Facts about the Bible Facts about the Bible Facts about the Bible Facts about the Bible The following list is not designed to discuss doctrine, or provide in-depth teaching. It is merely a resource center for factual information on the Bible. Many of these questions have been addressed in various locations throughout our website; however, as many people do not have the time to comb through the entire website to find the answers they are looking for, we have compiled the following list. How many books are in the Bible? The Bible contains 66 books, divided among the Old and New Testaments. How many books are in the Old Testament? There are 39 books in the Old Testament. How many books are in the New Testament? There are 27 books in the New Testament. What does "testament" mean? Testament means "covenant" or "contract." Who wrote the Bible? The Bible was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit by over 40 different authors from all walks of life: shepherds, farmers, tent-makers, physicians, fishermen, priests, philosophers and kings. Despite these differences in occupation and the span of years it took to write it, the Bible is an extremely cohesive and unified book.

Which single author contributed the most books to the Old Testament? Moses. He wrote the first five books of the Bible, referred to as the Pentateuch; the foundation of the Bible. Which single author contributed the most books to the New Testament? The Apostle Paul, who wrote 14 books (over half) of the New Testament. When was the Bible written? It was written over a period of some 1,500 years, from around 1450 B.C. (the time of Moses) to about 100 A.D. (following the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ). What is the oldest book in the Old Testament? Many scholars agree that Job is the oldest book in the Bible, written by an unknown Israelite about 1500 B.C. Others hold that the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) are the oldest books in the Bible, written between 1446 and 1406 B.C. What is the youngest book in the Old Testament? The book of Malachi, written about 400 B.C. What is the oldest book of the New Testament? Probably the book of James, written as early as A.D. 45.

What is the youngest book in the New Testament? The Book of Revelation is the youngest book of the New Testament, written about 95 A.D. What languages was the Bible written in? The Bible was written in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek. When was the Bible canonized? The entire New Testament as we know it today, was canonized before the year 375 A.D. The Old Testament had previously been canonized long before the advent of Christ. What does "canon" mean? "Canon" is derived front the Greek word "Kanon," signifying a measuring rod. Thus, to have the Bible "canonized" meant that it had been measured by the standard or test of divine inspiration and authority. It became the collection of books or writings accepted by the apostles and leadership of the early Christian church as a basis for Christian belief. It is the standard by which all Christians throughout the ages live and worship. When was the first translation of the Bible made into English? 1382 A.D., by John Wycliffe. When was the Bible printed? The Bible was printed in 1454 A.D.

by Johannes Gutenberg who invented the "type mold" for the printing press. It was the first book ever printed. What is the oldest almost-complete manuscript of the Bible now in existence? The Codex Vaticanus, which dates from the first half of the fourth Century. It is located in the library of the Vatican in Rome. There are older fragments of the Bible that are still preserved however-- the oldest being a tiny scrap of the Gospel of John was found in Egypt, dating back to the beginning of the second century. (It is currently in the Rayland's Library in Manchester, England). What is the longest book in the Bible? The book of Psalms. What is the shortest book in the Bible? 2 John. What is the longest chapter in the Bible? Psalm 119 What is the shortest chapter in the Bible? Psalm 117 What is the longest verse in the Bible? Esther 8:9 What is the shortest verse in the Bible? John 11:35 Which book in the Bible does not mention the word "God?" The book of Esther. Who was the oldest man that ever lived?

Methuselah who lived to be 969 years old (Genesis 5:27). Who were the two men in the Bible who never died but were caught up to heaven? Enoch, who walked with God and was no more (Genesis 5:22-24). Elijah, who was caught up by a whirlwind into heaven (II Kings 2:11). Who does the Bible say was the meekest man in the Bible (not including Jesus)? Moses (Numbers 12:3). How many languages has the Bible been translated into? The Holy Bible has been translated into 2,018 languages, with countless more partial translations, and audio translations (for unwritten languages). (This is an enormous amount of translations. In comparison, Shakespeare, considered by many to be the master writer of the English language, has only been translated into 50 languages.) Is the Bible still the best-selling book in the world? Yes, indeed! 7. The Bible: The Holy Canon of Scripture | Bible.org 7.

The Bible: The Holy Canon of Scripture Introduction The fact of the inspiration of the Bible as God’s special revelation to man naturally leads to the question (since many other religious books were written during both the Old and New Testament periods) what particular books are canonical, that is, what books are inspired and should be recognized as a part of God’s authoritative revelation? Are any inspired books missing? Are any books included that should not be in our Bible? Is our Old Testament Bible the same as the Lord’s and is our New Testament the same as the Bible of the church fathers? These are obviously vital questions for the people of God to determine. Meaning of “Canon” or “Canonicity” The word canon is used to describe those books recognized as inspired of God. The word comes from the Greek kanwn and most likely from the Hebrew qaneh and Akkadian, qanu. Literally, it means (a) a straight rod or bar; (b) a measuring rule as a ruler used by masons and carpenters; then (c) a rule or standard for testing straightness. Historically, the word was first used by the church of those doctrines that were accepted as the rule of faith and practice.

The term came to be applied to the decisions of the Councils as rules by which to live. All these employ the word in the metaphorical sense of a rule, norm, or standard. In the course of time, the terms canon and canonical came to be applied to the catalogue or list of sacred books distinguished and honored as belonging to God’s inspired Word. “Greek Christians by the fourth century A.D. had given the word a quasi-technical religious meaning, applying it to the Bible, especially to the Jewish books.” 60 … It is important to note that religious councils at no time had any power to cause books to be inspired, rather they simply recognized that which God had inspired at the exact moment the books were written. Jews and conservative Christians alike have recognized the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament as inspired. Evangelical Protestants have recognized the twenty-seven books of the New Testament as inspired. Roman Catholics have a total of eighty books because they recognize the Apocrypha as semicanonical. 61 The Logical Necessity for a Canon of Scripture and Its Preservation That God would provide and preserve a Canon of Scripture without addition or deletion is not only necessary, but it is logically credible.

If we believe that God exists as an almighty God, then revelation and inspiration are clearly possible. If we believe in such a God, it is also probable that He would, out of love and for His own purposes and designs, reveal Himself to men. Because of man’s obvious condition in sin and his obvious inability to meet his spiritual needs (regardless of all his learning and technological advances), special revelation revealed in a God-breathed book is not only possible, logical, and probable, but a necessity. The evidence shows that the Bible is unique and that God is its author. The evidence declares that “all Scripture is God breathed and profitable …” (2 Tim. 3:16) and that “no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Pet. 1:20-21).

