WHAT IS THE BIBLE?
The name "Bible" is derived from the Greek word biblos, meaning "book." This "Book," actually composed of sixty-six separate books, is a collection of ancient Hebrew and Christian writings, each complete in itself. The order of these sixty-six books in the Old Testament and New Testament is a logical one, giving, in general, a consecutive history of mankind-from the story of creation in the first chapter of Genesis to the close of history foretold in the book of the Revelation.
The order of the Old Testament books in the English Bible differs somewhat from the order of the books of Hebrew Scriptures. The sacred writings of the Jews were divided into three parts: (1) the Law, five books setting forth the laws that God gave through Moses; (2) the Prophets, including the four "Former Prophets," Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings, and the four "Latter Prophets," Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve (the Twelve consisting of twelve brief prophetical books contained in a single scroll, thus looked upon as a single book); and (3) the Writings, which are divided into four sections: (a) Psalms, Proverbs, Job; (b) Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther; (c) Daniel; and (d) Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles. The relative importance of the scriptural writings according to Jewish thinking is shown by this order: The Law, standing first, was considered the most important; second, the Prophets; and third, the Writings, which were truly inspired and to be treasured but were not as important as the Law and the Prophets.
In English translations of the Old Testament, the thirty-nine books may be regarded as falling into four categories: (1) History, the books from Genesis to Esther, including the Pentateuch; (2) Poetry, the books from Job to the Song of Solomon; (3) Major Prophets, the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel (with Lamentations, a brief poetical book, associated by theme and authorship to the book of Jeremiah); and (4) the Minor Prophets, the same brief prophetical books spoken of by the Jews as "The Twelve."
The word "Pentateuch," derived from the Greek, means "five books," and is used to designate the first five books of the Old Testament. This section is also called "The Law" or "The Book of Moses," following the Jewish tradition that these five books were written by Moses.
The twenty-seven New Testament books are also divided into four categories: (1) History, including the four Gospels (i.e., books proclaiming the good news) and the book of Acts; (2) Paul's Epistles, the books of Romans through Philemon; (3) the Generel Epistles, the books of Hebrews through Jude; and (4) the Apocalypse, the book of Revelation.