WHAT IS THE BIBLE
The Bible is one book with many books within it, written by different authors within the span of one-thousand and five-hundred years, with the last book written by the Apostle John around 95AD. For Christians, the Bible is believed to be the inspired word of God, and written to teach, instruct, and inform us about the way God has interacted with man since the beginning of time.
Traditionally for Christians, the Bible centers around Jesus Christ. Obviously, the New Testament teaches about his birth, ministry on earth, his death, resurrection, his ascension into Heaven, his coming again at the end of the world, and how to apply his teachings to our life and community. But the Old Testament also centers around Jesus in a more obscure manner. There are many prophesies concerning Jesus throughout the Old Testament, as well as types and symbols. Many theologians of the Middle Ages were experts in finding Jesus in about every nook and cranny of the Old Testament.
HOW THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE WERE SELECTED
Scripture has always played an important part in the Christian faith. Before Christ came to earth there were writings from Moses, David, Solomon, many prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, etc. These writings were usually found written on scrolls in Hebrew and Aramaic, and then later translated into Greek for the Greek speaking Jews. Prior to the time of Jesus Christ, a collection of these writings took form, and eventually a compilation of these writings was in use as Christianity was established. The Apostles and the early Christian communities were using a Greek translation of the Old Testament called the Septuagint. Around twenty years after the resurrection of Jesus around 33AD, the apostles and some of their disciples began to write about Him, and those writings circulated around Christian communities and churches that were founded. Over time those writings (New Testament) became a large part of Christian worship and held in the same regard as the Old Testament Scriptures. As time passed and the Church grew, lists began to be written up in Church Councils, local church Synods and the Church Fathers concerning which books were to be considered undisputed Scripture or disputed (the Muratorian fragment is the earliest list we know of, written around 235AD). These lists varied over time and among different geographical locations. There was not an authorized dogmatic list of the books of the Bible made until the Council of Trent by the Catholic Church (1545–63). Protestant groups followed by writing their own lists, and they eventually adopted the Hebrew Old Testament canon while the Catholic church and Orthodox maintained their influence from the books contained in the Greek Septuagint version. The Western Christian thought among Catholic and Protestants was more rigid about determining what is canonical (authorized) and what is not as compared to the Eastern Christian way of thinking. There has never been the same sense of urgency in the East for one official dogmatic list because they have always been more wide-ranging. This even goes back to the 2nd Council of Nicea in 787 when they approved seven different lists. The East recognizes that there are books that are canonical but there are also some that are not canonical but to be read for edification. So, there is no clear discrimination here because the East has always been inclusive on this issue.
THE PURPOSE OF THE BIBLE
A basic understanding about the history of the development of the Bible is helpful for an accurate perception of it, because I have found that there is a misconception about it that confuses people concerning the purpose of the Bible in the life of the Church. The early Christians did not walk around with Bibles under their arms, nor is Christianity a product or result of the Bible because Christianity came much earlier than the Bible as we now know it. The confusion is so out of hand that I have seen people assume that Constantine or King James wrote the Bible. I have joked at times saying that some people think the Bible fell out of the sky from Heaven, or Jesus wrote it when he was writing in the sand! But the fact of the matter is, that Jesus established the Christian Church 2000 years ago, by choosing his apostles and sending the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost to fill them with the Spirit to lead and cultivate the Church. That was the first day of the Christian Church. Christianity was flourishing well before any list was written concerning what books were to be in the Bible. Correct Christian doctrine was preserved and passed on long before any list of compiled books were made. Why is this important to know? Because the same Holy Spirit that gave birth to the Christian Church 2000 years ago is the same Spirit that inspired the pen of the authors of the Bible, which is also the same Spirit that worked through the Church to give us the Bible as we have today.
WHEN THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE WERE WRITTEN
As mentioned above, the books of the Bible were written in the span of 1,500 years. The New Testament was written after Jesus ascended into Heaven around 33 AD. It is believed that the New Testament books began to be written around 50AD by the Apostle Paul and finished by the Apostle John around 90-95AD. The Old Testament was written from 1400BC to about 100BC.
