The Bible is not just one big book, but actually a collection of 66 smaller books written over a period of at least 1600 years by about 40 different authors. Everything they wrote was inspired by God. If you will open your Bible to Matthew, the beginning of the New Testament, you will notice that a large part of the Bible is before Matthew. This large section is the Old Testament which actually comprises three-fourths of the word of God. There are 39 Old Testament books compared to 27 New Testament books, but many of the Old Testament books are much longer, especially the Psalms which has 150 chapters.

The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and used by the nation of Israel throughout its history. There are different writings from each stage of Israel’s development. The Old Testament that we have in our Bibles is identical to the scriptures that the Jews use today. The New Testament was written in Greek by the early disciples of Jesus.

By thinking of famous Bible characters that we are familiar with and then finding which books in the Bible tell their story, we gain a simple overview of the plan of scripture. In the Old Testament here are the names of seventeen people probably everyone is familiar with along with the books which primarily speak about them.

Adam - Genesis
Eve - Genesis
Job - Job
Noah - Genesis
Abraham - Genesis
Jacob - Genesis
Joseph - Genesis
Moses - Exodus to Deuteronomy
Joshua - Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua
Ruth - Ruth
David - 1, 2 Samuel, 1,2 Kings, 1, 2 Chronicles, Psalms
Solomon - 2 Samuel, 1, 2 Kings, 1, 2 Chronicles, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon
Elijah - 1 & 2 Kings
Daniel - Daniel
Esther - Esther
Isaiah - 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Isaiah
Jonah - Jonah

Here are ten of the most famous people from the New Testament and the books which primarily speak of them.

Jesus - 4 Gospels, Acts, Revelation, and referenced throughout
James - 4 Gospels, Acts
John - 4 Gospels, Acts, 1, 2, 3 John, Revelation
Peter - 4 Gospels, Acts, Galatians, 1, 2 Peter
Mary - 4 Gospels
Joseph - Matthew, Luke, John
The Good Samaritan - Luke
Pilate - 4 Gospels
Paul - Acts, Romans to Philemon
Mark - Acts

There were two formations of scripture. The first was the Jewish acceptance of their canon, and the second was the Christian acceptance of their canon. Although scholars will disagree over dates, Jewish tradition is very strong that the entire Old Testament was in its present form at the time of Ezra when he brought the people back from exile in the 4th Century B.C. The last books of the Hebrew Scriptures were Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles, all of which were written at this time. The New Testament books were being quoted as authoritative as early as 100 A.D. indicating that a New Testament canon was informally accepted by the new church at an early date.

Although it is impossible to know for sure all the reasons that certain books were included in the canon of scripture, generally we can conclude that there were three main criteria - was it authentic, was it inspired by God, and was it written by someone recognized as spiritually anointed. The Hebrews took this process of canonization so seriously that they only chose the books that "caused one to wash his hands." By this they meant that the words were so holy that in comparison, human flesh was dirtied by simply touching the scroll to read it!

You might feel like asking, "Why are the Bible books in their present order, and not more of a continuous narrative?" The answer may surprise you. It was even worse before the 3rd Century B.C. It seems that the books were placed generally in the order in which they were written. The Hebrew Scriptures to this day are in more of a hodge-podge order than our Christian Bibles. It was in the 3rd Century B.C. when the Alexandrian Jews decided to place the Old Testament books closer to historical order. One of the reasons the scriptures were never placed in chronological order is that each book was actually a separate scroll. And so it would have been extremely difficult to combine a number of scrolls together to form the correct chronology. It was simply easier to copy one complete scroll and then copy the next scroll. This is why we have two complete, very similar histories of the kings of Israel in 1 and 2 Kings as well as 1 and 2 Chronicles. Chronicles was written much later than Kings.

In Matthew 5:17 Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." This one statement is reason enough for us to read and study the Old Testament. In the Hebrew scriptures we will discover the fulfillment that Jesus is describing. Throughout the Old Testament we have the background to understand why Jesus had to come and what he did for us. He was the Passover lamb that was slain for us. His death fulfilled all the Old Testament promises of atonement and mercy. Since Jesus has already come to pay the price for our sins, we are now free from the old ceremonies, laws, and rituals of the Old Testament. They were given so we could understand the purpose of Christ’s coming.

Some wonder how Christians can accept the Old Testament with all its ceremonial requirements which seems to contradict the New Testament with its emphasis on God’s love and grace. Some like to find other supposed contradictions in the Bible. But most of what people consider contradictions are simply not trying to understand the total teaching of scripture. For example some will look at the two descriptions of Judas’ death and think they are contradictory. But they are only contradictory if you assume that Matthew and Luke told the full story and didn’t leave any details out. If you read both accounts together, it is obvious that the two writers were simply summarizing the same details but emphasizing different things. As you study the Bible, you will discover that most of what some consider contradictions in scripture is illusory. They reflect the view of the person who doesn’t believe the Bible instead of any real contradiction.

