Overview of the Contents of Each Book of the Bible
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| Books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament/Tanak are summarized here in the order in which they appear in the Tanak. New Testament books are given in the standard order for the Christian Bible. |
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| Torah/Pentateuch |
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| Genesis is a book of beginnings. It relates stories about creation, the beginnings of God's interaction and humanity, and the beginnings of God's relationship with Abraham and his descendants through a special promise. | |
| Exodus. The English title means "departure." The first
19 chapters of the book of Exodus tell a story in which God leads the Hebrew
people out of slavery in Egypt. The rest of the book tells of God making
a covenant with those same people and giving them laws to guide their lives. |
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| Leviticus. Taking its name from the priestly tribe of Levi, the book of
Leviticus is a collection of laws concerned mainly with rituals. |
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| Numbers. The title of the book of Numbers comes from two censuses
taken during a period of forty years of wandering in the wilderness before
the Hebrew people entered Canaan. This title, though, does not give an
immediate grasp of the contents of the book. The book tells of the wanderings
of the Hebrew people who left slavery in Egypt (chapters 1-25) and of the
next generation after all of them except for Moses and two faithful spies
(Caleb and Joshua) had died (chapters 26-36). |
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| Deuteronomy. The book of Deuteronomy tells of Moses giving three farewell
speeches before he died. In these speeches he reviews the laws that God had given in the wilderness, applying them more closely to the new setting of life in Canaan which was about to come. These speeches can be viewed as a second Law, a deutero -nomy. |
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| Prophets |
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| The Hebrew Bible includes eight books considered to
be prophecy in the Hebrew Canon (list of scripture). These are Joshua, Judges,
Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Book of the Twelve (the
12 "Minor" Prophets). The first four are often called the "former" prophets, while the last four are called "latter" prophets. |
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| Former Prophets |
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| Joshua. The book of Joshua tells a story in which Joshua,
the successor to Moses, leads the armies of Israel in their conquest of
the land of Canaan--the land promised to Abraham and his descendants. After
the conquest Joshua divides the land among the tribes of Israel. |
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| Judges. The book of Judges tells of a repeating cycle of religious unfaithfulness,
divine punishment, and a transitory return to faithfulness in the early
years of the people's life in the promised land. They abandon their God
to worship the gods of the Canaanites, and God allows them to be oppressed
by their Canaanite neighbors. Then God sends a "judge" to lead them and
deliver them from their enemies. After returning to the worship of their
own God, they soon become unfaithful again and the cycle begins again. |
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| Samuel. Samuel was the prophet, priest, and judge who led the Hebrew people
in the time of transition from a loose confederation of tribes to monarchy.
First Samuel begins with his story and tells of the choice of Saul
as the first King of Israel. Saul's rule is troubled, though, and Samuel
anoints David to succeed him. Second Samuel tells of David's rule beginning with a period
of strong, unified government, but then David commits adultery and murder--clear
violations of the covenant. Both David's family and the nation suffer as
a result of this violation. |
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| Kings. The Two books of Kings tell the complex
story of how Israel--through lack of faithfulness to God--divided into two
smaller nations, both of which were ultimately destroyed by invaders from
the North. First Kings begins with stories about Solomon's reign over
Israel. When Solomon died the nation split. The northern tribes kept the
name "Israel" while the south, where Jerusalem was located, came to be known
as "Judah." First Kings tells the story of the early years of both kingdoms. The story begun in First Kings continues in Second Kings, which tells the story of the fall of the northern nation, Israel, to the
Assyrian Empire in 721 BCE, then continues by telling the story of Judah
until Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE. These
events are presented as God's judgment upon the people because of their
lack of faithfulness to the covenant. |
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| Latter Prophets |
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| Isaiah. The prophet Isaiah warned of God's judgment on the nations. The
book which bears his name also promises that God will send a future king
like David, and speaks of a coming time of comfort and peace. |
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| Jeremiah. As Babylonian presure on Judah inclreased in the 500s BCE, Jeremiah spoke of God's coming judgment. Warning the king not to resist the Babylonians,
Jeremiah's message focusses on the destruction to come. Still, he also expresses