HOW TO BEGIN LEARNING THE BIBLE
The first step to becoming acquainted with the Bible is obviously to first open the Bible and look through it. For those who are not familiar with it will find that it can be intimidating because it is a very large book. For the beginner, I highly recommend taking steps to learn how the Bible is laid out and memorize the books of the Bible, because if you take that time it will truly pay off a hundred-fold as you become more advanced. Building a foundation of understanding how the Bible is laid out will allow you to know how to navigate through the Scriptures in order to find specific passages quickly. It is a good feeling when you can open your Bible to a specific book chapter and verse without having to wonder through pages scanning the headings or indexes. Fortunately, early on in my study of the Bible I took the time to memorize the books of the Bible in the order that they are found. I suggest learning these books in categories. For me it only took a couple of days before I had them all memorized. It was time well spent because it lays the foundation that can be built upon as you advance in your studies.
CATEGORIES
Learning the books of the Bible in categories makes it easier to memorize their location in the Bible as well as learning what style of writing each book is. This is important because the Bible was not arranged in chronological order, but rather by the style of writing, such as Historical, Poetic, Prophetic, etc.
The two major categories that are essential for understanding the Bible is the two Testaments, the Old Testament, and the New Testament. The Old Testament was written before Jesus was born, and the New Testament was written after Jesus’ life on earth.
| OLD TESTAMENT
Before Christ |
NEW TESTAMENT
After Christ |
The Old Testament
The Old Testament has more books than the New Testament and will take more memorization. The first category of the Old Testament to memorize is the Pentateuch (also called the Law of Moses), which are the first five books of the Bible.
| Pentateuch |
| Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy |
The second category are the Historical books. Depending on whether you are Orthodox, Catholic, or Protestant, this category slightly varies in the amount of historical books they contain. These books cover the history of the people of God, around the time of 1250BC to 150BC.
| Historical |
| Eastern Orthodox |
Catholic |
Protestant |
| Joshua
Judges
Ruth
*1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
1 Ezra
2 Ezra
Nehemiah
Tobit
Judith
Esther
1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees
3 Maccabees |
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
*1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Tobit
Judith
Esther
1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees |
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
*1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther |
* Sometimes 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings are all called the books of Kings, and listed as 1-4 Kings.
The third category is the Poetic books. They are called Poetic because they contain poetry and wisdom of the people of God.
| Poetic |
| Eastern Orthodox |
Catholic |
Protestant |
| Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Songs
Wisdom
Sirach |
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Songs
Wisdom
Sirach |
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Songs |
The fourth category is the four Major Prophets. They are called “Major” because these books are larger in size than the other prophetic books (Minor Prophets).
| Major Prophets |
| Eastern Orthodox |
Catholic |
Protestant |
| Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Baruch
Epistle of Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Daniel
(Susanna and Bel and the Dragon) |
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Baruch
Ezekiel
Daniel
(Susanna and Bel and the Dragon) |
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Baruch
Ezekiel
Daniel |
The fifth category is the twelve Minor Prophets. They are called “Minor” because they are smaller in volume, not of lesser importance.
| Minor Prophets |
| Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zachariah
Malachi |
The New Testament
The first category of the New Testament is the four Gospels. Gospel means Good News, and they reveal the good news of Jesus Christ, his life, death, resurrection, and ascension.
| Gospels |
| Matthew
Mark
Luke
John |
The second category is the Acts of the Apostles, or Acts. This book teaches about what happened from the time of the ascension of Jesus and the workings (Acts) of the apostles in the early Church.
| Acts of the Apostles (Acts) |
The third category is the Epistles of St. Paul. These letters were written by the Apostle Paul to churches, individual people, and Hebrew Christians.
| The Epistles of St. Paul |
| Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
*Hebrews |
* Sometimes it is disputed whether St. Paul was the author of the epistle to the Hebrews. Traditionally it has been accepted as being Paul’s.
