• Nehemiah 8:1-8 – When these people needed a spiritual revival, they went back to the word of God.

What is the Bible?

  • A collection of 66 books

    • The word “Bible” comes from the Latin “Biblia” which simply means “books.”

  • Written over 1500 years

  • 40 different authors

  • Inspired by God

  • Different styles and genres

  • Two major parts:

    • Old Testament, 39 books (Genesis – Malachi)
      • History of creation and God’s dealings with man, specifically following the nation of Israel.
    • New Testament, 27 books (Matthew – Revelation)
      • Story of Jesus and the inspired people who carried His message to the world after His crucifixion.

How do I find my way around?

  • Parts of a Bible reference: book, chapter, and verse
  • There are five books with only one chapter: Obadiah, Philemon, II John, III John, and Jude

Which translation is best?

  • Old Testament: Hebrew (some Aramaic)

  • New Testament: Greek

  • Example of translation issues:

    • II John 1:12 – Greek: stoma pros stoma (mouth to mouth)

  • Translation philosophy: word-for-word vs thought-for-thought

    • Example: Romans 13:4

    • Recommended word-for-word translations:

      • NASB-1995 (New American Standard Bible, 1995 edition)

      • ESV (English Standard Version)

      • NKJV (New King James Version)

      • KJV (King James Version)

Which type of Bible should I use?

  • Arrangement of the text

    • Verse-by-verse

    • Paragraph

    • Journaling or wide-margin Bibles

    • Daily reading Bibles

    • Parallel Bible

  • Extra material added

    • Maps

    • Concordance

    • Reference Bible

    • Study Bible

    • Devotional Bible

    • Children’s Bible

  • Features

    • Red-letter

    • Large print

    • Cover

    • Paper

    • Foreword/preface

    • Italics

    • SMALL CAPS

  • A reference Bible is the primary workhorse. If you only get one Bible, get a reference Bible.

  • Other types of Bibles are helpful for particular purposes or types of study.

Now what?