Many people credit Paul with introducing the doctrine of grace into early Christianity, but we see in this passage of scripture that it was Peter who first told the disciples that the Gentiles should not be placed under the bondage of the Old Testament laws. As he said in verses 10-11, "Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."

Right from the beginning of the church it was understood that we were saved by God’s grace, not by keeping the Old Testament laws. This does not mean that we don’t honor the moral code in the Old Testament and practice the ethical teachings. God has not changed. It is still wrong to commit adultery and to lie. But today we live under grace. Today, we can repent of our sin, and we will no longer be stoned for adultery, nor be punished for a lie. But God has also called us to holy living and wants us to be obedient.

All Bible translations are based on the same original Hebrew and Greek texts. Word meanings and language usage changes over time, so there will always be a need for a more modern translation for it to be understandable. All translations depend to a certain extent on interpretation, so some readings will vary between different Bible versions depending on the view of the translator. But these differences are usually minor.

The two Bible translations that are used the most are the King James Version and the New International Version. The King James Version has the disadvantage of being almost 400 years old and so the language is antiquated in places. But no other translation captures the poetry and wonderful expressions of that venerable work. It also is based on outdated manuscript evidence. Older manuscripts have been discovered in the past 400 years which may give us a better reading for certain verses in the Bible.

The New International Version purposely paid attention to readability while striving to adhere to a close translation of the original meaning. It is much easier to understand than the King James Version, but it is still very literal. It utilizes newer manuscript evidence for its translation. Probably the best easy-to-read translation is still The Living Bible which was decades ahead of its time when it was first written. There are many other worthy translations out there that are true to the original texts.

Old Testament - 4 P’s

Precepts (the Law) or Pentateuch
Past Events (History) or Patriarchs
Poetry
Prophets

New Testament - 4 L’s

Lord (Gospels of Jesus)
Labors (History of Early Church
Letters
Last Things

New Testament reveals to us Jesus and the plan of salvation. It begins with the book of Matthew and ends with the book of Revelation. It is divided into four general areas:

1st L - Lord

The first four books: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell us the story of Jesus when he was on this earth.

2nd L - Labors

The book of Acts tells us the history of the early church after Jesus' death and resurrection.

3rd L - Letters

The letters (from Romans to Jude) are correspondence from early Christian leaders to other churches or individuals.

4th L - Last Things

The book of Revelation tells us the future story of the end time when Jesus will come back to this world and reign on earth.

Someone new to Bible study should always start reading the Bible in the first four books of the New Testament, called the gospels. The book of John is especially easy to understand. Some short letters in the New Testament (also called epistles) which are helpful to new believers are the books of Philippians, James, and 1 John.

Old Testament reveals to us how God dealt with the nation of Israel. It looks forward to the coming Savior of the world, Jesus. It begins with the book of Genesis and ends with Malachi. It is also divided into four general areas:

1st P - Precepts

The first five books (Genesis to Deuteronomy) tell us the beginning of man and the establishment of the nation of Israel with the promise of the Savior of the world coming from this chosen people. It not only contains the early history of Israel, but also the Law of God as revealed through Moses. For example, Exodus chapter 20 records the Ten Commandments.

2nd P - Past Events

The next twelve books (Joshua to Esther) are the historical books of the nation of Israel after it became a kingdom in Canaan. Two short books in this section which reveal God's hand on the life of believers, which new Christians may enjoy, are the books of Ruth, and Esther.

3rd P - Poetry

The next five books (Job to Song of Solomon) are the books of poetry and wisdom in the Bible. Especially helpful to new believers are the book of Psalms, which was the hymnal or songbook of the nation of Israel; and Proverbs, which contains the sayings and advice of the wisest king Israel had.

4th P - Prophets

The last seventeen books (Isaiah to Malachi) are the books of the prophets of Israel who God sent to warn, admonish, and encourage his people toward the end of the history of Israel as a nation. A short book in this section which is good for new believers is the book of Jonah.

Helpful Hints

You can purchase a bookmark from the local Christian Bookstore which contains the names of the books of the Bible. Place this bookmark at Matthew 1:1 and you will always have a handy reference right at the beginning of the New Testament. If you will open the Bible to about the middle, you will discover you are in the book of Psalms. Matthew and Psalms can be two markers to help you navigate through the Bible. To help you find where you’re going in the Bible, along the top of every page is given the name of the book and the chapter.

Those who are new to Bible reading should always start with the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. John is the easiest for new Christians to follow. After reading the gospels, you may want to look at Acts which contains the history of the early church and the Letters (also called Epistles). In the Old Testament the books of Psalms and Proverbs are good reading for new believers. A new Christian should never start in Genesis (the first book of the Bible), Revelation (the last book of the Bible), or most of the prophetic books (Isaiah to Malachi). Read these books after you have a basic understanding of the teachings of the Bible. You need to have a framework of spiritual understanding to help you figure out what the other books are saying.