Introduction

The Bible consists of two distinct “testaments,” the Old and the New, the former consisting of 39 separate “books,” and the latter consisting of 27. (There are also twelve “Apocryphal” or disputed books which are sometimes included in the Old Testament canon; these twelve volumes are accepted as authentic by Catholic theologians but not by Jewish or Protestant theologians.) The Old Testament may be segmented into three divisions: the Law (Torah), which includes the writings of Moses; the Prophets, which contains both history and prophecy; and the Writings, which contain the wisdom and literature of ancient Israel, including the Psalms, the Book of Job, and the Proverbs of Solomon. -- Salem Literature "The Bible"