The Bible

What’s in the Bible? The first five books of the Bible are called the Torah. (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) There are two main sections: The Old Testament and the New Testament The Old Testament has 46 books in it. The New Testament has 27 books in it. The total number of books in the Roman Catholic Bible is 73. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament form one testament about the one God, who revealed Himself to our ancestors through the Prophets, and then fully in Jesus Christ.

How Did the Bible Come to Us? There are many different editions of the Bible, each slightly different from the other. There are 4 stages of development that gave us the Bible. – The Oral Stage – The Written Stage – The Canonization Stage – The Translation Stage

The Oral Stage Stories and traditions were passed on by word of mouth – there was no writing to read. The audience had to listen to the tradition- teller, who had to make it easy for the listeners to remember the stories. The listeners had to tell the stories to their children so they would not be forgotten.

The Written Stage Later, oral traditions were written down by the writers of the sacred books. It took a long time for stories to be passed down – most stories took years to write down after they were told. Before books, the stories were written on separate scrolls. The stories were copied by hand by professional writers called scribes. Sometimes mistakes were made when writing down the stories.

The Canonization Stage Certain books that were written down were chosen as “sacred texts” by the faith community. The New Testament books were written between A.D. 50 and A.D The Letters of St. Paul are the oldest part of the New Testament.

The Translation Stage No original copy of any book in the Bible exists. Copies were damaged, or worn out, overtime. There are many translations of the Bible today, used by different religions Roman Catholics read the New American Bible (NAB).

What is the Bible? The Bible is the “Word of God.” The Bible is written by human beings. It is not written by God Himself. His message is sent to us through the stories in the Bible.

Parts of the New Testament Jesus teaches us through parables – stories that teach us a lesson. There are 21 letters in the New Testament. These letters helped answer questions about the faith. There are 4 Gospels in the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John The word Gospel means “Good News.” In the Gospels, we learn about the Good News of God’s Kingdom and forgiveness.