An Introduction to the Bible

A compilation of good-to-know information for Christians to understand their Bible

The Bible is a magnificent library compiled over thousands of years. There is striking unity in the Bible’s thrust, story, doctrine and description of God, despite its diversity of authorship. Every year the Bible remains the most extensively printed, widely translated and frequently read book in the world. Treasured by Christians as their holy Scriptures and valued by secular scholars as a collection of ancient literature, the Bible is a “book of books” telling the sacred story of God being revealed to humankind.

One of my greatest delights as a Christian adult has been learning more about the Bible. Today, I would identify it amongst the most significant activators of my faith in God. It’s only in recent study, however, that I’ve sought to organise my answers to basic literary “Why?” questions surrounding the Bible. Why is the Bible divided into Testaments? Who chose the various books included? What is the logic behind the order of the books? Why did the New Testament writers have authority to add to Scripture? Read on if you’d like to build up your own answers to these questions. I have ordered this information topically and cited my sources below.

Titles: “Bible” and “Testaments”

The title “Bible” is derived from the Greek word “biblia,” meaning “books.” Biblia was incorporated into Latin, and later into the Old French, eventually emerging in the English language as Bible. Christians were using this word by the 5th century AD.

The Bible itself is divided into two: The Old Testament and the New Testament.“Testament” is the translation of a Greek word otherwise used as “Covenant.” Covenant (a binding agreement between two groups) is a prominent theme throughout the Bible, including the promise of a new covenant (cf. Jeremiah 31:31) which was reiterated by Jesus Himself at the Last Supper. Latin Church writers used “testamentum” to translate “covenant”, and from them the use passed into English. “Old and New Covenants” became “Old and New Testaments.” The Old Testament, together with the New Testament, composes the Christian Bible. What Christians today call The Old Testament, Jews today call the Hebrew Bible.

Authors of the Bible

There are approximately 40 different authors behind the books of the Bible (approximate because the authorship of several books remains unknown). The writers were diverse: Jews, non-Jews, judges, leaders, kings, prophets, tax collectors, fishermen. The Old Testament was written exclusively by Jews, whilst the New Testament has one non-Jewish writer: Luke, author of the Gospel of Luke and Acts. Sometimes, a writer used a scribe (for example Jeremiah), or cited other ancient documents accessible at the time. All of the known Biblical writers were men, although some scholars argue that the Book of Hebrews was written (or co-written) by a woman.

Languages of the Bible

The books of the Bible were written in three different languages: Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Although the Old Testament is written almost entirely in Hebrew, there are a few passages of Aramaic (in the Book of Daniel and Ezra). Aramaic was the international language of the Ancient Near East, spoken by Jews after their Babylonian exile. Aramaic eventually went on to be the spoken language of Jesus. The bulk of the New Testament is written in Greek, which was the international language of the Roman Empire.

Literary Styles of the Bible

Every book of the Bible was written in either prose or poetry. Helpfully for readers today, English translations tend to use paragraph format for prose, and stanza format for poetry. Within these broad kinds of literature are different categories of writing:

Narrative - Approximately 43% of the Bible. Narrative spans from historical prose, to speeches, to parables.
Poetry - Approximately 33% of the Bible. Hebrew poetry can be highly figurative and descriptive, including songs as well as poems.
Discourse - Approximately 24% of the Bible. Prose discourse includes laws, sermons and letters.

Dating the Books of the Bible

The documents of the Bible were slowly produced, collected and preserved over roughly 1500 years. Interestingly, the Old and New Testament drastically contrast one another in the scope of history that they span.

The composition of the Old Testament was likely throughout 1000 years of time. This is based on the assumption that Moses wrote the Torah (the first five books of the Bible), which is a view that Scripture itself holds. This would date the Bible’s earliest books to Moses’ lifetime, about 1400BC (based on an early date for the exodus). Assuming that Malachi (written at about 400BC) was last book of the Old Testament, we’re left with the span of 1400-400 BC.

The composition of the New Testament was likely throughout 50 years of time. This is based on the assumption that James was the first to write a New Testament book (before the middle of the first century AD), and that John was the last (composing Revelation at around AD 80). Therefore, the New Testament was written during a 50 year period in the latter half of the first century AD.

The Order of the Bible’s Books

The order of the Bible’s individual books is not chronological, which can be confusing. However, there are groupings to the ordering in the Protestant English Bible (likely the Bible that you’re used to), and understanding these groupings is helpful.

