Bible Basics

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

Where did the Bible come from?

• Written by various people over thousands of years

• Inspired by the Holy Spirit

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

The New Testament

• Second part of the Bible• Tells the story of Jesus and the early Church

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

Find this verse…

• Jeremiah 29:11• Philippians 4:13• Proverbs 3:5-6• 1 John 4:7

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