The term "Bible" is used to name the book which contains the 66 separate written documents or "books" which together compose the "sacred library" of the Christian faith. The Bible is broken down into two separate collections of books known as the Old Testament, consisting of 39 books, and the New Testament, consisting of 27 books.

THE OLD TESTAMENT

The first eleven chapters of the book of Genesis, the first book of the OT, gives the record of creation and the history of the world up until the time of Abraham who lived about 2000 bc. The remainder of the OT gives a written record of the history of the Israelites up until about 400 bc, with the emphasis being on their relationship to God. The bulk of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, however a few small portions, about 11 chapters in three books, have been preserved in Aramaic.

THE NEW TESTAMENT

The NT gives a written record of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and a history of the early Apostolic church. In addition to that, a significant percentage of the NT consist of letters written to give instruction in doctrine and living the Christian life.

The NT was written in "koine" Greek which was the universal language of the Roman empire during the time of Christ. Archeological findings have uncovered thousands of non-biblical Greek papyri, also written in "koine" Greek, which have produced great insight into the original manuscripts of the New Testament.

DATE OF WRITING

The entire Bible was written over a period of time consisting of about 1500 years. The first five books of the bible, known as the Pentateuch, are believed to have been written by Moses around 1400 BC, while the last book of the Bible named "The Revelation" is believed to have been written by the Apostle John shortly before 100 AD.

The writing of the OT was complete around 400 BC meaning the entire OT was written over a period of about 1000 years. In contrast, the New Testament was started shortly after the death of Jesus, and was finished some time before 100 ad spanning a much shorter period of about 50 to 60 years.