In view of this, the logical question is: “Would it not be unreasonable for God to fail to providentially care for these inspired documents to preserve them from destruction and so guide in their collection and arrangement that they would all be present with none missing and none added that were not inspired?” 62 Important Considerations There are a number of important considerations that must be kept in mind when considering the issue of canonicity or how the books of the Bible came to be recognized and held to be a part of the Bible. Ryrie summarizes these issues as follows: 1. Self-authentication. It is essential to remember that the Bible is self-authenticating since its books were breathed out by God (2 Tim. 3:16). In other words, the books were canonical the moment they were written. It was not necessary to wait until various councils could examine the books to determine if they were acceptable or not. Their canonicity was inherent within them, since they came from God. People and councils only recognized and acknowledged what is true because of the intrinsic inspiration of the books as they were written. No Bible book became canonical by action of some church council. 2. Decisions of men.

Nevertheless, men and councils did have to consider which books should be recognized as part of the canon, for there were some candidates that were not inspired. Some decisions and choices had to be made, and God guided groups of people to make correct choices (not without guidelines) and to collect the various writings into the canons of the Old and New Testaments. 3. Debates over canonicity. In the process of deciding and collecting, it would not be unexpected that some disputes would arise about some of the books. And such was the case. However, these debates in no way weaken the authenticity of the truly canonical books, nor do they give status to those which were not inspired by God. 4. Completion of canon. Since A.D. 397 the Christian church has considered the canon of the Bible to be complete; if it is complete, then it must be closed. Therefore, we cannot expect any more books to be discovered or written that would open the canon again and add to its sixty-six books. Even if a letter of Paul were discovered, it would not be canonical.

After all, Paul must have written many letters during his lifetime in addition to the ones that are in the New Testament; yet the church did not include them in the canon. Not everything an apostle wrote was inspired, for it was not the writer who was inspired but his writings, and not necessarily all of them. The more recent books of the cults which are placed alongside the Bible are not inspired and have no claim to be part of the canon of Scripture. Certainly so-called prophetic utterances or visions that some claim to be from God today cannot be inspired and considered as part of God’s revelation or as having any kind of authority like that of the canonical books. 63 Canonicity of the Old Testament The Hebrew Bible of today is substantially the same as the original writings, with only physical changes like the addition of vowel pointings, reading aids in the margins, and a change to a more open form of the letters, etc. In Romans 3:2 we are told that the “oracles of God,” the Old Testament Scripture, had been entrusted to the Jews; they were to be the custodians of the Old Testament. This precisely fits what we know about the Jews and the Old Testament.

They have always been a people of one book who have guarded it with extreme care and precision. From the time of Ezra and even before, there were priests (Deut. 31:24-26) and later scribes called sopherim who were given the responsibility to copy and meticulously care for the sacred text so they could hand down the correct reading. To ensure this accuracy, later scribes known as the Masoretes developed a number of strict measures to ensure that every fresh copy was an exact reproduction of the original. They established tedious procedures to protect the text against being changed. For instance, (a) when obvious errors were noted in the text, perhaps because a tired scribe nodded, the text was still not changed. Instead, a correction was placed in the margin called qere, “to be read,” and that which was written in the text was called, kethibh, “to be written.” (b) When a word was considered textually, grammatically, or exegetically questionable, dots were placed above that word.

(c) Minute statistics were also kept as a further means of guarding against errors: in the Hebrew Bible at Leviticus 8:8, the margin has a reference that this verse is the middle verse of the Torah. According to the note at Lev. 10:16 the word darash is the middle word in the Torah, and at 11:42 we are assured that the waw in a Hebrew word there is the middle letter. At the end of each book are statistics as: the total number of verses in Deuteronomy is 955, the total in the entire Torah is 5,845; the total number of words is 97, 856, and the total number of letters is 400,945. 64 In this we see something of the painstaking procedures the Jews went through to assure the accurate transmission of the text. Our English Bible is a translation of this Hebrew text which has been handed down to us. God made the Jews the custodians of the Old Testament record. Though their eyes may be blind to its truth (Isa. 6:10; John 12:40; Rom.

10:1-3; 11:7), they have guarded its transmission with great accuracy. The original copies of the Old Testament were written on leather or papyrus from the time of Moses (c. 1450 B.C.) to the time of Malachi (400 B.C.). Until the sensational discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 we did not possess copies of the Old Testament earlier than A.D. 895. The reason for this is simply that the Jews had an almost superstitious veneration for the text which impelled them to bury copies that had become too old for use. Indeed, the Masoretes (traditionalists) who between A.D 600 and 950 added accents and vowel points and in general standardized the Hebrew text, devised complicated safeguards for the making of copies (as described above) … When the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, they gave us a Hebrew text from the second to first century B.C. of all but one of the books (Esther) of the Old Testament. This was of the greatest importance, for it provided a much earlier check on the accuracy of the Masoretic text, which has now proved to be extremely accurate.

Other early checks on the Hebrew text include the Septuagint translation (middle of third century B.C.), the Aramaic Targums (paraphrases and quotes of the Old Testament), quotations in early Christian writers, and the Latin translation of Jerome (A.D. 400) which was made directly from the Hebrew text of his day. All of these give us the data for being assured of having an accurate text of the Old Testament. 65 The Three-fold Division The Masoretic text of the Hebrew Old Testament contains twenty-four books, beginning with Genesis and ending with 2 Chronicles. Though this arrangement of the Old Testament is in only twenty-four books, the subject matter is identical with the thirty-nine book division of our Protestant English Bible. The difference is in the order and division of the arrangement of the books. The reason for this is that the Protestant canon of the Old Testament has been influenced by the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint (LXX) made about 250-160 B.C. The Septuagint divided the books of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah each into two, which makes eight instead of four.

The Twelve Minor Prophets were divided into twelve, instead of being counted as one book as in the twenty-four book division. This adds fifteen making a total of the thirty-nine books as in the Protestant English Bible. Since the year 1517, modern Hebrew Bibles divided the books into thirty-nine, but kept the three-fold division including the arrangement of the books (Genesis through 2 Chronicles) as in the ancient Hebrew Bible. In Matthew 23:35, Jesus said, “that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.” The murder Jesus spoke of is recorded in 2 Chronicles 24:20-22. Abel’s death is recorded in Genesis and in the Hebrew Bible 2 Chronicles is the last book. In essence then, Christ was saying “from the first to the last murder in the Bible.” This was equivalent to saying from Genesis to Malachi and demonstrated what He considered as the canon of the Old Testament.

