The old testament books form the first major section of the Christian Bible and contain some of the best-known stories, laws, poetry, prophecies and historical accounts in biblical literature. They cover themes such as creation, covenant, leadership, worship, wisdom, justice, exile and hope.
However, one detail sometimes confuses new readers: not every Christian tradition arranges or counts these writings in exactly the same way. Protestant Bibles normally contain 39 Old Testament books, while Catholic and Orthodox traditions include additional texts or organise certain writings differently.
Understanding the basic structure makes this large collection far easier to explore. Rather than viewing it as one continuous book, it helps to recognise several groups of writings with different purposes and styles.
What Is the Old Testament?
The Old Testament is the first part of the Christian Bible. Its writings describe events and teachings associated primarily with ancient Israel, beginning with creation and continuing through periods of patriarchs, judges, kings, exile and restoration.
The collection contains several different kinds of literature. Readers encounter historical narratives, legal instructions, songs, prayers, proverbs, prophetic messages and reflections on suffering, faith and human behaviour.
Christians usually refer to this collection as the Old Testament because it precedes the New Testament, which focuses on Jesus Christ and the early Christian movement.
The Jewish scriptures overlap substantially with the Protestant Old Testament, although Judaism traditionally refers to its collection as the Tanakh and arranges and counts the writings differently.
How Many Books Are in the Old Testament?
The answer depends on the biblical tradition being used.
A typical Protestant Bible contains 39 books in the Old Testament. Catholic Bibles contain additional writings accepted as part of their canon, while Eastern Orthodox traditions may include further texts depending on the particular church tradition.
This difference does not simply mean that entirely unrelated collections developed. In many cases, the variation comes from different historical traditions concerning which ancient Jewish writings should be regarded as Scripture and how individual writings are divided or grouped.
For someone reading a common Protestant Bible in the UK, the familiar structure usually consists of five broad groups:
- The Pentateuch or Law
- Historical Books
- Poetry and Wisdom Books
- Major Prophets
- Minor Prophets
These categories are useful for navigation, although they are modern organisational descriptions rather than divisions used in exactly the same form throughout biblical history.
The Five Books of the Law
The opening five books are commonly called the Pentateuch, meaning a five-part work. In Jewish tradition, they are central to the Torah.
Genesis
Genesis begins with accounts of creation and humanity’s earliest generations before turning to figures such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.
It introduces important biblical themes including creation, covenant, family, promise and humanity’s relationship with God.
Exodus
Exodus tells of the Israelites’ departure from slavery in Egypt under the leadership of Moses.
It also contains the giving of the Ten Commandments and extensive material concerning Israel’s covenant, worship and community life.
Leviticus
Leviticus focuses heavily on religious laws, priestly responsibilities, sacrifices, ritual practices and ideas concerning holiness.
Because its style differs considerably from narrative books such as Genesis, first-time readers sometimes find it more demanding.
Numbers
Numbers combines laws, census records and narratives from Israel’s wilderness period.
The title comes from the censuses recorded within the book, although its content extends well beyond population lists.
Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy presents a series of speeches associated with Moses before the Israelites enter the Promised Land.
It revisits many earlier laws while emphasising covenant loyalty, obedience and remembrance.
The Historical Books
The next major section follows Israel’s story across centuries of settlement, leadership, monarchy, division, conquest, exile and eventual return.
The historical books in the standard Protestant arrangement are:
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther.
Joshua describes Israel’s entrance into Canaan following the death of Moses.
Judges records a turbulent period in which a series of leaders, known as judges, emerge during times of crisis.
Ruth is a shorter and more personal narrative centred on loyalty, family and belonging.
Samuel and Kings trace the rise and development of Israel’s monarchy. Major figures include Samuel, Saul, David and Solomon, followed by rulers of the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
Chronicles revisits significant portions of this history from a different perspective and with particular attention to David, the temple and worship.
