Before we walk through God’s Story itself, it helps to know the book — how to read it, how it came to us, and how its parts fit together. The Bible is not one volume but a library of sixty-six books, written across centuries by many hands, yet telling a single story with one Author, one theme, and one hero.

This opening section lays the foundation: how to approach Scripture, why a slow and serious reading bears the most fruit, how the text came into the form we hold today, and the great themes that bind the Old and New Testaments into one.

What you will find in this section

• How to Read — Where to begin, how much to read, and what to do with your questions
• For Serious Study — Two companions for the journey, and why this study does not follow the order of your Bible
• Languages — How the Scriptures came into the form we know today
• Translations — Why Bibles differ from one another — and how to choose one
• Major Themes — The load-bearing structure that binds the whole of Scripture together
• Names of God — The series begins with a provision and ends with a presence — and that is the shape of the whole Bible in six words — and one name behind all of them
• Numerology in the Bible — A pattern many readers have noticed — offered as a lens, not a rule
• Feasts and Festivals — A calendar the nation acted out for centuries — remembering one rescue, and rehearsing another
• Old Testament Books — How the Old Testament is arranged, and how to read it
• New Testament Books — The books of the New Testament and how they fit together

Begin with How to Read.