What are the contents of the Bible?

First section: the Hebrew Bible/Tanakh/Old Testament, 39 Hebrew books composed by Jews between the 12th and 2nd century BCE (roughly); Jewish adherents combine certain texts to make a total of 24 books (more below). A few of the books were written in both Hebrew and Aramaic. TaNaKh is a Jewish term and acronym composed of consonants designating the first letter of the three major divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures:

  1. Torah (“Law”), also known as the Pentateuch (Greek, “five scrolls”)
  2. Nevi’im (“Prophets”)
  3. Kethuvim (“Writings”)

Second section: the New Testament, 27 Greek books composed by early Christians between 50 and 150 CE, divided in four main categories:

  1. Gospels
  2. Acts
  3. Epistles
  4. Revelation

Now for a closer look at each section…

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