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what the Bible means and how we know

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Overview

I need an overview of the Bible

May 3, 2022 by Krisan Marotta

I need an overview of the Bible - Bible Study | WednesdayintheWord.com

Just as it’s helpful to know something about the culture and history of Jane Austin before you read Pride and Prejudice, it’s helpful to know the culture and history of each book of the Bible. These resources will give you the big picture.


I need a quick history lesson:

A Simple overview of biblical history

Old Testament books in Chronological order

Northern Kingdom Introduction

Southern Kingdom Introduction

Kings of Israel and Judah

Exile and Return Introduction

Intertestamental Period Introduction

New Testament History from Alexander to Titus

Why is the New Testament in Greek?

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What is each book of the Bible about?

Book by Ray Stedman: Adventuring Through the Bible: A Comprehensive Guide to the Entire Bible

Ray Stedman: Highlights of the Bible : Genesis to Nehemiah 

Ray Stedman: Highlights of the Bible : poets and prophets

Audio series by Ray Stedman: Panorama of Scripture

Blog posts by John MacArthur: An Introduction to each book of the Bible

Dust to Glory by RC Sproul; gives the basic structure of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

What’s in the Bible? by RC Sproul; for the person who has never had a simple introduction to the Bible.

What’s in the Bible : the story of God through time & eternity  (free online)

Brief Summary

Old Testament

From Eden to wilderness

  • Genesis – Beginnings
  • Exodus – Escape from Egypt
  • Leviticus – Ceremonial laws
  • Numbers – Wilderness years
  • Deuteronomy – Moses’ farewell

From conquest to King Saul

  • Joshua – Taking the land
  • Judges – Living among enemies
  • Ruth – David’s ancestors’ love story
  • 1 Samuel – Prophets versus Kings

From King David to exile

  • 2 Samuel – Uniting the Kingdom
  • 1 Kings – Dividing the kingdom
  • 2 Kings – End of Israel & Judah
  • 1 Chronicles – Retelling 1 & 2 Samuel
  • 2 Chronicles – Retelling Judah’s Kings

Return and faith on trial

  • Ezra – Return from exile
  • Nehemiah – Rebuilding Jerusalem
  • Esther – Surviving in exile
  • Job – Understanding suffering

Worship and wisdom

  • Psalms – Songs of worship
  • Proverbs – Understanding society
  • Ecclesiastes – Understanding life
  • Song of Solomon – Understanding love

Major Prophets

  • Isaiah – Judgement brings hope
  • Jeremiah – Warnings of Judgement
  • Lamentations – Jerusalem’s destruction
  • Ezekiel – Judgement brings new life
  • Daniel – Witnessing in exile

Minor (brief) Prophets

  • Hosea – Acting out God’s love
  • Joel – Day of the Lord
  • Amos – Judgement is inescapable
  • Obadiah – Judgement on Edom
  • Jonah – Anyone can repent
  • Micah – Judgement’s restoration
  • Nahum – Judgement on Nineveh
  • Habakkuk – Judgment on evil
  • Zephaniah – Judgment’s remnant
  • Haggai – Rebuilding the temple
  • Zechariah – Repentance after exile
  • Malachi – God is coming

New Testament

Life of Jesus

  • Matthew – Jesus is King and Messiah
  • Mark – Jesus is the Servant of the
  • Luke – Jesus is the Son of Man
  • John – Jesus is the Son of God
  • Acts – Church growth

Pauline letters to churches

  • Romans – Paul’s theology
  • 1 Corinthians – Church problems
  • 2 Corinthians – Leadership problems
  • Galatians – Freedom from Law
  • Ephesians – Church unity
  • Philippians – Encouragement
  • Colossians – Christian lifestyle
  • 1 Thessalonians – Expecting the End
  • 2 Thessalonians – The End delayed

Pauline letters to individuals

  • 1 Timothy – False teachings
  • 2 Timothy – Paul’s farewell
  • Titus – A difficult ministry
  • Philemon – Slaves as brothers

Letters from others

  • Hebrews – Jewish Christianity
  • James – Trials of faith
  • 1 Peter – Persevering under suffering
  • 2 Peter – The Importance of the Second Coming
  • 1 John – Discerning the True Gospel
  • 2 John – Love each other
  • 3 John – Practical love
  • Jude – Deserters

Prophecies for the future

  • Revelation of John – Visions of the End
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Where should I start reading?

