Bible
Bible, the sacred scriptures of Judaism and Christianity. The Christian Bible consists of the Old Testament and the New Testament, with the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox versions of the Old Testament being slightly larger because of their acceptance of certain books and parts of books considered apocryphal by Protestants. The Jewish Bible includes only the books known to Christians as the Old Testament. The arrangements of the Jewish and Christian canons differ considerably. The Protestant and Roman Catholic arrangements more nearly match one another.
A brief treatment of the Bible follows. For full treatment, see biblical literature.
Traditionally, the Jews have divided their scriptures into three parts: the Torah (the “Law,” or the Pentateuch), the Neviʾim (“Prophets”), and the Ketuvim (“Writings,” or Hagiographa). The Pentateuch, together with the Book of Joshua (hence the name Hexateuch), can be seen as the account of how Israel became a nation and of how it possessed the Promised Land. The division designated as the “Prophets” continues the story of Israel in the Promised Land, describing the establishment and development of the monarchy and presenting the messages of the prophets to the people. The “Writings” include speculation on the place of evil and death in the scheme of things (Job and Ecclesiastes), the poetical works, and some additional historical books.
In the Apocrypha of the Old Testament, various types of literature are represented; the purpose of the Apocrypha seems to have been to fill in some of the gaps left by the indisputably canonical books and to carry the history of Israel to the 2nd century bce.
The New Testament is by far the shorter portion of the Christian Bible, but, through its associations with the spread of Christianity, it has wielded an influence far out of proportion to its modest size. Like the Old Testament, the New Testament is a collection of books, including a variety of early Christian literature. The four Gospels deal with the life, the person, and the teachings of Jesus, as he was remembered by the Christian community. The book of Acts carries the story of Christianity from the Resurrection of Jesus to the end of the career of Paul. The Letters, or Epistles, are correspondence by various leaders of the early Christian church, chief among them the Apostle Paul, applying the message of the church to the sundry needs and problems of early Christian congregations. The Book of Revelation (the Apocalypse) is the only canonical representative of a large genre of apocalyptic literature that appeared in the early Christian movement.
Books of the Bible are provided in the table.
Jewish canon | Christian canon | |
Protestant canon (Revised Standard Version [RSV]) |
Roman Catholic canon (Douai-Confraternity versions) |
|
Torah ("The Law") | Old Testament | |
Genesis | Genesis; or, The First Book of Moses | The Book of Genesis |
Exodus | Exodus; or, The Second Book of Moses | The Book of Exodus |
Leviticus | Leviticus; or, The Third Book of Moses | The Book of Leviticus |
Numbers | Numbers; or, The Fourth Book of Moses | The Book of Numbers |
Deuteronomy | Deuteronomy; or, The Fifth Book of Moses | The Book of Deuteronomy |
The Book of Joshua | The Book of Josue | |
Nevi’im ("The Prophets") | The Book of Judges | The Book of Judges |
The Book of Ruth | The Book of Ruth | |
Joshua | The First Book of Samuel | The First Book of Kings |
Judges | The Second Book of Samuel | The Second Book of Kings |
First Samuel | The First Book of Kings | The Third Book of Kings |
Second Samuel | The Second Book of Kings | The Fourth Book of Kings |
First Kings | The First Book of Chronicles | The First Book of Paralipomenon |
Second Kings | The Second Book of Chronicles | The Second Book of Paralipomenon |
Isaiah | The Book of Ezra | The First Book of Esdras |
Jeremiah | The Book of Nehemiah | The Second Book of Esdras |
Ezekiel | The Book of Tobias (apocryphal Tobit in RSV) | |
Hosea | The Book of Judith (apocryphal Judith in RSV) | |
Joel | The Book of Esther (includes The Additions to The Book of Esther, apocryphal in RSV) | |
Amos | The Book of Esther | The Book of Job |
Obadiah | The Book of Job | The Book of Psalms |
Jonah | The Psalms | The Book of Proverbs |
Micah | The Proverbs | Ecclesiastes |
Nahum | Ecclesiastes; or, The Preacher | Solomon’s Canticle of Canticles |
Habakkuk | The Song of Solomon | The Book of Wisdom (apocryphal Wisdom of Solomon in RSV) |
Zephaniah | Ecclesiasticus (apocryphal Ecclesiasticus in RSV) | |
Haggai | The Prophecy of Isaias | |
Zechariah | The Prophecy of Jeremias | |
Malachi | The Book of Isaiah | The Lamentations of Jeremias |
The Book of Jeremiah | The Prophecy of Baruch (apocryphal Baruch and The Letter of Jeremiah in RSV) | |
Ketuvim ("The Writings") | The Lamentations of Jeremiah | The Prophecy of Ezechiel |
