First 10 Books Of The Bible

The First Five Books Of The Bible

For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him?

Deuteronomy 4:7

Psalm 19:710

Romans 4:16

The thirty-nine books of the Old Testament are organized into five sections. The first five books are the books of Law, also called the Pentateuch . Moses is traditionally accepted as the author of all five books, and the Pentateuch has an essential role in how we understand the rest of Scripture. This week, we will explore the content of these books, looking first at their backgrounds and context and then at how to interpret and apply them to our lives.

Who Wrote The Bible: The New Testament

Wikimedia CommonsA depiction of Jesus delivering the Sermon on the Mount.

Finally, the question of who wrote the Bible turns to the texts dealing with Jesus and beyond.

In the second century B.C. with the Greeks still in power, Jerusalem was run by fully Hellenized kings who considered it their mission to erase Jewish identity with full assimilation.

To that end, King Antiochus Epiphanes had a Greek gymnasium built across the street from the Second Temple and made it a legal requirement for Jerusalems men to visit it at least once. The thought of stripping nude in a public place blew the minds of Jerusalems faithful Jews, and they rose in bloody revolt to stop it.

In time, Hellenistic rule fell apart in the area and was replaced by the Romans. It was during this time, early in the first century A.D., that one of the Jews from Nazareth inspired a new religion, one that saw itself as a continuation of Jewish tradition, but with scriptures of its own:

Wikimedia CommonsPaul the Apostle

While the writings attributed to John actually do show some congruity between who wrote the Bible according to tradition and who wrote the Bible according to historical evidence, the question of Biblical authorship remains thorny, complex, and contested.

Responses To The Edition

In its 2007 “Bible and Bible Reference Survey,” Preaching.com called The Books of The Bible “one of the most interesting this year,” and predicted that the format changes would “aid reading and seeing the more natural divisions in the text which are often obscured by the chapter and verse divisions.” A review in the journal Themelios stated, “The way presents the Bible as a library of literature is unique, simple, and elegant” the reviewer anticipated that “some other translations” might “follow suit.”Bible Design and Binding described the edition as “a new approach both to the design and organization of the biblical text” that would “serve as an example to others.” One of the contributors to the Better Bibles Blog expected that “the new format will bring increased understanding” and noted that “the format can be used with any version of the Bible.”

Read Also: What The Bible Is All About Study Guide

We Learn About The Sermon On The Mount

One of Jesus most popular sermons is the Sermon on the Mount. This occurs in chapter 5 of the Gospel of Matthew, with the Beatitudes discussed first. Like all of Jesus teachings, we learn more about how best to follow the Kingdom of God. Theres such a wide variety of lessons that Christians of various interests will have plenty to study.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Matt. 5:3-11

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Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the “When inside of” nested selector system.

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the “When inside of” nested selector system.

The New Testament books contain the most life-changing truths in the world.

But hang tight.

In this article on New Testament Books of the Bible, Iâm going to share:

After reading this post, youâll know the purpose and nature of each book.

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The Bible: The Beginning The First Five Books Of The Bible

The first book of the Old Testament is Genesis, often subtitled The First Book of Moses. Tradition says it was written by Moses, though the book itself does not identify its author. Genesis means beginning, which is appropriate, since this book contains a simple but profound story of the creation of the world. This is not intended to be a scientific explanation. The Bible tells us that God did it, but not how.

The Bible makes an important distinction between humans and other living creatures. The animals were made after their kind , but humans were made in the likeness and image of God .

Genesis tells us that God established an environment for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and gave them a choice, symbolized by two trees . Eve decided to eat of the fruit of the forbidden tree after she listened to the serpent , and Adam made the same decision. Their act led to banishment from the garden, leaving them to make their own way in the world, where they and their descendants eventually surely died, just as God had said.

Adam and Eve were typical of us all. At this early time, and in this simple setting, they showed that humans, if allowed to choose whether to trust and obey God, could choose to take matters into their own hands. Their decision set the course for the grim trail of war, hatred and strife that has marked human history.

