The word "Bible" has many meanings. The Jewish Bible contains scriptures, written over a considerable expanse of time, originally in Hebrew (with some sections in Aramaic). Christian Bibles contain in addition other scriptures known as the "New Testament," originally written in Greek. Catholic Bibles include other books, called the "Apocrypha," not found in most Protestant Bibles. Christian Bibles incorporate the Jewish scriptures, but in different order, and call them the "Old Testament." So the word "Bible" signifies many things and must be defined if our discussion is to be clear.

Since Judeochristianity draws its inspiration from both Jewish and Christian tradition, this must be reflected in its approach to the Bible. The Jewish Bible and the Christian "Old Testament" are not identical. The main difference is the order of the books, but this difference is significant. Here are the two orders side-by-side:

In the Hebrew Bible the first group of books (from Genesis to Deuteronomy) is called "Torah." The root of the word means "to shoot (an arrow)," and has the sense of pointing one in the right direction. Thus the word torah has come to mean "teaching" or "instruction" (it is often misleadingly translated "law").

The second group of books (from Joshua through Malachi) is called the "Prophets." These are subdivided into the "Early Prophets" (Joshua through Kings) and the "Later Prophets" (Isaiah through Malachi). The last twelve (Hosea through Malachi) are very short and are traditionally considered together as one single book.

The books in the third group (Psalms through Chronicles) are generally of later origin and are called the "Writings." This group is the most varied, containing works of poetry, "wisdom literature," as well as some historical material.

The order of the Christian "Old Testament" follows a different logic. For example the book of Ruth, although written much later, comes right after Judges, since it takes place during the same period. But the most significant change is in what is placed at the end.

The Hebrew Bible is a complete, closed cycle. God's promise to Abraham is fulfilled when Abraham's descendants come to dwell in the new land. They build a strong society, including a magnificent Temple for God's worship, but afterwards begin to decline until they are conquered and exiled. The cycle ends with the call to return from exile and to rebuild the Temple. Promise > Fulfillment > Exile > Restoration. The promise is restored, as the final verse of the Hebrew Bible states: "Thus says King Cyrus of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the Lord his God be with him! Let him go up" (2 Chronicles 36:23).

In the Christian "Old Testament" the books of Chronicles are grouped with Kings. There is much overlap of material between them, but the placement still renders insignificant the account in Chronicles of the call to return to the land. Additionally, Ezra and Nehemiah, which also deal with the return, are placed much earlier. What we end with are the twelve "lesser" prophets, which conclude with Malachi, as follows: "Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse" (Malachi 4:5-6).

Therefore unlike the Hebrew Bible, the Christian "Old Testament" is not complete in itself but a prelude to something else. The Hebrew Bible ends with a resolution of its own conflict. The Old Testament points elsewhere: to the coming of the prophet Elijah, later identified as John the Baptist, the announcer of salvation. The Old Testament is really a preparation and introduction to the New Testament. It does not have meaning on its own; rather, its meaning is given to it from outside itself.

For this reason we will be using the order of the Hebrew Bible rather than the Old Testament. The latter is a reworking of the Hebrew Bible to fit a certain theological context. Here, we are more interested in understanding the meaning of the Hebrew Bible itself.

While the Hebrew Bible has meaning and standing in its own right, the New Testament is also an intregal part of the Bible as here understood. To summarize the relationship (which will be clarified in succeeding chapters): The Hebrew Bible is the record of one nation's evolving consciousness of the covenantal relationship with God. The New Testament describes the expansion of this relationhisp to all of humanity. To state it even more simply: In the Hebrew Bible we read about how the Hebrew people discovered that God is involved in their everyday lives. In the New Testament we see how this discovery applies to everyone.

The books of the New Testament are as follows:

These books contain Gospels (accounts of Jesus' life and ministry), letters from apostles to various young churches, a historical account of the early church (Acts), and finally an apocalyptic work describing ultimate redemption at the close of the age (Revelation).

We will see how all of the Bible's major sections fit together to tell the story of God's involvement in the lives of human beings. What follows is not a summary of the Bible, nor a description that is in any way exhaustive. It is admittedly an interpretation, focusing on events of special significance. Hopefully it will provide a road map through the Bible for those who are not familiar with it, as well as a clarification of its deeper spiritual message.