Bible Overview And General Information

The Bible, derived from the Greek "ta biblia" meaning "the books," is a collection of sixty-six books that Christians consider to be the revelation of God to humanity ^{[1, 2]}. This collection is often referred to as "The Book" due to its singular purpose and overarching theme of human redemption ^[1]. The name "Bible" was adopted into the English language by Wycliffe ^[2].

The Bible's sixty-six books were written by numerous authors from diverse social backgrounds, including statesmen, peasants, kings, herdsmen, fishermen, priests, tax-gatherers, and tentmakers ^[2]. These writings span three different languages and were composed under various circumstances ^[2]. Despite the multiplicity of authors and contexts, the Bible is understood to have one ultimate author and a unified plan ^[1].

The Nature of God and Creation in the Bible

The Bible takes the existence of God for granted, offering no explicit arguments for it ^[4]. The Hebrew terms for God include 'El, signifying strength, and 'Eloah, with its more common plural form 'Elohim ^[4]. Another significant Hebrew word for the Supreme Being is Jehovah, consistently rendered as "LORD" in the Authorized Version ^[4].

The opening book of the Bible, Genesis, provides an account of the creation of the universe ^[15]. It begins by stating that God created the heaven and earth ^{[12, 15]}. This foundational act of creation is seen as the basis for all religion, establishing God as the Creator ^[9]. The creation narrative details the formation of light, the firmament, the separation of land from water, and the production of vegetation over six days ^[15]. God is depicted as laying the foundation of the earth, forming it, spreading it abroad, and suspending it in space ^[3]. He also enlightens, waters, and makes the earth fruitful ^[3].

The Bible teaches that God made man from the dust of the earth, breathing into him the breath of life, making him a living soul in God's image, possessing knowledge, righteousness, and holiness ^[10]. This original state of man, however, contrasts sharply with humanity's current condition ^[10].

The Bible as the Word of God

The Bible is called the "Word of God" because its writers were God's instruments in communicating His will to humanity ^[5]. In its sacred pages, God speaks to people, and whatever the inspired writers declare to be true and binding, God also declares to be true and binding ^[5]. This "Word" is considered infallible because it was written under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, making it free from error in fact, doctrine, or precept ^{[5, 11]}. All saving knowledge is believed to be derived from the Word of God ^[5].

The infallibility and divine authority of the Scriptures stem from their nature as the Word of God, given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit ^[11]. The nature of this inspiration is understood through the Bible's didactic statements and its inherent phenomena ^[11]. John Calvin, in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, emphasizes the necessity of Scripture as a guide and teacher for coming to God ^[13].

Key Doctrinal Concepts

The Bible is central to understanding core Christian doctrines:

Incarnation: The Bible teaches the doctrine of the incarnation, asserting that Christ possesses both a perfect divine and a perfect human nature, existing as one person ^[8]. The Old Testament foreshadows Christ as the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Judah and family of David, to be born of a virgin in Bethlehem, and as a man of sorrows ^[8].
Resurrection: The Bible teaches the literal bodily resurrection from the dead ^[14]. This belief is a fundamental tenet, expressed in the Christian confession, "I believe in 'The forgiveness of sins; The resurrection of the body; And the life everlasting'" ^[14]. The identity of the future body with the present body is a distinct question addressed in Scripture ^[14].
Equality in Christ: In the sphere of the renewed person, distinctions such as Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, bondman and freeman are abolished ^[7]. This signifies the removal of differences in privilege and legal standing within the Christian community ^[7].

The Universe and Eschatology

While the Bible states that "Heaven and earth are to pass away," this phrase can refer to the entire universe ^[6]. Early interpretations often understood this to mean the whole universe would change at the last day, especially when the earth was considered the universe's center ^[6]. However, the Bible's language is consistent with the idea that the entire material universe, not just the earth, will undergo transformation ^[6].

The Bible provides a comprehensive framework for understanding God, humanity, creation, and redemption, serving as the foundational text for Christian faith and practice ^{[1, 5]}.

