The Prophetical Books are divided into two classes, the Greater Prophets and the Lesser Prophets. They are so called, not from any superiority or inferiority, but from the extent of their writings.
The Greater Prophets are four in number,—Isaiah, Jeremiah (author of two books—his Prophecy and his Lamentations), Ezekiel, Daniel.
The Minor Prophets are twelve,—Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.
The ordinary reader of the Bible misses much from the fact that the books are not grouped in any chronological order. In the following table the books are placed so as to form a continuous history of the Jews, while, by their side, are the names of those books which should be read as commentaries on the period. The book of Job, however, it is impossible to place. He seems to have been a shepherd king, perhaps of the time of Abraham, but he was not of the Hebrew nation. The two books of the Chronicles contain a summary of history from the Creation down to the Restoration under Cyrus; parts, however, may be read with other books. (For Table, see opposite page.)
From the time of Malachi to the Birth of John the Baptist, a period of about 400 years, there seems to have been no special revelation from God. The Apocrypha was composed in that period by various authors. Although parts of it are appointed to be read as Lessons in Church, yet it is not considered as inspired, and consequently it does not belong to the Word of God. Our Church, in Art. vi., says that "the other books (viz., the Apocrypha) the Church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners, but yet it doth not apply them to establish any doctrine." The Church of Rome receives the Apocrypha as Canonical.
We now pass on to consider the New Testament. It consists of 27 books, written by eight persons. They were all written in Greek, unless perhaps St. Matthew's Gospel, which some critics hold was originally written in Hebrew. The whole of the New Testament was written before the end of the first century, and during the lifetime of the Apostle John. The books were all received from the first as inspired, except the Epistle to the Hebrews, Epistles of James and Jude, 2nd of Peter, 2nd and 3rd of John, and the Book of the Revelation; but all these were in early times accepted as Canonical. It is still doubtful who wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews.
The Four Gospels are by St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, and St. John. Of these, the first three are called the Synoptical Gospels, because they give a general view, and contain a brief account of the chief events of our Saviour's life, His miracles and His parables, from the same standpoint. St. John chiefly dwells on our Lord's words and discourses. The word "Gospel" means "good news."
The Book of the Acts of the Apostles is generally considered to have been written by St. Luke (c.f. Acts 1.1 with Luke 1.1-4).
The Epistles were written by the authors whose names they bear (except perhaps Hebrews). Seven of them are called Catholic, which means addressed to the Church generally, or universally, and not to particular persons or particular bodies of Christians.
The Book of Revelation, or Apocalypse, is by St. John the Apostle.