Quick answer
How many books are in the Bible?
66The Protestant Bible contains 39 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books. Catholic and Orthodox Christian Bibles include additional Old Testament books or arrange them differently, so “the books of the Bible” can refer to more than one historic canon.
Complete list
The 66 books of the Bible by category
This is a canonical order, not a claim that every event or book was written in this sequence.39 books
Old Testament
Law
- Genesis
- Exodus
- Leviticus
- Numbers
- Deuteronomy
History
Poetry & Wisdom
- Job
- Psalms
- Proverbs
- Ecclesiastes
- Song of Songs
Major Prophets
- Isaiah
- Jeremiah
- Lamentations
- Ezekiel
- Daniel
Minor Prophets
- Hosea
- Joel
- Amos
- Obadiah
- Jonah
- Micah
- Nahum
- Habakkuk
- Zephaniah
- Haggai
- Zechariah
- Malachi
27 books
New Testament
Gospels & Acts
- Matthew
- Mark
- Luke
- John
- Acts
Pauline Letters
- Romans
- 1 Corinthians
- 2 Corinthians
- Galatians
- Ephesians
- Philippians
- Colossians
- 1 Thessalonians
- 2 Thessalonians
- 1 Timothy
- 2 Timothy
- Titus
- Philemon
General Letters
- Hebrews
- James
- 1 Peter
- 2 Peter
- 1 John
- 2 John
- 3 John
- Jude
Apocalyptic
- Revelation
Start with a complete guide
Three books, three different reading experiences
4 chapters · NarrativeBook of RuthLoyalty, provision, redemption, and a family restored in Bethlehem.10 chapters · NarrativeBook of EstherHidden identity, political danger, reversal, deliverance, and Purim.12 chapters · Narrative and visionsBook of DanielFaithfulness in exile, kingdoms, symbolic visions, and enduring hope.
Order, category, and chronology
Why are Bible book lists grouped this way?
The common Protestant order groups books by literary type: law, history, poetry and wisdom, prophets, Gospels, Acts, letters, and Revelation. The Hebrew Bible arranges the Old Testament books differently, and Christian traditions do not all use an identical Old Testament canon.
A chronological reading plan is a different tool. It may place prophetic books beside the kings and empires they address, but dates for some books and passages remain debated. This hub therefore keeps the familiar canonical order while each book guide explains its own setting.
Learn the order, then recall it
