p 76 -- ---Appendix A -- DIVISIONS OF SCRIPTURE
The Old Testament is arranged into five sections:
1 ) -- Pentateuch (Genesis - Deuteronomy) [written by Moses]
2) -- History (Joshua - Esther)
3) -- Poetry (Job - Song of Solomon)
4) -- Major Prophets (Isaiah - Daniel)
5) -- Minor Prophets (Hosea - Malachi)
The New Testament is likewise divided into five sections:
1) -- The Gospels (Matthew - John)
2) -- History (Acts of the Apostles)
3) -- Pauline Epistles (Romans - Hebrews)
4) -- General Epistles (James - Jude)
5) -- Prophecy (Revelation)
The Old Testament was written in Hebrew with the exception of a few chapters in Ezra (4:8 to 6:18; 7:12-26) and Daniel (2:4 to 7:28), which were written in Aramaic. There are modern Jewish scholars who contend that the whole of the book of Daniel was originally written in Aramaic. (H. Louis Ginsberg, Studies in Daniel, p. 41) Aramaic was the official language of the civilized world up to the time of the Macedonian conquests under Alexander the Great, and was the official language of the Neo-Babylonian and Persian Empires.
The New Testament appears to have been written in Greek, although there are some scholars who contend that some of the Gospels could have been written in Aramaic and then translated into the Greek. Jesus spoke Aramaic, and it is still a living language used in certain parts of the Near East, now known as Syriac.
The Hebrews divided the Old Testament into just three sections - The Torah or the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. These divisions are reflected in the New Testament, and when understood helps one to better evaluate the New Testament writer's quotes from the Old Testament.
In Luke 24:27, where Jesus' conversation with the two on the way to Emmaus is recorded, it is stated that Jesus "beginning at Moses [the Torah] and all the prophets, ... expounded unto them in all the scriptures (graphais - writings) the things concerning Himself." Later that night, Jesus told the ones in the upper room that "all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses (the Torah, the first five books of Moses), and in the prophets, and the Psalms (the first book in the section of Writings, and thus standing for the whole of that section)" concerning Him. (Luke 24:44)
In Luke 2:22-23 where reference is made first to Exodus 13:2, and then to Leviticus 12:8, it is stated as being "written in the law of the Lord." However, when Paul quoted from Deuteronomy 25:4, he indicated he was quoting from "the Law of Moses." (I Corinthians 9:9) Then when Paul referred to what Isaiah had written (28:11-12) he stated - "In the law it is written." (I Corinthians 14:21) Even Jesus in quoting the Psalms (82:6) asked - "Is it not written in your law?" (John 10:34) Thus the term, law, was used to cover the entire Old Testament at times, even though technically it referred primarily to the first five books written by Moses