What is The Bible?

The Old Testament

The Bible is divided into two sections. The Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is the larger section and contains 39 books - the scriptures (holy books) of the Jewish faith. The first five books (Pentateuch) are traditionally said to be written by Moses. The Old Testament was completed around 400BC, and in the New Testament Jesus is recorded as quoting from most of the 39 books.

The Old Testament includes several different kinds of writing - history, law, poetry, proverbs, drama and prophecy. It was mostly written in the Hebrew language, though a small portion was written in Aramaic.