For someone brand new who has never read the Bible, RC Sproul suggests reading through the Bible in this order:

The Old Testament Overview:

  • Genesis (the history of Creation, the fall, and God’s covenantal dealings with the patriarchs)
  • Exodus (the history of Israel’s liberation and formation as a nation)
  • Joshua (the history of the military conquest of the Promised Land)
  • Judges (Israel’s transition from a tribal federation to a monarchy)
  • 1 Samuel (Israel’s emerging monarchy under Saul and David)
  • 2 Samuel (David’s reign)
  • 1 Kings (Solomon and the divided kingdom)
  • 2 Kings (the fall of Israel)
  • Ezra (the Israelites’ return from exile)
  • Nehemiah (the restoration of Jerusalem)
  • Amos and Hosea (examples of minor prophets)
  • Jeremiah (an example of a major prophet)
  • Ecclesiastes (Wisdom Literature)
  • Psalms and Proverbs (Hebrew poetry)

The New Testament Overview:

  • The Gospel of Luke (the life of Jesus)
  • Acts (the early church)
  • Ephesians (an introduction to the teaching of Paul)
  • 1 Corinthians (life in the church)
  • 1 Peter (an introduction to Peter)
  • 1 Timothy (an introduction to the Pastoral Epistles)
  • Hebrews (Christology)
  • Romans (Paul’s theology)
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How did the Bible come to be?

Old Testament Canon: Why these books?

Old Testament Introduction

New Testament Canon: Why these books?

New Testament Introduction

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Where to next?

New Testament Studies

Old Testament Studies

Topical Studies

Bible Study 101


Photo by Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash

Filed Under: Bible Study 201, start here Tagged With: Overview, start here

Simple overview of biblical history

September 3, 2021 by Krisan Marotta

A simple overview of biblical history - Bible Study tools | WednesdayintheWord.com

Whenever you study Scripture, it’s important to know where your particular passage fits into biblical history. As Karl Barth said: “The Bible is not a philosophical book, but a history book, the book of God’s mighty acts, in which God becomes knowable to us.” Here’s a simple overview of biblical history.

All dates are approximate (and many are debated), except for 4 dates which are reliably fixed in history:

  1. 772 BC – the northern kingdom conquered by Assyria
  2. 586 BC – the southern kingdom conquered by Babylon
  3. 538 BC – Cyrus ends the exile
  4. 70 AD – Rome conquers Jerusalem

The dating scheme below follows traditional dating.


I made this chart to study for a class. The rise and fall of the top line indicates relative population.

Downloadable PDF: Bible History at a Glance Chart


Primeval History

Books: Genesis 1-11; Job

Main events: Creation, fall, Cain & Abel, Noah and the flood, and the Tower of Babel.

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2000 BC – Patriarchs

Books: Genesis 12-50

The history of the nation of Israel starts with God calling Abram/Abraham. This one man led to one family, which led finally to 12 large tribes. Abraham was promised a land, a people and a blessing in Genesis 12. The rest of the Old Testament shows how God worked out those promises. Main characters: Abraham, Isaac & Joseph.

Abraham’s family tree

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1720-1280 BC – Captivity & Exodus

Books: Exodus

Through the story of Joseph, the descendants of Abraham end up as slaves in Egypt which eventually leads to God bringing them out of slavery through Moses & the Exodus. There is some debate about the exact date of the Exodus.

When did the Exodus happen?

Introduction to Ancient Egypt

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1280-1240 BC – Wilderness

Books: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

The Exodus leads to the wilderness period where the children of Israel are wandering in the Sinai desert which culminates with the giving of the law at Mount Sinai.

