Categorizing the Books of the Bible

From Genesis to Revelation, there are a myriad of different styles of writing, and each book of the Biblical canon can be classified in different categories. The sections may divided as: Law, History, Poetry and Wisdom, Major Prophets, Minor Prophets, Gospels, Acts Literature, the Epistles of Paul, General (also called "Catholic") Letters, and Apocalyptic Literature. Now, it is important to note that there were a number of other important early Jewish writings and Christian writings that are not a part of the canon are listed here. For example, within the literature known as the Pseudipigrapha we find 1st, 2nd and 3rd Enoch - books which are helpful in giving the reader a clearer picture of what Jews were thinking and writing about during that time period. The Jewish work of Jubilees, another example, was essentially an expanded version of Genesis which added commentary and interpretations. Early Christian writings such as the Didache, 1st and 2nd Clement, the Epistle of Barnabas or the Shepherd of Hermas are also helpful in providing us with a better understanding of the ideas and concepts of early Christians in the late 1st-early 2nd centuries. These are not considered part of the Bible, but are also important writings worth exploring in order to better grasp how ancient Jewish and Christian interpreters viewed Scripture in their respective eras.

It is also worth observing that listed below are six books which are not included in Protestant Bibles, but are found in Catholic Bibles. These include the books of Tobit, Judith, 1st and 2nd Maccabees, the Wisdom of Solomon, and Ecclesiasticus. There are also additions to the books of Daniel and Esther in the Catholic canon. Early in the Church's history, there was a debate about a variety of books in the accepted canon. In the earliest version - the Muratorian Canon (late 2nd century), we read for example that some books were seen as good to read, but not necessarily viewed as Scripture:

Moreover, the Epistle of Jude and two of the above-mentioned (or, bearing the name of) John are counted (or, used) in the catholic [Church], and [the book of] Wisdom, written by the friends of Solomon in his honor. We receive only the apocalypses of John and Peter, though some of us are not willing that the latter be read in church. But Hermas wrote the Shepherd very recently, in our times, in the city of Rome, while bishop Pius, his brother, was occupying the [episcopal] chair of the church of the city of Rome. And therefore it ought indeed to be read; but it cannot be read publicly to the people in church either among the prophets, whose number is complete, or among the apostles, for it is after [their] time (Ehrman, Lost Scriptures, 331-333)

Later on, in the early 300s CE, the church historian Eusebius of Caesarea wrote concerning these "other" books, "Among those that are spurious are to be placed the Acts of Paul and the book called the Shepherd, the Apocalypse of Peter, the surviving Epistle of Barnabas, and the book called Teachings [the Didache] of the Apostles, and, as I have said, the Apocalypse of John, if that seems right—a book that some reject but others judge to belong to the acknowledged books." We see here and elsewhere that the Apocalypse of John (also known as the book of Revelation) was under dispute, but ultimately accepted into the Scriptural corpus. But these other writings are important because they help scholars to understand the range and genre of some of the books we find in Scripture. An example of this is the Acts of the Apostles. Following the time of the New Testament, from the 2nd century onward, similar works were circulated such as the Acts of Peter, Acts of Thomas, Acts of Paul and Thecla, and the Acts of John. These works contained traditions and other (typically fanciful) stories about what happened to these followers of Jesus after the events of the Acts of the Apostles. But it is precisely this kind of Acts literature, episodic narratives, that help us better interpret what we read in the New Testament book of Acts, as well as its reception history, use, expansions, and adaptations in early Christianity.

