|
Listen to POST
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
How was the Bible put together?
In this BLOG post you will understand how the Bible is organized.
Have you ever wondered how the Bible was assembled? If you are new to Christianity or have been a believer for decades, you may not know much about the Bible or how it was put together. So, in this BLOG post, my goal is to help the reader understand a few biblical truths on how the Bible was assembled.
For example, did you know that the word, Bible comes from the Greek word, “biblos” meaning “a book.”
The book, or Bible, did not start that way. At first, it started out with individual writing’s about God’s Law, historical and genealogy data, poetry/praise, and prophetic writings. There were no chapters, no verses. The Hebrew people would never say, “My favorite bible verse is, Genesis 1:1”. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. If you’re interested, I’ll post another BLOG on where the chapter and verse came into being.
It may have happened like this. A son or daughter talking to their parents or relatives, it says in the writings of Moses that God created the heavens and the earth. No book name, no chapter, and verse tied to Genesis. So, how did we get sixty-six individual books?
66 books of the Bible
Have you ever heard the word “canon” as referenced to the Bible? All this means is an authoritative list of the books of the Bible.
How do you come to an authoritative book? Let’s take the prophet Joshua, for example. Joshua was a prophet and assistant to Moses. After the death of Moses, God told Joshua (self-titled book) in the first chapter in the first few verses God gave instructions to Joshua and the Israelite nation. This is direct revelation from God, which means, Joshua, for our example is an authoritative book. Of course, there are more in-depth discussions, but this is a simple examination of an authoritative book.
When you look at the writings after Jesus, meaning the New Testament, there are two hundred and fifty-plus quotes from the Old Testament writings. Most of the New Testament writings are inspired from the Old Testament. The gospel writers use heavy references to the prophets of old; even Jesus references the Prophet Jonah, which shows us that Jonah was not a fairy tale, and Jesus validates what happened to Jonah- again, showing Jonah to be an authoritative book.
LAW BOOKS
- Genesis
- Exodus
- Leviticus
- Numbers
- Deuteronomy
Moses is credited with writing – it is quite possible a scribe finished the last chapter of Deuteronomy as Moses could not write about his own death and burial.
HISTORICAL BOOKS
6. Joshua
7. Judges
8. Ruth
9. 1 Samuel
10. 2 Samuel
11. 1 Kings
12. 2 Kings
13. 1 Chronicles
14. 2 Chronicles
15. Ezra
16. Nehemiah
17. Esther
These Books show the rise and fall of the Israelites time and time again. A great many of the above-mentioned books support each other.
POETRY BOOKS
18. Job
19. Psalms
20. Proverbs
21. Ecclesiastes
22. Song of Solomon
As with these books, God is written all over them. God’s wisdom, God’s instruction, and God’s judgment if you do not follow His ways.
PROPHETIC BOOKS
23. Isaiah
24. Jeremiah
25. Lamentations
26. Ezekiel
27. Daniel
28. Hosea
29. Joel
30. Amos
31. Obadiah
32. Jonah
33. Micah
34. Nahum
35. Habakkuk
36. Zephaniah
37. Haggai
38. Zechariah
39. Malachi
These are a huge blessing to read. When reading the prophets, you see things told by God that wouldn’t happen for 50 years, 100 years, 700 years, and we are still waiting for a few more prophecies to unfold. The one I’m waiting on is Jesus coming to Earth to set up His rule and reign. And we, as Christians, will be his servants. Paul says it best, “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”
This closes the Old Testament around 430 BC and is accepted by the Jewish people. All books shown above match exactly to the Hebrew Bible.
There weren’t any printing presses, yet in 400 BC, there were Scribes, and Jewish officials who would rewrite word for word the inscriptions of the previous manuscripts. If the scribe made a mistake, the whole book would be destroyed and re-written from the correct copy.
The New Testament
If we were to start in date order, we would most likely have the book of James as the lead book. It is suggested that James (Jesus’s half-brother) wrote this letter. James wrote to the Jewish Christians who were scattered throughout the empire. Possibly around 49 to 51 AD. Roughly twenty or so years after the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Let’s go back to authoritative books. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These are known as the four gospel books.
• Mathew was called out by Jesus (Matthew 9:9)
• Mark (AKA John Mark) – relative to Barnabas and Son of a Christian Lady named Mary. Went on Paul’s first missionary journey.
• Luke – a doctor and missionary with Paul and Barnabas, and many others.
• John – Jesus called John and his brother James (James was later beheaded)
So right here, the four gospels, each one of them has the “authority.”
The Book of the ACTS – no question on authority. God surely spoke, and the author, Luke, wrote of all the details, and the eye-witness accounts.
Let me give you a gold nugget: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. They were all written by Paul. The thought was that the person who decided on the order put the longer letters up front.
There is no dispute about the letters of Paul and why they are in the Bible.
Hebrews – the author is really the only one that is unknown. Bible scholars have disputed the author, saying it was Paul, or maybe Barnabas or some say Apollos. The reason for Hebrews is that all details mentioned in this writing are consistently from the Old Testament. There are no contradictions, no faults. The writing of Hebrews is helpful for teaching, correcting, and disciplining believers.
The Book of James is self-evident.
Peters’ letters need no explanation.
The Three letters of John the Apostle a given.
Jude – the half-brother of Jesus.
Revelation – written by John the Apostle, the brother of James, the son of Zebedee, the one called out to take care of Jesus’ mother, Mary.
40. Matthew
41. Mark
42. Luke
43. John
44. Acts
45. Romans
46. 1 Corinthians
47. 2 Corinthians
48. Galatians
49. Ephesians
50. Philippians
51. Colossians
52. 1 Thessalonians
53. 2 Thessalonians
54. 1 Timothy
55. 2 Timothy
56. Titus
57. Philemon
58. Hebrew
59. James
60. 1 Peter
61. 2 Peter
62. 1 John
63. 2 John
64. 3 John
65. Jude
66. Revelation
Books not included in the Bible
What are the non-authoritative books?
There are authors of these non-authoritative books that are unclear who wrote the book. There have been some discrepancies as to when the writings appeared. If you are unable to show God’s word matching his previous commands, and prophecies, and promises then there is no need to have this in as an authoritative book, in the Bible. Remember, God does not change, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
The timings could be off, meaning, Luke was very specific when Jesus was born, he wrote who was King, what time period, even when Caesar issued a directive to have a census. Very precise.
If you want to read a book that was not a part of the Canon Bible, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as you read it. There could be some truths, but there could also be some fictitious writings, which makes sense why it is not a part of the Canon.
Thank you for reading!