The fourth category is the General Epistles, also called the Catholic Epistles. These letters were written by different apostles to Christians in general. Unlike Paul’s letters, which are named after those who the letters were written to, the General Epistles are named after the Apostles who wrote them.
| General Epistles (Catholic Epistles) |
| James
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
2 John
3 John
Jude |
The fifth and last category is Apocalyptic, and contains only the book of Revelation or the Apocalypse of St. John.
| Apocalyptic |
| Revelation (Apocalypse of St. John) |
RESOURCES FOR LEARNING THE BIBLE
STUDY BIBLES
Reading the Bible is obviously one of the first steps to take, but there are some suggestions I would like to make that will help the beginner get pointed into the right direction. There are many Bibles available on the market and online, and finding one is very simple, but finding one that will optimize your efforts takes discernment, but will pay off overall. That is why I suggest getting a Study Bible.
When picking out a Bible to study from, it is important that you choose a Study Bible that speaks at the level you are at in your Bible knowledge and choosing one that accommodates your needs. If you are a beginner, then you will want a Study Bible that is designed for your level and not one that is written to only accommodate more advanced Bible students. There are some good study Bibles that work very well for beginners that are also advanced enough to meet the needs of those people with years of Bible study under their belt. It’s not to say that a plain Bible with no footnotes or introductions are not of any use, but if you are wanting to maximize your understanding about what you are reading in the Bible then footnotes, introductions, cross-references, maps, and pericopes are very helpful for the reader to understand the meaning and background of the text that they are reading. Below are some Study Bibles that I recommend for beginners that are user friendly and will provide plenty of years of good Bible study.
| Eastern Orthodox |
Catholic |
Protestant |
| The Orthodox Study Bible |
The Ignatius Study Bible |
Life Application Study Bible |
These Study Bibles are very helpful because they provide a number of things that I will explain.
- Introductions/prefaces: These are important because they give the reader information concerning the authorship of each book of the Bible, who they were written to, the background behind the books, and usually an approximate date of when they were written.
- Footnotes: These are very helpful because they are provided along with Scripture to give insight, especially for passages of Scripture that are not easy to understand.
- Cross-references: These are provided with Bible verses and passages that indicate other passages in the Bible that are closely related or direct quotes (such as when the New Testament authors quote from the Old Testament).
- Maps: Maps are helpful so that the reader can see the location of the places of the areas they are reading about.
- Pericopes: These are headings in the Scripture passages that give you the overall thought of a particular section. They help direct your attention so that you know what to expect to read about.
Below is an image from an old Bible with the study helps mentioned above. Notice at the top you will see the introduction; the pericope at the beginning of the 13th chapter; and then the footnotes at the very bottom.
The example given above is one of many examples of how Study Bibles lay out their introductions, periscopes, footnotes, and cross-references. Some Bible editors get more creative than others.
STUDY BIBLES AND DIFFERENT SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT
It is worth mentioning that footnotes and introductions in Study Bibles obviously vary among both Protestant Bibles and Catholic Bibles. I am not speaking about different doctrinal positions, but rather varying methods of analyzing and interpreting the Bible among their own theologians and scholars. The two major schools of thought are the traditional approach and the historical critical method. Both are significantly different, and the results are very different kinds of footnotes and introductions.
I am not interested now in going into much depth, but rather making the reader aware. Signs of a traditional approach in a Study Bible are introductions to the books of the Bible that suggest the authorship to be an historical person within the Bible (Genesis attributed to Moses); who the book itself says it is written by (Romans, Galatians, etc. claims Pauline authorship); who the book is named after (such as Daniel, Jonah, Matthew, etc.); or what has traditionally been accepted over the course of Christian history all the way back to the 2nd century AD, and Jewish history prior to Christ for the Old Testament. The historical critical method usually maintains that the books are written later and written by someone else (or multiple authors) than what the books themselves claims to depict, and even suggests some books to be forgeries. Another sign of a traditional approach is understanding the books of the Bible to be historically valuable and the miraculous events to have happened in space, time, and history, whereas the historical critical method tends to see many stories and events to be no more than humorous stories with teaching value. The traditional approach goes back many centuries and has its roots in oral traditions that trace back to pre-Christian and Apostolic times. The historical critical method is a new concept that gained popularity within the last couple of hundred years.