Bearing this in mind, within the accepted canon, there are 66 books in Protestant Bibles and 73 in Catholic Bibles. These were divided up into the aforementioned categories. The Jews referred to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) as the Pentateuch (meaning "five scrolls"), and later divisions found in both the New Testament and the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus divide the Hebrew Bible into three categories: the Law, Wisdom, and the Prophets. The modern categories can be viewed below (or see the "Bible Bookcase" image.):

  

Law
-Genesis
-Exodus
-Leviticus
-Numbers
-Deuteronomy 

History
-Joshua
-Judges
-Ruth
-1st/2nd Samuel
-1st/2nd Kings
-1st/2nd Chronicles
-Ezra
-Nehemiah
-Tobit
- Judith
-Esther
- 1st/2nd Maccabees

Poetry and Wisdom
-Job
-Psalms
-Proverbs
-Ecclesiastes
-Song of Solomon (Also called Song of Songs)
-Wisdom of Solomon
-Ben Sira (Also called Ecclesiasticus)

Major Prophets
-Isaiah
-Jeremiah
-Lamentations
-Baruch
-Ezekiel
-Daniel

Minor Prophets
-Hosea
-Joel
-Amos
-Obadiah
-Jonah
-Micah
-Nahum
-Habakkuk
-Zephaniah
-Haggai
-Zechariah
-Malachi

Gospels
-Matthew
-Mark
-Luke
-John

Acts Literature
-Acts of the Apostles

Epistles of St. Paul
-Romans
-1st/2nd Corinthians
-Galatians
-Ephesians
-Philippians
-Colossians
-1st/2nd Thessalonians
-1st/2nd Timothy
-Titus
-Philemon

General (Catholic) Letters
-Hebrews
-James
-1st/2nd Peter
-1st/2nd/3rd John
-Jude

Apocalyptic Literature
-Revelation (Also General Letters in Chapters 1-3)

The Hebrew Bible and the New Testament are important for a number of reasons. They have relevancy to many disciplines, including archaeology, history, psychology, anthropology, religious studies, theology, and so forth. For example, if someone is studying John Milton's Paradise Lost, it is helpful to have an idea of where some of the Biblical concepts are derived from in order to have a deeper understanding and appreciation of how the writer was utilizing and interpreting these concepts. We hope you have found this a helpful guide in some way, and wish you well on your reading.

Peace and all good,

Troy Hillman

Nature of the Holy Spirit in Scripture and History

Introduction

Sometimes referred to as the "Holy Ghost" or "Holy Spirit," this figure has at times been seen as enigmatic within the Christian tradition. Who is the Holy Spirit? What role does the Spirit play throughout the sacred Scriptures? How has the Holy Spirit been viewed through Christian history - from the Nicene Creed to the recent Pentecostal movement? These are some of the questions we will seek to address. In the Trinitarian perspective, the Holy Spirit is one of the three: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Now, the term "trinity" did not arise until the time of Tertullian around 200 CE, but the Trinitarian nature of the divine appears much early than this. Thus, from a Trinitarian perspective, the Holy Spirit appears as the "Spirit of God" hovering over the primordial waters of creation in Genesis 1:2. But there is much more to this Holy Spirit than it first appears. 

The Holy Spirit in the Scriptures

The role of the Holy Spirit in the Hebrew Bible may appear minor, but it is still crucial in understanding the Christian perspective. The Holy Spirit came upon the anti-hero Samson when he took out the Philistines, overshadowed King David, Elijah, and others. Later, in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles we read, "Suddenly a sound like the blowing of violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. [The disciples] saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues [languages] as the Spirit enabled them." 

Imagery-wise, the Holy Spirit is often depicted as a dove. One example is found in John 1:32-34 says, "Then John gave his testimony: 'I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. I have seen and I testify that this is God's Chosen One" (many manuscripts says, "that this is the Son of God"). This image of the Spirit hovering is reminiscent of Genesis 1:2, and similar to Deuteronomy 32:11, which describes God as being "like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft." The later non-canonical Gospel of the Ebionites (100-160 CE) also says, "When he came up out of the water, the heavens opened and he saw the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, descending and entering him" (emphasis mine). In Luke's gospel, the archangel Gabriel says that the Holy Spirit would "overshadow" Mary, and she would become pregnant with Jesus. Perhaps the "overshadowing" has similar connotations to this descent, or hovering, seen consistently throughout Scripture.