Sources

Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Bible — The Bible is the name given to the revelation of God to man contained in sixty-six books or pamphlets, bound together and forming one book and only one, for it has in reality one author and one purpose and plan, and is the development of one scheme of the redemption of man. I. ITS [301]Names.-- (1) The Bible, i.e. The Book, from the Greek "ta biblia," the books. The word is derived from a root designating the inner bark of the linden tree, on which the ancients wrote their books. It is the book as being superior to all other books. But the application of the w”
Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Bible — Bible, the English form of the Greek name Biblia, meaning "books," the name which in the fifth century began to be given to the entire collection of sacred books, the "Library of Divine Revelation." The name Bible was adopted by Wickliffe, and came gradually into use in our English language. The Bible consists of sixty-six different books, composed by many different writers, in three different languages, under different circumstances; writers of almost every social rank, statesmen and peasants, kings, herdsmen, fishermen, priests, tax-gatherers, tentmakers; e”
Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Early Rising — The world in general -- Ge 1:2. The dry land as divided from waters -- Ge 1:10. God Created. -- Ge 1:1; Ne 9:6. Laid the foundation of. -- Job 38:4; Ps 102:25. Formed. -- Ps 90:2. Spread abroad. -- Isa 42:5; 44:24. Suspended in space. -- Job 26:7. Supports. -- Ps 75:3. Establishes. -- Ps 78:69; 119:90. Enlightens. -- Ge 1:14-16; Jer 33:25. Waters. -- Ps 65:9; 147:8. Makes fruitful. -- Ge 1:11; 27:28. Inspects. -- Zec 4:10. Governs supremely. -- Job 34:13; Ps 135:6. Reigns in. -- Ex 8:22; Ps 97:1. Shall be exalted in. -- Ps 46:10. Is the Lord's -- Ex 9:”
Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: God — (A.S. and Dutch God; Dan. Gud; Ger. Gott), the name of the Divine Being. It is the rendering (1) of the Hebrew 'El, from a word meaning to be strong; (2) of 'Eloah_, plural _'Elohim. The singular form, Eloah, is used only in poetry. The plural form is more commonly used in all parts of the Bible, The Hebrew word Jehovah (q.v.), the only other word generally employed to denote the Supreme Being, is uniformly rendered in the Authorized Version by "LORD," printed in small capitals. The existence of God is taken for granted in the Bible. There is nowhere any argume”
Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Word of God — (Heb. 4:12, etc.). The Bible so called because the writers of its several books were God's organs in communicating his will to men. It is his "word," because he speaks to us in its sacred pages. Whatever the inspired writers here declare to be true and binding upon us, God declares to be true and binding. This word is infallible, because written under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and therefore free from all error of fact or doctrine or precept. (See [670]INSPIRATION; [671]BIBLE.) All saving knowledge is obtained from the word of God. In the case of ”
CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 93: whole material universe, but our earth and what pertains to it. ( a .) It is true the Bible says: “Heaven and earth are to pass away,” and by heaven and earth the Scriptures often mean the universe; and it would therefore be consistent with the language of Scripture to hold that the whole universe is to be changed at the last day. It was natural that this interpretation should be put upon the language of the Bible so long as our earth was regarded as the central body of the universe and sun, moon, and stars as subordinate luminaries, inte”
Colossians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Colossians 3:11: Where--Translate, "Wherein," namely, in the sphere of the renewed man. neither . . . nor . . . nor . . . nor--Translate as Greek, "There is no such thing as Greek and Jew (the difference of privilege between those born of the natural seed of Abraham and those not, is abolished), circumcision and uncircumcision (the difference of legal standing between the circumcised and uncircumcised is done away, Gal 6:15) --bondman, freeman." The present Church is one called out of the flesh, and the present world-course (Eph 2:2), wherein such distinctions ex”
CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 78: human and a perfect divine nature, and is one person, the Bible teaches the whole doctrine of the incarnation as it has entered into the faith of the Church from the beginning. Second Argument, from the Current Representations of Scripture. The current language of Scripture concerning Christ proves that He was at once divine and human. In the Old Testament, He is set forth as the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Judah anti the family of David; as to be born of a virgin in the town of Bethlehem; as a man of sorrows; as meek and lowly; as b”
