What Is the Structure of the Bible?

How is the Bible laid out? What’s in the table of contents? This one book has a lot of smaller books in it. Can seem confusing.

The Bible Is Divided into the Old Testament and New Testament.

The Old Testament is called “old” not because it is obsolete, but because it came first, over the span of around 1,000 years. Another way to refer to it is the Hebrew Bible. It’s what the Jews had. This is the Bible that Jesus and his first followers had. There’s much we can learn from the Old Testament. We hope you will make that part of the Bible a part of your regular reading. 

The New Testament was written over the span of about a generation. It started being written shortly after the death and resurrection of Jesus. It’s a collection of books written to churches and to individual Chrsitians. Over time these writings began to be collected together by the churches, to create what we call the New Testament. By the 300’s, the New Testament was affirmed by the Christian church as a whole. A large majority of the Bible’s books were recognized far before that. These two parts of the Bible come together to tell us God’s story for today.

The New Testament builds on Old Testament themes like creation, sin, salvation, the Day of the Lord. It gives further insight on these matters, but doesn’t negate the Old Testament meaning.

• The New Testament authors are familiar with and well-versed in Old Testament text.

For example, Matthew’s gospel makes many references to Old Testament practices and quotes many Old Testament prophecies. Paul, in Romans 4, assumes that his readers understand the story of Abraham and his relationship with God. He uses this story to underscore that a right relationship with God is based on faith, not on performance.

• The Old Testament does not stand alone, because the themes it introduces are fulfilled in the person of Jesus.

The New Testament connects the dots between the Old Testament and the person of Jesus. For example, Hebrews explains how Jesus fulfills the Old Covenant and its sacrificial system.

• Matthew 5:17-19 (NLT) “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. 19 So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.”

What about other writings that don’t fit into the Old Testament and New Testament, like the Apocrypha? Or the so-called “lost gospels”? The question of which books belong in the Bible is the question of “canonicity”. The word “canon” means a rule or standard. Which books meet the standard to be included as Scripture? Several criteria were developed in the early church.

• Apostleship. Books written by the apostles were quickly recognized as authoritative. But Luke and Mark were not apostles. Those authors who were not apostles were eventually recognized as authoritative because they were part of the apostolic circle. Luke was a traveling companion of Paul. Mark was a protege of Peter.
• Universality. The writings in question reflect the unified view of the whole body of Christians, not just some fringe groups.
• Orthodoxy. The doctrines and values expressed are consistent with the rest of Scripture.
• Antiquity. The book originates in biblical times, and was not composed long afterward.
• Divine effect. The message of the book has life-changing power in people’s experience.

The so-called “lost gospels” fail to meet the tests of canonical authority, mainly the test of apostolic authorship. But they also fail the tests of antiquity, universality and orthodoxy. 

The test of “divine effect” can be subjective. Latter-day Saints would argue that the Book of Mormon has life-changing power in people’s experience. But it fails all of the other tests of canonicity.

We bring this up to underscore that Scripture is composed of the Old Testament and the New Testament.

The Bible Is Organized by Genre

“Genre” refers to the type of literature that is contained in each book of the Bible. The idea of genre is not limited to the Bible, but relates to literature in every language. English language genres include fiction, biography, essay, poetry, drama, and many more sub-genres. The point is that you don’t read an essay the same way you read a poem – or a personal letter, or an anime story.