This twenty-four book division in its three-fold division which became the thirty-nine book division is as follows: (1) The Law or The Pentateuch (5 books)—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (2) The Prophets (originally 8 books, then 21) The Former Prophets (originally 4 books, then 6)—Joshua, Judges, Samuel (1 & 2), Kings (1 & 2) The Latter Prophets (originally 4 books, then 15) Major: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel (3 books) Minor: The 12 (originally 1 book, then 12) (3) The Writings (originally 11 books, then 13) Poetical (3 books) —Psalms, Proverbs, Job The Rolls (5 books) —Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther Historical (originally 3 books, then 5) —Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah (2), Chronicles (1 & 2) … By the time of the New Testament this three-fold division was recognized (Luke 24:4

4).

Other designations such as “The Scripture” (John 10:35) and “The Sacred Writings” (2 Tim. 3:15) suggest a generally accepted Old Testament canon. This three-fold division was also attested to by Josephus (A.D. 37-95), Bishop Melito of Sardis (ca. A.D. 170), Tertullian (A.D. 160-250), and others (Gleason L. Archer, Jr., A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, Moody, Chicago, 1964, pp. 62-65). The Council of Jamnia in A.D. 90 is generally considered the occasion whereby the Old Testament canon was publicly recognized (while debating the canonicity of several books). There is evidence of the manner in which the Old Testament books were recognized as canonical. Laird Harris (R. Laird Harris, Inspiration and Canonicity of the Bible, Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 1969, pp. 62-65), traces the continuity of recognition: Moses was recognized as writing under the authority of God (Ex.

17:14; 34:27; cf. Josh. 8:31; 23:6). The criterion for acknowledging the Pentateuch was whether it was from God’s servant, Moses. Following Moses, God raised up the institution of prophecy to continue revealing Himself to His people (cf. Deut. 18:15-19; Jer. 26:8-15). The prophets to whom God spoke also recorded their revelation (cf. Josh. 24:26; 1 Sam. 10:25; Isa. 8:1; Ezek. 43:11). Harris concludes, “The law was accorded the respect of the author, and he was known as God’s messenger. Similarly, succeeding prophets were received upon due authentication, and their written works were received with the same respect, being received therefore as the Word of God. As far as the witness contained in the books themselves is concerned, this reception was immediate.” (Ibid., p. 167). 66 The Tests of Canonicity Specific tests to consider canonicity may be recognized. (1) Did the book indicate God was speaking through the writer and that it was considered authoritative?

Compare the following references: (a) God was speaking through the human author—Ex. 20:1; Josh. 1:1; Isa. 2:1; (b) that the books were authoritative—Joshua 1:7-8; 23:6; 1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 14:6; 21:8; 23:25; Ezra 6:18; Nehemiah 13:1; Daniel 9:11; Malachi 4:4. Note also Joshua 6:26 compared with 1 Kings 16:34; Joshua 24:29-33 compared with Judges 2:8-9; 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 compared with Ezra 1:1-4; Daniel 9:2 compared with Jeremiah 25:11-12. (2) Was the human author recognized as a spokesman of God, that is, was he a prophet or did he have the prophetic gift?

Compare Deuteronomy 18:18; 31:24-26; 1 Samuel 10:25; Nehemiah 8:3. (3) Was the book historically accurate? Did it reflect a record of actual facts? Historical Evidence Supporting the Canonicity of the Old Testament There are a number of important historical evidences drawn from the ancient writings that give support to the Old Testament canon as we have it in our Protestant Bible. 1. Prologue to Ecclesiasticus. This noncanonical book refers to a threefold division of books (namely, the Law, the Prophets, and hymns and precepts for human conduct) which was known by the writer’s grandfather (which would be around 200 B.C.). 2. Philo. Philo (around A D. 40) referred to the same threefold division. 3. Josephus. Josephus (A. D. 37-100) said that the Jews held as sacred only twenty-two books (which include exactly the same as our present thirty-nine books of the Old Testament). 4. Jamnia. Jamnia (A. D.

90), was a teaching house of rabbis who discussed canonicity. Some questioned whether it was right to accept (as was being done) Esther, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. These discussions concerned an existing canon. 5. The church fathers. The church fathers accepted the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament. The only exception was Augustine (A. D. 400) who included the books of the Apocrypha (those “extra” books that some Bibles include between the books of the Old and New Testaments). However, he did acknowledge that they were not fully authoritative. The books of the Apocrypha were not officially recognized as part of the canon until the Council of Trent (A.D. 1546) and then only by the Roman Catholic church. 67 New Testament Evidence for the Canonicity of the Old Testament (1) Old Testament quotations in the New. There are some 250 quotes from Old Testament books in the New Testament. None are from the Apocrypha. All Old Testament books are quoted except Esther, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. (2) Old Testament quotations by Jesus Christ.

In Matthew 5:17-18, the Lord declared that the Law and the Prophets, a reference that includes all of the Old Testament, then summarized as “the Law” in verse 18, would be fulfilled. This declared it was therefore God’s authoritative Word. Christ’s statement in Matthew 23:35 about the blood (murder) of Abel to the blood of Zechariah clearly defined what Jesus viewed as the Old Testament canon. It consisted of the entire Old Testament as we know it in our Protestant English Bible. This is particularly significant in view of the fact there other murders of God’s messengers recorded in the Apocrypha, but the Lord excludes them suggesting He did not consider the books of the Apocrypha to belong in the Canon as with the books from Genesis to 2 Chronicles. The above evidence shows the books of the Old Testament, as we have them in our Protestant Bible, were God breathed and therefore authoritative and profitable the very moment they were written. “There was human recognition of the writings; normally this was immediate as the people recognized the writers as spokesmen from God.

Finally, there was a collection of the books into a canon.” 68 Canonicity of the New Testament Factors Leading to the Recognition of the New Testament Canon What were the factors that led to the recognition of a New Testament canon as we have it today? For almost twenty years after the ascension of Christ none of the books of the New Testament were even written and about sixty-five years elapsed before the last New Testament book was written. James was undoubtedly the first, being written between 45-50 A.D., and Revelation was most surely the last, being written about 90 A.D. But several things began to happen that promoted the formation of the New Testament canon. Enns summarizes these: (1) Spurious writings as well as attacks on genuine writings were a factor. Marcion, for example, rejected the Old Testament and New Testament writings apart from the Pauline letters (he altered Luke’s gospel to suit his doctrine). (2) The content of the New Testament writings testified to their authenticity and they naturally were collected, being recognized as canonical. (3) Apostolic writings were used in public worship, hence, it was necessary to determine which of those writings were canonical.