ONLINE STUDY BIBLES
There are plenty of study Bibles to choose from online, whether digitally on websites, PDF’s, e-books, Kindle, etc. Google Books is an excellent resource to buy e-books and find free Study Bibles to add to your Google library. Also, you get free limited previews of many Study Bibles to look at the interior of the book and decide whether that is the one you want to buy. Most of these options provide the same capabilities with smartphones as they do with personal computers, so you can have your Study Bible resources wherever you go.
There are many nice privileges with using online Study Bibles as well as other online Bible resources because hyperlinks are provided with many of them that give you the ability to click and be directed to specific places in the Bible you want to read. There are almost always provided word search capabilities to find specific words or phrases within the book.
There are many websites that provide digital Bibles that have many wonderful capabilities and resources and options that intertwine numerous translations, concordances, word studies, commentary, and so many more things that I could write a whole book about just on those options alone.
BIBLE COMMENTARIES
Commentaries on the Bible have been very important for clergy, Bible students, and theologians for many centuries, going back to the 2nd century AD, most famously with Origen of Alexandria. Bible commentaries usually give you a verse by verse analysis and are normally more exhaustive in its explanations than Study Bibles. Where Study Bibles usually add footnotes for those passages that need further explanation, commentaries oftentimes cover at least more than half of the passages of the Scripture text. You will find that most Bible commentaries are single volumes of specific books of the Bible, but it does vary because they can come in all shapes and sizes.
Bible commentaries are great tools for studying the Bible one Biblical book at a time, and they make great reference material for those times that you run onto a passage of Scripture that you want more information about.
Just as it is important to find a Study Bible that meets you at your level of Biblical knowledge, the same goes for Bible commentaries. A beginner will probably not benefit from a commentary that has been written for high level Bible students. For Protestants of specific denominations, Catholics, and Orthodox Christians, there is a level of discernment that is necessary in order to find commentaries that one may feel suitable for their studies. For the beginner, finding a commentary that is concise is usually more fitting than one that is highly exhaustive in explaining the meaning of the Scripture text. Beginners may benefit more by straight to the point analysis that speaks in literal terms rather than starting off with a commentary that seeks the spiritual and allegorical meaning. Until a person is more acquainted with the Bible and has an understanding of the senses of interpretation that can be applied to interpreting the Bible, then a commentary that has a lot of allegory will probably be very hard to understand. Below is a page from the commentary on the Psalms by the Theodoret of Cyrus (423–457AD).
Above in the commentary on Psalms, notice that the Scripture text is in italics. This allows the reader to easily distinguish between the Scripture text and the comments made by the commentator. Most Bible commentaries use either bold or italics for the Scripture text.
It is not uncommon for Catholics and especially Orthodox Christians to use Bible commentaries by Early Church writers. The writings of the Early Church Fathers are starting to catch on with many Protestant Bible students, and is evident by the popularity of the commentary series called Ancient Christian Commentary on Sacred Scripture by the InterVarsity Press. There are plenty of contemporary Bible commentaries that are very good, but it is important that you seek out commentaries that are trustworthy and common to your Christian affiliation (if you are determined to stay within your present Christian community’s doctrine).
Here are some early Christian writers that wrote commentaries that are good for a beginner because of conciseness.
As mentioned above, Theodoret of Cyrus (c. 393- c. 460) wrote many commentaries and he is known for his brevity. St. Jerome (c. 347-c. 420) wrote many commentaries and he is usually fairly concise, however he can be very deep. St. John Chrysostom is perhaps the most highly respected of the Early Church Fathers, because of his faithfulness to orthodoxy is unquestionable. But Chrysostom is usually not concise in his famous homilies on Scripture, though his Bible commentaries are concise. His homilies on Scripture are excellent for finding sound interpretations of the Scripture text but they are in the form of an instructive discussion, and the commentary is designed to be a straight to the point explanation of the Scripture text. There are so many Early Church Fathers that made commentaries on the Bible that are available online and in print, but many of them are perhaps not the best commentaries for beginners. But for advanced Bible students the deeper commentaries are very enlightening and worthwhile to read.
