The Structure of the Bible

The Structure of the Bible

Foundations of Our Faith

The Bible ---Guide Three

Phil Benedict

Tahlequah, Oklahoma

United Indian Mission

Greeley, Colorado

These guides are designed to help you to study, to learn, to understand, and to live what God teaches us in his Word, the Bible. God gave us the Bible to teach us how to know and to walk with Him. We can enjoy God’s blessings forever, rather than experiencing his judgement. His Word is eternally true. Take time to carefully read and think about the Scriptures used in this guide. Meditate on them and the truths they teach. Learn to love God and his Word. Regularly ask God for a right understanding of Scriptural truths and then make them part of you. Absorb them. If you go over the material too quickly without much thought, it will have little or no lasting impact on your life. Commit yourself to making Biblical truths the foundation of your life and to putting them into practice every day of your life.

It is important to have at least a basic idea of the structure of the Bible. It will probably be helpful to open your Bible to the table of contents as you answer many of the following questions.

The Bible is divided into two major divisions---the Old Testament and the New Testament. The word "testament" means covenant. The "Old Testament" or the "Old Covenant" refers to a period of time before Christ was born when the Jews were expected to keep the Jewish law as it was given in the first five books of the Bible. The "New Testament" or the "New Covenant" refers to the period of time after the birth of Christ which is often identified as the "age of grace" or the "church age". It is important to note, however, that God has exercised his grace since the creation of man, not just in the New Testament.

The Bible has two major divisions, the ________ ____________________and the ___________ _______________________.

The word "testament" means __________________________.

When has God exercised grace?

How many books are in the Old Testament? ________________

How many books are in the New Testament?_____________________

The first book of the Bible is Genesis. "Genesis" means beginnings. Major events recorded in Genesis are the creation of the universe, the creation of earth, the creation of all life, and the creation of man. It also records man’s fall into sin, the flood, the Tower of Babel, the beginning of the Jewish nation, and the lives of the patriarchs---Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.

The word "genesis" means _________________________.

Genesis begins with God’s revealing to us the origin of ________________________________.

The book of Genesis probably covers about 2300 years or more. The first five books of the

Old Testament are called the books of the law. They are a combination of history and law. The first five books are _______________________, ___________________________, _____________________, ____________________________, and_______________________.

The next twelve books are a history of the Jews. They cover about 1000 years.

The 12 books of history are: __________________, ______________________, ________________________, _________________________, ________________________, __________________________, ___________________________, ____________________, _______________________________, _______________________, ___________________,

and________________________.

The historical books cover the conquering of Canaan, the time of the judges, the time of the kings, the Babylonian captivity and the return of the Jews to their own land. These books are the framework on which all the rest of the books of the Old Testament rest. Historically they cover right up to the time that the Old Testament ends.

The next five books are called books of poetry. These books are:_____________, ____________, _______________, ___________________,and _________________________.

Job was probably written by Job. The events that took place in Job occurred early in the historical period of time covered by Genesis. It may have been the first book of the Bible written.

Psalms is a collection of ancient hymns of praise and worship written primarily by King David. They were widely used in Jewish worship and have been cherished by people in every age.

Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon were all written by King David’s son, Solomon.

The prophets were Godly men that God used to give his Word to the nations. They "spoke forth" the Word of God as God revealed his message to them. Not all prophets wrote what they spoke. And there were some who wrote, whose writings were not part of Scripture. All of the prophets lived in the period of time covered by the historical books.

The last seventeen books of the Old Testament were written by prophets. They are:

___________________, ______________________________, _________________________,

____________________, ________________________________, ______________________,

_______________________, ___________________________, _______________________,

_______________________, _________________________, __________________________,

_________________________, ______________________________,_____________________,

_______________________, and ______________________________.

These seventeen books are often broken down into two groups—the major prophets and the minor prophets. The only reason the last group is called "minor" prophets is because the books are shorter than the books written by the "major" prophets. The first five books are the major prophets. These five books are:____________________, ___________________________, ______________________, ______________________,and ____________________________.

