Our Bible

The Name

The English word Bible comes to us by way of French, originating with the Latin biblia and the Greek biblios. It simply means the book. Though perhaps only anecdotal, the origin of this title is interesting. David Ewert, in his book, From Ancient Tablets to Modern Translations, writes,

Among the writing materials available in biblical times, the most common was papyrus, which was made from the papyrus plant. This reed grew in the shallow lakes and rivers of Egypt and Syria. Large shipments of papyrus were sent through the Syrian port of Byblos. It is surmised that the Greek word for books (biblos) comes from the name of this port.

This word, modest and unassuming, would later be used by Christians of the second century to designate their sacred writings.

Its Structure

Our present-day Bible, composed of sixty-six books, is divided into two sections: the Old Testament, of which there are thirty-nine books, and the New Testament, of which there are twenty-seven.

The Old Testament books are commonly divided into four categories; the New Testament books, likewise. The Old Testament has the following fourfold division: the books of law of which there are five, commonly known as the Pentateuch; the books of poetry of which there are six (alternately described as the Psalms); the books of history of which there are twelve; and finally, the books of prophecy of which there are sixteen. The New Testament, similarly, has its own fourfold division: the Gospels, History (Acts), the Epistles, and Prophecy (Revelation).

Books of the Old Testament

The Law (Pentateuch)—5 Books Poetry—6 books
1. Genesis
2. Exodus
3. Leviticus
4. Numbers
5. Deuteronomy 		1. Job
2. Psalms
3. Proverbs
4. Ecclesiastes
5. Song of Solomon
6. Lamentations
History—12 books Prophets—16 books
1. Joshua
2. Judges
3. Ruth
4. I Samuel
5. II Samuel
6. I Kings
7. II Kings
8. I Chronicles
9. II Chronicles
10. Ezra
11. Nehemiah
12. Esther 		A. Major
1. Isaiah
2. Jeremiah
3. Ezekiel
4. Daniel
B. Minor
1. Hosea
2.Joel
3. Amos
4. Obadiah
5. Jonah
6. Micah
7. Nahum
8. Habakkuk
9. Zephaniah
10. Haggai
11. Zechariah
12. Malachi

Books of the New Testament

Gospels History
1. Matthew
2. Mark
3. Luke
4. John 		1. Acts of the Apostles
Epistles
1. Romans
2. 1 Corinthians
3. 2 Corinthians
4. Galatians
5. Ephesians
6. Philippians
7. Colossians
8. 1 Thessalonians
9. 2 Thessalonians
10. 1 Timothy
11. 2 Timothy 		12. Titus
13. Philemon
14. Hebrews
15. James
16. 1 Peter
17. 2 Peter
18. 1 John
19. 2 John
20. 3 John
21. Jude
Prophesy
1. Revelation

While the fourfold division is uniformly standard in all versions of the New Testament, there is another categorization employed in the Hebrew Bible, the version of the Old Testament used by much of the Jewish community. The Hebrew Bible has a threefold division: the Law (Torah), the Prophets (Nebhiim), and the Writings (Kethubhim). This threefold categorization was very likely recognized by the Lord Jesus (Luke 24:44).

The Hebrew Old Testament Arrangemet

The Law (Torah) The Prophets (Nebhiim) The Writings (Kethubhim)
1. Genesis
2. Exodus
3. Leviticus
4. Numbers
5. Deuteronomy 		A. Former Prophets
1. Joshua
2. Judges
3. Samuel
4. Kings
B. Latter Prophets
1. Isaiah
2. Jeremiah
3. Ezekiel
4. The Twelve 		A. poetical Books
1. Psalms
2. Proverbs
3. Job
B. Five Rolls (Megilloth)
1. Song of Songs
2. Ruth
3. Lamentations
4. Esther
5. Ecclesiates
C. Historical Books
1. Daniel
2. Ezra
3. Nehemiah
3. Chronicles

Languages

The Bible was composed in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.

Hebrew—Nearly the entire body of the Old Testament was composed in Hebrew; there are a few portions which were written in Aramaic.

Aramaic—Only four isolated portions of the Old Testament come to us in Aramaic: Jeremiah 10:11, Daniel 2:4—7:28, Ezra 4:8—6:18, and Ezra—7:12-26.

Interestingly, each of these four portions relates to the Aramaic people, that is, the Babylonians. In addition to these, there are only a few New Testament passages spoken by the Lord Jesus that were recorded in Aramaic: “Talitha koum,” and “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani.”

Greek—The entire New Testament was written in Greek, with the exception of the passages cited above. The dialect employed was not classical Greek but Koine Greek.

Authors, Places, and Times

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