What is The Bible? 

The Bible is a combination of 2 testaments. The first testament or the “TANAKH” is divided into 3 sections. The first section is called the Torah, this is the first 5 books of the Bible(Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). The word Torah directly translates to “law.” The reason these books are called the law is that that’s what it mostly consists of. The law is a list of rules and regulations that the Israelites were to follow. The reason these laws were put into place is crucial to the story of the Bible, as God wanted to set up a covenant with his people. The purpose of the covenant was to set up a path where the Messiah (Jesus Christ, Christ meaning Messiah) could fulfill these laws, and redeem mankind so that we can all receive the gift of eternal life. 

The second part of the TANAKH is the “NEVI’IM”. The word NEVI’IM translates to Narrative, meaning the story. However, most modern-day Hebrew Bibles include the prophets in this as well. This is the story of what happened after God gave these laws and formed a covenant with these people. These stories are included in the Bible to show us that even while we reject God, he still is willing to send his son to die for our sins. It also shows why we need Jesus because even God’s most “righteous” people fall short sometimes. It is important to note that just because someone like David is chosen by God does not mean that the stories about him resemble what a Christ-like life should be. These stories are simply to show us that even when you sin and reject God, he is so loving and forgiving that he is willing to still save you. 

The Third Part of the TANAKH is the “KETHUVIM” or “the writings.” These are frequently called the wisdom books, these books are written oftentimes in the form of poetry or song. Books like Proverbs, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and Job are fine examples. These books are often written by people that are part of the narrative writings. Take David for example, he wrote a lot of the book of Psalms. In many of these cases, it is unclear if the author intended for these books to be a single volume, or if the book is just a collection of writings and notes taken by these people. It is also worth noting that most of these books have more than one author. 

The New Testament is much different, It has 5 narrative writings, then the rest is letters(also called epistles) sent by the apostles. The first 4 narrative writings are the “Gospels” or the “Good news.” The four Gospels are Matthew, Mark, John, and Luke. The reason it’s good news is that it’s the story of Jesus and how he came and died for our sins, and fulfilling all the covenants. Meaning that now when we sin it is covered by the blood of the cross. Within modern-day Christianity, there is a debate about “once saved always saved” and it is important to know that anyone can receive the blood of the cross. This means that even someone who committed murder can receive Jesus into their heart, and truly believe in Jesus and that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was enough to atone for their sins, and they can be saved.

After the 4 Gospel accounts, there is one more narrative writing, Acts which was written by Luke. Not many people know that the book of Acts is part 2 of the book of Luke. Luke wrote both books together and generally before the Bible was put together it was read as one book called “Luke-Acts.” Now the book of Acts talks about how the apostles began to spread the good news to the world. It tells us that once you receive the Holy Spirit into your life you can do wonderful things and see the world more clearly. In Acts, we also meet Saul, who would later become Paul and become one of the main people involved in kicking off the Christian movement. 

Then we get to the “epistles” or the “letters.” This section starts with Romans, Paul's longest letter then there are 12 more letters from Paul, all organized from longest to shortest. Then there is a letter to the Hebrews, it is unclear who the author is, but we know that he was someone who the apostles knew and trusted. Most people have gone to the assumption it was done by Paul or Barnabus(an apostle who worked with Paul in Acts). It is also in early canon lists, so early Christians did see it as authoritative scripture(See more on the canon here). 

The last 7 letters are shorter letters written by Peter, Jude, James, and John. The last book in the Bible is called Revelations or Apocalypse. In it, it describes Revelations given to a man named John. These revelations contain information about the second coming and other important things that are to come in the future. However, some scholars have seen Revelations as already occurring and is in reference to a sort of persecution during the time of the Apostles.