Structure of the Bible
Introduction to the Bible PPT
The Structure of the Bible
OLD TESTAMENT
The Hebrew Bible aka the Old Testament (Christian &
Jewish):
The Law – The five books of Moses : Pentateuch
Genesis – Exodus – Leviticus – Numbers - Deuteronomy
The Prophets – history of the united monarchy and the
kingdoms of Judah and Israel, including Joshua, Judges,
Samuel and Kings.
The Writings – Psalms, Proverbs
THE NEW TESTAMENT
New Testament (Christian):
Gospels - the life and death of Jesus
Acts of the Apostles - the work and teaching of the
early founders of the Church
Epistles - letters from Christian leaders, particularly
Paul, to Christian communities
Book of Revelation
The Apocrypha
Prophesies, poems and psalms that were
part of the Hebrew tradition but were
eventually dropped from the canon.
Books of the Apocrypha
Banned From the Bible video clip
(We use the word ‘apocryphal’ today to
describe stories of doubtful authenticity,
although widely circulated as being true.)
The Dead Sea Scrolls
- Written at about the time of Christ, on
parchment and papyrus, mostly in Hebrew
but also Aramaic and Greek
- Both canonical books and apocrypha
- Different versions of the same book (eg.
Samuel) in circulation
- Collected and hidden away by a Jewish
sect called the Essenes
The Documentary Hypothesis
The Documentary Hypothesis is the theory
that the first five books of the Hebrew
Bible (aka The Torah aka The Five Books
of Moses aka the Pentateuch) derive from
four distinct sources. These four sources
sometimes overlap and are sometimes
inconsistent.
The Septuagint
•
Alexander the Great (a Macedonian)
conquers Canaan circa 300. He and his others
bring Greek culture; this process is called
Hellenization.
• Many Jews embraced Greek language and
Greek culture . Tradition has it that Ptolemy
organised 72 scholars to create a Greek
translation. Thus it is called the Septuagint (Latin
for 70).
• Greek translation of the Hebrew/Jewish
Scripture.
• Widely used by the early Christian Church.
The Lost Books
Original copies of Septuagint may have
been kept at the Library of Alexandria. The
Library was burnt down by the Romans in
47 AD. It is believed, books from the
Hebrew tradition may have been lost
forever.
Canonization
Process whereby texts were labeled
authoritative for the religion, and their
contents and structure became fixed
Canonization of Old
Pentateuch --Testament
canonized 5th century
BCE
Prophets -- canonized between the 5th
and 2nd century BCE
Writings – canonized in the 1st century
CE
Canonization of New
Testament
The books of the New Testament were
written between the 1st and 4th
centuries CE
The New Testament became
canonized around 400 CE