SUNDAY SCHOOL BIBLE REVIEWER

PART I: THE ANATOMY OF THE BIBLE

• There are a total of 66 books in the Bible.
• The Bible is divided into 2 parts – the Old
Testament and The New Testament.
• The Old Testament have 39 Books
• The New Testament have 27 Books.

A. THE OLD TESTAMENT • The Books of Poetry consists of 5 Books:

• The Old Testament is divided into 5 parts: - Job
- Books of Law – contains the laws of God to - Psalms
His people - Proverbs
- Books of History – tells the history of Israel - Ecclesiastes
- Books of Poetry – they are written in verses - Songs of Songs / Songs of Solomon
or poetry
- Books of Major Prophets – they are longer • The Books of Major Prophets consists of 5
in lengths of chapters Books:
- Books of Minor Prophets – they are shorter - Isaiah
in lengths of chapters - Jeremiah
- Lamentations
• The Books of Law consists of 5 Books: - Ezekiel
- Genesis - Daniel
- Exodus
- Leviticus • The Books of Minor Prophets consists of 12
- Numbers Books:
- Deuteronomy - Hosea
- Joel
• The Books of History consists of 12 Books: - Amos
- Joshua - Obadiah
- Judges - Jonah
- Ruth - Micah
- 1 & 2 Samuel - Nahum
- 1 & 2 Kings - Habakkuk
- 1 & 2 Chronicles - Zephaniah
- Ezra - Haggai
- Nehemiah - Zechariah
- Esther - Malachi
B. THE NEW TESTAMENT
• The New Testament is divided into 4 parts: • The Books of Epistles or Letters consists of
- Books of Gospels – contains the life story 13 Books:
of Jesus - Romans
- Book of History – tells the early history of - 1 & 2 Corinthians
Christianity - Galatians
- Books of Epistles/Pauline Letters – - Ephesians
written by Apostle Paul - Philippians
- Other Books of Epistles/Letters – written - Colossians
by Other Authors - 1 & 2 Thessalonians
- Book of Prophecy – Events leading to the - 1 & 2 Timothy
end of the age, & eternal life - Titus
- - Philemon
• The Books of Gospels consists of 4 Books:
- Matthew • Books of Epistles written by Other Authors
- Mark were:
- Luke - Hebrews (written by anonymous Author
- John although some claim that Apostle Paul
wrote the book.)
• The Book of History contains just 1 Book: - James
- Acts - 1 & 2 Peter
- 1,2 & 3 John
- Jude

• The Book of Prophecy consist of 1 Book:

- Revelation (written by John)

