Simon Jenkins - Saint Mary's Press

Big, black bookOnce upon a time, the Bible was a big black book with goldenedgedpages that required a course in bodybuilding before youcould lift it off the shelf.In recent times, though, the Bible’s been repackaged and hassunsets and puppy dogs and other marketing-friendly pictures onthe cover, and no longer weighs a ton. But even though it nowlooks like any other bestseller, the Bible still stands out as beinga book unlike any other.For a start, it was produced by two of the world’s big faiths: Judaismand Christianity. You can see this in the way the Bible is structuredinto two “halves”: the Old Testament and the New Testament. TheOld half contains the scriptures (holy writings), of Judaism, whileChristians regard both Old and New as their scriptures.On top of that, a third world faith – Islam – also regards the Bibleas a holy book, although Muslims believe that the Bible has beencorrupted and is inferior to the Qu’ran.Books, chapters and versesWhen you buy a Bible, you’re not buying just one book, you’rebuying 73 books rolled into one. Take a look at the contents pageof the Bible, and you’ll find all 73 books listed, some with namesthat give a clue to what they’re about, such as Kings, Song ofSolomon and Revelation, but most with the names of the peoplesaid to have written them, such as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.The word “testament” means“agreement”. The Bible’s first halfcenters on the agreement Godmade with Moses and Israel at MtSinai, and the second half on theagreement God made available to allpeople through the death of JesusChrist. The Old Testament contains46 books, while the New Testamentis smaller, with 27 books.THE BIBLE FROM SCRATCH9