Laws

Many ancient Near Eastern cultures developed law codes. One of the most famous was the Law Code of the Babylonian leader Hammurabi (1792-1750 B.C.). Like these cultures, ancient Israel developed its own law code. The first five books of the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament) make up the section known as the Torah, or the Law. Not all the literature in these five books is legal material, but much of it is. God gave these laws to the people of Israel to help them worship properly, to live as God's holy people, and to treat one another with respect and care. The laws in the books include ones that forbid things (Do not…) and others that encourage things (Do…). The most well-known collection of laws in the Bible is the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20.1-17; Deuteronomy 5.6-21). Other collections are found in Exodus 21.1—23.19; Leviticus 1.1—7.36; Numbers 6.1-21; Deuteronomy 14.3—17.7; James 4.11,12.

Historical prose. 

Throughout the Bible, historical prose tells the story of God's people.  Historical prose intends to tell a story and includes characters, events, dates, places, and details of conflict and resolution. In the Old Testament, this literature tells about ancient Israel's history from the settlement in the Promised Land of Canaan around 1250 B.C. to the fall of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. and beyond. The historical books like Joshua, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings describe the activities of important characters like the leader Joshua, the prophets Elijah and Elisha, and kings David and Solomon. These books also describe what happened to the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah, including how they were defeated by foreign enemies. In the New Testament, the book of Acts tells the history of the early church, from its beginnings in Judea to its influence in Rome.

Psalms and Songs 

The book of Psalms, considered the hymnbook of ancient Israel, is a collection of 150 psalms or songs that were used in private and public worship. Each psalm is a song or poem; some with only a few verses and others with more than one hundred verses. There are poems in other biblical books, and the prophetic books (like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Hosea) use poetry to deliver their messages. Many of the poems and songs in the Old Testament are among the oldest pieces of biblical literature (Judges 5.1-31). Other examples of poetry in the Old Testament include the books of Job and the Song of Songs, as well as the poems at Exodus 15.1-8; Deuteronomy 32.1-43; 1 Samuel 2.1-10; Judges 5.2-31; Isaiah 5.1-7; Jonah 2.2-9.  Poems are also found in the New Testament.  Some examples are Luke 1.46-55; Philippians 2.6-11; and Revelation 15.3,4.

Wisdom and Proverbs

Wisdom literature occurs throughout the Bible, but it is concentrated in the Old Testament books of wisdom: Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. Wisdom literature in the Old Testament has very little to say about Israel's history and the worship of God. Instead, it is focused on practical advice, wise counsel, and philosophic reflections about God and human beings. The book of Proverbs is a collection of short, wise sayings about everyday issues like friends, marriage, finances, honesty, hard work, and loyalty. The books of Job and Ecclesiastes are more lengthy and philosophical, as if their wisdom is being passed on from a wise teacher to younger students. These books, in particular, deal with morality and hard questions about life and death.  In addition to these three books, wisdom literature can be found in certain psalms (like Psalms 1 and 37).  The wisdom tradition is also evident in the New Testament. Examples can be found in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5—7) and in James 3.2-8 and 4.13-17.

Gospels

The word "Gospel" comes from the Old English word "godspel," which is a strict translation of the Greek word "euangelion," meaning "good news." As such, the New Testament Gospels tell the good news about Jesus Christ: primarily his life, death, and resurrection. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are not repetition of one another. They each present various accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Since Jesus himself left no writings, the Gospel writers collected stories and eyewitness descriptions that had been passed on by word of mouth for several years after Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. The Gospels were probably written down in the present form between thirty and sixty years after Jesus. Without the Gospels, we would have very little information about the actual life of Jesus, his crucifixion, and how God brought him back to life.

Letters

Several books in the New Testament are actually letters written by the apostle Paul or other leaders in the early Church. These letters are written in the traditional Greek letter-writing style of the first century A.D. Following a standard structure of parts, the person writing the letter is clearly identified at the opening of the letter (see, for example, Romans 1.1-6). This is followed by the addressee, that is, the persons being written to, and greetings (Romans 1.7). In many New Testament letters, a prayer of thanksgiving follows the greeting (Romans 1.8-15). The largest section of the letter is the "body," which deals with problems, advice, explanation, encouragement—whatever the overall intent of the letter is (Romans 1.16—15.35). A final greeting and blessing closes the letter (Romans 16.1-27). In most New Testament letters, different kinds of literature can be found, including prayers, teachings, wisdom, warnings, hymns, and personal news.
   Most of Paul's letters address specific Jewish or Christian communities with specific purposes in mind. Other letters in the New Testament, however, deal with more general questions that were of concern to the early Christian churches. The books of Hebrews and James, as well as 1 John, are examples of these general types of letters. 