PART II: THE OLD TESTAMENT

• GENESIS
- Genesis is the first book of the Bible.
- The Author of Genesis is Moses.
- The meaning of Genesis is “Beginnings.”
• EXODUS
- Written by Moses approximately the same time as Genesis.
- The theme of Exodus is the mass exit of the Israelites from the slavery of Egyptians.
• LEVITICUS
- Leviticus instructs priests specifically.
- It outlines the guidelines by which the priests were supposed to serve in a holy way.
• NUMBERS
- It is all about census.
- It is also written by Moses.
• DEUTERONOMY
- The final book of Law.
- Its name means the “second law.”
- Also written by Moses.
• JOSHUA
- The first book of History in The Old Testament.
- Joshua wrote this book.
- This book is the conquest of the Promised Land by the Israelites.
• JUDGES
- Soley about the Judges in the Old Testament.
- Some of Judges’ names are Deborah, Gideon, and Samson.
- Judges is filled with stories about how these people rescued the nation of Israel.
• RUTH
- All about the life of Ruth.
- Ruth becomes the great-grandmother of King David and is in Christ's lineage.
- Some experts say Samuel wrote the book of Ruth.
• 1 & 2 SAMUEL
- 1 and 2 Samuel was probably authored by a few people, most notably Samuel, the prophet Nathan, and Gad.
- 1 Samuel covers the events of Saul’s reign as a king.
- 2 Samuel covers the events of David’s reign as king.
• 1 & 2 KINGS
- 1 and 2 Kings takes over where the Samuels leave off.
- 1 Kings goes from Solomon’s reign to the division of the kingdom into two parts.
- 2 Kings goes from that point to the deportation of Judah into captivity.
• 1 & 2 CHRONICLES
- 1 and 2 Chronicles are just that, a record of events.
- 1 Chronicles covers the same events as 1 & 2 Samuel.
- 2 Chronicles covers the same events as 1 & 2 Kings.
• EZRA
- The book is written by Ezra himself.
- This book is similar to the Book of Nehemiah.
- In Ezra, the Temple was being rebuilt.
• NEHEMIAH
- Also written by Ezra.
- Has similarity with the Book of Ezra.
- In Nehemiah, the Walls of Jerusalem was being rebuilt.
• ESTHER
- The last Book of History in The Old Testament.
- The basic story of Esther is how she uses her beauty and influence for the good of God’s people.
- Uniquely, there is no mention of God’s name in the book, although His presence is obvious.
• JOB
- The first Book of Poetry.
- Contains the life story of Job.
- Job lived during the time of Abraham, not David.
• PSALMS
- The book of Psalms is probably the most popular of the poetry books.
- David was responsible for writing the book, composing 73 psalms.
- The book was originally titled Tehillim, which means “praise songs” in Hebrew.
• PROVERBS
- It is the next book of Poetry.
- It is written by King Solomon.
- Also known as the Book of Wise Sayings.
• ECCLESIASTES
- The theme of Ecclesiastes is the meaning of life.
- It is also written by Solomon near the end of his life.
• SONGS OF SONGS
- The last book of Poetry.
- Also known as Songs of Solomon.
- The theme of this book is a love relationship between Solomon and his wife.
• ISAIAH
- The first prophet is the first of the five Major Prophets.
- Isaiah is considered the greatest writing prophet.
- The book of Isaiah provides us with the most comprehensive prophetic picture of Jesus Christ in the
entire Old Testament.
• JEREMIAH
- Jeremiah is known as the “weeping prophet.”
- Jeremiah is the longest among the Major Prophets.
- He prophesied and wrote between 627 and 586 BC directly to the people of Judah, urging them to turn
from sin and embrace the Lord.
• LAMENTATIONS
- It is also written by the depressed Jeremiah.
- He had prophesied for years about the coming destruction, and this work was composed after
Jerusalem was ransacked and defeated.
- Even though it is only 5 chapters long (the shortest of the major prophets), it is placed amongst the
Major Prophets because of its author, Jeremiah.
• EZEKIEL
- Ezekiel writes the book during captivity.
- His message is to those who are displaced in exile in Babylon.
- His message is pretty simple: God will restore His people. He will save them from captivity.
• DANIEL
- The fifth and last Book of Major Prophets.
- Daniel was in captivity just like Ezekiel.
- Though Daniel speaks on various topics, it is unique that he writes about those who were faithful in
captivity and did not forsake the Lord.
• HOSEA
- It is the first Book of Minor Prophets.
- This book is longer than both Daniel and Lamentations.
- Hosea was one of the earliest of the prophets.
- His message is plain, and it’s wrapped in a true-to-life metaphor.
• JOEL
- The second book of Minor Prophets.
 - The theme of the book of Joel is “The Day of the Lord.”
- It is a reference to any time of judgment that foreshadows the final judgment of God.
• AMOS
- Amos was a man of low position, a shepherd, but he began to prophecy in Israel around the same time
as Hosea.
- His focus, and the theme of his writing, is social justice.
• OBADIAH
- Obadiah is the shortest by far of the prophets.
- There’s only one chapter, consisting of only 21 verses.
- This book is the foretelling of the doom of an enemy of Judah’s, Edom.
• JONAH
- One of the most popular in the Minor Prophets.
- The astounding thing is that Jonah recorded these events when they put him in such a poor light.
• MICAH
- Micah probably became a prophet just a couple of years before Isaiah.
- He also would have been a contemporary of Hosea.
• NAHUM
- Nahum prophesied to the people of Nineveh.
- Nahum is God’s voice to the Assyrians, announcing their destruction.
• HABAKKUK
- Habakkuk, in addition to having one of the weirdest names, is one of the most impassioned of the
prophets.
- He prophesied to Judah just before it was taken into captivity by Babylon.
- He became a prophet just 7 years before Daniel was carried into exile.
• ZEPHANIAH
- A prophet during the time of King Josiah.
- Zephaniah’s message is to the southern Kingdom of Judah.
- Zephaniah was King Josiah’s cousin.
• HAGGAI
- He is what we call a post-exilic prophet, or after the exile.
- This means that he prophesied to the people living in Jerusalem when they returned from captivity.
- His message is simple and to the point; they need to finish building the temple of God.
• ZECHARIAH
- Zechariah prophesied to the people of Judah after they returned from their seventy years of exile in Babylon.
- Zechariah is unique in that much of his writing, which is apocalyptic in nature.
- He refers to the coming Messiah often, inspiring hope amongst the people
• MALACHI
- The Last Book of the Minor Prophets and the Last Book of The Old Testament.
- His purpose was to confront their sin and inspire them in their faith in God.
- He was the last of the prophets until the time of Christ.

Good luck on reviewing!

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for
human masters…” — Colossians 3:23