(4) Ultimately, the edict by Emperor Diocletian in A.D. 303, demanding that all sacred books be burned, resulted in the New Testament collection. 69 The Process of Recognition of the New Testament Canon (1) In the Apostolic Era. Since the books were inspired when they were written, they were already canonical and possessed authority as being a part of God’s Word. The responsibility of the church was simply to attest to the fact of their inspiration. This process began immediately with the writers recognizing that their own writings were the Word of God (Col. 4:16; 1 Thess. 4:15). But they also recognized that other writings of the New Testament were Scripture and on a par with the Old Testament. In 1 Timothy 5:18 Paul quoted Deuteronomy 25:4 and Luke 10:7 and referred to both passages as Scripture. Peter likewise attested to Paul’s writings as Scripture in 2 Peter 3:15-16. Furthermore, the New Testament epistles were being read and circulated among the churches as authoritative revelation from God (cf. Col. 4:16; 1 Thess. 5:27).

(2) In the Post-Apostolic Era. Clement of Rome (c. A.D. 95) mentioned at least eight New Testament books in a letter; Ignatius of Antioch (c. A.D. 115) also acknowledged about seven books; Polycarp, a disciple of John, (c. A.D. 108), acknowledged fifteen letters. That is not to say these men did not recognize more letters as canonical, but these are ones they mentioned in their correspondence. Later Irenaeus wrote (c. A.D. 185), acknowledging twenty-one books. Hippolytus (A.D. 170-235) recognized twenty-two books. The problematic books at this time were Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, and 2 and 3 John. Even more important was the witness of the Muratorian Canon (A.D. 170), which was a compilation of books recognized as canonical at that early date by the church. The Muratorian Canon included all the New Testament books except Hebrews, James, and one epistle of John. In the fourth century there was also prominent recognition of a New Testament canon.

When Athanasius wrote in A.D. 367 he cited the twenty-seven books of the New Testament as being the only true books. In A.D. 363 the Council of Laodicea stated that only the Old Testament and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament were to be read in the churches. The Council of Hippo (A.D. 393) recognized the twenty-seven books, and the Council of Carthage (A.D. 397) affirmed that only those canonical books were to be read in the churches. 70 Ryrie has an important note in connection with Martin Luther’s opinion of the epistle of James. Sometimes it is claimed that Martin Luther rejected the Book of James as being canonical. This is not so. Here’s what he wrote in his preface to the New Testament in which he ascribes to the several books of the New Testament different degrees of doctrinal value. “St. John’s Gospel and his first Epistle, St. Paul’s Epistles, especially those to the Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, and St.

Peter’s Epistle—these are the books which show to thee Christ, and teach everything that is necessary and blessed for thee to know, even if you were never to see or hear any other book of doctrine. Therefore, St. James’ Epistle is a perfect straw-epistle compared with them, for it has in it nothing of an evangelic kind.” Thus Luther was comparing (in his opinion) doctrinal value, not canonical validity. 71 The Tests For Canonicity The question naturally arises, what process and by what means did the early church recognize which books were canonical and which books were not? The following summarizes the tests used to discern which books were canonical. (1) Authentication on the Divine side—Inspiration. Did the book give internal evidence of inspiration, of being God breathed? Was it of proper spiritual character? Did it edify the church? Was it doctrinally accurate? “The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha were rejected as a result of not meeting this test. The book should bear evidence of high moral and spiritual values that would reflect a work of the Holy Spirit.” 72 (2) Authentication on the human side.

Three issues were important here: (a) Was the author an apostle or did he have the endorsement of an apostle? Mark wrote the gospel of Mark, but he did so under Peter’s endorsement. Luke, as a close associate of the Apostle Paul, wrote under the endorsement of his authority. (b) Universal acceptance was another key factor. On the whole, was the book accepted by the church at large? The recognition given a particular book by the church was important. By this standard, a number of books were rejected. There were some books that enjoyed an acceptance by a few, but were later dropped for a lack of universal acceptance. Then there were a few books that some questioned because of doubts about the author, not the content, but were later accepted because the majority accepted them. 73 The Reliability of the New Testament Just how reliable are the New Testament documents? There are now more than 5,300 known Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. Add over 10,000 Latin Vulgate and at least 9,300 other early versions (MSS) and we have more than 24,000 manuscript copies of portions of the New Testament.

This means that no other document of antiquity even begins to approach such numbers and attestation. In comparison, the Iliad by Homer is second with only 643 manuscripts that still survive. The first complete preserved text of Homer dates from the 13th century. 74 This contrast is startling and tremendously significant. Perhaps we can appreciate how wealthy the New Testament is in manuscript attestation if we compare the textual material for other ancient historical works. For Caesar’s Gallic War (composed between 58 and 50 B.C) there are several extant MSS, but only nine or ten are good, and the oldest is some 900 years later than Caesar’s day. Of the 142 books of the Roman history of Livy (59 B.C-A.D 17), only 35 survive; these are known to us from not more than twenty MSS of any consequence, only one of which, and that containing fragments of Books III-VI, is as old as the fourth century. Of the fourteen books of Histories of Tacitus (c. A.D.

100) only four and a half survive; of the sixteen books of his Annals, ten survive in full and two in part. The text of these extant portions of his two great historical works depends entirely on two MSS, one of the ninth century and one of the eleventh.… The History of Thucydides (c. 460-400 B.C.) is known to us from eight MSS, the earliest belonging to about the beginning of the Christian era. The same is true of the History of Herodotus (c. 480-425 B.C.). Yet no classical scholar would listen to an argument that the authenticity of Herodotus or Thucydides is in doubt because the earliest MSS of their works which are of any use are over 1,300 years later than the originals. 75 The fact of the many documents plus the fact that many of the New Testament documents are very early (hundreds of parchment copies from the 4th and 5th centuries with some seventy-five papyri fragments dating from A.D. 135 to the 8th century) assures us we have a very accurate and reliable text in the New Testament. 60 Merrill F.

Unger, Introductory Guide to the Old Testament, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, 1951, p. 47. 61 Enns, p. 170. 62 For an excellent treatment of these evidences, see Josh McDowell’s book, Evidence Demands a Verdict, Historical Evidences for the Christian Faith, Revised Edition, Here’s Life Publishers, Inc. San Bernardino, CA, 1979. 63 Ryrie, electronic media. For other articles on canonicity, see our web page at under “Theology,” and then under “Bibliology--The Doctrine of the Written Word.” 64 Frederick W. Danker, Multipurpose Tools For Bible Study, Concorida Publishing House, St. Louis, 1960, p. 57. 65 Charles Caldwell Ryrie, A Survey of Bible Doctrine, Moody Press, Chicago, 1972, pp. 45-46. 66 Enns, p. 170-171. TLCF Old Testament Review - The Pentatauch Jeopardy Template What is the fourth book of the Old Testament?

