BIC | Basic Introduction Course on the Holy Bible
BIC | STUDY NOTES #001 - A. Major Parts of the Bible | B. Prophetic Bible Books
A. Major Parts of the Bible
Based on the provided search results, the Bible is divided into two main parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. Here’s a breakdown of the major sections:
Old Testament
Torah (Five Books of Moses): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy
Former Prophets: Historical books that tell the story of Israel from the crossing of the Jordan River to the Babylonian exile, including:
Latter Prophets: Books of prophecy that foretell the future, including:
Writings: Miscellaneous books that include poetry, wisdom literature, and historical accounts, such as:
Daniel (also classified as a prophet)
New Testament
Gospels: Accounts of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, including:
Acts of the Apostles: The story of the early Christian church and the spread of Christianity, including the ministry of the apostles.
Epistles (Letters): Writings of early Christian leaders, including:
Apocalypse (Revelation): A prophetic book that describes the end times and the ultimate triumph of God.
Note that some sources may group the books differently or recognize additional sections, such as the Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical books. However, the above breakdown represents the most commonly accepted division of the Bible into major sections.
Note/Update [07/01/2025]
We will use the following FRAMEWORK for The Holy Bible (via Wikipedia):
General Info: The Bible
[A.] a1. Hebrew Bible / a2. Old Testament - [B.] New Testament
This will be worked out in at least three new posts in the BIC.
Picture: Sea of Galilee
B. Prophetic Bible Books
In the Old Testament, the prophetic books are a collection of writings attributed to prophets who spoke on behalf of God to the Israelites and Judahites. These books are also known as the Nevi’im in Hebrew. There are 17 prophetic books, which can be divided into two categories: the Major Prophets and the Minor Prophets.
Major Prophets:
Minor Prophets:
Hosea (Hosea 1-14)
Joel (Joel 1-3)
Amos (Amos 1-9)
Obadiah (Obadiah 1)
Jonah (Jonah 1-4)
Micah (Micah 1-7)
Nahum (Nahum 1-3)
Habakkuk (Habakkuk 1-3)
Zephaniah (Zephaniah 1-3)
Haggai (Haggai 1-2)
Zechariah (Zechariah 1-14)
Malachi (Malachi 1-4)
In the New Testament, the book of Revelation is often considered a prophetic book, as it contains apocalyptic visions and messages from God.
It’s worth noting that the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) does not distinguish between “Major” and “Minor” Prophets, and instead groups them together as a single collection, the Nevi’im. The distinction between Major and Minor Prophets was introduced by early Christian scholars, likely due to differences in book length and style.
BONUS - B. Prophetic books
The prophetic books are a division of the Christian Bible, grouping 18 books (Catholic and Orthodox canon) or 17 books (Protestant canon, excluding Baruch) in the Old Testament.[1] In terms of the Tanakh, it includes the Latter Prophets from the Nevi'im, with the addition of Lamentations (which in the Tanakh is one of the Five Megillot) and Daniel, both of which are included among the books of the Hebrew Ketuvim.[2]
The prophetic books are named as such because prophets are traditionally attributed as authors.[3] However, modern scholars think that the books as they have been handed down to the present time are the work of successive generations of writers who took their inspiration the messages of these prophets.[4] These authors were active between 750 BC and 450 BC.[5] The first six of the books are known as the major prophets, while the last 12 are known as the minor prophets. These names do not imply that the major prophets are more important than the minor prophets, but refer to the major prophetic books being much longer than the minor ones.[3] The books of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel have 66, 52 and 48 chapters, respectively, while the minor prophets merely have 1 to 14 chapters per book.[6]
Incidentally, outside of the prophetic books, prophets also feature as characters in other books of the Hebrew Bible.
List
[edit]
The major prophets in Christianity are:
Baruch (only included in the Catholic and Orthodox canons)
In Judaism, only Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel are counted amongst the 'major prophets'. Baruch, a Septuagintal book, is considered canonical only in Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Oriental Orthodox churches but apocryphal in Protestant Christianity and in Judaism.[1]
The minor prophets are the same in Christianity as in Judaism (however, in Jewish Bibles they are grouped as one single book, titled "The Twelve"):[1]
See also
[edit]
Other major divisions of the Old Testament:
References
[edit]
^ a b c Coogan, Michael D., ed. (2007). The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 455, 969. ISBN 9780195288803. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
^ Sweeney, M.A. (2014). Reading Prophetic Books: Form, Intertextuality, and Reception in Prophetic and Post-Biblical Literature. Forschungen zum Alten Testament. Mohr Siebeck. p. 21. ISBN 978-3-16-152374-8. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
^ "profetenboeken". debijbel.nl (in Dutch). Netherlands Bible Society. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
^ "Bible Navigation Menu". Biblehub.com. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prophetic_books
***