The Old Testament

The Old Testament contains 39 separate documents known more affectionately as “books.” The ordering is part chronological and part topical:

Law (or “Torah,” or “Pentateuch”) - First five books of the Old Testament, from Genesis to Deuteronomy.
History - Next twelve books, from Joshua to Esther.
Poetry - Next five books, from Job to Song of Songs.
Major Prophets - Next five books, from Isaiah to Daniel. (The titles “major” and “minor” refer to literary length, not to the clout of the actual prophet.)
Minor Prophets - Final twelve books of the Old Testament, from Hosea to Malachi.

The New Testament

The New Testament contains 27 separate documents ordered non-chronologically. The Gospels are grouped together (historical, biographical literature about the life of Jesus), as are the letters of Paul (ordered according to length, longest first), with a final grouping of the miscellaneous letters (also arranged according to length).

Gospels - First four books of the New Testament, from Matthew to John.
History - Next book, Acts.
Paul’s Epistles (or “Letters”) - Thirteen books, from Romans to Philemon.
Other Epistles - Eight books, from Hebrews to Jude.
Prophetic - Last book of the New Testament, Revelation.

Canonisation

Canonisation is the process by which the books of the Bible were gathered into an authoritative collection. The word “canon” comes from an ancient word meaning “measuring rod”. The title Canon of Scripture describes the collection of books accepted as the sacred contents of the Bible. It is a great source of interest for many as to how the Bible’s books were chosen. For both the Old and New Testament, the test of canonicity was inspiration. Books were tested with the implicit question, “Were these books inspired by God?”

The Canon of the Old Testament

The original writings of the Old Testament documents were composed and collected over a long period of time, preserved by the Hebrew people. The Old Testament canon was informally accepted and in use long before the time of Jesus, and it was formally accepted by the Jews near the end of the 1st century AD.

The Canon of the New Testament

Today, every branch of Christianity (whether Protestant, Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox) agrees on the canon of the New Testament. It wasn’t until 327 AD that an official canon was recognised, though its informal acceptance and usage was much earlier. Initially, the earliest recognition of New Testament writings was instinctive - most of the New Testament documents were exempt from dispute and were accepted and cited as Scripture. The Church Fathers referred to the various documents of the New Testament as Scripture alongside the Old Testament.

The first effort to produce an official canon of the New Testament was in 140 AD by the heretic Marcion. His failed propositions provoked the Church to move towards an acceptable canon. By 180 AD, canon lists were created by various Christian leaders across the Roman Empire, and in time, many Churches accepted the Muratorian Fragment as their canon. Out of growing unanimity, a man named Athanasius published his canon list in the 39th Easter letter of 367 AD, and afterwards various other Christian leaders reaffirmed this canon across the Empire.

What Does it Mean that the Bible is Inspired by God?

Christians believe that the books of the Bible are holy and sacred; “inspired by God.” This is a quote from 2 Timothy 3:16, which states, “All Scripture is God-breathed [inspired]…” God is seen to be the motivator behind the writing of Scripture, moving various people to reveal His truth, with the help of the Holy Spirit. This is explained by Peter in 2 Peter 1:20-21, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

The writing of Scripture was therefore the joint activity of God and people. How that collaboration works is a source of discussion. Study reveals that the personalities of each Biblical document distinctively reflects its human writer. There are creative literary styles and grammatical peculiarities. I enjoy how Dan Lewis explains the paradox of the Bible being both fully human and fully divine: “As the Word of God, a reverence should be extended to the Bible that can never be extended to any other document in the world. As the words of humans, the Bible is capable of historical study just as all other human documents may be studied.”

The Inspiration of the New Testament

I find it fascinating to explore why the New Testament writers were able to add to the Old Testament. Where was their authority founded? In answering this question, many look to Luke 24:45, which describes Jesus “opening the minds” of His disciples “so they could understand the Scriptures” - this was right before Jesus’ ascension to Heaven. Therefore, the disciples (or apostles) of Jesus are believed to have received authority to interpret the Old Testament scriptures, which we see them doing in their writings. Some New Testament documents were written by those who weren’t the core disciples of Jesus, such as Paul. Paul derives his apostolic authority from his revelation of Christ during his conversion experience, when he was called. Other authors, such as Mark and Luke, derive their authority from their close relationship with apostles, such as Peter and Paul.

The New Testament itself contains indications that its content was viewed (and was to be viewed) as authoritative alongside the Old. Peter describes Paul’s writings alongside the “other Scriptures” (2 Peter 3:15-16). Paul quotes both Luke’s gospel and Deuteronomy as “Scripture.” Finally, the apostles declared that their inspired proclamation was the word of God (1 Corinthians 4:1; 2 Corinthians 5:20; 1 Thessalonians 2:13). For Christ’s apostles, the Church Fathers and the early Christians, the writings of the New Testament were recognised alongside the Old Testament as equal in authority.