100 What is/was (the) Creation? (Genesis 1) The 6-day formation of heaven and earth. 100 What is the first book of the bible? 100 Psalms The Lord is my shepard I shall not want... is in what book of the old testament? 100 Joshua, Judges, Jeremiah, Jonah, Joel, Job Name at least 2 books of the Old Testament that begin with the letter "J". 200 Genesis, Chapters 12 - 50 focuses on these "First Fathers." 200 What is the name of the first man God created? 200 What is the Tower of Babel? In Genesis, humankind were united in language and rebellion until they "assembled" at this place. 200 What were the Plagues (Exodus 7 - 12)? These "things" were a direct attack against the deities (Gods) of Eqypt. 200 This is another term to describe the first five books of the bible. 300 Who was Moses?

This man of the bible was born an Israelite, raised as an Egyptian, "adopted" into the lifestyle of a Midianite shepperd. 300 What is the name of the first woman God created? 300 What is the 15th book of the bible? 300 How many books of the Old Testament have a 1st and 2nd book? 300 What is the last book of the Old Testament? 400 These were the only surviving adults who left Eqypt and entered the "Promised Land." 400 What is the name of the mountain Moses went on to here God? 400 What is "In the Desert". (Book of Numbers) This is the Hebrew name for this fourth book. 400 What were the two trumpets? (Numbers 10) Note: Used to call the leaders together, give the signal to start out (move), to seek God's help in battle, or to call the people together during festivals (start the party). These "instruments" were used send "signals" to the Israelites. 400 What is the 23rd book of the Old Testament? 500 Who were the Nazirites?

(Numbers 6) These were special people who "consecrated" themselves for God and his purpose for a minimum of 30 days. 500 What are the first 5 books of the bible? 500 What is the 21st book of the Old Testament? 500 What book of the bible list the 10 commandments? 500 From Hebrew Bible To Christian Bible | From Jesus To Christ - The First Christians | FRONTLINE | PBS WATCH SCHEDULE TOPICS ABOUT FRONTLINE SHOP TEACHER CENTER From Hebrew Bible to Christian Bible: Jews, Christians and the Word of God In his teaching, Jesus often quoted the Jewish Scriptures; after his death, his followers turned to them for clues to the meaning of his life and message. Biblical scholar Mark Hamilton discusses the history of these ancient texts and their significance for early Christians and their Jewish contemporaries.

Mark Hamilton is currently writing a PhD dissertation at Harvard University called 'The Body Royal: Kingship and Masculinity in Ancient Israel.' His article "The Past as Destiny" will appear in the October issue of the Harvard Theological Review The Origins of the Hebrew Bible and Its Components The sacred books that make up the anthology modern scholars call the Hebrew Bible - and Christians call the Old Testament - developed over roughly a millennium; the oldest texts appear to come from the eleventh or tenth centuries BCE. War songs such as Exodus 15 and Judges 5 are very archaic Hebrew and celebrate Israelite victories from the time preceding the Israelite monarchy under David and Solomon. However, most of the other biblical texts are somewhat later. And they are edited works, collections of various sources intricately and artistically woven together. The five books of Pentateuch (Genesis-Deuteronomy), for example, traditionally are ascribed to Moses. But by the eighteenth century, many European scholars noticed problems with that assumption. Not only does Deuteronomy end with an account of Moses' death (a tough assignment for any writer to describe his or her own demise), but the entire Pentateuch shows anomalies of style that are hard to explain if only one author is involved.

By the nineteenth century, most scholars agreed that the Pentateuch consisted of four sources woven together. This notion of four sources came to be known as the Documentary Hypothesis, and, in various forms, it has been the prevailing theory for the past two hundred years. Israel thus created four independent strains of literature about its own origins, all drawing on oral tradition in varying degrees, and each developed over time. They were combined together to form our Pentateuch sometime in the sixth century BCE. By this time, many of the other biblical books were coming together. Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings form what scholars call a "Deuteronomistic History" (because the work's theology is heavily influenced by Deuteronomy), a history of the Israelite states over a five-hundred-year period. This work contains much of historical value, but it also operates on the basis of a historical and theological theory: i.e., that God has given Israel its land, that Israel periodically sins, suffers punishment, repents, and then is rescued from foreign invasion.

This cycle of sin and redemption shapes the work's way of writing history and gives it a powerful religious dimension, so that even when the sources behind the biblical books are "secular" accounts in which God is far in the background, the theology of the overall work places history in the service of theology. The last edition of the Deuteronomistic History, the one in our Bible, comes from the sixth century BCE, the time of the Babylonian Exile. In this context, it offers an explanation for Israel's poor condition and implicitly a reason to hope for the future. Another section of the Hebrew Bible consists of the prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the twelve "minor," i.e., brief, prophets). Here again, it's important to understand how these developed. In the book of Isaiah, from which Jesus quotes, the original Isaiah of Jerusalem lived in the eighth century BCE in Jerusalem, and much of Isa 6-10 clearly reflects the political and social events of his time.

Another part of the book, however, comes from a prophet who lived two hundred years later: Isaiah 40-55, famous in the New Testament (early Christians thought the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 was Jesus) and prominent in Handel's Messiah, speaks of the Persian king Cyrus the Great (d. 530 BCE), and so the text must come from that time. Other parts of the book of Isaiah are even later, and the entire book was carefully edited together, perhaps by the fifth or fourth century BCE. The extraordinary poetry of the book offers the reader hope in a God who controls historical events and seeks to return his people Israel to their own land. In addition to the prophets, the Hebrew Bible contains what Jews often call the "Writings," or the Hagiographa, hymns and philosophical discourses, love poems and charming tales. These include Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes (or Qoheleth), Song of Songs, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles. These books were the last completed and the last to be received as Scripture, although parts of them may be very ancient indeed.

The books of Psalms, for instance, contains many hymns from Israelite temple worship from the monarchic period, i.e., before the Babylonian Exile in the sixth century BCE; songs such as Psalm 29 may be borrowed from the Canaanites, while Psalm 104 closely resembles Egyptian hymns. In its current form, the 150 psalms fall into five "books," modeled on the five books of the Pentateuch. Proverbs also has many old parts, including one apparently translated from the second-millennium BCE Egyptian text the "Instructions of Amenemope" (Proverbs 22). The remaining books in this part of the Bible are somewhat later: the latest is probably Daniel, which comes from the mid-second century. From Many Books to the One Book How did these various pieces come to be regarded as Scripture by Jewish and, later, Christian communities? There were no committees that sat down to decree what was or was not a holy book.