Prayers

Prayers appear throughout the Bible, in both prose and poetry. What makes prayer a unique type of literature is that it expresses direct communication between human beings and God. The book of Psalms contains many prayers that are written in poetic form, some asking for God's help (Psalms 79, 80), some giving thanks to God at the time of harvest (Psalm 126), and others asking God for forgiveness (Psalms 12, 51, 120). Both the Old and New Testaments contain numerous prayers from God's people.  Some examples are Genesis 18.27,28; Exodus 17.4; Judges 5.2-31; 1 Kings 3.6-9; Jonah 2.2-9; Luke 11.2-4; John 17.1-26; Romans 16.25-27; Hebrews 13.21. Perhaps the most famous prayer in the Bible is the one Jesus taught his disciples found in Matthew 6.9-13 (the Lord's Prayer).

Parables

Parables are brief stories that use familiar, everyday lessons to teach an important truth about God. Parables can be short sayings or longer stories that build on common human experience (like farming).  The stories themselves are usually simple, but the more important truth is sometimes harder to grasp. The prophet Isaiah told a parable about a vineyard that failed to produce grapes, so the vineyard owner cut away the vines. He then explained that the vineyard were the Israelites of his day who had been unfaithful to God, so God was ready to punish them for refusing to do right (Isaiah 5.1-7). Other examples of parables in the Old Testament include a lesson about kingship (Judges 9.1-21) and a warning to King David from the prophet Nathan (2 Samuel 12.1-15). In the New Testament, Jesus frequently used parables when teaching about how God wanted people to live (Mark 4.33,34). Some of his parables were short sayings (Matthew 6.22,23; 15.14), while others were longer stories. The most well-know parables of Jesus are about the farmer who planted seed (Matthew 13.3-9), the Great Banquet (Matthew 22.1-10), the Good Samaritan (Luke 10.30-37), the Prodigal Son (Luke 15.11-32), and the Unfair Judge (Luke 18.1-8).

Prophecy

Prophecy (or prophetic speech) accounts for a large portion of the literature of the Old Testament. The prophets delivered their prophecies (or oracles) to various audiences, like the king, the priests, or people at the temple. What is most important about prophecy is that these messages are not directly from the prophets. Rather, the messages of the prophets are from God; the prophets are the spokespersons who deliver God's prophecies to the respective audiences. A prophecy is usually introduced with the phrase "The LORD has said," or "The LORD God says."  Prophetic speech is often expressed in vivid poetry, usually taking advantage of metaphors, symbols, and elevated language. The prophets of ancient Israel were less concerned about predicting the future than they were about what it means to live as God's people. Matters of justice, proper worship, respect, treatment of the poor are frequently mentioned in the prophetic books.  The books of prophecy in the Old Testament usually combine information about the prophet with the prophet's messages from God. Some powerful examples of prophetic speech include Isaiah 1.2-31; 10.24-27; Jeremiah 2; Ezekiel 36.22-32; Amos 5.4-27; and Zechariah 9.1-17. Examples of prophecy in the New Testament can be found in the ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus (Matthew 3.1-12; 24.1-31).
   A special type of literature related but not identical to prophecy is called apocalyptic literature.  This literature, which takes its name from a Greek word meaning "a revealing or an unveiling," is entirely future oriented, even otherworldly in nature. In addition, apocalyptic literature contains startling visions from God, people who appear in the shape of animals or beasts, numbers that have secret meanings, and detailed predictions about the future. This literature was usually written during times of extreme trouble when hope had all but vanished. Its authors spoke about a time in the future when God will destroy the present world and bring about a new creation.  At that time, everyone who has been faithful to God will be rewarded. The two books of Daniel and Revelation are examples of apocalyptic literature in the Bible.

Genealogies (Family Lists)

Genealogies may not be exciting to read, but they are important in tracing the family background or ancestry of the most important figures throughout Israel's history. They also show how individuals are related to families, clans, and tribes. It may not be clear to us as modern readers why so many family lists occur in the Bible, but for the people of ancient Israel, such family connections were important, especially when they wandered from place to place as nomads. These genealogies provided individuals a sense of their roots and knowledge about their ancestors. Genealogies can be found in Genesis 5.1-32; 11.10-32; 1 Chronicles 1—8; Ezra 8.2-14. One very important genealogy in the New Testament traces Jesus' family line back to King David (Matthew 1.1-17).