This is a list of the books of the Bible.
Old Testament[]
Main article: Old Testament
Pentateuch[]
Main article: Pentateuch
- Genesis - Origins of the world and Israel's early patriarchs , including Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his twelve sons
- Exodus - Israel is founded and freed from Egypt by Moses
- Leviticus - A list of Israel's laws
- Numbers - Israel's wanderings in the wilderness in the forty years between the Exodus from Egypt and their entry into the Promised Land
- Deuteronomy - Moses' reiteration of the Law, just before the people of Israel are about to enter the Promised Land
History[]
Main article: Historical books
- Joshua - Lead by Joshua, Israel seizes control of the Promised Land and secures it as their territory
- Judges - This books covers the history of Israel between the death of Joshua and the birth of Samuel as the Israelites are lead by military leaders called judges against their enemies
- Ruth - A love story between an Israelite man and a woman from a nearby country
- First Samuel - A book that covers the lives of Samuel, the last judge of Israel and Saul, the first king of Israel, as well as much of the life of David
- Second Samuel - A book covering David's reign as king over all Israel
- First Kings - A book covering the reign of David's son Solomon, as well as the early part of the divided kingdom era, when Israel was split into two kingdoms, Israel in the north and Judah in the south
- Second Kings - A book covering the later part of the divided kingdom era and the eventual exile of the kingdoms with the northern kingdom of Israel being conquered first by the Assyrians and the southern kingdom of Judah being conquered by the Babylonians a century later
- First Chronicles - A retelling of Israel's history from Adam and Eve to the death of David, written after the Babylonian exile, possibly by Ezra
- Second Chronicles - A retelling of Israel's history from the death of David to Cyrus of Persia's conquest of Babylon, written after the Babylonian exile, possibly by Ezra
- Ezra - A book about how the exiled people of Judah, lead by Zerubbabel and Ezra returned home from Babylon to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple
- Nehemiah - A book about Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem
- Esther - A book about Esther, a Jewish woman who has been chosen to be the new queen consort of Persia, and has to save her people from an evil plot
Poetry[]
Main article: Poetry
- Job - A book about a righteous man who suffers and tells his friends that bad things are happening to him and asks why bad things happen
- Psalms - A collection of 150 songs written to praise God, most of them were written by David
- Proverbs - A collection of brief sayings to help make people wise
- Ecclesiastes - A book that talks about the meaning of life
- Songs - A love song between a man and a woman written by Solomon
Prophets[]
Main article: Prophetic books
Major Prophets[]
Main article: Major Prophets
- Isaiah - A lengthy book written by the prophet Isaiah warning Israel about future judgment, but tells them of a coming king and servant who will “die for their sins”
- Jeremiah - A lengthy book written by the prophet Jeremiah warning Israel about how Babylon was going to invade their country and take many of the residents into captivity back to Babylon
- Lamentations - A collection of somber songs written by Jeremiah about the state of Jerusalem after it was razed and conquered by the Babylonian empire
- Ezekiel - A lengthy book written by the prophet Ezekiel informing the Israelites in captivity in Babylon about the errors of their ways
- Daniel - A book about a young Israelite man who was taken captive to Babylon and becomes a high ranking official in the royal Babylonian court and later, the Persian court, he also prophesies the various empires that would come after Babylon, including Persia, Macedonia, Rome, and eventually the various countries in North America and Europe that exist today
Minor Prophets[]
Main article: Minor Prophets
- Hosea - A book about an Israelite named Hosea who is forced to marry a prostitute
- Joel - A book about how God will send a plague of locusts to Judge Israel, but his judgment on the surrounding nations is coming, too
- Amos - A book about a shepherd named Amos who preaches against the injustice of the Northern Kingdom of Israel
- Obadiah - A short book written as a warning to Israel's neighboring country Edom for plundering Jerusalem
- Jonah - A book about a prophet named Jonah who is told by God to go to Nineveh, the capital city of the Assyrian Empire to preach against it, but he runs away and is eaten by a whale, who convinces him to go to Nineveh to do what God asked him to do