To some degree, the process of Scripture-making, or canonization as it is often called (from the Greek word kanon, a "measuring rod"), involved a process, no longer completely understood, by which the Jewish community decided which works reflected most clearly its vision of God. The antiquity, real or imagined, of many of the books was clearly a factor, and this is why Psalms was eventually attributed to David, and Proverbs, Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes (along with, by some people, Wisdom of Solomon in the Apocrypha) to Solomon. However, mere age was not enough. There had to be some way in which the Jewish community could identify its own religious experiences in the sacred books. This occurred, at least in part, through an elaborate process of biblical interpretation. Simply reading a text involves interpretation. Interpretative choices are made even in picking up today's newspaper; one must know the literary conventions that distinguish a news report, for example, from an op-ed piece. The challenge becomes much more intense when one reads highly artistic texts from a different time and place, such as the Bible. The earliest examples of interpretation we have appear in the Bible itself.

Zechariah reinterprets Ezekiel, Jeremiah often refers to Hosea and Micah, and Chronicles substantially rewrites Kings. These reinterpretations are in themselves evidence that the older books were already becoming authoritative, canonical, even as the younger ones were still being written. But some of the oldest extensive reinterpretations of our Bible come from the third or second centuries BCE. For example, the book of Jubilees is a rewriting of Genesis, now arranged in 50-year periods ending in a year of jubilee, or a time for forgiveness of debts. A related work is the Genesis Apocryphon, also a rewriting of Genesis. Ezekiel the Tragedian wrote a play in Greek based on the life of Moses. And the Essenes, the sect that produced the Dead Sea Scrolls, composed commentaries (peshers) on various biblical books: fragments of those on Habakkuk, Hosea, and Psalms survive. From the first century BCE or so, come additional psalms attributed to David and the Letter of Aristeas (about the miraculous translating of the Bible into Greek), among others.

And during the life of Jesus himself, Philo of Alexandria wrote extensive allegorical commentaries on the Pentateuch, all with a view toward making the Bible respectable to philosophers influenced by Plato. Despite their great variety of outlook and interests, all of these works shared certain common views. They all believed the author of the Bible was God, that it was therefore a perfect book, that it had strong moral agendas and that it was abidingly relevant. Interpretation had to show how it was relevant to changing situations. They also thought the Bible to be cryptic, a puzzle requiring piecing together. The mental gymnastics required to make the old texts ever new is one of the great contributions of this era to the history of Judaism and Christianity, and therefore Western civilization itself. An example of interpretation: Genesis 11 Genesis 11 is the story of how humans soon after the Flood built a city centered around a tower "with its top in the heavens." The purpose of the Tower of Babel was to allow its builders to "make a name" for themselves. God, in a pique of anger, alters the builders' languages so that they cannot understand each other.

In its original form, the story is an explanation of why not everyone speaks Hebrew, as well as a comment on the huge temple-towers (ziggurats) of Mesopotamian cities. For later interpreters, however, this story cried out for explanation. Why was God afraid of these people? How high was the tower? Who led the construction, and did anyone voice objections? What did the builders expect to do when they reached the heavens? What moral lessons should one learn from the story? To answer these questions and others, Jubilees 10 says that the builders worked for 43 years (50 years of the Jubilee period minus the mystical number seven) and built a structure one and a half miles high! Their purpose was to enter into heaven itself. Pseudo-Philo's Biblical Antiquities (first century CE) adds a story about Abraham, a model of courage, refusing to cooperate with the builders and so being thrown into a fiery furnace, much like the three young men in Daniel 3. God sends an earthquake to destroy the furnace, and then he changes both the builders' languages and their appearance, so that no one can recognize even his or her own brother.

Other traditions think that the builders of the tower were either giants (Pseudo-Eupolemus), or were humans led by the mighty hunter and city-builder Nimrod mentioned in Genesis 10 (Josephus). Each interpreter imaginatively builds on some chance word or phrase in the biblical text to try to answer reasonable questions about it. Meanwhile, the first-century philosopher and biblical interpreter writes an entire book on this chapter, which he interprets as an allegory about human morality: the builders represent greed and venality. The Book and the Once and Coming Messiah Like their Jewish predecessors and Jewish contemporaries, early Christians believed that the Hebrew Bible was God's book, and therefore a book that should cast light on current events and moral conundrums. For Christians, of course, the most important issue was the true import of Jesus and the story of his life, death, and resurrection. Since they believed him to be the messiah ("anointed one"), God's savior and the harbinger of a new and perfect age, they sought to find mention of him in the Hebrew Bible itself. This is why so much of the story of Jesus in the gospels quotes the Bible. This move was not without precedent.

The Dead Sea community also believed that the prophets had predicted their movement and their leader, the Teacher of Righteousness, as well as the political events of their time. They go so far as to claim that the prophets did not know what they were saying, but God, the true author of the text, used them to speak of the (to them) distant future. Christians, however, had a different set of questions than the Dead Sea sect, and so they found different texts to cite. Any texts that refer to a time of a future deliverance, or the coming of a future king, were fair game. So the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 becomes the suffering Jesus of the gospels. And Luke's quotation from Isaiah 61 becomes a reference to Jesus's ministry of healing and reconciliation. Yet in every case, as far as we can tell, the Christian reading comes after the fact. That is, they first believed in Jesus and then tried to find his life in Scripture. They then could shape their telling of stories about his life to fit the scriptures.

This process may seem very circular, but given their assumptions -- namely, that Jesus is central to God's plan, that God spoke through prophets who might not understand their own words, and that the Bible was a cryptic puzzle needing solving -- this belief in prophecy and fulfillment is not incomprehensible. So Luke can have Jesus say, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your presence!" Jesus saw himself as the deliverer that the prophets had foreseen long before. When his followers drew the same conclusion, they could then retain the ancient Scriptures, transforming them into something new, a Christian Bible. Bible Etymology The English word "Bible" is from the Greek phrase ta biblia, "the books," an expression Hellenistic Jews used to describe their sacred books several centuries before the time of Jesus. Christians adopted the phrase "Old Testament" to refer to these sacred books they shared with Jews. Jews called the same books Miqra, "Scripture," or the Tanakh, an acronym for the three divisions of the Hebrew Bible: T Bible | sacred text | Britannica.com sacred text King James Version (KJV) Bible, the sacred scriptures of Judaism and Christianity .

