BSN: Breaking Down the Structure of the Bible

Back to BSN: Glossary: Bible

Related: BSN: The Symmetry of the Testaments

• The Bible is
  • a collection
  • of 66 different texts, often called “books” of the Bible
  • that were written by over two dozen authors
  • from roughly 1500 BC to 100 AD (that is, over a period of roughly 1,600 years)
  • and it is divided into two main parts.

• The Bible (66)
  • The Old Testament (39) – written before Jesus came to earth from heaven
  • The New Testament (27) – written after Jesus returned to heaven from earth

There is an order to the books with in each testament, but it is not intuitive. It starts with category (or type) of writing.

The Order of Categories

• The Bible (66)
  • Old Testament (39)
    • History (17) –
      • Books of Moses (5)
      • Other (12)
    • Wisdom (5)
    • Prophecy (17)
      • Major Prophets (5)
      • Minor Prophets (12)
  • New Testament (27)
    • Gospels (4)
    • Acts of the Apostles (1)
    • Epistles (22)

The Order within Categories

The order of the books within the categories varies by category.

• Bible
  • OT:
    • History
      • Begins with the five books of Moses, and proceeds in chronological order.
      • 1 & 2 Chronicles is a second account of the period covered by the four books of Samuel-Kings
    • Wisdom – These are in general chronological order of when written.
    • Prophets –
      • The major prophets come before the minor prophets (the distinction merely being length of writing)
      • Within these two categories, the texts are listed in general chronological order on when written.
  • NT:
    • Gospels – No noteworthy order, except that John comes last and seems to have been written later than the others. (Mark seems to have been written first and is the shortest, Matthew seems to be written for Jews, and Luke for Gentiles.)
    • Acts – Just the one book.
    • Epistles –
      • Grouped by author, except that Revelation comes last because of its uniqueness.
      • Within author, the longer texts comes first, except that letters to the same recipients are grouped together.

Jesus’ Whereabouts

• Bible
  • OT – Jesus in heaven, largely hidden from view, waiting to come to earth
  • NT
    • Gospels – Jesus on earth
    • Acts and Epistles – Jesus returned to heaven, and proclaimed as such

The Bible’s Table of Contents, Framed with the Categories

• The Bible (66)
  • Old Testament (39)
    • History (17) –
      • Books of Moses (5)
        • Genesis
        • Exodus
        • Leviticus
        • Numbers
        • Deuteronomy
      • Other (12)
        • Joshua
        • Judges
        • Ruth
        • 1 Samuel
        • 2 Samuel
        • 1 Kings
        • 2 Kings
        • 1 Chronicles
        • 2 Chronicles
        • Ezra
        • Nehemiah
        • Esther
    • Wisdom (5)
      • Job
      • Psalms
      • Proverbs
      • Ecclesiastes
      • Song of Solomon
    • Prophecy (17)
      • Major Prophets (5)
        • Isaiah
        • Jeremiah
        • Lamentations
        • Ezekiel
        • Daniel
      • Minor Prophets (12)
        • Hosea
        • Joel
        • Amos
        • Obadiah
        • Jonah
        • Micah
        • Nahum
        • Habakkuk
        • Zephaniah
        • Haggai
        • Zechariah
        • Malachi
  • New Testament (27)
    • Gospels (4)
      • Matthew
      • Mark
      • Luke
      • John
    • Acts of the Apostles (1)
      • The Acts of the Apostles
    • Epistles (22)
      • Romans
      • 1 Corinthians
      • 2 Corinthians
      • Galatians
      • Ephesians
      • Philippians
      • Colossians
      • 1 Thessalonians
      • 2 Thessalonians
      • 1 Timothy
      • 2 Timothy
      • Titus
      • Philemon
      • Hebrews
      • James
      • 1 Peter
      • 2 Peter
      • 1 John
      • 2 John
      • 3 John
      • Jude
      • Revelation