By: Brian G. Chilton, Ph.D., M.Div. | September 21, 2023

S7E3 What is the Bible on YouTube



            Modern Christians place a lot of attention on the Bible. The Bible is the book that is used as the primary teaching tool for Christian worship services. It is the focus of study. Certain services in church settings are called “Bible studies” for good reason. Christians hold that the Bible is the revelation of God. That is, the Bible’s primary author is God as he inspired other individuals to reveal certain truths about himself. Or worded another way, the Bible is the means by which God has described who he is, who humanity is, and God’s plan to redeem humanity.

As much attention that Christians often place on the Bible, it is shocking how little attention is given to the structure, history, and characteristics of the Bible. As we begin our series on bibliology, let’s begin by discussing a few basic questions about the Bible itself. Such as: What is the Bible? How do we know the Bible is the Word of God? How long did it take for the Bible to be written? Who were the writers of the Bible? Is there a primary theme? What is Bibliology?

 

What is the Bible?

First, we must ask, what is the Bible? The term “Bible” comes from the Greek term biblios, which means “books.” The Bible is not a singular book. Rather, it is a collection of 66 books.

 

Divisions of the Bible

The Bible is separated into two major sections: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament contains 39 books, and the New Testament consists of 27 books. The Old Testament follows the encounters that the people of Israel had with God from the time of creation to their implementation as a nation, and it ends with their return from Babylonian exile.

The New Testament picks up the story in the first-century AD when Israel was under Roman rule. The New Testament follows the life of Jesus of Nazareth and his followers. Christians hold Jesus to be the Son of God and the fulfillment of messianic prophecies as found in the Old Testament. The New Testament largely consists of letters written by early church leaders to various churches across the region. It concludes with an apocalyptic look at what is yet to come with the book of Revelation.

 

7 Subdivisions of the Bible

            We can break down the divisions of Scripture even further as we look at the Bible as a whole. These seven subdivisions consist of the law, history, poetry, prophecy, biographies, epistles, and apocalyptic literature. Let’s now look at these 7 subdivisions.

Law

The first five books of the Bible, often called the Pentateuch or the Torah, contain the law that God gave to the people of Israel. The law consists of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. However, it would be wrong to think that legal standards are all that is found in this section. The first portion of Genesis contains the creation story, where God is shown to be the source behind all that exists. The story continues with the narratives depicting the patriarchs of Israel, their lives, the lives of their children, and ends with their redemption from famine when they were welcomed to Egypt by Joseph who assumed a high position in the Egyptian court.

In Exodus, things grew worse for the Israelites. In Egypt, they grew in population which grew the ire of the Egyptian pharaoh. Seeking to keep the people in line, he then enslaved the Israelites. Afterward, God calls Moses, an Israelite saved by the Egyptian princess and adopted by the Egyptian royalty, to set his people free. After they are freed from the clutches of Egypt, God leads Moses to Mount Sinai where he gives him the law that is recorded in the remaining parts of Exodus, Leviticus, parts of Numbers, and retold in Deuteronomy.

Historical Narrative

The second subsection is called historical narrative. Joshua, Judges,