The Christian Bible consists of the Old Testament and the New Testament , with the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox versions of the Old Testament being slightly larger because of their acceptance of certain books and parts of books considered apocryphal by Protestants . The Jewish Bible includes only the books known to Christians as the Old Testament. The arrangements of the Jewish and Christian canons differ considerably. The Protestant and Roman Catholic arrangements more nearly match one another. Moses leading the children of Israel through the Red Sea, 15th century; illustration from a German … Ann Ronan Pictures/Heritage Image/age fotostock The first printing (1663) of the Bible in the American colonies; it was translated by Christian … The Newberry Library, Gift of Edward Ayer, 1911 (A Britannica Publishing Partner) A Bible (1569)—written in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin—that was subsidized by … The Newberry Library, Wing Fund, 1945 (A Britannica Publishing Partner) A brief treatment of the Bible follows. For full treatment, see biblical literature .

biblical literature: Traditionally, the Jews have divided their scriptures into three parts: the Torah (the “Law,” or the Pentateuch), the Neviʾim (“Prophets”), and the Ketuvim (“Writings,” or Hagiographa). The Pentateuch, together with the Book of Joshua (hence the name Hexateuch), can be seen as the account of how Israel became a nation and of how it possessed the Promised Land. The division designated as the “Prophets” continues the story of Israel in the Promised Land, describing the establishment and development of the monarchy and presenting the messages of the prophets to the people. The “Writings” include speculation on the place of evil and death in the scheme of things (Job and Ecclesiastes), the poetical works, and some additional historical books. The Bible As Literature, Part One: Saga and Story in the Old Testament. … Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. The Bible As Literature, Part Two: History, Poetry, and Drama in the Old … Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Revelation to John In the Apocrypha of the Old Testament, various types of literature are represented; the purpose of the Apocrypha seems to have been to fill in some of the gaps left by the indisputably canonical books and to carry the history of Israel to the 2nd century bce. The New Testament is by far the shorter portion of the Christian Bible, but, through its associations with the spread of Christianity, it has wielded an influence far out of proportion to its modest size. Like the Old Testament, the New Testament is a collection of books, including a variety of early Christian literature. The four Gospels deal with the life, the person, and the teachings of Jesus , as he was remembered by the Christian community . The book of Acts carries the story of Christianity from the Resurrection of Jesus to the end of the career of Paul. The Letters, or Epistles, are correspondence by various leaders of the early Christian church , chief among them the Apostle Paul, applying the message of the church to the sundry needs and problems of early Christian congregations. The Book of Revelation (the Apocalypse) is the only canonical representative of a large genre of apocalyptic literature that appeared in the early Christian movement. St.

Mark, illuminated manuscript page from the Gospel Book of the Court school of Charlemagne, … Stadtbibliothek, Trier, Ger. Le Miroir de humaine saluation (“The Mirror of Human … The Newberry Library, Louis H. Silver Collection, 1964 (A Britannica Publishing Partner) Books of the Bible are provided in the table.

Books of the Bible Genesis; or, The First Book of Moses The Book of Genesis Exodus; or, The Second Book of Moses The Book of Exodus Leviticus; or, The Third Book of Moses The Book of Leviticus Numbers; or, The Fourth Book of Moses The Book of Numbers Deuteronomy; or, The Fifth Book of Moses The Book of Deuteronomy The First Book of Samuel The First Book of Kings Judges The Second Book of Samuel The Second Book of Kings First Samuel The First Book of Kings The Third Book of Kings Second Samuel The Second Book of Kings The Fourth Book of Kings First Kings The First Book of Chronicles The First Book of Paralipomenon Second Kings The Second Book of Chronicles The Second Book of Paralipomenon Isaiah The First Book of Esdras Jeremiah The Second Book of Esdras Ezekiel The Book of Tobias (apocryphal Tobit in RSV) Hosea The Book of Judith (apocryphal Judith in RSV) Joel The Book of Esther (includes The Additions to The Book of Esther, apocryphal in RSV) Amos Solomon’s Canticle of Canticles Habakkuk The Book of Wisdom (apocryphal Wisdom of Solomon in

 RSV) Zephaniah Ecclesiasticus (apocryphal Ecclesiasticus in RSV) Haggai The Prophecy of Baruch (apocryphal Baruch and The Letter of Jeremiah in RSV) Ketuvim ("The Writings") Psalms The Book of Ezekiel The Prophecy of Daniel (includes The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon, apocryphal in RSV) Proverbs The First Book of Machabees (apocryphal The First Book of the Maccabees in RSV) The Book of Malachi The Second Book of Machabees (apocryphal The Second Book of the Maccabees in RSV) New Testament The Gospel According to Matthew The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to St.

Matthew The Gospel According to Mark The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to St. Mark The Gospel According to Luke The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to St. Luke The Gospel According to John The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to St. John The Acts of the Apostles Acts of the Apostles The Letter of Paul to the Romans The Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Romans The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians The First Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians The Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians The Second Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians The Letter of Paul to the Galatians The Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Galatians The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians The Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians The Letter of Paul to the Philippians The Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Philippians The Letter of Paul to the Colossians The Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Colossians The First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians The First Epistle of St.

Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians The Second Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians The Second Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians The First Letter of Paul to Timothy The First Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to Timothy The Second Letter of Paul to Timothy The Second Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to Timothy The Letter of Paul to Titus The Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to Titus The Letter of Paul to Philemon The Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to Philemon The Letter to the Hebrews The Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews The Letter of James The Epistle of St. James the Apostle The First Letter of Peter The First Epistle of St. Peter the Apostle The Second Letter of Peter The Second Epistle of St. Peter the Apostle The First Letter of John The First Epistle of St. John the Apostle The Second Letter of John The Second Epistle of St. John the Apostle The Third Letter of John The Third Epistle of St. John the Apostle The Letter of Jude The Epistle of St. Jude the Apostle The Revelation to John The Apocalypse of St.

John the Apostle Apocrypha The First Book of Esdras* The Second Book of Esdras* Tobit The Additions to the Book of Esther The Wisdom of Solomon Ecclesiasticus; or, The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach Baruch The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men Susanna Bible Bible Z Bible By the Bible we mean the collection of writings that contain the records of divine revelation. The word itself is of Greek origin, being derived from ta biblia, “the books.” In course of time biblia, a neuter plural, was regarded as a feminine singular, and in that way “the books” came to be spoken of as “the book.” By the word Bible therefore we must understand not a single book but a divine library. The Bible is the work of many prophets and inspired writers acting under the influence of the same Holy Spirit; but at the same time it came into being “in many parts and in many modes” by a gradual growth extending over many centuries, and we can see in the books themselves evidence of the varied conditions of time and place and thought under which they were composed.

In the New Testament we find the Jewish sacred books described as “the scriptures” ( Matt. 22:29 ; John 5:39 ; Rom. 15:4 ) and “the holy scriptures” ( Rom. 1:2 ; 2 Tim. 3:15 ). Structure of the Bible. The Christian Bible has two great divisions, familiarly known as the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament consists of the canon of scriptures current among the Jews of Palestine in our Lord’s time and received on that account in its entirety by the Christian Church. The New Testament contains writings belonging to the apostolic age, selected by the Church and regarded as having the same sanctity and authority as the Jewish scriptures. (For an account of the way in which these two collections of sacred writings were gradually made, see Canon .) The books of the Old Testament are drawn from a national literature extending over many centuries and were written almost entirely in Hebrew, while the books of the New Testament are the work of a single generation and were written in Greek (with the possible exception of the Gospels of Matthew and John, which may have been written originally in Aramaic).

