Introduction
The Big Book of Wisdom was briefly highlighted in my last article( View Here). In this write up we are going to State the general view of the Bible, indicate how and where it can be acquired and then state the different types and for what purposes they are used.
The General View of the Big Book of Wisdom- The Bible.
The Bible contains the written or spoken words of God.
It has 66 Canonized books which are divided into two major parts – The Old and The New Testaments.
The Old Testament have 39 books beginning from the Book of Genesis- the book of beginnings of all things from creation of the world to prophecies that were fulfilled one way or the other – through Malachi.
The Old Testament
The Old Testament is divided into the following categories namely
– The Books of the law-. Here you read how God created the universe, selected his people, gave them rules to guide their lives, set them free from bondage and created a people for Himself and other worthy stories.
These books are accredited to Moses. They are the first five books of the Bible as shown here-under:
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Number and Deuteronomy.
– The Books of History: Here we have Joshua, Judges, Ruth, First & Second Samuel, First & Second Kings, First & Second Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther.
– Books for Poetry and Wisdom: These consist of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon and finally we have:
– The Books of the Prophets:.
These are divided into two- the major Prophets and the minor Prophets.
The Major Prophets are: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. Jeremiah also wrote Lamentations- this follows The Book of Jeremiah.
While the books written by the Minor Prophets are:. Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.
Churches like the Catholic and other Orthodox bodies have some non-canonized books included in their Bibles bringing the total number to 46 or even more. These inclusions are known as “The Apocrypha” and they are as follows: First & Second Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Additions to Esther, Ecclesiasticus, or the Sirach, The Book of Wisdom, Baruch and the Epistle of Jeremiah.
The Greek and Hebrew Bibles are organized into the following groups too:
– The Pentateuch (Torah)
-. The Historical books
-. The Wisdom books and
-. The Prophets
While the Hebrew Bible is organized into three main sections viz:
The Torah or Pentateuch or the Five Books of Moses;
The Nevi’im or the Prophets and
The Ketuvim or the Writings.
Which ever way, the Bible is the word of God that no one can add or subtract anything from it.
The New Testament
The New Testament has 29 Books and is divided into:
- The Gospels_ comprising the Books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The first three books are further known as Synoptic Gospels.
Why are they called Synoptic Gospels?
They are so called because they give similar reports on issues in every way.
- The Acts of the Apostles
- Paul’s Epistles and the Hebrews
- General Epistles and Book of Revelation
Let’s state the Books under each category
The Gospels:. The first four Books of the New Testament are known as the Gospels. These books are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Why are they called Gospels?
They are called “Gospels” because they give a vivid account or report of the Live Story of Jesus Christ. The first three give similar accounts in their contents and structure hence they are called”The Synoptic Gospels” while the Book of John differentiate itself in subjects, materials and the organization of its contents.
2. Acts of the Apostles:. This is the fifth book of the New Testament. This book accounts for the early history of the Church of Christ especially the acts performed by the Disciples and Apostles of Jesus Christ after His Death and Resurrection.
It stated the growth of Christianity in the early times when persecution was at its peak against the church as well as Apostle Paul’s conversion- anti-Christian who later became a missionary for the work of Christ.
3. Paul’s Epistles and Hebrews are the sixth to eighteenth Books of the New Testament. They are called Epistles in that Apostle Paul wrote several of these letters to the churches He established and in order to keep them in the faith, he writes to admonish and advice them on what to do at all times.
These books are: Romans, First and Second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, First and Second Thessalonian, First and Second Timothy, Titus and Philemon.
4. The General Epistles:. These are those written by others and they are as listed: The Books of Hebrews, James, First and Second Peter, First to third John and Jude. These books are addressed to a general Christian audiences or communities. They make up Books 20 – 26 of the New Testament; and finally we have;
5. The Revelations: This is the 27th and final book of the New Testament. It is unique in that it is the only book that focuses entirely on prophetic words of a man- known as John the Divine.
b it handles various issues as revealed and culminated on the Coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ- as in Rev.22: 20-21 accompanied with the grace of God.
Why do I have to State all these?
It will amaze you to know that some of us do not have knowledge of this powerful Word of God not to talk of handling as well as opening to portions of the Bible when asked to.
So this is to guide readers of the Bible on how to locate and scroll through the Books with ease and knowing what they are called.
A Quick Guide for Easy Search
These are arranged systematically as found in the Bible along with the number of chapters of each book.
S/NO |
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE |
NUMBER OF CHAPTERS |
| 1 | Genesis | 50 |
| 2 | Exodus | 40 |
| 3 | Leviticus | 27 |
| 4 | Numbers | 36 |
| 5 | Deuteronomy | 34 |
| 6 | Joshua | 24 |
| 7 | Judges | 21 |
| 8 | Ruth | 4 |
| 9 | I Samuel | 31 |
| 10 | 2 Samuel | 24 |
| 11 | I Kings | 22 |
| 12 | 2 Kings | 25 |
| 13 | 1 Chronicles | 29 |
| 14 | 2 Chronicles | 36 |
| 15 | Ezra | 10 |
| 16 | Nehemiah | 13 |
| 17 | Esther | 10 |
| 18 | Job | 42 |
| 19 | Psalm | 150 |
| 20 | Proverbs | 31 |
| 21 | Ecclesiastes | 12 |
| 22 | Song of Solomon | 8 |
| 23 | Isaiah (Major Prophet) | 66 |
| 24 | Jeremiah | 52 |
| 25 | Lamentations | 5 |
| 26 | Ezekiel | 48 |
| 27 | Daniel | 12 |
| 28 | Hosea (Minor | 14 |
| 29 | Joel | 3 |
| 30 | Amos | 9 |
| 31 | Obadiah | 1 |
| 32 | Jonah | 4 |
| 33 | Micah | 7 |
| 34 | Nahum | 3 |
| 35 | Habakkuk | 3 |
| 36 | Zephaniah | 14 |
| 37 | Haggai | 2 |
| 38 | Zechariah | 14 |
| 39 | Malachi (End of Old Testament | 4 |
| 40 | Gospels – Matthew (New Testament) | 28 |
| 41 | Mark | 16 |
| 42 | Luke | 24 |
| 43 | John | 21 |
| 44 | Acts of the Apostles | 28 |
| 45 | Romans | 16 |
| 46 | 1 Corinthians | 16 |
| 47 | 2 Corinthians | 13 |
| 48 | Galatians | 6 |
| 49 | Ephesians | 6 |
| 50 | Philippians | 4 |
| 51 | Colossians | 4 |
| 52 | 1 Thessalonians | 5 |
| 53 | 2 Thessalonians | 3 |
| 54 | 1 Timothy | 6 |
| 55 | 2 Timothy | 4 |
| 56 | Titus | 3 |
| 57 | Philemon | 1 |
| 58 | Hebrews | 13 |
| 59 | James | 5 |
| 60 | 1 Peter | 5 |
| 61 | 2 Peter | 3 |
| 62 | 1 John | 5 |
| 63 | 2 John | 1 |
| 64 | 3 John | 1 |
| 65 | Jude | 1 |
| 66 | Revelation | 22 |
Print and place where it can easily be accessible for use. Your young ones can also learn from it at a glance. Let’s study the word of God, practice it as to do the will of God and let’s make this world a better place for us and the generations to come.
Feel free to send in your comments if you like what is presented here and I will be most grateful to respond to you. Next issue will state the different types of Bibles, features, translations and where to acquire this Big Book of Wisdom.
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Cheers
Your friend
LJacob