The Bible is a revelation of GOD’s Word and man, consisting of sixty-six books bound together and forming one book. Twenty-two of the books of the Bible are mainly historical, twenty-one are largely books of prophecy, twenty-one are in the form of letters, and two are primarily poetic.
Even though written by at least thirty-six different authors who were kings, farmers, lawyers, generals, fishermen, ministers and priest, a tax collector, a doctor, some rich and some poor, stretching over a period of 1,600 years, the Bible is one book because GOD was its original author.
THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
THE OLD TESTAMENT
- Has 17 Historical, 5 Poetical, and 17 Prophetic books in it.
- The 17 Historical Books are: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.
- The 5 Poetical Books are: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon,
- The 17 Prophetic Books are: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah,Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
THE NEW TESTAMENT
- Has 4 Gospels, Acts, 21 Epistles, and Revelation in it.
- The 4 Gospels are: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
- The 21 Epistles are: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude.
Manuscripts
More manuscripts exist for the New Testament than for any other of antiquity-5000 ancient Greek manuscripts, 24,000 in all including other languages. The multiplicity of manuscripts allows for a tremendous research base by which we can test the texts against each other and identify what the originals said.
The manuscripts of the New Testament are closer in age to the originals than are any other document of antiquity. All of the originals were written within the time of the contemporaries (eyewitnesses), in the first century AD, and we currently have parts of manuscript as old as 125 AD. Whole book copies surface by 200 AD, and the complete New Testament can be found dating back to 250 AD. Having all the books of the New Testament initially written within the times of eyewitnesses means that they did not have time to devolve into myth and folklore. Plus their truth claims were held accountable by members of the Church who, as personal witnesses to the events, could check the facts.
Accuracy
The New Testament documents are more accurate than any other of antiquity. John R. Robinson in Honest to God reports that the New Testament documents are 99.9% accurate (most accurate of any complete antique book). Bruce Metzger, an expert in the Greek New Testament, suggests a more modest 99.5%.
THE TORAH
Written Torah is often referred to as the Tanakh, which is an acrostic of Torah, Nevi’im and Ketuvim. The word “Torah” is a tricky one, because it can mean different things in different contexts. In its most limited sense, “Torah” refers to the Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. But the word “torah” can also be used to refer to the entire Jewish bible (the body of scripture known to non-Jews as the Old Testament and to Jews as the Tanakh or Written Torah), or in its broadest sense, to the whole body of Jewish law and teachings.
Written Torah
To Jews, there is no “Old Testament.” The books that Christians call the New Testament are not part of Jewish scripture. The so-called Old Testament is known to us as Written Torah or the Tanakh.
This is a list of the books of Written Torah, in the order in which they appear in Jewish translations, with the Hebrew name of the book, a translation of the Hebrew name (where it is not the same as the English name), and English names of the books (where it is not the same as the Hebrew name). The Hebrew names of the first five books are derived from the first few words of the book. The text of each book is more or less the same in Jewish translations as what you see in Christian bibles, although there are some occasional, slight differences in the numbering of verses and there are some significant differences in the translations.
TORAH (The Law):
- Bereishith (In the beginning…) (Genesis)
- Shemoth (The names…) (Exodus)
- Vayiqra (And He called…) (Leviticus)
- Bamidbar (In the wilderness…) (Numbers)
- Devarim (The words…) (Deuteronomy)
NEVI’IM (The Prophets):
- Yehoshua (Joshua)
- Shoftim (Judges)
- Shmuel (I &II Samuel)
- Melakhim (I & II Kings)
- Yeshayah (Isaiah)
- Yirmyah (Jeremiah)
- Yechezqel (Ezekiel)
- The Twelve (treated as one book)
- Hoshea (Hosea)
* Yoel (Joel)
* Amos
* Ovadyah (Obadiah)
* Yonah (Jonah)
* Mikhah (Micah)
* Nachum
* Chavaqquq (Habbakkuk)
* Tzefanyah (Zephaniah)
* Chaggai
* Zekharyah (Zechariah)
* Malakhi
KETHUVIM (The Writings):
- Tehillim (Psalms)
- Mishlei (Proverbs)
- Iyov (Job)
- Shir Ha-Shirim (Song of Songs)
- Ruth
- Eikhah (Lamentations)
- Qoheleth (the author’s name) (Ecclesiastes)
- Esther
- Daniel
- Ezra & Nechemyah (Nehemiah) (treated as one book)
- Divrei Ha-Yamim (The words of the days) (Chronicles)
MISCELLANEOUS FACTS
- The Bible Contains 1189 Chapters.
- The Old Testament has 929 chapters and the New Testament has 260 chapters.
- The longest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 119, and the shortest is Psalm 117.
- The longest verse is Esther 8:9, and the shortest is John 11:35.
The Bible Was Written:
- over a 1500 year span (from 1400 B.C to A.D. 100)
- over 40 generations
- over 40 authors from many walks of life (i.e. – kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, poets, statesmen, scholars)
- in different places (i.e. – wilderness, dungeon, palaces)
- at different times (i.e. – war, peace)
- in different moods (i.e. – heights of joy, depths of despair)
- on three continents (Asia, Africa, and Europe)
- in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek)
Various passages which speak of Jesus Christ as God:
John 1:1, John 20:28, Romans 9:5, Philippians 2:11, and Colossians 1:16.
Various passages which speak of Jesus Christ’s humanity:
John 1:14, Luke 2:7, Luke 2:40, Luke 8:23, John 4:6 and Hebrews 4:15.
Types of Biblical Prayers:
- Confession (Psalm 51; Luke 18:10-24)
- Praise (1 Chronicles 29:10-13; Luke 1:46-55)
- Thanksgiving (Psalm 105:1-7; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
- Petition (Genesis 24:12-14; Acts 1:24-26)
- Intercession (Exodus 32:11-13; Philippians 1:9-11)
- Commitment (1 Kings 8:56-61; Acts 4:24-30)
- Forgiveness (Daniel 9:4-19; Acts 7:60)
- Confidence (Psalm 23; Luke 2:29-32)
- Benediction (Numbers 6:24-26; Jude 24)
How To Study The Bible:
Before you can study and/or understand the Bible you must:
A – Begin by praying and asking God to open your spiritual understanding.
B – Set aside what you think you already know about God and the Bible. Humble yourself to the Lord.
C – Renew/obtain a relationship with Christ.
To understand God’s Word we must believe and have faith in Jesus Christ. When you have difficulty understanding the Bible, ask God to help you and give you understanding.
