Part One—The Bible; How to Study and Understand It

The Sacred Scriptures

By what name are the sacred writings of the Bible commonly known? BR-ASI9 11.1

“Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?” Matthew 21:42. BR-ASI9 11.2

What other title is given the Bible? BR-ASI9 11.3

“And He answered and said unto them, My mother and My brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.” Luke 8:21. BR-ASI9 11.4

Note.—It is interesting to note that the word Bible does not occur in the Bible itself. It is derived from the Latin biblia, which came from the Greek biblia, or “little books.” The Greek word biblia in turn is derived from byblus, or papyrus, the name of the material upon which ancient books were written. The Latin biblia is treated as singular, thus referring to the unity of the Bible as a whole. The Greek biblia is plural, calling attention to the fact that the Bible is a collection of many books. See Funk and Wagnalls’ New Standard Encyclopedia, 1946 edition. BR-ASI9 11.5

The Bible has 66 books and was written by 35 or 40 men over a period of some 1,500 years. The books are called the “Word of God,” or the “Scriptures.” “Scriptures” means “writings.” Thus “Sacred Scriptures” means “Sacred Writings.” BR-ASI9 11.6