The Bible is the name we give to a large collection of literature, in fact two collections, the 'Old Testament' and the 'New Testament'.
The 'New Testament' consists of four accounts of the life and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth, which we call the Gospels; an account of the activities of the early church called the 'Acts of the Apostles'; a collection of letters mostly from St. Paul; and finally the Book of Revelation (the Apocalypse) encouraging the Church in a time of persecution.
The 'Old Testament' is a much larger collection of books dealing with the life, beliefs, customs and history of the people of Israel, the Jewish nation. One reason for putting the two collections together is that Jesus was a Jew, and he and his followers thought of themselves as the continuation of the role of Israel.

The Old Testament:
Is the book of the Jewish people; it is a collection of national literature. The history of Israel forms the framework of the book. The history begins in a way in the 18th century BC, with an account of their ancestors, with Abraham; but the real starting point was the 'EXODUS', the flight of a group of Hebrews from Egypt followed by a great experience in the desert at mount Sinai. They then settled in Palestine (then called Canaan), and eventually adopted a monarchic form of government - the various tribes which composed the people united under a king, David. This event, about 1000 BC, marked the beginning of a golden age for the nation, in power, influence, wealth and culture. This period did not last long; it was only about a century before the nation split into two kingdoms. This lasted for about five centuries, when the nation was overwhelmed by the great Mesopotamian power of Babylon, and much of the population was transported to Babylon. This 'exile' lasted a generation before returning home. This was an important period, giving them an opportunity to reflect on their past history as they struggled to restore their national existence. They never again reached the status they had achieved in the early days of the monarchy. But though they were always to a greater or lesser extent subject to successive world-powers,- Persian, Greek, then Roman - they never accepted subjection. There were continual attempts to restore national independence until the Romans put a end to it with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

This in outline is the history. But Israel regarded themselves as the 'people of God'; they regarded their relationship with God as a 'covenant' - an alliance, by which they had a claim on God and God had a special purpose for them; in the events of their history, then, they saw God at work. They called this 'the word of God' - not a direct speaking, but God acting in their history. They therefore collected their national traditions as a record of what God had done for them (and then of course it becomes 'the word of God' in the other sense, like human words).
The process by which these traditions were handed down was subjected to the same influences as other history and literature. For example, the account of their remote ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and even more the account of the earliest stage of all (the creation, and the stories about mankind before Abraham, contained in the first eleven chapters of the first book of the bible) are not really history at all as we know it. They do not so much describe actual events as they happened, as present a view of the world based on poetic imagination and ancient traditions. They are the equivalent of what in other literature we would call 'myth', except that in Israel's literature they are characterized by a sobriety not often found in most national myths, and by a single-minded concern to express the reality of God's dealings with men.

The account of the national history is much more factual, though still,
based on ancient traditions handed down in different versions, and subject always to the overriding theological concern; the primary purpose is not to give a factual account, 'for the record', but to bring out the work of God.

Israel's heritage included many other kinds of literature. There were various collections of laws and customs. There was a kind of 'philosophy' - collections of proverbial sayings embodying the practical wisdom of the people, longer dialogues (such as the book of Job) dealing with the great problems of human life. There were various kinds of poetry- lyrical, didactic, laments. Most of them were prayers and were collected as the 'Psalms'. Most striking of all, both in form and content and above all in spirit, are the inspired outpourings of the men called the prophets. These men felt themselves moved, in the very depth of their being, by God, and spoke in the name of God.

This collection of national literature was recognised as expressing and reflecting the character of the nation as the people of God. They are God's people and their book is 'the word of God'.