In his De Trinitate, St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE) - keeping in line with the notion of descent and its association with the Holy Spirit as a dove - speculated that just as the Holy Spirit appeared 50 days after the lamb (Jesus) was slain, and descended in tongues of fire at Pentecost, likewise, at Mt. Sinai in Exodus 19, here it was the Spirit who descended in fire. He further noted that just as the theophany (appearance of God) of the burning bush has associations with fire, so too do the incidents at Mt. Sinai as well as at Pentecost, implying something deeper and passionate about the divine nature. Hence, this motif was later picked up by St. John of the Cross in his poem "Living Flame of Love".

On another note, both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament seem to strongly infer (from a Christian perspective) that the Holy Spirit - also called "the Spirit of the LORD," "my Spirit," "his Spirit," "the Spirit of his Son," "the Spirit of Christ" and "the Spirit of God" all throughout the Bible - is God. Again, this Trinitarian perspective is often where the Holy Spirit comes into a higher regard, as opposed to non-Trinitarian traditions. Later legend has St. Patrick illustrating this unity with a three-leaf clover, which of course has three leaves, yet is connected by one stem.

In Acts 8:9, the Holy Spirit is called “the Spirit of Christ,” showing that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one. At the same time, the Father called the Spirit “my Spirit” several times in the Hebrew Bible, and in John 10:30, we find that Jesus and the Father are one. This heavily implies a Trinitarian nature. 2^nd Corinthians 3:17-18 says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is also omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-8), and is called eternal in Hebrews 9:14. Again, we may infer from these passages and their later interpretations that the Holy Spirit is to be viewed as God, or the Spirit of God. 

Historical Perspectives on the Holy Spirit

Early Christianity and the Holy Spirit have an interesting relationship. In fact, in the original creed at the council of Nicaea in 325 CE (not the later creed from the Council of Constantinople that came to be known as the Nicene Creed), the Holy Spirit was given one line - “and in the Holy Spirit,” and that was it. When these early Christians did finally say more about the Holy Spirit, they sparked the filioque controversy that created a division between the East and the West that remains a point of contention even to this day. This controversy centered around whether or not the Spirit proceeded from the Father and the Son, or proceeded from the Father alone. Now, notably, the Spirit was given more attention in the later Athanasian Creed (sixth century). Nevertheless, aside from a handful of Christians through the centuries - from St. Augustine to St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Julian of Norwich or St. John of the Cross, the Spirit has mainly been relegated to Christian mystical writings.

As a side-note, the heretical movements and other non-canonical Christian writings refer to the Holy Spirit on a number of occasions.The Gospel of the Hebrews (80-150 CE) actually refers to the Holy Spirit in the feminine form, where Jesus says, "Just now my mother, the Holy Spirit, took me by one of my hairs and carried me up to the great mountain, Tabor." This is similar to the ancient concept of Sophia (wisdom) found in early biblical literature.The Gnostic Gospel of Philip 16 also portrays the Holy Spirit as female, and asks, "Some say Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit. They err. They do not know what they say. When did a woman become pregnant by a woman?" Aside from associating the Holy Spirit as the divine feminine, a handful of other writings seem to associate the archangel Gabriel with the Holy Spirit. This association is later picked up in the early Islamic tradition, where it is Gabriel who speaks with and "overshadows" Mary. Now, some of these views may appear very odd and abnormal to many Christians today, but we must bear in mind that some of these fringe groups were seeking to claim the Holy Spirit in a certain light. A number of other early orthodox writings refer to the Holy Spirit when referring to the virgin birth, the acts of St. Paul or St. Peter, and others. So while the Gnostics, Ebionites, Nazarenes and others groups had a lot to say about the Holy Spirit, the main capacity that these early Christians seemed to mention the Holy Spirit in was often by paraphrasing or quoting parts of Scripture.

