God’s inspired Word comprises 66 books, divided into Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament was written almost entirely in Hebrew and covers the time from Creation to roughly 400 years Before Christ (B.C.), while the New Testament spans (at most) the first 100 years of the Anno Domini (A.D.), or “year of our Lord” era, beginning with the birth of Jesus.
Though the two testaments are the major divisions, they are often further divided into thematic sections.
The Old Testament contains the Law or Pentateuch (Genesis—Deuteronomy), History (Joshua—Esther), Wisdom or the Writings (Job—Song of Solomon), Major Prophets (Isaiah—Daniel), and Minor Prophets (Hosea—Malachi). The main distinction between the books of the Major and Minor Prophets is their length.
Before Christians rearranged the Old Testament to this layout, the Old Testament was known as the Hebrew Bible and was laid out somewhat differently, divided into only three sections: the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. For this reason you will occasionally hear it referred to as the “TaNaK,” an acronym of sorts for the Hebrew letters which begin each of those sections’ titles.
The New Testament is typically divided into the Gospels (Matthew—John), Acts, Letters or Epistles (Romans—Jude), and Apocalyptic Literature (Revelation).
These divisions can give a good idea of the text in each section, which is helpful in determining how to interpret a book. For example, reading Proverbs in the Wisdom literature would require a much different approach than reading Nahum in the Prophets.
However, a Bible student must also be cautious about drawing the dividing lines too thickly.
The different sections of the Bible contain much overlap. Even the Old and New Testaments are not neatly contained, separate divisions. In both, we find a single, unifying story of God seeking to redeem a people for Himself through the promise and fulfillment of a Son, Jesus. Jesus’ story runs through every book of the Bible in some way.
As you become more familiar with each part of the Bible, you will begin to see how it fits neatly into the complete narrative and is not just one of many disconnected parts.
One brief note you may often hear is about the Bible’s source: occasionally someone will use the term “verbal plenary inspiration.” This is simply a way of saying that word for word, every piece of the Bible is fully inspired or given directly from God. Because it is inspired, it is also inerrant, free from mistakes and inconsistencies.
This is entry #1 of 150 from my book Sunday School Catch-Up: The Bible Basics You Need to Know - available at Amazon!
Please add the audio option to these posts. I mainly listen to substacks while driving.
Thank you for sharing Jack!!