First Books Of The Bible For Young Christians To Read

Young Christians either in terms of their age or the recency of their conversion understand they should read the Bible, and even desire to. A major problem they encounter is knowing where to start. What are the best books of the Bible for young Christians to start with?

All of Scripture is Gods authoritative, inspired Word, but some books are more conducive for a young Christians first reading of the Bible than others. Earlier in my ministry career, I met monthly with a young Christian in his first year out of college, and I selected Jeremiah as our first book to read together. I cringe to remember my lack of wisdom in this decision. When we met up a month later, he sheepishly admitted that he had quit reading by Jeremiah 5. He was utterly clueless about what was going on in Jeremiah and understood little to nothing. His embarrassment and failure were my fault.

In negative terms, books like Jeremiah that require a great deal of redemptive historical and theological knowledge are not a great place to start. For example, Ezekiel or Jeremiah require deep knowledge about the divided kingdom and the exile. A young Christian could gain knowledge and insight from these books, of course, but they may encounter more frustration than necessary compared to others.

Books that Educate on the Basic Foundations and Moments of Redemptive History

Books that Educate on Basic Christian Doctrine without the Advanced Knowledge of Context

Books about Christian Living

Also Check: Mary And Martha In Bible

What Version Of The Bible To Read The First Time

I read most often from the New International Version. Its a great translation and I also like the New Living Translationits very conversational in its one which makes it great for longer passages!

You can check out a review of one my current favorite Bible: The She Reads Truth Bible

Beginning reading the Bible for the first time is really intimidating, but knowing where to start helps tremendously. I always encourage people to read with a journal in hand so they can jot down thoughts, questions, verses that stand out, and prayers as they read the Word.

To learn more about studying the Bible check out these articles and be sure to grab your FREE BIBLE STUDY WORKSHEETS to help guide you through your Bible reading.

Oldest Books In The Bible

Determining when the books in the Bible were written can be difficult because there is a lot of disagreement between academic scholars and those who closely believe in and follow the Bible. Since it can be hard to figure out when in history these stories were first written, the dates on this list are based on the information presented in the Bible and are the dates widely accepted by followers of the Bible.

Whether or not these dates line up with actual history is up for debate and arguments have been made for both sides. There are events in the Bible that are historically correct and others that are not.

With that said, this list covers what are widely believed to be the oldest books in the Bible.

Also Check: What The Bible Says About Loneliness

Book: Acts Of The Apostles

Considering the type of literature, this is the only historical book in the New Testament. It is an anonymous book, but all known evidence from the early church, dating back to the second century, points to Luke as the author of the book of Acts. Few scholars question this tradition. Luke was a physician , which indicates he was well-educated, and a companion of the apostle Paul . Based on the we passages in Acts , where the author includes himself in the narrative, scholars conclude that he was an associate of Paul, which is another argument in favor of Lukes authorship.

When Written: The possible dates for the writing of this book range from A.D. 62, when the last event recorded took place, to the middle of the second century, which is the date of the first known mention of the book.

Most scholars are in favor of an early writing, around A.D. 62, because the book doesnt mention Pauls martyrdom or the severe persecution that begun under the emperor Nero in A.D. 64.

Natural Literary Structure In Place Of Chapters And Verses

The traditional chapter divisions in the Bible were introduced around the year 1200 by Stephen Langton, later Archbishop of Canterbury, when he was at the University of Paris. The verse divisions were added by Robert Estienne, a French printer and scholar, in the mid-16th century.

In response to these concerns, in several 20th-century versions of the Bible, including two major committee translations, the chapter and verse numbers were moved to the margins, but they remained the organizing feature of the text. In one individual translation and one abridgment the numbers were eliminated entirely, but in the former case the text was still divided into the traditional chapters and in the latter topical divisions were introduced.

The Books of the Bible, according to its Preface, uses characteristics such as “changes in topic, movement in place or time, or shifts from one kind of writing to another” to identify the natural literary divisions within biblical books. It also relies on the tendency of authors to repeat “particular phrases⦠each time they the transition from one section to another.” The placement of these phrases “reinforces a structure that can already be recognized implicitly from other characteristics.”The Books of the Bible uses line spacing of different widths to mark off natural literary sections on various levels. It still provides a chapter and verse range, in faded type, at the bottom of each page.