hope for a new covenant with God which will not be broken. |
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| Ezekiel. Also dating from in the 500s BCE, Ezekiel's message was
delivered to the Judean people exiled to Babylon. The stories, parables,
and prophetic actions the book relates address the topics of judgment,
hope and restoration. |
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| Scroll of the Twelve. The "Book of the Twelve"
is a collection of small prophetic books that are treated separately in Christian
Bibles. In neither the Tanak nor the Old Testament are these books presented
in chronological order. Living Israel (the Northern Nation) in the 700s BCE,
Hosea married a prostitute and used her unfaithfulness to illustrate
Israel's "adultery" against God. Hosea's own faithfulness toward his wife
is used to illustrate God's faithful love toward Israel. Joel interpreted a locust plague in Judah as God's judgment
against the nation and urged the people to repent. Amos was a Judean prophet who went north to Israel and preached
judgment against the rich people there during a time of prosperity in the
late 700s BCE. He called on them to practice economic justice toward the
poor and oppressed. Obadiah pronounced judgment on Edom for its role in aiding
the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in the 500s BCE. The book of Jonah presents the story of a prophet who did
not want to preach to the people of Ninevah, one of the capitals of the Assyrian
Empire. When he finally relented and delivered God's message of judgment,
the people repented and Jonah became angry because God decided not to punish
them. Micah delivered words of both judgment and mercy to Judah
in the 700s BCE. His brief summary of what God requires (6.8) is one of the
most quoted texts in the Hebrew Bible. Shortly before Ninevah, capital of the Assyrian Empire fell to the Babylonians and the Medes (612
BCE), Nahum rejoiced that God was bringing down the once powerful
people because of their cruelty in war. Written shortly before the Babylonians conquered Judah, the book
of Habakkuk questions God's fairness, but then asserts that the righteous
person must have faith in God's justice. After beginning by announcing the Lord's judgment on Judah and
its neighbors, Zephaniah changes tone in chapter three to announce
that the judgment has been removed. This change may reflect the religious
shift that came in Judah with Josiah's reform. After the Judean people returned from exile in Babylon,
Haggai urged them to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. Like Haggai, Zechariah urged the people to rebuild the Temple.
The book also contains later prophecies from the time after the rebuilding
was complete. Malachi criticized the religous apathy of people living
in Judah after the return from exile in Babylon. |
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| Kethuvi'im/Writings |
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| Check here later in the semester for summaries of the books of this portion of the Hebrew Bible. |
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| Apocrypha/Deuterocanon |
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| Check here later in the semester for summaries of the books of the Apocrypha/Deuterocanon. |
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| New Testament |
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| Matthew's Gospel argues that Jesus is the Messiah
promised in the Hebrew Scriptures. He is presented as a great teacher of
Torah who came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. Matthew tells Jesus' story
from his birth to the resurrection, including more of his teachings than
any other gospel. |
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| Mark's Gospel is the shortest of the four canonical gospels.
The story begins with the preaching of John the Baptist in the wilderness
and emphasizes Jesus' miracles and his suffering. Presenting Jesus' work
as decisive and urgent Mark wrote to strengthen the faith of a persecuted
community of believers. |
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| Luke's Gospel, the longest of the four, emphasizes Jesus'
involvement with the poor, the unclean, women, and others excluded from power
in the ancient world. Jesus makes salvation (healing) available for all
people. He is presented as a Savior, a healer of both the body and the spirit.
The Holy Spirit plays a strong role in Luke's Gospel as the force driving
Jesus' ministry. Prayer is also emphasized as the means of communication
between God and the faithful. Luke states that he has written "so that you may know the truth" concerning Jesus' story. |
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| The Gospel of John
has very little overlap with the others. The first half of John's story
of Jesus is organized around seven signs (miracles) that point to Jesus
as the Son of God, and the last half has a strong focus on the crucifixion
as Jesus' moment of glory. The reflective style of this gospel is quite
different from the other three. The author states that he has written to
encourage faith in Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God. |
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| Check here later in the semester for summaries of
the book of Acts, Paul's letters, the other New Testament letters, and the
book of Revelation. |
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Return to the Discussion Outlines Page. Go to the History and Literature of the Bible main page. |
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