Psalms | The Book of Ezekiel | The Prophecy of Daniel (includes The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon, apocryphal in RSV) |
Proverbs | The Book of Daniel | The Prophecy of Osee |
Job | The Prophecy of Joel | |
The Song of Songs | The Book of Hosea | The Prophecy of Amos |
Ruth | The Book of Joel | The Prophecy of Abdias |
Lamentations | The Book of Amos | The Prophecy of Jonas |
Ecclesiastes | The Book of Obadiah | The Prophecy of Micheas |
Esther | The Book of Jonah | The Prophecy of Nahum |
Daniel | The Book of Micah | The Prophecy of Habacuc |
Ezra | The Book of Nahum | The Prophecy of Sophonias |
Nehemiah | The Book of Habakkuk | The Prophecy of Aggeus |
First Chronicles | The Book of Zephaniah | The Prophecy of Zacharias |
Second Chronicles | The Book of Haggai | The Prophecy of Malachias |
The Book of Zechariah | The First Book of Machabees (apocryphal The First Book of the Maccabees in RSV) | |
The Book of Malachi | The Second Book of Machabees (apocryphal The Second Book of the Maccabees in RSV) | |
New Testament | ||
The Gospel According to Matthew | The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to St. Matthew | |
The Gospel According to Mark | The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to St. Mark | |
The Gospel According to Luke | The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to St. Luke | |
The Gospel According to John | The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to St. John | |
The Acts of the Apostles | Acts of the Apostles | |
The Letter of Paul to the Romans | The Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Romans | |
The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians | The First Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians | |
The Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians | The Second Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians | |
The Letter of Paul to the Galatians | The Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Galatians | |
The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians | The Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians | |
The Letter of Paul to the Philippians | The Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Philippians | |
The Letter of Paul to the Colossians | The Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Colossians | |
The First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians | The First Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians | |
The Second Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians | The Second Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians | |
The First Letter of Paul to Timothy | The First Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to Timothy | |
The Second Letter of Paul to Timothy | The Second Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to Timothy | |
The Letter of Paul to Titus | The Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to Titus | |
The Letter of Paul to Philemon | The Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to Philemon | |
The Letter to the Hebrews | The Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews | |
The Letter of James | The Epistle of St. James the Apostle | |
The First Letter of Peter | The First Epistle of St. Peter the Apostle | |
The Second Letter of Peter | The Second Epistle of St. Peter the Apostle | |
The First Letter of John | The First Epistle of St. John the Apostle | |
The Second Letter of John | The Second Epistle of St. John the Apostle | |
The Third Letter of John | The Third Epistle of St. John the Apostle | |
The Letter of Jude | The Epistle of St. Jude the Apostle | |
The Revelation to John | The Apocalypse of St. John the Apostle | |
Apocrypha | ||
The First Book of Esdras* | ||
The Second Book of Esdras* | ||
Tobit | ||
Judith | ||
The Additions to the Book of Esther | ||
The Wisdom of Solomon | ||
Ecclesiasticus; or, The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach | ||
Baruch | ||
The Letter of Jeremiah | ||
The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men | ||
Susanna | ||
Bel and the Dragon | ||
The Prayer of Manasseh | ||
The First Book of the Maccabees | ||
The Second Book of the Maccabees | ||
*Note on the Apocrypha. The Protestant Old Testament books of Ezra and Nehemiah are known to Roman Catholics as respectively the first and second books of Esdras. The two Apocrypha books of Esdras constitute an entirely separate entity, usually called together Third Esdras by Roman Catholics. This latter two-book Esdras is not considered part of the Old Testament by either Protestants or Roman Catholics. Eastern Orthodox churches hold all the books, including Third Esdras, to be canonical, or part of the Old Testament. The Prayer of Manasseh was included only in the appendix to the Latin Vulgate Bible. |
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