Read Also: Which Bible Is The Most Accurate

A Beginning Worth Reading

Sometimes we can skip over the beginning pages of a story, dismissing them as boring bits of exposition. However, as the story progresses, we realize that the introductory details are key to understanding the rest of the story. The books of the Law introduce us to key figures, events, and themes that are referenced throughout both the Old and New Testaments. What distinguished Israel from all of the other nations was their relationship to God. Not the size of their population. Not the skills of their musicians or architects. God chose this small nation to model what it looks like to be the people of God. He established a covenant, or promise, with them and entrusted to them his laws and instructions so the nation would reflect his holy character and proclaim his glory. No wonder David, the most well-known king in Israels history, extolled the beauty, truth, and goodness of Gods laws, statutes, and judgments contained in these first five books. Their value far outweighs gold, and God promised his presence to the ones who delighted in his words .

Who Wrote The Bible

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Scholars have investigated the issue for centuries, but many questions persist.

Over centuries, billions of people have read the Bible. Scholars have spent their lives studying it, while rabbis, ministers and priests have focused on interpreting, teaching and preaching from its pages.

As the sacred text for two of the worlds leading religions, Judaism and Christianity, as well as other faiths, the Bible has also had an unmatched influence on literatureparticularly in the Western world. It has been translated into nearly 700 languages, and while exact sales figures are hard to come by, its widely considered to be the worlds best-selling book.

But despite the Bibles undeniable influence, mysteries continue to linger over its origins. Even after nearly 2,000 years of its existence, and centuries of investigation by biblical scholars, we still dont know with certainty who wrote its various texts, when they were written or under what circumstances.

READ MORE: The Bible Says Jesus Was Real. What Other Proof Exists?

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Why Is Matthew The First Book Of The New Testament

Nowhere in the Bible are Christians instructed on how to order Scripture. While prophets wrote about events past and events to come, there was no set order for how Scripture would be set. Theres no evidence that the people writing at the time knew their work would be compiled into what we read today. Old Testament believers may not have known information about Jesus that New Testament believers knew from the Gospels, but the prophets and people of the Old Testament knew the Messiah was coming to save the world.

In the New Testament, we receive first-hand and second-hand accounts about the Messiah during His life. These Gospels were arranged and decided upon by the early church, the first official Christians. The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament because thats what the early church decided. Matthews work, being one of the twelve disciples, was bound to be a part of Scripture. And his writings present us with an early picture of Jesus. Theres plenty to observe and 10 definite things to know about the Book of Matthew.

Here Are 10 Things We Learn about from the First Book of the New Testament: Matthew

The Pentateuch As History

The Pentateuch has traditionally been treated as a source of history as well as of law, especially among Christians who no longer followed the ancient legal code. The historicity of the stories in the first five books of the Bible has long been cast into doubt, however. Genesis, because it focuses on primeval history, has the least amount of independent evidence for anything in it.

Exodus and Numbers would have occurred more recently in history, but it also would have occurred in the context of Egypt a nation which has left us a wealth of records, both written and archaeological. Nothing, however, has been found in or around Egypt to verify the Exodus story as it appears in the Pentateuch. Some have even been contradicted, like the idea that the Egyptians used armies of slaves for their building projects.

It is possible that a long-term migration of Semitic peoples out of Egypt was compressed into a shorter, more dramatic story. Leviticus and Deuteronomy are primarily books of laws.

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What Are The Books Of The Bible Or Ta Biblia

The Bible is long and complicated, so it can be a bit hard to keep it all straight. The scriptures contain hundreds of stories over generations. Christian Bibles, which borrow heavily from the Hebrew Tanakh, are broken down into different books we’ve presented the full list of books in order for your reference.

As we discuss below, different traditions count different books and order them differently. We’ve decided to present them here in the order used in most mainline Protestant Bibles, as those are the most common variety in the United States where we’re based.

Looking to broaden your religion reading? Check out our list of the best books on Buddhism.