The last 12 books written by prophets are the minor prophets. These twelve books are:

___________________, ____________________________, ________________________,

_____________________, _________________________, _________________________,

___________________, ________________________, ____________________________,

________________________, ______________________, and_________________________.

The Old and New Testaments are separated by a period of four hundred years. These are sometimes called the "four hundred silent years" because no part of the Bible was written in that period of time. While there are no recorded Bible events written about in this period of time, there was plenty going on in non-biblical, or secular, history. During much of this time, Syria and Egypt were battling for prominence. Since Israel was in between these countries, their land was often devastated by armies that fought or passed through there. Some of the most significant historical events that affected the Jews were:

1. Alexander the Great established Greek rule in Palestine. (Israel) 333 B.C.

2. After Alexander died, Israel was ruled and fought over by the Egyptians and the Syrians. 323-198 B.C.

3. Jewish revolt under Judas Maccabees. 166 B.C.

4. Israel was ruled by descendants of Judas Maccabees. 166-63 B.C.

5. Rome conquered Jerusalem in 63 B.C.

The New Testament opens with the birth of ____________________.

The first four books cover the life of Jesus. These books are sometimes called the Gospels. These four books are: ______________, __________________, ___________________,and _____________.

The next book is a history of the early church. It is the book of ______________.

The next thirteen books are all letters written by Paul. They are sometimes called the Epistles of Paul. These thirteen books are: _________________, _____________________, ___________,

_____________________, ____________________________, _________________________,

______________________, __________________________, ___________________________,

___________________, ________________________, __________________, and _______________________.

The author of Hebrews is not known for sure.

James wrote the book of __________________.

Peter wrote the books of _________________ and ______________________________.

John wrote the books of ________________________, ___________________, and ______________.

Jude wrote the book of _____________.

John wrote the book of Revelation telling about what will happen in the___________________.

The Books of the Bible --- Authors and Date of Writing

Conservative fundamental Biblical scholars will not always agree on dates. This is especially true of the earliest Biblical writings. These dates give close approximations rather than exact dates. However, it should be emphasized that they are close. We do not agree with liberal Bible scholars who deny the inspiration of Scripture and assign much later dates to much of the Bible. (Examples: Daniel and the four Gospels)

Old Testament

BOOK APPROXIMATE WRITING DATE AUTHOR

Genesis 1445-1405 B.C. Moses

Exodus 1445-1405 B.C. Moses

Leviticus 1445-1405 B.C. Moses

Numbers 1445-1405 B.C. Moses

Deuteronomy 1445-1405 B.C. Moses

Moses was a great man and national leader whom God used to deliver his people out of slavery in Egypt. Under Moses they were established as an independent nation and prepared for entry into the promised land (Canaan which is present day Israel).

Joshua 1405-1385 B.C. Joshua

Joshua was initially an assistant to Moses. After the death of Moses, Joshua himself became a great leader and led them into the promised land and in the conquering of the land.

Judges Approx. 1043 B.C. Samuel

Ruth 1030-1010 B.C. Samuel?

Samuel was a priest and Judge who led the nation in the later period of time covered by the book of Judges. He anointed both Saul and David, the first and second kings of Israel.

I Samuel 931-722 B.C. Anonymous

II Samuel 931-722 B.C. Anonymous

I Kings 561-538 B.C. Anonymous

II Kings 561-538 B.C. Anonymous

I Chronicles 450-430 B.C. Ezra?

II Chronicles 450-430 B.C. Ezra?

Ezra 457-444 B.C. Ezra

Nehemiah 424-400 B.C. Ezra

Ezra was a priest who returned to Israel from captivity in Babylon. He was a Godly man and national leader. Jewish tradition credits Ezra with the final assembly of the

Old Testament books.

Esther 450-333 B.C. Anonymous

Job Unknown Anonymous

Psalms 1410-450 B.C. David & others

David was the second and greatest king of Israel. He was a great king, military leader, musician, and poet. The Psalms are some of the greatest writings of all time.

Proverbs 971-686 B.C. Primarily Solomon

Ecclesiastes 940-931 B.C. Solomon

Song of Solomon 971-965 B.C. Solomon

Solomon was the third king of Israel. As a young king, he asked for and received wisdom from God. However, as time passed, he allowed his wives and his wealth to turn his heart away from God.

Isaiah 700-681 B.C. Isaiah

Isaiah was a prophet and talented writer.

Jeremiah 586-570 B.C. Jeremiah

Lamentations Approx. 586 B.C. Jeremiah

Jeremiah was a prophet who warned the people of the coming destruction of Jerusalem and exile and captivity of the Jews in Babylon. He faithfully served for many years even though few, if any, ever listened to what he said.

Ezekiel 590-570 B.C. Ezekiel

Ezekiel was captured in his native land and carried into captivity in Babylon where he ministered to his fellow Jews who were also captives. He was a prophet, priest and a powerful preacher.

Daniel 536-530 B.C. Daniel

Daniel, as a teenager, was captured and taken to Babylon. He was true to God and rose to prominence in both the Babylonian and Medo-Persian empires.