Genesis (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Genesis 1 (introduction): The foundation of all religion being laid in our relation to God as our Creator, it was fit that the book of divine revelations which was intended to be the guide, support, and rule, of religion in the world, should begin, as it does, with a plain and full account of the creation of the world - in answer to that first enquiry of a good conscience, "Where is God my Maker?" (Job 35:10). Concerning this the pagan philosophers wretchedly blundered, and became vain in their imaginations, some asserting the world's eternity and self-existence, others ascrib”
CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 54: was designed to be: to exalt without inflating; to humble without degrading him. The Bible teaches that God made man out of the dust of the earth and breathed into him the breath of life, and he became a living soul conformed to the image of God in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. Thus man is apparently the lowest of God s rational creatures, but made capable of indefinite progress in capacity, excellence, and blessedness. The actual state of man however exhibits a sad contrast with this account of his original condition. The Bible”
CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, section 41: § 2. The Scriptures are Infallible, i. e., given by Inspiration of God. The infallibility and divine authority of the Scriptures are due to the fact that they are the word of God; and they are the word of God because they were given by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. A. The Nature of Inspiration. Definition. The nature of inspiration is to be learnt from the Scriptures; from their didactic statements, and from their phenomena. There are certain general facts or principles which underlie the Bible, which are assumed in all its teachings”
CCEL (Eastern Orthodox) “John of Damascus, An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, section 105: Index of Scripture References Genesis 1:1 1:1 1:2 1:2 1:2 1:2 1:2 1:3 1:3 1:5 1:5 1:6 1:6-7 1:8 1:8 1:9 1:10 1:11 1:14 1:22 1:26 1:26 1:26 1:26 1:26 1:26 1:27 1:27 1:28 1:31 1:31 1:31 2 2:2 2:8 2:9 2:9 2:10 2:16 2:16 2:17 2:23 2:25 3 3:1 3:7 3:9 4:1 4:7 4:19 5:3 6:13 6:17 6:18 7:1 7:17 8:11 8:16 8:21 9:3-5 9:6 9:6 11:7 14:18 14:19 15:6 15:16 16:9-10 16:13 17:10 17:12 17:19-20 18:1 18:1 18:10 18:13-14 18:17 18:20 18:20-21 18:25 18:25 18:25-26 19:1 19:1-2 19:24 19:24 19:24 21:1-2 21:17-18 22:12 22:12 22:12 32:26 35:1 35:1 ”
CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 14: 31 GENERAL INDEX OF CHAPTERS. BOOK FIRST. OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD THE CREATOR. Eighteen Chapters 1. Connection between the Knowledge of God and the Knowledge of Ourselves. Nature of the connection. 2. What it is to Know God. Tendency of this Knowledge. 3. The Human Mind naturally imbued with the Knowledge of God. 4. This Knowledge stifled or corrupted, ignorantly or maliciously. 5. The Knowledge of God displayed in the fabric and constant Government of the Universe. 6. The need of Scripture as a Guide and Teacher in coming to God a”
CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 81: the faith of the Church, we cannot err in following his example. The Bible is a plain book, and the whole Christian world, in all ages, has understood it to teach, not this or that, but the literal rising from the dead of the body deposited in the grave. All Christians of every denomination are taught to say, I believe in “The forgiveness of sins; The resurrection of the body; And the life everlasting.” The Identity of the Future with our Present Body. There are two distinct questions to be here considered. First, Do the Scriptures teach ”
Genesis (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Genesis 1 (introduction): This chapter contains an account of the creation of the universe, and all things in it; asserts the creation of the heaven and earth in general, and describes the state and condition of the earth in its first production, Gen 1:1 and then proceeds to declare the work of each of the six days of creation, and to give an account of light, its separation from darkness and the names of both, the work of the first day, Gen 1:3 of the firmament, its use and name, the work of the second day, Gen 1:6 of the appearance of the earth, and the production of grass, herb”

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