The Bible is not a book. It is a collection or library (Latin: biblia) composed of 73 books written over the course of centuries, through the hands of dozens of writers, redactors, and compilers, both men and women. These books are based on even older traditions passed down from generation to generation. 

The Bible, also called Sacred Scripture, contains two Testaments: the Old Testament is about the Chosen People of Israel over a 1,800 time period, and the New Testament focuses on Jesus Christ, his apostles, and the growth of the early Church in the first century, which covers about a 70-year timespan. 

TWO THINGS ABOUT ALL ANCIENT ART

Etch these two things in your brain right now, because it will help you understand almost all ancient and medieval art, life, and culture. 

First, since few people could read or write, and since paper, scrolls, or tablets were unbelievably expensive, words were crafted with extreme care. The way they wrote meant as much as what they wrote. They used many creative, artistic devices to tell multiple stories with nested meanings and references all at the same time, and often after the stories were perfected in an oral form first. We do not do this today. We write concisely and linearly. 

Second, ancient cultures are based on images, not words. Image-based cultures are deeply wrapped up in symbolism, myth, and ritual to convey truth and action. Symbols communicated knowledge and action together. Since the printing press was invented in the 1400s we have switched our brains and thus our worldviews to be not image-based, but word-based. Symbolism, ritual, and myth are almost meaningless, though they still affect us in different and less-conscious ways. Not so the ancients! 

Before we can dive into the power of the Bible, let's start with why it can be difficult or weird for us today. 

LITERARY GENRES & ARTISTIC STYLE

The Bible is not like a novel. Its many books are made up of different types of literature: poetry, saga, prose, fable, parable, and chronicle, and other forms, even within the same book! Interpreting means figuring out what literary genres, devices, and figures of speech the author is using. Without the rigorous historical and literary scholarship, as well as anthropology and archeology, we'd be lost to the subtly of the author's craft.

Genesis 1 seems to be a hymn used in the Temple depicting Creation as a procession from God's Word that culminates in the blessing of the Sabbath day for rest and worship. Whereas chapters of 2-11 (Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the Flood, the Tower of Babel) are saga, with compelling narratives and heroic figures that are gripping and incredible. 

But if you read either Genesis 1 or 2 as if it's giving modern history or science, you're going to miss the point, the beauty, and the truths they express. 

The Book of Psalms - a hymn book used in the Temple in Israel - may use a subtle artistic device called acrostics, where the first letter in Hebrew of every sentence is in alphabetical order. This artform also helps memorization. But if you don't know Hebrew, you'll miss out on the structure of these Alphabetic Psalms. 

ANCIENT AUDIENCE 

We need to know the author's audience for which he/she wrote. For example, 3 out of the 4 Gospels are called "Synoptic", which means they tell the life of Jesus with "one vision" and are very similar to one another. What distinguishes them is their different audiences: 

• Matthew, an apostle of Jesus, was writing to Jewish Christians and probably originally wrote in Aramaic and not Greek, which was Jesus' original language. Matthew presupposes the reader is invested in Jewish history, religion, and First-Century Jewish culture.

• Mark, not an apostle of Jesus, wrote to a Roman audience, so it's shorter with more punchy plotlines, and he skips the whole birth/infancy of Christ. It's all action for him.

• Luke, a physician, wrote his gospel for Greeks and paid attention to details that mattered to them, especially since Greek Christians felt marginal in the early Church compared with Jewish Christians, so he involves more cultural outcasts than others. He wrote both the Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles.

• John, an Apostle of Jesus, wrote the fourth, and most different Gospel. He wrote for a slightly later audience who were familiar with both the traditions of Israelite people, especially in Jerusalem, and who were also familiar with the other gospel accounts.

ANCIENT LANGUAGES AND CULTURES

Also, the words we read are translated words from ancient Hebrew and Greek, which means that something will always get lost in translation. One Greek word may be translated into 4 different English words, or, more typically with ancient languages that tend to be more precise, they will have 4 different words for which English only has 1. That can lead to missing nuance or emphasis. For instance, Greek has 4 very precise words (Eros, Storge, Philia, and Agape) that refer to specific manifestations of love, but English just uses the one word, Love.

Moreover, even if the words are perfectly translated, their cultural idioms and phrases add misunderstanding. The human authors of the Bible poured their cultures into the text, so part of wrestling with the Bible is not just about languages but the contexts of the sacred author and their audiences.

CONCLUSION

Thus, you and I are going to read and study an ancient collection of books that stands at the center and foundation of our history and culture. We are going to dive into the BIG PICTURE of the Bible so that we can see where all of the little pieces, stories, and people fit within the BIG PICTURE. 

So, in short, buckle up!