The Bible has always been a best-seller throughout human history. Many people, regardless of religion, read the Bible for various purposes. Some people think it is a historical book that contains the history of Israel and the life of Christ. Others think it is an ethical book that contains moral lessons. In actuality, the Bible is a book that contains God’s words of prophecy.
The Bible testifies about Christ who will save humankind, illuminates the past and present of humankind, and prophesies about what will take place in the future. It also shows the teachings of Christ about the spiritual world and salvation. Let us briefly examine the Bible books’ arrangement and original languages, and the origin of the name Bible.
The Books of the Bible
There are a total of 66 books in the Bible. It is grouped into two parts: the Old Testament recorded before Jesus (BC), and the New Testament recorded after Jesus (AD). The Old Testament has 39 books, and the New Testament has 27 books. The Bible we use today was not arranged in chronological order but according to its characteristics.
1. 39 Books of the Old Testament
- Torah (Pentateuch) – 5 Books
- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
- History – 12 Books
- Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
- Poetry – 5 Books
- Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs
- Prophecy – 17 Books
- Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
2. 27 Books of the New Testament
- The Gospels (Work of Jesus) – 4 Books
- Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
- History – 1 Book
- Acts
- Paul’s Epistles(Named after recipients) – 14 Books
- Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews
- General Epistles (Named after senders) – 7 Books
- James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude
- Prophecy – 1 Book
- Revelation
3. The Bible’s Chapters and Verses
When the Bible was first written, it did not have chapters and verses as we see it today. The scriptures in the Old Testament were recorded by paragraph. People began to use Bible chapters in the 13th century, and verses in the mid-16th century when Stephanus (Robert Stephanus or Robert Estienne), a French printer, first published the New Testament in Greek with verse divisions in Geneva, Switzerland. The Geneva Bible, published in English in 1560, became the standard of chapter and verse divisions we use today.
Original Languages and Name
1. In what language was the Bible first written?
Most of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, and very few parts were written in Aramaic, a language used in Babylon and Persia (Ezr 4:8–6:18; 7:12–26; Jer 10:11; Da 2:4–7:28). After the Babylonian Captivity, the Jewish people used the Aramaic language in their daily life.
The New Testament was recorded in Greek from the beginning. The Greek language spread to various countries around the Mediterranean Sea during the Greek Empire, and was the common language of the Roman Empire, too, when the New Testament was recorded. The apostles wrote the New Testament in Greek to spread the gospel throughout the Roman Empire so that the Gentiles too could receive salvation.
※ Aramaic and Hebrew are closely related; they are different in declension but use the same alphabet.
2. What name was the Bible called?
In the New Testament, the Bible (Scripture in the NIV Bible) is Graphe in Greek which means a writing (Lk 24:27; Jn 5:39; 2 Ti 3:16). Graphe refers to the Old Testament Bible the Jews read at that time. In the New Testament, the Old Testament is also referred to as “Moses and all the Prophets” (Lk 24:27), the “Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms” (Lk 24:44), and the “Law of Moses and the Prophets” (Ac 28:23).
Where did the English word Bible originate? It originated from the Greek word for book. The original definition of the Greek term biblos was the inner layer of a papyrus, and was used for the term book. The word biblion, which means book, was derived from biblos. The Latin biblia (books) was derived from biblia, the plural form of biblion (book). The English term Bible was derived from the Latin biblia.
※ The Greek biblos (Mk 12:26; Lk 3:4) and biblion (Gal 3:10; Rev 5:1) were used in the New Testament and were translated as book or scroll in the NIV Bible.