Heyyyy Bible scholars!!! How's studying?
Remember our friend Ama from two months ago? She called me yesterday and we had an amazing conversation. I just wanted to give you guys a little gist on what we talked about.
Ama: So the Bible is divided into two categories. the old and the new testament according to the type of covenant right?
Us: That's right!
Ama: I noticed something. The book of Genesis is like the telling of a story but then the writing changes suddenly when it gets to the Psalms or Proverbs.
Us: You are very observant, my friend.
We can divide the books according to the type of covenant it falls under and also according to the type of writing used. The books of the Bible are divided into categories according to the main themes they talk about.
The style of the writing differs from book to book though some might use the same style. Some are written as stories{historical narratives, parables), others like poems. Others are genealogies that show the family tree of a person.
Ama: Oh! That explains a lot.
These are the main divisions according to genre/type of writing:
1. Pentateuch (the law/Torah): Pentateuch is a Greek word that literally means “five books”- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. These writings of Moses contain the laws God provided the Jews.
2. Historical books: Joshua to Esther. These books narrate the experiences God’s people had with Him as they walked with Him. It traces their line of history from entering the promised land to their exile to Babylon.
3. Wisdom (Poetic) books: Jobs, Psalms, Ecclesiastes and Songs of Songs. These Hebrew poems unlike English ones do not rhyme. In the wisdom books, people probe the occurrences of life and write down their observations.
4. Major prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentation, Ezekiel and Daniel. They are called major because of the size of the book not because they are of a higher rank. These books contain the counsel God gave His prophets to deliver to His people.
5. Minor prophets: Hosea, Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah and Malachi. As I stated early on, the only difference between the major and minor prophets is the size of the books (bigger for major and smaller for minor) but the content is similar.
6. The gospels: Gospel means “good news”. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. It is the good news of the life, death and resurrection of Christ that has set us free from the bondage of sin.
Acts of the Apostles: This is not a genre on its own. it actually falls under the historical narrative books because it tells the story of the life of Christians after Christ's ascension. This book details the work of the early Christians in propagating the gospel after the death and resurrection of Christ and the introduction of the Holy Spirit as our Helper.
7. The Epistles: Romans to Jude. These are letters of advice, instruction and admonition written to the groups of Christians scattered across the region by the Apostles.
8. Apocalyptic book: With only one book in this genre (Revelation), it contains the visions Apostle John saw concerning the world's future, the second coming of Christ and the judgement of sinners.
There you have it, Bible scholars. Like Ama, I hope this gave you more insight into the Bible.
The next time you notice a great deviation from one book to another, remember the books were written at different times (over a 1,500 year period) by different people for various purposes. The style in which David wrote in Psalms is different from how Paul did in Romans. But the goal remains the same; God inspired men to write those words. Regardless of what the book talks about, it ultimately points to Christ.
I know that this has blessed you. Happy studying.
Thanks and happy studies