Learning about the Bible

BIBLE – Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth

The Bible tells us where we come from, why we are here and where we are going. There are 66 books in the Bible – 39 in the Old Testament (originally Hebrew) and 27 in the New Testament (originally Greek). In every book of the Bible, God is calling us into relationship with Him.

We learned about Bible translators that risked their lives and some that were persecuted to the point of death to make the Bible available to us today. Wycliffe an Oxford Theologian that first translated the Bible to English (1382 AD) said “All matters of life should be submitted to the truth of the scriptures that even common people should have access to it.” He strongly challenged the practices of the church and was hated so badly that he was killed and later persecutors dug up his bones and burnt them. That is some intense hatred! Today, Bible translators have two major obstacles – historical/cultural barriers and linguistic/language barriers. Bible versions range from the Literal Hebrew/Greek (NKJ) to Equivalency (NRSV) to Paraphrased (MSG, NLT). The Western world is so blessed to have such vast access to Bible. There are still parts of the world that have to actually share single pages of the Bible. Think about that next time you put off reading. J

Old Testament breakdown:
~Genesis to Deuteronomy – Pentateuch/Law
~Joshua to Esther – Historical Books
~Job to Song of Songs – Wisdom/Poetical books
~Isaiah to Daniel – Major Prophets
~Hosea to Malachi – Minor Prophets
New Testament breakdown:
~Matthew to John – Gospels
~Acts – History Book
~Romans to Philemon – Paul’s Letters/Epistles
~Hebrews – Sinkrisis (compilation of sermons)
~James to Jude – General Epistles
~Revelation – Apocalyptic Literatures