SESSION 1: The Bible I. WHAT IS THE BIBLE IS ABOUT?

A. The Bible tells the story of God restoring a broken relationship with his creation.

B. God sometimes uses people to move his plans forward.

C. God works his plan of restoration through a series of covenants.

II. KNOWING HOW THE BIBLE IS STRUCTURED PROVIDES CONTEXT FOR READING IT.

A. The Bible isn’t one book. It’s a collection of 66 writings: 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament.

1. Over forty dif ferent authors wrote the Bible.

2. The authors wrote over a span of more than 1,500 years.

3. Most of the Old Testament was writ ten in ancient Hebrew. Some portions were writ ten in Aramaic, which is similar to Hebrew.

4. The New Testament was written in an ancient form of Greek known as Koine (pronounced KOIN-ay).

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B. The Bible includes multiple types of literature, writ ten to dif ferent people for dif ferent reasons.

1. Historical narrative: summary accounts of people and events

2. Law: instructions given to Israel by God

3. Poetry: poems or songs writ ten to praise God or to describe the experiences and emotions of his people

4. Proverbs: wise sayings

5. Prophecy: writings that use symbolic language to reveal previously unknown messages from God

6. Parables: f ictional stories designed to illustrate a spiritual or moral concept

7. Epistles: letters sent to individuals or groups of people

C. The books of the Bible record events fairly chronological order, but there are exceptions.

1. Some books provide the main historical storyline of events.

2. Others provide additional details and commentary about historical events.

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OLD TESTAMENT NEW TESTAMENT

LAW

Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

HISTORY

Joshua

Judges

Ruth

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

1 Kings

2 Kings

1 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

Ezra

Nehemiah

Esther

WISDOM/POETRY

Job

Psalms

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes

Song of Solomon

PROPHECY

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Lamentations

Ezekiel

Daniel

Hosea

Joel

Amos

Obadiah

Jonah

Micah

Nahum

Habakkuk

Zephaniah

Haggai

Zechariah

Malachi

GOSPELS

Matthew

Mark

Luke

John

HISTORY

Acts

EPISTLES

Romans

1 Corinthians

2 Corinthians

Galatians

Ephesians

Philippians

Colossians

1 Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians

1 Timothy

2 Timothy

Titus

Philemon

Hebrews

James

1 Peter

2 Peter

1 John

2 John

3 John

Jude

PROPHECY

Revelation

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APPROXIMATE CHRONOLOGY OF OLD TESTAMENT

Joel

Micah

Isaiah

Zephaniah Jonah Daniel Haggai

Amos Habakkuk Nahum Ezekiel Zechariah

Hosea Jeremiah Obadiah

70 Years of Exile

Malachi

1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings Ezra Nehemiah

1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles

Job

Gen

esis

Proverbs

Levi

ticus

Exod

us

Josh

ua

Ecclesiastes

Deu

tero

nom

yN

umbe

rs

Judg

es

Song of Solomon

Lamentations

Psal

ms

Ruth

Esth

er

Before2500 BC 2000 BC 1000 BC 900 BC 700 BC 600 BC 500 BC 400 BC

APPROXIMATE CHRONOLOGY OF NEW TESTAMENT

MatthewMarkLukeJohn

Acts

Ch. 1–12The

beginning of the

church in and around Jerusalem

Ch. 13–14Paul’s 1st journey: Antioch

Ch. 16–18Paul’s 2nd journey: Corinth

Ch 18–21Paul’s 3rd journey:Ephesus

Ch. 21–28Paul’s journey to and house arrest

in Rome

Galatians1 & 2

ThessaloniansRomans Philemon

James1 & 2

CorinthiansEphesians

Philippians

Colossians

1 & 2 Timothy

Titus

1 & 2 Peter

1, 2, 3 John

Hebrews

Revelation

Jude

0 AD 40 AD 50 AD 60 AD 70

AD 80

AD 90

AD 100+