Bible Basics

Helpful Terminology

Bible

The word "bible" comes from the Greek biblia, which means books or scrolls.

Testament

The word testament is a synonym for covenant.

Canon

Greek meaning "measuring rod," and later came to mean a rule by which something was judged. It came to be used as a term to mean the official list of individual books that make up the Scriptures.

Deuterocanonical

In Greek, this term means "second canon." These books are those texts not found in the Hebrew canon, but were added to the Greek translation, the Septuagint, and then copied into Latin by the Church. These books are: Sirach, Wisdom, Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Tobit, Judith and additions to Ester and Daniel. These books were not added to the protestant canon. To find out more, go to this web link:
http://www.daily-word-of-life.com/ot_3.htm

Gospel

This word means "good news" and is unique to describe the good news of Jesus Christ.

Old Testament

The word "testament" means "covenant." There are 46 books that make up what we call the "Old Testament." These scriptures, known to the Hebrew people by the time of Jesus, are divided into different categories of texts according to the type of writing. These books are the story of the covenant God had with his people and the foundation for the "New Covenant" that was ushered in with Jesus Christ. Some refer to this as the "Hebrew Scriptures." The first reading at mass is from this part of the bible.

New Testament

The “new covenant” God made with his people through the Incarnation. These 27 books continue to tell the story of God’s plan for our salvation through the retelling of the ministry of Jesus, the ministry of His Followers, and the life of the early Church. In the mass the Gospel and Sunday’s second reading are from this part of the bible.
 

New Testament

 The New Testament contains 27 books which can be 
divided as follows:

The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)

The Epistles (Letters)

  The Epistles can be divided into the following groups:

     The Letters of St. Paul -

     The Catholic or Universal Letters -

Old Testament

Catholics divide the Old Testament into three sections: 
the historical books, the wisdom books and the prophetic books.

Pentateuch / Law:

the five foundational books that comprise the Jewish Torah give the basis for the telling of the origins of God's people and their unique relationship with God.
 

Historical Books:

recount the period of Israelite history from about 1250 to 100 B.C.

Wisdom Books:

a reflection of the experience of the Jewish people with God and the world these writings comprise poetry, songs, and instruction on living a virtuous life.

Prophets:

The prophets reminded the people of the covenant they made with God. Despite human misbehavior and subsequent misfortune, God was ever faithful to that covenant and ever ready for them to return to Him.