How the Bible is Organized

The Bible is organized into 2 main sections; the Old Testament and the New Testament. Testament isn’t a word we use very often, but it just means covenant, contract, or agreement.

So the Bible is arranged into the Old Agreement between God and his people, Israel, and the New Agreement between God and all people because of The Old Testament has 36 books covering everything from Creation to the Israelites’ return from captivity in Babylon. That’s more than 1500 years.

The New Testament has 27 books and covers everything from Jesus' birth to the establishment of the church.

In all, the New Testament covers about 100 years. However, the fantastic thing about the Bible is that the message is the same throughout the years with various authors and writing styles.

Each author brought their own flavor to the story, but each was Divinely inspired to write what they wrote. That means the Holy Spirit guided, influenced, inspired the writing.

Types of Literature in the Bible

There are approximately 40 authors of the 66 books of the Bible. The writing in each book is different in style from book to book, displaying each author's differences.

The Bible has a few specific styles or genres that you should know. There are 7 significant genres in the Bible.

The first genre is Law. These are books like parts of Genesis and Exodus, all of Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and parts of Numbers. These books lay out God’s and what he wants for his people, Israel.

Then there is History. These books tell us the story of how things happened. A couple of good examples are the book of Judges and 1 & 2 Kings. These read more like the story of God’s People.

Next, we have Poetry. I know, I know…who likes Poetry? Well, most of the poetry in the Bible is in the form of songs. Just flip through the book of Psalms, you’ll see that it is a collection of songs sung in the temple or poetic prayers often memorized and prayed for every occasion.

Then there are the Gospels. The word Gospel means “good news.” The first 4 books of the New Testament are the story of Jesus and the good news of salvation that He brings.

How many of you have ever sent an email or a letter? Epistle is just a fancy word for “letter.” The Apostle Paul wrote in this style the most. His books are to various churches he preached at, giving them instructions and encouragement for following Jesus.

The last genre or style to think about while you read the Bible is Prophecy. There is prophecy in both the Old and New Testament, but most is in the Old Testament in books like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel.

Prophecy in the context of the Bible just means the “word of the Lord.” In the Old Testament, the prophet would receive a message from God and then with the people, making what they said the word of the Lord.

For the most part, Prophecy does not predict the future; instead, prophecy is generally a call to repentance and renewed faith in God.

As you read your Fire Bible look for the characteristics of each style. Knowing what genre the author is writing in will help you interpret and apply the Word God to your life.