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Bible Lesson 3: Bible Books
Overview of the Bible

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Summary of the Bible study on the
"Overview of the Bible."

The Bible books can be divided in Ten Major Blocks.

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_1. Pre-History

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The events in Genesis 1–11 bear no date and are therefore known as Pre-history.

Five important events occur during this time:

  • Creation
  • Adam and Eve
  • Cain and Abel
  • Noah and the Flood
  • The Tower of Babel


The first 11 chapters of Genesis describe how human beings miss the mark.

The rest of the Bible tells us how God accompanies human beings on their journey through life in order to create a community of believers—a family of faith!

Bible Books:
Genesis 1-11

Download more information on Pre-History in PDF Format

_2. The Patriarchs and Slavery (±2000 – ± 1250 BC)

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Abraham was the first father of the community. He and his descendants (such as Isaac and Jacob) are known as the patriarchs. “Patriarchs” is a Hebrew term that means “first father” or “ruling father.”

Genesis ends when Joseph and his family settle in Egypt, where they live for 430 years. During this time, they multiply in numbers and become slaves.

In these chapters in Genesis, we see the wondrous ways God goes about establishing a new community of faith.

There were four main characters: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.

Bible Books:
Genesis 12-50

Download more information on Patriarchs and Slavery in PDF Format

_3. Exodus and Conquest (±1250 – ± 1220 BC)

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The period of the Judges covers the events between the entry into the Promised Land and the establishment of the monarchy in Israel. During this phase, the tribes were not as closely united as they would later become.

Before the monarchy was established, the Judges (leaders sent by God) rules over the Israelites. The most well-known judges were Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephtah and, of course, Samson. The story of Ruth also takes place during the time of the Judges.

This period ended on a note of despair, because there were no Judges left in Israel and the people were left to act according to what was right and wrong in their own sight.

Bible books:
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy and Joshua

Download more information on the Exodus and Conquest in PDF Format

_4. Judges (±1200 – ± 1020 BC)

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The period of the Judges covers the events between the entry into the Promised Land and the establishment of the monarchy in Israel. During this phase, the tribes were not as closely united as they would later become.

Before the monarchy was established, the Judges (leaders sent by God) rules over the Israelites. The most well-known judges were Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephtah and, of course, Samson. The story of Ruth also takes place during the time of the Judges.

This period ended on a note of despair, because there were no Judges left in Israel and the people were left to act according to what was right and wrong in their own sight.

Bible books:
Judges and Ruth

Download more information on Judges in PDF Format

_5. The United Kingdom (± 1020 – 925 BC)

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The previous period in Israel’s history ended on a note of despair. Idolatry and lawlessness prevailed. The guidance of a king therefore became a matter of urgency.

Samuel anointed the first two kings, namely Saul and David. Initially, He warned the people that they did not need an earthly king because God was their king (1 Sam. 8:5,20). Solomon became the third king.

God continued to systematically execute His plan of salvation and His promise to Abraham. God promised that David’s kingdom would last forever (2 Sam. 7:14-16).

Bible books:
1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings 1–11, 1 Chronicles—2 Chronicles 9, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon

Download more information on the United Kingdom in PDF Format

_6. The Divided Kingdom and Exile (925 – 586 BC)

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Unfortunately, the once-united kingdom of Israel split into two. Solomon’s disobedience caused the division of the kingdom.

The Northern Kingdom (Israel) consisted of 10 tribes and had 19 kings before they were taken into exile by Assyria in 722BC. All 19 kings committed evil.

The Southern Kingdom (Judah) consisted of 2 tribes and had 20 kings before they were taken into exile by Babylon in 586BC. Eight of the 20 kings were good, while 12 were bad.

Now the question is: How will God fulfill his promises to Abraham and Israel?

Bible books:
1 Kings 12 – 2 Kings 25, 2 Chronicles 10 – 36, Jonah, Amos, Hosea, Isaiah 1-39, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Habakkuk, Obadiah, Isaiah 40-66

Download more information on the Divided Kingdom and Exile in PDF Format

_7. In Exile (597–538 BC)

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The exile changed the people’s way of worshipping. Because they were now far away from the Jerusalem, the Temple and sacrifices could no longer be the focal point of their worship. Instead, prayer, confession and teaching became the focus of their worship.

The gatherings in their homes preceded the assemblies in the synagogues. The Temple priests who were also taken into exile acted as interpreters of the Law.

The question remains: How will God fulfill his promises to Abraham and Israel?

Bible books:
Ezekiel and Daniel

Download more information on In Exile in PDF Format

8. Return from Exile (538 — 420 BC)

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In 549 B.C., Cyrus the Great founded the Persian Empire, and he eventually conquered Babylon. Persia was now the new world power.

The two centuries the Persians reigned were of great importance to God’s people, as the Persians encouraged their repatriation and also subsidized it

It was during this time that the exiles who returned home were called “Jews” for the first time. This word derives from the Hebrew word Yehudi, which is related to Judah, the tribe in which Jesus was born.

Bible books:
Haggai, Zechariah, Joel, Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Malachi

Download more information on the Return from Exile in PDF Format

_9. 400 "Silent" Years (420- ±6BC)

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Where does the Old Testament end? The Old Testament ends with the return of the Lord’s people from exile in Babylonia. At that time, Persia was the great world power and ruled over the returned exiles.

Where does the New Testament start? When we open the New Testament, everything is completely different. Rome is now the world power, and once again a king is on the throne. This king is not from the house of David but is a descendent of Esau. His name is Herod the Great. The priests are also not descendents of Aaron.

The reason for this completely different picture is because 400 years had passed from the time the last book of the Old Testament was written to the start of the New Testament.

These years are called the “Silent Years” because they are not reflected in the Bible. Fortunately. there are sources that tell us what happened during those years.

Download more information on the 400 "Silent" Years in PDF Format

_10. The New Testament (± 6BC – ± 100AD)

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The Four Gospels

The first four books of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) are called the gospels (meaning good news).

  • The authors of the gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) tell the narrative of the life and ministry of Jesus.

Letters of the New Testament

The letters of the New Testament are written by church leaders to help people to understand how their faith influences their daily life and hope for the future.

  • The Bible books about the early church can be divided as follow:

  • The Acts of the Apostles, which describes the first years of the Christian Church

  • The letters of Paul (Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon)

  • The general letters (Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1–3 John and Jude)

  • John’s visions (Revelation)

The New Testament confirms that God has fulfilled his promise to Abraham.

It has been aptly remarked that the Old Testaments are the New Testament in prophecy and the New Testament is the Old Testament in fulfillment (Jer. 31: 31-34, cp. Heb. 8: 7-13). 
 
Return from Lesson 3 on Bible books to Free Bible Lessons: Module 1


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