Nevertheless, the aforementioned problem of neglect for the Spirit came up again during the Reformation, not in Catholic circles but in Protestant circles. Martin Luther responded to a man named Thomas Muntzer, who claimed to receive divine revelation from the Holy Spirit apart from Scripture, saying that he would believe the man if “he had swallowed the Holy Ghost, feathers and all.” Yet after this early Anabaptist movement arose, Luther saw Muntzer and the others as promoting social violence and as a result, he became much more adamant against such views of the Holy Spirit, and declared that the only valid vessel of revelation was God’s Word and the sacraments approved by it. Thus, the element of experience and its relation to the Holy Spirit was neglected. During the 1700s, however, the Wesleyan Quadrilateral was introduced, which describes Theology as being comprised of Scripture, Tradition, Experience and Reason. As the Holy Spirit is often associated with spiritual experiences, we may say that the Quadrilateral in some ways bridged the gap between Luther's view and a Wesleyan perspective.

Now, in his "Experience of Theology" from the The Routledge Companion to the Practice of Christian Theology. Garret Green discusses the 20th century perspectives on the Holy Spirit. Early on, thanks to the 1906 Azusa Street revival and the Holiness movement, Pentecostalism spread rapidly. The central message placed an emphasis on the Holy Spirit - one that has been lacking early in Christianity. Despite an initial and in some ways ongoing impasse between Pentecostals and others who focus more on the doctrinal and theological, there have been encouraging signs of dialogue. Indeed, there are some Pentecostal writers who have been slowly engaging with the Christian traditions on the Holy Spirit, such as David K. Bernard.

According to Dr. Simeon Zahl, professor of Theology from St. John's College in Oxford, at the heart of the Azusa Street developments, we find that experience and self-deception were central. Christians have had to find a harmony between criticizing Pentecostals for over-enthusiasm, emotionalism and self-deception, while at the same time not cutting off their spiritual roots and guidance by the Holy Spirit. This has been held in tension since the beginnings of Christianity - early Christians dealt with Montanists, the Reformation had Anabaptists, the Awakening in America had to deal with revivalism and hypocritical enthusiasm, and today we deal with similar views.

Also in the 1900s, the Jehovah's Witness movement, a non-Trinitarian group, has viewed the Holy Spirit as God's "active force." In fact, in their New World Translation of the Bible, they do not translate Genesis 1:2 as "the Spirit of God" hovering over the waters, but rather, "God's active force was moving about over the surface of the waters." A literal rendering of the verse would phrase it as the "spirit or breath [ruah] of God" (cf. Genesis 8:1), which is tied into the ancient association of spirit and breath. On a theological level, we may say that the Spirit of God is as close and intimate to as us our breath. However, the Jehovah's Witnesses appear to treat the Holy Spirit as more of an impersonal force, on the level of the Eastern notion of the Tao.

Conclusion

The nature of the Holy Spirit as a personal being vs an impersonal force will likely continue, but encouraging signs of dialogue among different traditions within Christianity continue. Christians continue to study the Scriptures, the traditions within the history, the creedal and confessional formulations, and attempt to discern the role of the Holy Spirit in their lives. But Green also cautions that in this understanding, we do not limit the Holy Spirit to what is in Scripture, as every utterance is not found in Scripture - but, he argues, it must be in conformity with Scripture. Theologian Karl Barth once said that theology must always show itself in praxis. Thus, for the Christian community, theology instructs an openness to the Holy Spirit’s direction - for just as Jesus said, the Spirit blows as it wills. In this view, the Spirit or "breath" should be close and intimate, so in the spirit of love, of dialogue and of kinship, one can appreciate the Holy Spirit, whom the Nicene Creed calls the "giver of life."

Troy Hillman

The Abraham Narrative in Biblical Tradition and Beyond

According to the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), Abraham—originally named Abram—was the son of Terah and had two brothers, Haran and Nahor (Gen. 11:26–27). Genesis presents Abram, his nephew Lot, his wife Sarai, and their extended family and household as leaving their homeland in Mesopotamia and migrating toward Canaan, following what the text describes as a divine command (Gen. 12:1–5).