As for modern Bible commentaries for beginners, I have used different ones throughout my Christian journey that I can make an informed opinion about. For Orthodox Christians, I have been very impressed with Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty’s commentaries on the Bible! For Catholics I find that the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture is an excellent choice for beginners and advanced Catholic students of the Bible. Bishop John MacEvilly has many Bible commentaries that I highly recommend. For Protestants of the Calvinist school of thought, J. Vernon McGee and his Thru the Bible commentary series is very good. Warren Wiersbe has commentaries that are excellent for beginners and advanced.
OTHER RESOURCES THAT AID IN BIBLE STUDY
Bible concordance: These index Bible words in alphabetical order and provide references of all the places in the Bible that the word is used.
Bible encyclopedia: A resource that covers many different Biblical topics with articles and definitions. They are usually organized in alphabetical order.
Bible dictionary: Just like a regular dictionary but focuses on words of the Bible, and gives the definition.
ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF THE BIBLE
The subject of English translations of the Bible can be a complex topic, but I intend to make this a simple overview because there are plenty of articles and books that specialize on it, and the variety of opinions are very broad.
Anytime one language is translated into another there is a certain amount of interpretation involved, which makes any Bible translation have a level of the translator’s limitations and prejudices mingled within the text. This is not necessarily bad in all conditions, but it is a reality, and since there is an excessive amount of English translations of the Bible produced by many different groups of agendas, there are not always purely honest quests for the truth in all translations. Everything from pious alterations to deliberate deception can be found among the vast amount of English translations that have been made of the Bible. But there are trustworthy translations that you can rely on as faithful transmissions from one language to another. But translators will tell you that it is impossible to make a perfect translation. But this should not be an obstacle whatsoever because even though human imperfection limits the precision of the linguistics of a translation, the message within the translation can still be protected and free of error, which is the highest priority. An imperfect translation can be free of doctrinal error. Therefore, when a translation has been made that alters a text with enough bias that it manipulates or changes the meaning to say what the translator wants it to say, instead of what the text intended to say, most especially in the case of Christian doctrine, this is where it becomes unacceptable.
ANCIENT LANGUAGES OF THE BIBLE
The books of the Bible were originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Most of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew and Aramaic, but some of the later books found in the Catholic and Orthodox Bibles were written in Greek. Most of the New Testament was written in Greek, but it is thought that the Gospel of Matthew could quite possibly have been originally written in Aramaic.
Council, Local Synods and Church Fathers
Muratorian Canon- 235AD
Council of Laodicea- 343-381
Rufinus- 345
Synod of Hippo- 393
Athanasius of Alexandria-367
Eusebius of Caesarea- 260-340
Council of Nicaea 2- 787 (approved 7 different lists)
In the East it didn’t matter that there were different lists, because the Eastern Church has always been inclusive not exclusive. The East recognizes that there are books that are canonical but there are also some that are not canonical but to be read for edification. So there is no clear discrimination.
Just because something is not canonical doesn’t mean that it is not inspired.
1 The Holy Bible: translated from the Latin vulgat, diligently compared with the Hebrew, Greek, and other editions in divers languages ; the Old Testament, first published by the English College at Doway, A.D. 1609 and the New Testament, first published by the English College at Rhemes, A.D. 1582 ; with annotations, and an historical and chronological index; John Thomas Troy (R.C., archbishop of Dublin.)Richard Coyne, 1816 – Bible – 1353 pages
2 Explanation of the Epistle of Paul to the Galatians, Publisher: Chrysostom Press (December 15, 2011) ISBN-10: 1889814113; ISBN-13: 978-1889814117
Patristic Bible Commentaries 