- contains 66 books
- was written by more than thirty people
- among these writers, we find a tax collector, a shepherd, a
doctor, fishermen, a philosopher, a preacher, many
prophets, a statesman, a king and a rabbi.
- was written over a period of more than 1,500 years
- contains 30,442 verses
- is divided into two parts : the Old Testament and the New
Testament
Although the Bible is rooted
in the history of men and nations, its relevance remains
constant, because it deals with events of the past, the present and the
future.
It is addressed to all men throughout the ages and
above all it is the revelation of the only true God.
It transmits
also the revelation of the fundamental problem of man, regardless of culture and place; it
describes his condition of separation from God as a consequence of the original
fall of Adam, the first man, which led to the fall of all humanity into sin,
misery and suffering.
All the Bible brings, moreover,
the revelation of the divine and absolute solution to evil:
redemption through Jesus-Christ, whose effects know
no limits of time or space : "For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16).
Old Testament
- contains 39 books
- four categories predominate : the law, history, poetry and prophecy
The law
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
The first five books of the Bible are sometimes called the law of Moses.
They contain the God-given precepts by which we should live.
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History
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1, 2 Samuel
1, 2 Kings
1, 2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
These twelve historical books cover the occupation of the promised land, the time
of the Judges, the Kings of Israel, the fall of both kingdoms and the return to Jerusalem.
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Poetry
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Songs
Almost a third of the Old Testament is written in poetry. These five poetic books
ask deep questions about evil, suffering, love and
the wisdom of God.
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Prophecy
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
These
seventeen prophetic books cover almost a quarter of the Bible.We
distinguish the " major prophets " and the
" minor prophets " (the last twelve). The minor ones are
shorter but not less important.
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The New Testament
- makes up a library of 27 books that
differ from each other in style and genre: history, letters and
prophecies
History
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts
The first four books, called the gospels, are not alike our
modern biographies, but they offer us four portraits of
Jesus. The book of Acts is a second volume of Luke and gives us the
history of the early Church.
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Paul's letters
Romans
1, 2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1, 2 Thessalonians
1, 2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
We have thirteen letters of Paul. Except for one personal epistle,
addressed to Philemon, they all were written to groups of Christians.
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General letters
Hebrews
James
1, 2 Peter
1, 2, 3 John
Jude
We
don't know who wrote the epistle to the Hebrews. Tradition asserts that
all the writers of New Testament epist, with the exception of John,
experienced martyrdom.
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Prophecy
Revelation
Written
by the apostle John, this book contains seven letters addressed to churches,
as well as numerous visions regarding God and the last times.
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The texts and table on this page
are taken from the book
Clés pour la Bible by Mark Water
see also : Comment lire la Bible by John H. Alexander.
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