The Bible -is respected as a holy book by Muslims, Christians and Jews -is a book of religious truth -is a source for literature
The Bible Divided into two main parts Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) New Testament
Old Testament Pentateuch Historical Books Wisdom Books Prophetical Books
Pentateuch The first five books of the Bible Torah (Jewish law) Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy Covers the time of prehistory Prehistory is the time before humans recorded their actions
Historical Books Tells the story of the Jewish people Mostly focuses on the main players in Jewish history (David, Solomon) Is mostly constructed from folktales and eyewitness accounts Few records Not like modern history
Wisdom Books Provides lessons for everyday life Offers advice for people Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes
Prophetical Books Warned the people of Israel to remain faithful to one god – no idol worship Warned against mistreatment of the poor Promised the coming of the messiah
New Testament Gospels Acts Letters Revelation
Gospels Details the activities and teaching of Jesus Christ Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
Acts of the Apostles Details the activities of the closest followers of Jesus after his death and resurrection.
Letters(Epistles) Mostly written by Paul Letters written to new Christian communities (ex. Romans)
Revelations Also known as the book of the Apocalypse Written in symbolic code Foretells the kingdom of God Mostly interpreted as the description of the end of the world
Who Wrote the Bible? Divinely Dictated Divinely Inspired Human Creation
Who Wrote the Bible? Divinely Dictated God directly told the authors of the Bible what to write down No room for error
Who Wrote the Bible? Divinely inspired God, through dreams, visions etc inspired those to write the Bible Small errors in fact but not in faith
Who Wrote the Bible? Human Creation Was created by humans to explain their world Wanted their people to follow laws and created a god to help enforce these laws