the relation of the several great divisions of the Old Testament--the law, the historical books, the prophets, the poetical books--to each other, and the place which each holds in the system of revelation; and finally, the office of each particular book, with such notices of its authorship, date, general plan, and contents, as will prepare the reader to study it intelligently and profitably. To all who would have a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the _New_ Testament, the diligent study of the preparatory revelation contained in the _Old_, is earnestly commended. The present Introduction will be followed by one to the New Testament on the same general plan. It is hardly necessary to add that for much of the materials employed, in these two parts, particularly what relates to ancient manuscripts, the author is dependent on the statements of those who have had the opportunity of making original investigations. INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT. FIRST DIVISION, GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CHAPTER XIII. NAMES AND EXTERNAL FORM OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 1. The word _Bible_ comes to us from the Greek (_ta biblia, the books_; that is, emphatically, the sacred canonical books) through the Latin and Norman French. In the ancient Greek and Latin churches, its use, as a plural noun applied to the whole collection of sacred books of the Old and New Testaments, can be traced as far back as the fifth century. In the English, as in all the modern languages of Europe, it has become a singular noun, and thus signifies THE BOOK--the one book containing in itself all the particular books of the sacred canon. In very ancient usage, the word _Law_ (Heb. _Torah_) was applied to the five books of Moses; but there was no general term to denote the whole collection of inspired writings till after the completion of the canon of the Old Testament, when they were known in Jewish usage as: _The Law_, _the Prophets_, and the _Writings_ (see below, No. 5). In accordance with the same usage, the writers of the New Testament speak of the "law and the prophets," and more fully, "the law of Moses, and the prophets, and the psalms," Luke 24:44. And they apply to the collected writings of the Old Testament, as well as to particular passages, the term _the Scripture_, that is, _the writings_, thus: "The Scripture saith," John 7:38, etc. Or they employ the plural number: "Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures," Matt. 22:29, etc. Once the epithet _holy_ is added, 2 Tim. 3:15. In 2 Pet. 3:16, the term _Scriptures_ is applied to at least the epistles of Paul; apparently also to the other canonical writings of the New Testament then extant. In the usage of Christian writers, the application of this term to the books of the New Testament soon became well established; but the above is the only example of such an application that occurs in the New Testament itself.