Books and Divisions of the Bible
By Blair Kasfeldt
Published by Blair Kasfeldt at Smashwords
Copyright 2011 Blair Kasfeldt
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Do you know the major divisions of the Bible? There are sub-divisions in Old and New Testament; knowing these divisions will help you understand your Bible.
The "Bible" means "[the] Books" from the Greek word biblia. While we often think of the Bible as one book, it is in fact a collection of books contained in one volume.
While most people know that there is a New and an Old Testament, each Testament has major sub-divisions that will assist your comprehension of the Bible and its history.
This article assumes a Protestant version of the English Bible, which does not contain the Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical, books.
Hebrew Division of the Old Testament
According to Jewish custom, the Old Testament is divided into three major sections: the Law (Torah), the Prophets (Neviim) and the Writings (Kethuvim). Often the Jewish Bible is referred to as the "Tanak," an acronym based on the Hebrew names of the division of the Old Testament).
Protestant Bibles have organized the Old Testaments differently than the Hebrew Bible. There are no additions or subtractions from the Hebrew canon (collection of books regarded as Scripture) of the Bible in our modern English translations of the Hebrew Old Testament.
The Old Testament Divisions: The Pentateuch
The first five books of the Bible, traditionally ascribed to Moses, are historically named the "Pentateuch," since the second century A.D. "Penta" is from the Greek prefix "Pente," meaning "five." So the "Pentateuch" means the "five rolls," denoting the five scrolls these books were written upon.
The five books of Moses in the Old Testament are as follows:
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
While the works of Moses are generally considered "Law," the term originates from the Hebrew word torah meaning "instruction," and delineate the civil and religious instruction given by God to the Israelites.
Highlights from the Pentateuch include:
The promise of a Savior (Gen.3:15).
The narrative of the fathers, or patriarchs, of Israel.
The captivity and exodus of Israel from Egypt.
The commissioning of Joshua as the leader of Israel.
The death of Moses before entering into the Promised Land.
The Historical Books of the Old Testament in the English Bible
The English Bible classifies the following books of the Old Testament as Historical books:
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 & 2 Samuel
1 & 2 Kings
1 & 2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Ester
These books contain the history of Israel, from the death of Moses to the captivity of Israel by the Babylonians. While these books do contain the "history" of Israel, they do not read like modern history books. The history of Israel is interpreted and written in light of their theology and understanding that God controls all acts of history.
Highlights from the historical books include:
The leadership of Joshua.
The military occupation of Canaan.
The rise of two two Israelite Kingdoms -- North and South.
The Babylonian captivity of Israel.
Poetry and Wisdom Books of the Old Testament
In the Protestant Bible, the following books are contained in the Poetry and Wisdom books of the Bible:
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
These books contain wisdom maxims, poetry, prayers and songs from the Hebrews.
Some highlights and facts from the Poetry and Wisdom books of the Bible include:
Approximately one-third of the Old Testament is in poetic form.
Solomon, considered the wisest man to live in the Bible, contributes writings in the Wisdom books.
Rhyme is not a feature of Hebrew Poetry.
Contrast of the "wise" and the "foolish" in the Wisdom books.
The Major Prophets
There are 17 prophetic books of the Old Testament which may further be divided into the Major and Minor prophets on the basis of the respective length of each book. The distinction does not denote importance or theological contribution. We know that the distinction between the Major and Minor prophets has been in place since the time of St. Augustine (354-430 A.D.).
The role of the prophet was to pronounce the Word of God. Martin Luther states that contributions of the prophets are two-fold: 1. their prophecies regarding salvation to come through the Promised Messiah and 2. the preaching of the Law and the Commandments to the people.
The activity of the prophets ranged from the 8th century B.C. to the 5th century when prophetic activity ceased. Thus, there is overlap of the activity of the prophets and the Historical books of the Old Testament.
The Bible books of the Major Prophets include:
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Facts and Highlights from the Major Prophets include:
Christians believe the "Suffering Servant" portions of Isaiah (Is.52:13-53:12) speak of Jesus Christ.
Ezekiel has a vision of the New Temple.
Daniel is the only apocalyptic book in the Old Testament.
The "Minor" Prophets
Twelve of the 17 books of the Prophets in the Bible are the so-called "Minor Prophets." In the Hebrew Bible, these Minor Prophets are styled "The Twelve" and were grouped together in the early second century B.C.
The books of the Minor Prophets, or "The Twelve," are:
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
Themes and highlights from the Minor Prophets include:
Israel's spiritual adultery;
God's faithfulness to Israel;
Jonah is swallowed by a great sea monster;
Joel and Malachi describes the Day of the Lord;
The prophet Amos was a shepherd and "fig-picker" before being called as the Lord's prophet (Amos 7:14);
Habakkuk contains the verse "...the righteous shall live by faith," moving Martin Luther and the Reformation.
