The word “Bible” in English came to us through the Latin from Greek. The Greek expression ta biblia (τὰ βιβλία), means, the “the books.” This eventually became the Latin biblia. This was actually short for a longer Latin term sacra biblia or “holy book.” Later, sacra biblia became a single word meaning “The Books.” The Greek expression ta biblia, most accurately describes what the bible is, a group of books. Over the course of time, it changed from “the books” to “the book” and finally to “The Bible” as a proper noun to refer to the material or books within. Remember the Bible is actually a library of books.

The Bible as a library of books contains many kinds and types of literature. There are law books or literature (e.g. Leviticus), there are books of history (e.g. Kings and Chronicles), poetry (e.g. Song of Songs), hymn books (e.g. Psalms), parables or stories (e.g. Job), biography (e.g. Gospels and Acts), letters (e.g. ‘The epistles’), prophetical (e.g. Revelation) and collections of sayings (e.g. Sirach and Proverbs). This list is just a sample and does not cover all the literature types and does not mention their unique methods or styles.

The Bible is divided into two main libraries; the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament begins with the Book of Genesis and is a much larger portion of the bible. The Old Testament covers the period of time before Christ. This includes such stories as Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, King David, King Solomon and the prophets. 

The New Testament Begins with the book called the “Gospel of Matthew.”  The New Testament begins with the Birth of Jesus Christ and goes forward past His death and resurrection into the life of the New Church.

When approaching the Bible, it is not a series of books which are necessarily meant to be read cover to cover. Regardless if one is new to reading the Bible or not; this is generally not a good approach.  It is always a good idea to start with a prayer before one begins to read the scriptures.  Some books in the Bible are easier to follow than others, some books seem easy to read but require some explanation and others are meant for prayer. There are those books which can be very difficult. The key is to read those books with items that are understandable.

The Bible is divided into two main libraries; the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament begins with the Book of Genesis and is a much larger portion of the bible. The Old Testament covers the period of time before Christ. This includes such stories as Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, King David, King Solomon and the prophets. 

The New Testament Begins with the book called the “Gospel of Matthew.”  The New Testament begins with the Birth of Jesus Christ and goes forward past His death and resurrection into the life of the New Church.

When approaching the Bible, it is not a series of books which are necessarily meant to be read cover to cover. Regardless if one is new to reading the Bible or not; this is generally not a good approach.  It is always a good idea to start with a prayer before one begins to read the scriptures.  Some books in the Bible are easier to follow than others, some books seem easy to read but require some explanation and others are meant for prayer. There are those books which can be very difficult. The key is to read those books with items that are understandable.

The Book of Psalms is a little different from other books because it does not contain chapters. The Book of Psalms contains 150 psalms. The book lists the psalms by number, then the verse; Psalm 104;24. This refers to the Book of Psalms, number 104, verse 24. This passage can be abbreviated as; Ps 104:24.

Scripture passages are often referenced using an abbreviation, just as the example above shows. The book of Genesis for example is abbreviated as Gn; Matthew is abbreviated as Mt.