The Bible is a library of 66 books written over 1500 years by more than 40 authors. Though written by many people, the Bible asserts it was inspired by God. The Old Testament contains 39 books written before Jesus, primarily in Hebrew. It recounts the creation of the world, the early history of Israel, and prophecies of a coming Messiah. The New Testament has 27 books written after Jesus' death in Greek, documenting the establishment of Christianity.

1. THE BIBLE … An Introduction, PT 1 “ Bible” comes from the Greek “ biblos, ” which simply means: BOOK

2. THE BIBLE IS NOT ONE BOOK BUT A LIBRARY OF 66 BOOKS

3. Written by over 40 men Over a period of 1500 Years 1400 B.C. to approx 95 A.D.

4. The Forty Writers of the Bible Were Shepherds Kings Fishermen Peasants Doctors Tax-collectors From Rome Jerusalem Babylon (Iraq) Persia (Iran) Greece Turkey

5. 40+ “writers”….but… According to the Bible itself, only ONE AUTHOR: “ All scripture is inspired by *GOD* and is useful for doctrine, teaching, and correcting” (2Tim 3:16). Inspired = “God-breathed”

6. 30 A.D . 2000 A.D . 1400 B.C. . Moses Of the 66 books, 39 were written before the birth of Jesus These 39 are called the Old TESTAMENT

7. 30 A.D . 2000 A.D . 1400 B.C. . Moses Of the 66 books, 27 were written soon after the death of Jesus NEW TESTAMENT 400 B.C. .

8. The Old Testament – 39 books All written before Jesus came. 1400-400 B.C. “ Testament ” means “ covenant or agreement ” The Old Covenant is an agreement that God made with the nation of Israel The Old Testament was written in Hebrew – the language of Israel

10. Modern Map of Same Area

11. The Old Testament – 39 books All written 400 years before Jesus ’ birth 1400-400 B.C. “ Testament ” means “ covenant or agreement ” The Old Covenant is an agreement that God made with the nation of ISRAEL The Old Testament was written in Hebrew – the language of Israel All written AFTER his death 48-95 A.D. The New Covenant is an agreement that God has made for ALL NATIONS The New Testament was written in Greek (language of commerce of the day) The New Testament – 27 books

12. 30 A.D . 2000 A.D . 1400 B.C. . Moses The first five books of the Bible are attributed to Moses GENESIS EXODUS LEVITICUS NUMBERS DEUTERONOMY

13. 30 A.D . 2000 A.D . 1400 B.C. . Moses They are sometimes called the Law or TORAH GENESIS EXODUS LEVITICUS NUMBERS DEUTERONOMY

14. 30 A.D . 2000 A.D . 1400 B.C. . Moses THE FIRST FIVE BOOKS -- LOOK BACK FROM THE DEATH OF MOSES -- ALL THE WAY TO THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD Beginning .

15. The First Book GENESIS – Chapters 1-11 Creation of the world First human family Spread of evil World wide flood Division of humanity into nations and languages 30 A.D . 2000 A.D . 1400 B.C. . Moses Creation of world 2500 B.C.

16. The First Book GENESIS – chapters 12-50 God chooses the FATHERS of the future nation of Israel Four Generations – grow from 1 couple to 70 people 30 A.D . 2000 A.D . 1400 B.C. . Moses Creation of world 2500 B.C.

17. Books 2-5 (Moses) EXODUS, LEVITICUS, NUMBERS, DEUTERONOMY Tells about the beginning of the nation And how God gave them His Laws 30 A.D . 2000 A.D . 1400 B.C. . Moses Creation of world 2500 B.C.

18. Books 6-17 ARE BOOKS OF HISTORY WRITTEN BY VARIOUS AUTHORS 1400 – 400 B.C. Possession of their land, the establishment of the kingdom, the captivity and return to their land 30 A.D . 2000 A.D . 1400 B.C. . Moses Creation of world 2500 B.C. 400 B.C. .

19. Books 18-22 ARE BOOKS OF POETRY AND WISDOM Job is about man ’s question about suffering Psalms is a collection of poems put to music Proverbs is a collection of short wise sayings 30 A.D . 2000 A.D . 1400 B.C. . Moses Creation of world 2500 B.C. 400 B.C. .

20. Books 18-22 ARE BOOKS OF POETRY AND WISDOM Ecclesiastes tells how to live life in a world where all is vanity Song of Solomon is an allegory/poem of God’s love for his people. 30 A.D . 2000 A.D . 1400 B.C. . Moses Creation of world 2500 B.C. 400 B.C. .

21. 30 A.D . 2000 A.D . 1400 B.C. . Moses Creation of world 2500 B.C. Books 23-39 Throughout the history of Israel, various prophets predicted that SOMEONE from Israel will one day be the MESSIAH/SAVIOR of the world 400 B.C. .

22. 30 A.D . Even the Fathers of the nation of Israel were told by God that one of their descendents would one day be born and bless the entire world 2000 A.D . 1400 B.C. . Moses Creation of world 2500 B.C. 400 B.C. .

23. Interchangeable words MESSIAH– a Hebrew word meaning “chosen one” CHRIST— a Greek word meaning “chosen one” Both mean: THE SAVIOR

24. THE MESSAGE OF THE ENTIRE OLD TESTAMENT WAS “ someone is coming…..” T h e S a v I o r I s c o m I n g 2000 A.D . 1400 B.C. . Moses Creation of world 2500 B.C. 400 B.C. .

25. To Be Continued….