- Micah - A book written by the prophet Micah to warn the leaders of Israel and Judah about their injustice, and prophecies that one day the Lord himself will rule in perfect justice
- Nahum - A book written by the prophet Nahum about the fall of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire
- Habakkuk - A book written by the prophet Habakkuk about his plead with God to stop the injustice and violence in Judah, but is surprised to find that God will use the even more violent Babylonians to do so
- Zephaniah - A book written by the prophet Zephaniah warning that he will judge Israel and the surrounding nations, but also that he will restore them in peace and justice
- Haggai - A book written by the prophet Haggai asking the returning Jewish exiles from Babylon to help rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem
- Zechariah - A book written by the prophet Zechariah calling the Jews back in Judah to return to God, and records prophetic visions that show what’s happening behind the scenes
- Malachi - A book written by the prophet Malachi about how God has been faithful to Israel, but they continue to live disconnected from him—so God sends Malachi to call them out; this is also the final book in the Old Testament
New Testament[]
Main article: New Testament
Gospels[]
Main article: The Gospels
- Matthew - This is an account of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, focusing on Jesus’ role as the true king of the Jews
- Mark - This brief account of Jesus’ earthly ministry highlights Jesus’ authority and servanthood
- Luke - Luke writes the most thorough account of Jesus’ life, pulling together eyewitness testimonies to tell the full story of Jesus
- John - John lists stories of signs and miracles with the hope that readers will believe in Jesus
Church History[]
- Acts - Jesus returns to the Father, the Holy Spirit comes to the church, and the gospel of Jesus spreads throughout the world
Epistles[]
Paul's epistles[]
Main article: Pauline Epistles
- Romans - Paul summarizes how the gospel of Jesus works in a letter to the churches at Rome, where he plans to visit
- 1st Corinthians - Paul writes a disciplinary letter to a fractured church in Corinth, and answers some questions that they’ve had about how Christians should behave
- 2nd Corinthians - Paul writes a letter of reconciliation to the church at Corinth, and clears up some concerns that they have
- Galatians - Paul hears that the Galatian churches have been lead to think that salvation comes from the law of Moses, and writes a (rather heated) letter telling them where the false teachers have it wrong
- Ephesians - Paul writes to the church at Ephesus about how to walk in grace, peace, and love
- Philippians - An encouraging letter to the church of Philippi from Paul, telling them how to have joy in Christ
- Colossians - Paul writes the church at Colossae a letter about who they are in Christ, and how to walk in Christ
- 1st Thessalonians - Paul has heard a good report on the church at Thessalonica, and encourages them to “excel still more” in faith, hope, and love
- 2nd Thessalonians - Paul instructs the Thessalonians on how to stand firm until the coming of Jesus
- 1st Timothy - Paul gives his protegé Timothy instruction on how to lead a church with sound teaching and a godly example
- 2nd Timothy - Paul is nearing the end of his life, and encourages Timothy to continue preaching the word
- Titus - Paul advises Titus on how to lead orderly, counter-cultural churches on the island of Crete
- Philemon - Paul strongly recommends that Philemon accept his runaway slave as a brother, not a slave
General epistles[]
Main article: General Epistles
- Hebrews - A letter encouraging Christians to cling to Christ despite persecution, because he is greater
- James - A letter telling Christians to live in ways that demonstrate their faith in action
- First Peter - Peter writes to Christians who are being persecuted, encouraging them to testify to the truth and live accordingly
- Second Peter - Peter writes a letter reminding Christians about the truth of Jesus, and warning them that false teachers will come
- First John - John writes a letter to Christians about keeping Jesus’ commands, loving one another, and important things they should know
- Second John - A very brief letter about walking in truth, love, and obedience
- Third John - An even shorter letter about Christian fellowship; this is the shortest book in the entire Bible
- Jude - A letter encouraging Christians to contend for the faith, even though ungodly persons have crept in unnoticed
Apocalyptic[]
- Revelation - The final book of the Bible; John sees visions of things that have been, things that are, and things that are yet to come