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1240 – 1050 BC – Conquest & Judges

Books: Joshua, Judges, Ruth

The wilderness period ends with the conquest of the promised land. The conquest begins with crossing the Jordan River (c. 1240). The conquest of the promised land is followed by the period of the Judges.  Israel lives in the land under the theocracy of God. The people turn away from God and God disciplines them by handing them over to their enemies. When they return to God, God raises up a judge to deliver them. But then the cycle repeats in a downward spiral. After the 12th judge, Israel demands a king like all the other nations.

Outline of Joshua

Chart of Israel’s Judges

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1050-930 BC – United Monarchy

Books: 1&2 Samuel; 1&2Chronicles; Psalms of David

In response to the demands of the people, God gives the nation a king: first, Saul, then David and Solomon.  The period of the monarchy or united kingdom also has its ups and downs, but overall it is Israel’s glory days of peace and prosperity.

  • Saul’s reign c. 1038-1010 BC; 1 Samuel 8-31; 1Chronicles 10.
  • David’s lifetime c. 1040 -970 BC; ruler over Judah c. 1010 BC; ruler over Israel c. 1003 BC; 2 Samuel; 1Chronicles 11-29; 1Kings 1:1-2-11.
  • Solomon’s reign 970 -930 BC; 1Kings 1-12; 2Chronicles 1-9.

Saul’s family tree

David’s family tree

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930-586 BC – Divided monarchy

Books: 1Kings12-2Kings 17; 2Chronicles 1-38; Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Obadiah, Joel, Jonah, Hosea, Amos, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Habakkuk.

After the death of Solomon in 930 BC, civil war breaks out over who should inherit the throne. The kingdom splits with 10 tribes forming the northern alliance with a capital in Samaria;  and the two southern tribes of Benjamin and Judah forming a separate alliance with the capital remaining Jerusalem.

  • Northern Kingdom: Israel (930-722 BC)
  • Southern Kingdom: Judah (930-586 BC); 2Kings 18-25; 2Chronicles 28-36.

Kings of Israel & Judah

Introduction to the Northern Kingdom

Introduction to the Southern Kingdom

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586-538 BC – Exile & Captivity

Books: Ezekiel, Daniel, Lamentations

Around 740 BC the Assyrian empire became the superpower of their day. A series of powerful Assyrian kings held the Syria-Palestine region in their grip, exacting yearly tribute on pain of swift revenge for any rebellion. In 722 BC, Israel rebelled (again) and the Assyrians conquered her capital city, ending her existence as a nation and taking the 10 northern tribes into exile.

Eventually the Babylonians defeat Assyria and become the dominant world power. They conquer Jerusalem in 586 BC, destroying the city, burning the temple and deporting the children of Israel.

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538 -400 BC – Return & Restoration

Books: Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

The prophets predicted that this captivity would end and the people would be return to their land. In three stages, over about a hundred years, they were allowed to migrate back to Jerusalem, rebuild the city and rebuild the temple.

Introduction to the Exile and Return

Chronology of Ezra-Nehemiah

The Old Testament closes with the people back in their land as a vassal state of Persia, awaiting the Messiah. The end of Malachi marks the beginning of 400 years of prophetic silence broken by John the Baptist.

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Further Study

Introduction to the Intertestamental Period

New Testament History from Alexander to Titus

Josiah Blake Tidewell: The Bible by period (1916)

Frank Palmer: A Bird’s Eye View of the Bible (1914)

Ray Stedman’s Adventuring through the Bible (1997)

Ray Stedman’s Panorma of the Scriptures

John MacArthur Bible Introductions

John Edgar McFadyen: Introduction to the Old Testament (1905)

Henry Drummond: Introduction to the New Testament (1915)

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Where to next?

Resource Library

What is…?

Who is…?

Introduction to…

Background & History


Photo by Douglas Williams on Unsplash

Filed Under: Background & History Tagged With: history, Overview

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