1. Bible Basics

2. What is the Bible? The Bible is God’s revelation (message) to His people The Bible is a collection of 73 books, divided into the Old and New Testaments

3. Where did the Bible come from? Written by various people over thousands of years Inspired by the Holy Spirit

4. The Old Testament The first part of the Bible Contains 46 books – First 5 are called the Torah meaning “instruction” or “law” – First 5 are also called the Pentateuch meaning “5 scrolls” Tells the story of God, the Israelites, and their covenants

5. The New Testament Second part of the Bible Tells the story of Jesus and the early Church

6. Finding a Passage in the Bible Passages are listed by book name, chapter, and verse. First find the book in your Bible – Most Bibles have an index that tells you where to find each book – Book names are shown at the top of each page Chapters are listed in bold in the Bible and at the top of each page Verses are shown within the text as small numbers

7. Find this verse… Jeremiah 29:11 Philippians 4:13 Proverbs 3:5-6 1 John 4:7

8. Important Terminology Inspired – influenced by the Holy Spirit Magisterium – the teachings of the Bishops and the Pope who provide authentic interpretation of the Bible Interpretation – the explanation of the words of Scripture, combining the Magisterium and the Holy Spirit Scriptorium – the room in a Monastery where the Bible was copied by hand Vulgate – the translation of the Bible by St. Jerome from Hebrew and Greek, which were no longer spoken, to Latin, which was the common language