How We Got the Bible

Lesson #·4--The Birth of the Bible (Part 2)

III. Our Bible today is divided into two major sections, the Old and New Testaments. The Greek word which translators have rendered as "testament" may be better understood as a contract, will, or covenant. This concept of two covenants is solidly supported by scripture (2 Cor. 3:7-11; Heb. 9:15). As Christians we understand that the New Covenant has displaced the Old Covenant (Gal. 5:3-4).

    A. There are a total of 66 books  in our Bibles. The Old Testament contains 39, and the New Testament has 27. About 40 people were engaged in writing the Bible. Moses was the first and John the last. About 1500 years.were consumed in writing the Bible.

    B. There are three dispensations recognized in the Bible:

            1.) The Patriarchal--from Adam to Moses

            2.)The Jewish or Mosaic-from Moses to the death of Christ

           3.) The Christian--from Pentecost to the end of the world

    C. The Old Testament may be subdivided into four sections:

        -The Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy);
        -Books of History (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, I and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther);
        -Books of Poetry (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon)
        - Books of Prophecy (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hoses, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum,             Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi).

    D. The New Testament may also be subdivided into four sections:

    E. The Bible was divided into chapters by Hugo in 1240. The Old Testament was divided into verses by Mordecai Nathan in 1445. The New Testament was divided into verses by Robert Steven in 1551. (Much of the above information in the above points is taken from Nicholas Pocket Bible Encyclopedia, C.R. Nichol and J.W. Denton, A.C.U. Press, I 949).

IV. The Bible was originally written in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek

    A. Most of the Old Testament is written in Hebrew, a language written from right to left. Aramaic is a kindred language to Hebrew which became the language of the common man in Palestine after the time of the exile. Aramaic passages include Ezra 4:8-6:18 and Dan.  2:4b ("O king") ;7:28.

    B. The books which comprise the New Testament were written in Greek, which was the universal language of the first century. A few Aramaic expressions remain, such as Matt. 27:46 ("Eli, Eli, lame sabachthani?) Aramaic was probably the language commonly spoken by our Lord.

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   Lesson 1 - Introduction     Lesson 2 - How Ancient Books Made  
    Lesson 3 - Birth of Bible(Pt. 1)    Lesson 5 - Text of Old Testament   
  Lesson 6 - Text of New Testament(Pt.1)   Lesson 7 - Text of New Testament(Pt.2)  
Lesson 8 - Canon of Scriptures(Pt.1)    Lesson 9 - Canon of Scriptures(Pt.2)  
  Lesson 10 - English Translation (Pt.1)  Lesson 11 - English Translation (Pt.2)    
 Lesson 12 - English Translation (Pt.3)     Lesson 13 - English Translation (Pt.4)   
 Lesson 14 - English Translation (Pt.5)       Lesson 15 - English Translation Pt.6)   
  Lesson 16 - Which Translation to Use(Pt.1)     Lesson 17 - Which Translation to Use(Pt.2)    
Lesson 18 - Which Translation to Use(Pt.3)  Lesson 19 - Which Translation to Use(Pt4)    
 Lesson 20 - Which Translation to Use (Pt. 5)    Lesson 21 - Which Translation to Use (Pt. 6)  
  Lesson 22 - Concluding Thoughts

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This page last updated: October 14, 2002