HOW TO USE THIS PUBLICATION

Printed Edition

This handbook to the Bible refers to features of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (nwt), including its marginal references, appendixes, and glossary.

CHAPTER SUBHEADINGS

WHY VALUABLE

The first subheading explains why the Bible book is of value to us today. It focuses on Jehovah as the Author of the Bible and explains why he provided this Bible book. We will learn how the book connects to the overall theme of the Bible and how it connects to other Bible books. Most important, this section draws attention to what the Bible book teaches us about Jehovah and his qualities.

WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE READING

The second subheading contains background information about the Bible book. For example, it includes details about the writer and when he completed the book; the original target audience and objective of the book; as well as the historical setting, main characters, major themes, writing style, and overall structure of the book.

SUMMARY

The third subheading contains a brief summary of the Bible book’s contents. In most cases, the summary presents material in the order in which it appears in the Bible book. In some cases, it may present the material by topic. The summary may also include helpful details about the historical context, when and where events occurred, and the writing style used.

This section complements the “Outline of Contents” found in the New World Translation. That outline presents the content of the Bible book chapter by chapter, which is helpful for locating Bible verses. The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition) includes a detailed overview of each Bible book in the Christian Greek Scriptures, arranged under subheadings, which enables the reader to locate a specific Bible account.

BENEFIT FROM

The fourth subheading includes questions to help you benefit from the Bible book. These questions are designed to help you draw closer to Jehovah, to deepen your understanding of a Bible account, and to apply practical lessons from cited verses. To help you get more out of what you read, some questions refer to features in this handbook or in the New World Translation, such as tables, maps, timelines, charts, and diagrams.

CHAPTER FEATURES

KEY DETAILS

This box contains key facts about the Bible book. If the time or the place of writing is uncertain, a question mark (?) is used. Many dates are approximate. The abbreviation B.C.E. means “before the Common Era,” and C.E. means “Common Era.”

CHART OF BIBLE BOOKS

The books of the Bible were not completed in the order in which they appear in the Bible today. In each chapter about a Bible book, this chart will help you to understand which other Bible books had already been completed, had possibly been completed, or had not been completed. However, the completion dates for many Bible books are approximate. Therefore, it is impossible to say with certainty the exact order in which the 66 books of the Bible were completed.

OTHER FEATURES

TEACHING BOXES

These boxes are labeled by chapter number and a sequential letter. The boxes are labeled according to the order in which they appear in print, not according to the order in which they are referred to in the text or the order in which they appear in the digital version of this publication.

TIMELINES

An example of a timeline that indicates a compressed period of time using folds in the horizontal line.

Timelines can help you to grasp where events happened in the stream of time. When a span of time has been compressed to fit within the timeline artwork, the compressed time is indicated with folds. (See example.) In some cases, folds indicate an unknown length of time.

TABLES

An example of a teaching box listing the connections between Bible books.

These teaching boxes highlight the connections between Bible books. For example, some Bible writers may quote from or be quoted by other Bible writers. A prophecy recorded in one Bible book may have its fulfillment recorded in another book. And the principles, themes, and accounts that are found in one Bible book may be repeated in other Bible books.

MAPS

Maps can help you to understand the geographical references in the Bible book. All maps are oriented due north. They include a scale to help you estimate distances. In many cases, the exact location of places or roads is unknown. The following symbols are used to identify map elements.

A legend explaining the symbols on the sample map. 1. Black circles indicate locations that are reasonably certain. 2. White circles indicate locations that are less certain. 3. Question marks indicate areas where a precise location is unknown. 4. Dark red arrows indicate possible routes that were taken.

FAMILY TREES

Family trees can help you to understand the family relationship between key Bible characters. This can add meaning to a Bible account.