How many books are there in the Bible? Books of the New Testament. Books of the Old Testament

When it comes to the Bible, we usually imagine a weighty folio with ancient texts. This book is read by people, tormented by questions about the meaning of life, engaged in theology. Only the name implies not one or two volumes, there are many of them. Let's see how many books are in the Bible, and why it's impossible to name the exact number. Christianity has long been divided into branches. The most popular are Catholicism, Protestantism and Orthodoxy.

general characteristics

The word "bible" came to us from the Greek language. It is translated as "books" or "scrolls". It literally means a collection of knowledge of great value. Probably, now we would have invested in it a different meaning, they would say that it is a library for the soul.

For several thousand years these books (and many of them) are considered one of the greatest values, relics created by ordinary people. They inspire, astonish and teach the readers, push on reflections and new discoveries. However, when the question arises, how many books in the Bible, experts can not answer unambiguously. And it's not that the volumes are hard to count. Just different religious schools have formed their own attitude to this topic.

Proceedings relating to the Bible, were created over the course of one thousand six hundred years. One part - the Old Testament - was written in pre-Christian times. But it is also customary to refer to the Holy Scripture. Some theologians consider the New Testament to be a purely Christian revelation. And some of his volumes are not attributed to the Holy Scriptures. This is precisely the difference in approaches. The value of this literature can not be denied. Specialists who study this topic consider volumes from three positions.

What is the value of the Bible?

First, these books are the Holy Scriptures of the Christian religion. They give readers spiritual foundations, teach the attitude to faith. The book Exodus, for example, is considered one of the sources of the law. In this part of the Bible rules and postulates for believers are collected, the canons to be followed in life. The authors tried to explain to ordinary people new principles for that time, ways of thinking. Agree, the task was grandiose: completely reorient the thinking process of mankind to other rules, instill other traditions and ways of existence.

Secondly, these volumes are perceived as a source of historical information. The authors state in them not only the events of their time, but also convey the spirit of society. Third, the Bible is a cultural monument. Many texts are judged by specialists as having been done literally. In addition, they are valuable, like any written monuments of antiquity. The books have been translated into many languages, they are ahead of any other literary works in the number of publications. It affects both their religious and historical value.

Structure of the collection

We intentionally do not immediately answer the stated question about how many books in the Bible. Unfortunately, it's impossible to unambiguously and directly disclose it. After reading the material to the last line, you yourself agree with this. The collection is divided into two parts - the Old and New Testaments. They are written by different authors for more than 1,500 years. The Old Testament refers to the pre-Christian part of the Bible (it is sometimes referred to as the Jewish one). These books are recognized by the Savior, he relied on them and used them as the Word of God. Jews recognize only one part of the Holy Scripture, consisting of the Torah, Neviim and Ktuvim. On the basis of these books, all the rest were created, as was Christianity itself.

The New Testament contains a description of the life of the Savior and his disciples. These volumes were created after the coming into the world of Christ. All manuscripts, as already mentioned, are very ancient. They were republished many times. Because of this, there was confusion with the division into volumes. Thus, in the Jewish tradition, depending on views and preferences, it is generally accepted that books are 24 or 22. And modern Christians publish from these texts already thirty-nine volumes.

The structure of the Bible in the Christian tradition

All volumes that have survived to this day are shared not only by authorship and dates of writing. Theologians distinguish texts by themes. That is, the Bible consists of books that reveal specific topics. In the Christian tradition, such a division is accepted:

• Legislative;
• Prophetic;
• Historical;
• Educational and poetic.

And some of the theologians consider part of the volumes to be non-canonical. They are not included in the Bible. Hence a different number of books. But let's go further.

Legislative books

In this section it is customary to include the Pentateuch of Moses. These publications describe the rules of life of believers. So, the book Exodus tells about the liberation of Jews from Egyptian slavery, their journey through the desert. It ends with a chapter on concluding a new covenant of God with the people. The Book of Exodus is the second volume following Genesis. In these manuscripts there are descriptive and legislative parts. Each tells of a certain period of life of the ancient Jews. The third volume - the book of Leviticus - differs somewhat in content from the rest. It contains mainly instructions concerning religious rites.

In addition to special regulations, the book of Leviticus includes rules for believers. It tells how to live the people, what can and what can not be done and the like. These are the rules of behavior in a society that lives according to the covenants of God. Some instructions are suitable only for traveling through the desert, others are related to the organization of life in the Land of Israel. The book of Numbers is quite different. In the Jewish tradition much attention is paid to the rules of inheritance. About the one who was born and how he lived, the book of Numbers narrates. The whole volume is a kind of chronology and statistics of those events that occurred during the journey through the desert. The last of the books on this subject is Deuteronomy.

Historical volumes

This part of the Bible consists of literature that is narrative. The manuscripts contain information on how the people lived, what they thought about, what tasks they set themselves for themselves. For example, the book of Joshua narrates about the events that occurred during the period from the death of Moses to the death of the author himself. It is often reckoned to the Pentateuch, since this volume logically follows it. However, in content, it is historical, descriptive.

The book of Joshua is traditionally named after the author. It is believed that only the last lines of it are written by another person (prophet Samuel). This volume, like the others in this section, contains historical information of great value. This book contains stories about military battles and the law of that time. Its content is based on scientists in their work, since it is well known the time of its writing. The historical section includes the books of Samuel and the Kings, the Chronicles and others. Educational-poetic literature is Psalms, Proverbs, Songs of Songs.

Prophecies

The last section is composed of volumes describing the revelations received by the authors. For example, the book of the Prophet Haggai contains enlightening speeches delivered before the builders of the temple. These messages were aimed at supporting the spirit of the ancient workers who were depressed and were ready to give up their intention.

The prophet told contemporaries about the value of their work, linking it to what God expects from his people. The meaning of his speeches is also interesting in our time to people who strive to join faith. The book of the Prophet Zechariah also has an instructive meaning. This man received revelations about how to turn from evil and go to God. All of them he passed on to his descendants.

The Old and New Testaments

This section of the Bible is made up of very ancient books. Protestants believe that their thirty-nine, Orthodox - fifty, Catholics - forty-seven. And among theologians it is customary to separate the canonical literature that is part of the Holy Scripture, from that which does not enter there. Experts are still arguing about what the Bible is. The book of Genesis, for example, is included by everyone in the Old Testament, and the Wisdom of Solomon is not. The volumes written later are calculated differently. In the New Testament, Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants include twenty-seven books. Here there is no discrepancy. Probably because these manuscripts were created at the time when a system appeared that allowed to preserve religious values, including books.

So how many books in the Bible?

After explaining how the studied collection of texts was formed, one can answer the main question. Now you can understand why there are at least three answers to it. Thus, the Orthodox say that the Bible consists of 77 books, Protestants recognize only 66 of them, and Catholics believe that the Holy Scriptures include 74 volumes. Each of them is right in his own way.

Some manuscripts are not included in the canonical literature. But this does not mean that their study is prohibited. To the historical and religious monuments the theologians have a very anxious attitude. They are carefully studied, comprehended, try not only to understand, but also interpreted from a new angle. In addition, these ancient manuscripts are useful to historians. With their help, experts are trying to penetrate the secrets of past centuries. It remains to say that according to modern information the Bible was created in the period from 1500 BC to 100 g. And for the last hundred years all the volumes of the New Testament were written.