“Which Bible Is ‘The Word Of God’?”
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Evangelicals often refer to the Bible as “The Word Of God,” which is abbreviated even further as “the Word.” This practice easily turns multiplicity into singularity. A collection of books becomes one book, with a unitary voice. But this tendency to treat the Bible as the singular “Word of God” opens up a series of questions. Let’s start with the first one. Which Bible is the real “The Word Of God?”
In reality, there are multiple “Bibles.” Consider the fact that there is a Hebrew Bible, which is organized into three sections: “The Torah,” “The Prophets,” and “The Writings.” This Bible is called by the acronym, “The Tanak,” based on the Hebrew words for “torah,” “prophets,” and “writings.”
Books Of The Hebrew Bible (“Tanak”)
| The Torah Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy |
The Prophets Joshua Judges I Samuel II Samuel I Kings II Kings Isaiah Jeremiah Ezekiel Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi |
The Writings Psalms Proverbs Job Song of Songs Ruth Lamentations Ecclesiastes Esther Daniel Ezra Nehemiah I Chronicles II Chronicles |
Consider also that there is a Roman Catholic Bible, which includes a whole section of materials originally written in Greek in the centuries between the last book of the “Old Testament” and the earliest “New Testament” writings. Scholars refer to this material as “deuterocanonical,” which means a “secondary” canon. These books are part of the Roman Catholic canon, and are therefore part of the authoritative Roman Catholic Bible. (They are written in italics in the list.) They are also part of the Bible in Orthodox churches.
Books Of Roman Catholic And Orthodox Bibles
| Old Testament
Pentateuch The Historical Books The Wisdom Books
The Prophets |
New Testament Matthew Mark Luke John Acts of the Apostles Romans I Corinthians II Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians I Thessalonians II Thessalonians I Timothy II Timothy Titus Philemon Hebrews James I Peter II Peter I John II John III John Jude Revelation |
Consider also that Protestant tradition does not consider the deuterocanonical books as part of the Old Testament. The Protestant Old Testament has the same books as the Hebrew Bible, although the order is different, and the category names are also different. Protestants refer to the “Pentateuch,” “the historical books,” “the wisdom books,” and “the major and minor prophets.” Even though the deuterocanonical books are not considered authoritative scripture for Protestants, some Bible publishers will also include these deuterocanonical books in some editions.
It is also revealing to pay attention to the categories used to describe these books. In later posts, I’ll return to how much these designations shape interpretation.)
Books Of Protestant Bibles
| Old Testament Pentateuch Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Historical Books The Wisdom Books
Prophetic Books Major Prophets Minor Prophets
|
New Testament Matthew Mark Luke John Acts of the Apostles Romans I Corinthians II Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians I Thessalonians II Thessalonians I Timothy II Timothy Titus Philemon Hebrews James I Peter II Peter I John II John III John Jude Revelation |
So already, we have three different books called “The Bible” and this doesn’t even begin to consider that none of the original books of these Bibles was originally written in English. When we consider that “the Bible” has been translated into just about every language on Earth, the singular book called “the Bible” has become a mountain of distinct Bibles.
So, which of these three Bibles, in which version, in which language is the real “Word of God?”
Dr. Kalinda Rose Stevenson
