When it comes to the Bible, we usuallyimagine a weighty volume with old 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.
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 there are many of them)They are considered one of the greatest values, relics created by ordinary people. They inspire, amaze 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 related to the Bible, were created onfor about 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 studying this topic are considering volumes from three positions.
First, these books are sacredScripture 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 sourcehistorical 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. This affects both their religious and historical value.
We intentionally do not immediately respond to the declaredthe question of how many books in the Bible. Unfortunately, it is 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. Based on these books, all the rest were created, as was Christianity itself.
The New Testament contains a description of the life of the Savior andhis students. 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.
All volumes that have survived to this day are not dividedonly by authorship and dates of writing. Theologians distinguish texts by subject. That is, the Bible consists of books that reveal specific topics. In the Christian tradition, such a division is accepted:
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.
In this section it is customary to include the PentateuchMoiseevo. 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 about 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, Leviticusincludes 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. A completely different meaning is the book of Numbers. 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.
This part of the Bible consists of literature,narrative character. 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 in 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 the scientists in their work, since the time of its writing is well known. The historical section includes the books of Samuel and the Kings, the Chronicles and others. Educational and poetic literature is the Psalms, Proverbs, Songs of Songs.
The last section consists of volumes describingrevelations 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 his contemporaries about the value of theirwork, linking it with what God expects from his people. The meaning of his speeches is also interesting in our time to people who are striving 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 gave to the descendants.
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. There is no discrepancy here. Probably because these manuscripts were created at a time when a system arose that allowed to preserve religious values, including books.
Explaining how the studied collectiontexts, you can answer the main question. Now you can understand why there are at least three answers to it. So, 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 thecanonical literature. But this does not mean that their study is prohibited. To historico-religious monuments among theologians are 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 be said 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.
