and reveals future events, including Christ’s return, the final judgment of the peoples of the earth, Christ’s future 1000-year reign on earth, and the future new heaven and new earth. It is a book of encouragement for believers to persevere, and warnings for unbelievers to turn to God while He continues to graciously provide them opportunity to do so. This book clearly shows that God is in control and that His desire is for all people to fulfill the reason they were created in the first place: To love and worship God.
Revelation 22:18-19: I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share of the tree of life and the holy city, which are written about in this book.
The Bible that we have today is complete. It contains all that God wants us to know about Himself, His completed plans, and His plans for the future; thus, the Bible should be the ultimate source of our pursuit to know God.
Kimberly Kubichek 2024