Hosea 750-710 B.C. Hosea

Hosea was a prophet who lived in the northern kingdom. He was an educated man who had a long ministry, serving during the reigns of six different kings.

Joel 835-796 B.C. Joel

Amos Approx.750 B.C. Amos

Amos was a shepherd. He was not educated in schools of the prophets or priests; yet God called him to preach, primarily to the northern kingdom of Israel.

Obadiah 850-840 B.C. Obahiah

Jonah Approx. 775 B.C. Jonah

Micah 735-710 B.C. Micah

Nahum Approx. 650 B.C. Nahum

Habakkuk 615-605 B.C. Habakkuk

Zephaniah 635-625 B.C. Zephaniah

Haggai Approx. 520 B.C. Haggai

Little is known about the prophets Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, and Malachi. We should not get the idea that they are not important books of the Bible because not much is known about the author. They are important books with important messages. We need to listen to what God gave these men to speak and write.

Zachariah 480-470 B.C. Zachariah

Zachariah was a priest and prophet born in Babylon who returned to Israel and served while Zerubbabel was governor of Israel.

Malachi 433-424 B.C. Malachi

Malachi was the last of the Old Testament prophets, serving after the Babylonian captivity.

New Testament

Matthew A.D. 50-60 Matthew

Matthew was one of the twelve disciples. Matthew was with Christ in his public ministry. Before becoming a disciple, Matthew was a tax collector.

Mark A.D. 50-60 Mark

Mark was a cousin of Barnabas and a close associate of Peter. On Mark’s first ministry he seemed to fail; however, he matured and became a profitable servant and writer of Scripture.

Luke A.D. 60-61 Luke

Luke was a physician and a close associate of Paul. He was apparently the only gentile author of Scripture.

John A.D. 80-90 John

John was one of the twelve disciples and a close friend of our Lord Jesus Christ. Before becoming a disciple, he was a fisherman by trade. John also wrote the books of

1, 2, and 3 John and Revelation. He was known for his love for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Acts A.D. 62 Luke

Written by Luke. (see Luke)

Romans A.D. 56 Paul

I Corinthians A.D. 55 Paul

II Corinthians A.D. 55-56 Paul

Galatians A.D. 49-50 Paul

Ephesians A.D. 60-62 Paul

Philippians A.D. 60-62 Paul

Colossians A.D. 60-62 Paul

I Thessalonians A.D. 51 Paul

II Thessalonians A.D. 51-52 Paul

I Timothy A.D. 62-64 Paul

II Timothy A.D. 66-67 Paul

Titus A.D. 62-64 Paul

Philemon A.D. 60-62 Paul

The apostle Paul wrote the thirteen books listed above. Paul was a very well educated Jew who started out hating and persecuting the followers of Jesus. After his conversion and a long period of preparation, Paul became the leading missionary of the early church. Under the direction of the Spirit of God, the Gospel was spread far and wide. Paul was a deeply loving man. He loved God and he loved those he ministered to. He was one of the greatest men who has ever lived.

Hebrews A.D. 67-69 Unknown

The author of Hebrews is unknown. Many are convinced it is Paul, but others are just as convinced that it is not Paul. Hebrews is a great part of the inspired Bible, but we will never know its author until we get to ask somebody in heaven.

James A.D. 44-49 James

The author of James was James, the half-brother of Christ. James at first rejected Jesus, but later believed and became a leader in the early church.

I Peter A.D. 64-65 Peter

II Peter A.D. 67-68 Peter

I and II Peter were written by the disciple Peter, who was one of the earliest followers of Jesus. Peter was clearly picked by Jesus as the leader of the disciples, and was the leader of the early church. He was an impetuous fisherman who most likely would not have been chosen by men to be a leader. After many mistakes and failures, he became a bold preacher and gifted leader.

I John A.D. 90-95 John

II John A.D. 90-95 John

III John A.D. 90-95 John

The author of I, II, and III John is the apostle John. See the Gospel of John for information about John.

Jude A.D. 68-70 Jude

Jude was another half-brother of Jesus. Like James, he at first rejected Jesus, but later came to faith in Him.

Revelation A.D. 94-96 John

Revelation was written by the apostle John. It is a revelation of Jesus Christ. Revelation, which deals with the future, was the last book of the Bible written. When it was written, John was an old man who had been banished by Roman officials to Patmos, a small island in the Aegean Sea. John was the last living apostle and he remained faithful to the end.

Praise the Lord for his Word!!!

October, 2001