With regard to the word testament, the Greek word diatheke, of which testament is a translation, meant in classical Greek an arrangement, and therefore sometimes a will or testament, as in an arrangement for disposal of a person’s property after his death. In the Old Testament the word testament represents a Hebrew word meaning “covenant.” The Old Covenant is the law that was given to Moses. The New Covenant is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The title Old Testament is a misnomer since all the prophets, beginning with Adam, had the fulness of the gospel of Christ, with its ordinances and blessings. However, a lesser law was given to Moses for the children of Israel (see Law of Moses ). When the Savior came in the meridian of time, He restored the gospel to the Jews in Palestine. Since they had strayed, even from the law of Moses, it was a new covenant to them. Thus we have the record called the Old and the New Testaments. In the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) the books were divided into three groups: the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings (or Hagiographa). See Luke 24:44 .

This arrangement was according to the Jews’ evaluation of the importance of the books based on the identity of the author. The Bible used by the Christian world is based on a different arrangement of the Old Testament books and was set up by a Greek translation called Septuagint. In this case the books are classified according to subject matter, such as historical, poetical, and prophetical. The books of the New Testament have varied in sequence somewhat through the centuries but are generally in this order: the four Gospels and Acts, being primarily historical; the epistles of Paul (arranged according to length, except Hebrews); the general epistles of James, Peter, John, and Jude; and the Apocalypse or Revelation of John. The Bible used by most non-Catholic churches today has 66 books—39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. The books called Apocrypha have generally not been printed in the non-Catholic Bibles in the past century, although in recent years these books have been gaining in popularity. (See Apocrypha .) Preservation of the Text of the Old Testament.

The original language of most of the Old Testament is Hebrew , but a few portions ( Ezra 4:8–6:18 ; 7:12–26 ; Jer. 10:11 ; Dan. 2:4–7:28 ) were written in what is popularly called Chaldee, but more correctly Aramaic. The direct evidence for the text of the Old Testament is of three kinds: Hebrew manuscripts, ancient versions, and quotations in the Talmud and other ancient Jewish writings. The manuscripts are of two kinds: (1) synagogue rolls, about which the Talmud gives elaborate rules as to the nature of the skins and fastenings, the number of columns in each, and the size of each column and title; these were written without vowel points or accents; (2) manuscripts for private use, in book form of various sizes, the vowel points being inserted, and a commentary generally provided in the margin. If we had only Hebrew manuscripts we might conclude that the text of the Old Testament has been the same always and everywhere.

But the existence of the Greek Version, called the Septuagint, and the Samaritan Pentateuch (see Samaritans ) proves that this is by no means the case. They differ materially from the Masoretic text and in some cases have no doubt preserved older and truer readings; but it is most difficult in many cases to decide to which reading the preference should be given. The close agreement among the different Hebrew manuscripts (other than the Samaritan Pentateuch) is accounted for by the fact that soon after the destruction of Jerusalem (A.D. 70) much labor was bestowed upon the Hebrew text by the scholars who formed the Jewish School at Tiberias. One form of text was agreed upon, afterwards called the Masoretic text. Manuscripts that differed materially from this were destroyed, and the utmost care was taken to prevent any other readings from obtaining currency. The English KJV follows the Masoretic text except in a very few passages. The Dead Sea Scrolls, some of which are believed to be as early as the 2nd century B.C., give evidence that the Old Testament text was corrupted at least by that time. Preservation of the Text of the New Testament.

In trying to decide what were the actual words written by the Apostles and other writers we have the evidence of (1) Greek manuscripts, (2) translations made from Greek into other languages, and (3) quotations by early Church writers. (1) A Greek manuscript is called an Uncial if it is written entirely in capital letters and a Cursive if written in smaller letters and a running hand. Uncials are denoted for purposes of reference by capital letters and are relatively few in number, there being less than 70 known Uncial manuscripts, only 21 of which are at all complete. Cursive manuscripts are very numerous, being in the thousands, and are denoted by numbers. These are of later date than the Uncials and are of less importance as evidence of the original text.

(2) The most important of the early versions of the New Testament are (a) the Latin, including the Old Latin which belongs to the 2nd century, and the Vulgate, which was a Revised Latin text made by Jerome in the 4th century; (b) the Syriac, of which there are three important forms: the Old Syriac, the Peshitto, and the Philoxenian; (c) the Egyptian or Coptic, including the Memphitic or Boheiric, the Sahidic or Thebaic, and the Bashmuric or Fayumic, these three versions being made in Lower, Upper, and Middle Egypt respectively. (3) Quotations by early Christian writers are sometimes of much value as indicating the text of the New Testament, which they were accustomed to use; but this evidence requires careful use, for authors do not always take pains to quote correctly. Such are the biblical materials at one’s disposal for the purpose of deciding what was the original sense of the text of the Old and New Testaments.

However, latter-day revelation, in the form of the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, and also the teachings of Joseph Smith (through his translation of the Bible and otherwise), offers much evidence and many helpful suggestions about biblical interpretation and original content. These latter-day sources are indispensable to the student who wishes to obtain the clearest and most complete understanding of what the ancient prophets and apostles have written. With the discovery of more ancient manuscripts not available to the King James translators, many translations of the Bible have been produced since 1900 by Bible scholars. However, based on the doctrinal clarity of latter-day revelation given to Joseph Smith, the Church has held to the King James Version as being doctrinally more accurate than these recent versions. The newer versions are in many instances easier to read but are in some passages doctrinally weaker in their presentation of the gospel. Therefore, the King James Version remains the principal Bible of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The position of the Church regarding the Bible is that it contains the word of God as far as it is translated correctly ( A of F 1:8 ).

Joseph Smith taught that “many important points touching the salvation of men, had been taken from the Bible, or lost before it was compiled.” He also said that the Bible was correct as “it came from the pen of the original writers,” but that “ignorant translators, careless transcribers, or designing and corrupt priests have committed many errors.” (HC 1:245; 6:57.) The Church reveres and respects the Bible but recognizes that it is not a complete nor entirely accurate record. It affirms also that the Lord has given additional revelation through His prophets in the last days that sustains, supports, and verifies the biblical account of God’s dealings with mankind.

Question: In the Bible, what is the fourth book of the Old Testament?
Answer: Numbers