Upon arrival in Canaan, Abram found the land already inhabited. Nevertheless, Genesis records that God promised him that his descendants would one day inherit this land—a theme that recurs throughout later Biblical history, especially in the narratives surrounding Joshua and the Israelite conquest (Joshua 1–12).

A major narrative thread in the Abraham cycle is the promise of descendants. Despite this, Sarai remained unable to conceive, and both were advanced in age (Gen. 11:30; 17:17). Following social customs of the time, Sarai offered her Egyptian servant, Hagar, to Abram as a surrogate, and Hagar bore Abram’s first son, Ishmael (Gen. 16:1–16).

Later, Genesis 18 describes a dramatic scene where Abram and Sarai are visited by three mysterious figures described simply as “men.” Some later Christian interpretations view this as a prefiguration of the Trinity, but the Genesis text itself presents them as messengers of God, delivering the news that Sarai would bear a son, Isaac, despite her advanced age.[1] Soon after, Abram and Sarai received new names—Abraham and Sarah—marking a deepening of their covenantal relationship with God (Gen. 17:1–16).

One of the most discussed and ethically charged episodes in the Abraham story is the so-called Binding of Isaac (or "Akedah"), in Genesis 22. In this passage, Abraham is instructed to take Isaac to Mount Moriah and offer him as a burnt offering. Abraham complies up to the point of preparing the altar and binding Isaac, but at the last moment, a divine messenger intervenes: “Do not lay a hand on the boy… Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son” (Gen. 22:12, NIV). Abraham then sacrifices a ram, which he finds caught in a thicket nearby.

Scholars and theologians from across religious traditions have long debated the origins and meaning of this text. Some interpret it as a polemic against the practice of child sacrifice, known in some neighboring cultures of the ancient Near East.[2] Others see it as a profound narrative about covenantal loyalty, divine testing, or the boundaries of faith and obedience.

The figure of Abraham has had an enduring legacy far beyond the Hebrew Bible. In Christian tradition, he is often seen as a model of faith, especially in New Testament writings such as Romans 4 and Hebrews 11. Some Christian theological interpretations even draw connections between Abraham’s willingness to offer Isaac and the later theme of Jesus’ sacrificial death—though the Genesis text itself does not, of course, make this connection explicitly.[3] In Islam, Abraham (Ibrahim) is honored as a prophet and model of submission to God’s will, with particular emphasis on his readiness to sacrifice his son—a narrative preserved with notable variations in the Quran (Quran 37:100–113).

The story of Abraham has thus inspired reflection, ethical debate, and religious devotion across Judaism, Christianity, and Islam for centuries. Figures like Abraham—and later leaders such as Joshua, whose faithfulness is emphasized in the conquest of Jericho (Joshua 6)—are portrayed in these traditions as exemplars of trust and obedience in the face of uncertainty or fear.

For historians and scholars, these texts also offer a window into ancient social customs, family structures, and theological concerns of the biblical world. Archaeological and comparative studies have sought to contextualize these narratives within the broader cultures of the ancient Near East, including Mesopotamian migration patterns, covenantal legal forms, and sacrificial practices.[4]

Whether approached from a literary, historical, theological, or interfaith perspective, the Abraham narrative continues to shape conversations about faith, ethics, and the human experience of trust and testing.

Notes:
[1] For a discussion of later Christian interpretations of this episode, see Ephraim Radner, Time and the Word: Figural Reading of the Christian Scriptures (Eerdmans, 2016), 81–85.
[2] See Jon Levenson, The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son: The Transformation of Child Sacrifice in Judaism and Christianity (Yale University Press, 1993).
[3] For connections drawn in early Christian exegesis between Abraham and themes of sacrifice, see Paul’s Letter to the Romans (Romans 4) and the Epistle to the Hebrews (Hebrews 11:8–19).
[4] For archaeological and comparative context, see K.A. Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament (Eerdmans, 2003), and Kenton L. Sparks, Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible (Hendrickson, 2005)