To summarize, there are four major divisions in the Old Testament:
The Books of Moses, or the Pentateuch (Genesis - Deuteronomy);
The Historical Books (Joshua - Ester);
Poetry and Wisdom Books (Job - Song of Solomon);
The Prophets (Isaiah - Malachi; may be further divided into the Major and Minor Prophets).
By understanding the divisions of the Old Testament books of the Bible, you will readily understand what portions of Scripture you are reading and how they relate to the other major division of the Bible.
Did you that the New Testament has different divisions? Learn how the 27 books of the New Testament are arranged.
You may know that there is a New and Old Testament contained in the Bible, but did you know there are sub-divisions within each of the Testaments of the Bible?
The New Testament has 27 books in all. We will examine how each of the 27 books of the New Testament are arranged and categorized within the Bible.
The Gospels
There are four writers of four accounts of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. The word "Gospel" in Greek is euangelion, meaning "good news."
While many Christians believe these books are historical, these Gospel "biographies" are not arranged in chronological order as modern biographies. Each Gospel gives a different aspect of Jesus and different theological emphasis. The events are not necessarily structured in linear fashion, but around a theme the writer is conveying.
The Synoptic Gospels
The first three Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke are called the "synoptic" (literally meaning "seeing together") Gospels because of their shared material and general similarity. The Gospel of John leaves out some of the material discussed in the Synoptics and gives details not provided in the first three Gospels.
There is a great deal of scholarship dealing with the dating of the Gospels, and all the New Testament books. The dates vary greatly from scholar to scholar as certain assumptions must be made.
From a conservative Christian standpoint, the time periods for these writings range from roughly 50 A.D. to 65 A.D.
Below are listed the four Gospels and possible dates of writing:
Matthew: 50-60's A.D.
Mark: 50-70 A.D.
Luke: 59 - 70's A.D.
John: 50's - 85 A.D.
The Historical Book of the New Testament: Acts
The only book of "history" is the book of Acts in the New Testament. It is the second book of Luke, who authored one of the Gospels.
The focus of Acts begins on the ministry of the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Peter, and then changes focus to the ministry of the Apostle Paul. It is a narrative of the spread and growth of the Christian Church through the Gospel and the Holy Spirit in the ancient world.
The Pauline Epistles
Paul wrote 13 "Epistles" or letters that are contained in New Testament Scripture. In his epistles, Paul expounds the Old Testament Scripture and explains the meaning of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the Church.
Many of Paul's epistles were meant to be read aloud to the congregations they were addressed to and, in some cases, exchanged with other Christian congregations to be read (cf. I Thess.5:27; Col.4:26).
In the eighteenth century a further sub-division of Paul's epistles was made -- the Pastoral Epistles. The Pastoral Epistles include: 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus.
Here is the list of Paul's 13 Epistles:
Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy (Pastoral Epistle)
2 Timothy (Pastoral Epistle)
Titus (Pastoral Epistle)
Philemon
The General or "Catholic" Epistles
While the Pauline Epistles are addressed to specific congregations or persons, are addressed to the "general" Christian Church. "Catholic" in this context is not referring to the "Roman Catholic Church," but "catholic" in the sense or "universal" or "worldwide." Therefore these seven letters are titled according to the author's name. Since the time of Eusebius (c. 265 - 340 A.D.), these letters have been classified as the General or Catholic Epistles.
Regarding the book of Hebrews, Jeske notes, "The anonymous book of Hebrews was not historically grouped with these seven, because for many years it was erroneously assumed also to have been written by Paul..."
Hebrews and the seven General or Catholic Epistles are listed below:
Hebrews (historically grouped with the Pauline Epistles)
James
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
2 John
3 John
Jude
The Apocalypse: The Book of Revelation
The title "Revelation" mean an unveiling or revealing. It is a book of prophecy. Revelation focuses on the "revelation" of Jesus Christ's triumph, the end of the world and the New Heavens and the New Earth.
Like the New Testament book of Acts, the book of Revelation is in a category by itself. The book of Revelation is the only book in the New testament that is apocalyptic (similar to Daniel being the only apocalyptic book in the Old Testament).
The book of Revelation has been historically attributed to St. John the Apostle and contains his visions of the future of the world and its final end and recreation at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Summary of The Major New Testament Divisions
Gospels:
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Pauline Epistles:
Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, [Hebrews].
General or "Catholic" Epistles:
[Hebrews], James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude.
Revelation or Prophecy:
Revelation.
Having a basic understanding of the major divisions of New Testament Scripture will help guide your Bible reading and give you further insight into the books of the Bible you are studying.
Sources:
Blair, Edward Payson. Abingdon Bible Handbook. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1975.
Engelbrecht, Edward, and Paul E. Deterding. The Lutheran Study Bible: English Standard Version. St. Louis: Concordia Pub. House, 2009.
Hauer, Christian E., and William A. Young. An Introduction to the Bible: A Journey into Three Worlds. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1986.
Jeske, Mark A. General Epistles. St. Louis: Concordia Pub. House, 2005.
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