As you open the table of contents of your Bible, you can see how it is organized by genre. For example, consider the Old Testament first: 

• Law: Genesis – Deuteronomy. These five books reflect the genre we call the Law. These aren’t only books of law. But they contained the way God wanted his people to live: the commands he gave them, how they were to worship, how they were to live their lives, how they were to interact with the surrounding nations. (Any given book of the Bible may reflect more than one genre, but usually one particular genre is prominent.)
• History: Joshua – Esther. Twelve books that tell us the history of Israel. How they entered into the Promised Land, set up their kingdom, how that kingdom became divided, how the people were taken off into exile, and eventually brought back to their homeland. This isn’t just dry history, but history interpreted through the eyes of God. Shows God’s activity in human affairs, so it is history applicable to us today.
• Poetry: Job – Song of Solomon (Song of Songs). Five books that are poems, by and large. Hebrew poetry is different from our English language poetry. Characterized, not by rhyming, but by parallelism. As poetry, they need to be read differently than history or law. Use smaller amounts of words to convey deep meaning and powerful ideas. 
• Major Prophets: Isaiah – Daniel. Five books. Major prophets these books tend to be longer. These prophets were alive during the times described in the books of history. They were telling the people what God was doing in their day, and what God was going to do in the future. 
• Minor Prophets: Hosea – Malachi. Twelve books. Called “minor” not because they are unimportant, but because they are smaller. With the same purpose and intent of the major prophets. Tell God’s people how to understand the events of the day, and what God was going to do in the future.

Moving to the New Testament, we have some different genres.

• Gospels: Matthew – John. Four books. Four different accounts about the life of Jesus. Followers of Jesus, or people close to the apostles, who did a lot of research, talked to eyewitnesses, to describe Jesus’ words and actions.
• History of the Church: Acts. Sort of a book of history, but very focused. Deals with the spread of the Christian church, starting with just a few Christians in Jerusalem, but tracking the spread of Christianity throughout the entire Roman Empire. 
• Epistles: Romans – Jude. Eight books. An “epistle” is a letter. These are letters written to Christians or to churches, usually from the apostles. They talk about the struggles Christians face. There are commands for today. A lot of material for us to think about and apply to our lives, in these books.
• Apocalypse: Revelation. Revelation has its own genre (apocalyptic literature). It’s a mix of prophecy and eschatology, full of symbols. Talking about the return of Jesus, the end of the world, and how God wants us to live until that time comes. A powerful picture of God’s vision for the end of the world and for the beginning of the rest of eternity. 

Those are the genres of the Bible. It’s important to understand something about these genres. YOu don’t have to be an expert. But it does help to have a basic sense of what genres are about.

A Book’s Genre Guides the Way You Read It.

It’s helpful to know a book’s genre as you read it, in order to make sense of what you read. We will apply any book of the Bible differently based on its genre. 

For example, you should understand something about the poetry of Psalms before you can apply it to your life. Think through: what are the images and metaphors? What are they trying to teach me?

• Psalm 1:3 – [Speaking of the righteous]: They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.

As poetry, Psalm 1 talks about what a life pursuing God is like. Yet it doesn’t talk about specific aspects of that life, but uses a rich, familiar image to paint that picture.

When you read the book of Proverbs, genre helps you understand that Proverbs are simple sayings or aphorisms that are generally true, but they aren’t universal or guaranteed promises from God.

• Proverbs 12:21 – No harm comes to the godly. But the wicked have their fill of trouble.

Godly people don’t live a trouble-free life. We all know Christians who have lost loved ones, been laid off, and more. But generally, it is true that people who don’t follow God create trouble for themselves by their life choices. So this contrast between the godly and wicked plays out more often than not.

Yet when you read the epistles, you’ll discover that these are written to Christians much like us. Many of the commands written in those books apply directly to us and need very little alteration. 

• Romans 12:10-11 – Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

These instructions are true for all Christ-followers, whether living in the 1st or 21st century, whether living in Rome or the United States.

The Takeaway

So it’s helpful to read the books of the Bible by understanding their genre. There is plenty more to learn about this. But we want to give you an overview of the structure and genres of the Bible, so that as you read God’s word, you can have a better sense of what you’re reading, as you apply it to your life.

You don’t have to be an expert in genre or literature. As you read your Bible with this topic in mind, you will quickly discern how the genres you encounter are different, and you will develop a greater level of understanding. The point is: get reading!