Ezra and Nehemiah deal with the period following the Babylonian exile, including the return to Jerusalem, rebuilding efforts and the restoration of community life.
Esther tells the story of a Jewish woman who becomes queen in the Persian Empire and plays a crucial part in protecting her people.
Poetry and Wisdom Literature
The next five books are often grouped together because poetry, reflection and wisdom feature prominently within them.
They are:
Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon, which is also known as the Song of Songs.
Job
Job explores suffering, justice, faith and the difficulty of understanding why good people experience severe hardship.
Much of the book takes the form of extended discussions between Job and his companions.
Psalms
Psalms is a collection of prayers, songs and poems expressing praise, grief, gratitude, fear, repentance and trust.
Its emotional range is one reason the book has remained important in both Jewish and Christian worship.
Proverbs
Proverbs contains practical wisdom concerning speech, work, relationships, self-control, justice and decision-making.
Many passages take the form of short sayings designed to teach wise behaviour.
Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes reflects deeply on work, pleasure, time, mortality and the search for lasting meaning.
Its questioning style makes it one of the Bible’s more philosophical writings.
Song of Solomon
This poetic work celebrates love, beauty and affection through a series of lyrical passages.
Interpretations have varied considerably across Jewish and Christian history, with some readers emphasising its literal love poetry and others also finding symbolic religious meaning within it.
The Major Prophets
The books traditionally called the Major Prophets are:
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel and Daniel.
The word “major” does not mean that these prophets are considered more important than the Minor Prophets. The description primarily reflects the greater length of these writings.
Isaiah contains messages concerning judgement, justice, restoration and future hope.
Jeremiah records prophetic warnings during the final decades of the kingdom of Judah and around the time of Jerusalem’s fall.
Lamentations consists of poetic reflections mourning the destruction of Jerusalem.
Ezekiel contains vivid visions and prophetic messages delivered in the context of exile.
Daniel combines narratives about Jewish life under foreign rule with symbolic and visionary material.
Understanding the historical background of these writings is particularly helpful because the prophets frequently address specific rulers, nations, conflicts and social conditions.
The Twelve Minor Prophets
The final section of the Protestant arrangement contains twelve shorter prophetic books:
Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.
Again, “minor” refers mainly to their shorter length rather than their importance.
These writings address a wide variety of subjects, including injustice, repentance, national judgement, mercy, faithfulness and restoration.
Jonah is particularly familiar because of its narrative about a reluctant prophet sent to Nineveh, while Amos is notable for its strong concern with justice and mistreatment of the vulnerable.
Haggai and Zechariah relate closely to the post-exilic period and the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem.
Malachi appears last in most Protestant Old Testaments and addresses religious and social problems within the restored Jewish community.
Why Do Catholic Bibles Contain Additional Books?
Catholic Old Testaments include writings commonly called the Deuterocanonical books.
These include works such as Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, and 1 and 2 Maccabees, alongside additional material associated with Esther and Daniel.
Protestant traditions generally place these writings outside the Old Testament canon and may describe them as part of the Apocrypha. Catholic tradition accepts the Deuterocanonical writings as Scripture.
Eastern Orthodox biblical traditions can include additional books beyond the Catholic collection, although the precise contents may differ among Orthodox churches.
For that reason, when someone gives a total number of biblical books, it is useful to know which religious tradition and edition they are discussing.
Is the Old Testament the Same as the Tanakh?
They contain much of the same material, but their organisation is different.
The Jewish Tanakh is traditionally divided into three sections:
Torah – Teaching or Law
Nevi’im – Prophets
Ketuvim – Writings
The name “Tanakh” itself comes from the initial Hebrew letters of these three divisions.
The Jewish collection traditionally counts 24 books because several writings that appear separately in Christian Bibles are grouped together. For example, 1 and 2 Samuel form one book in the traditional Jewish count, as do 1 and 2 Kings.
The ordering also differs significantly. A Protestant Old Testament normally ends with Malachi, whereas the traditional Jewish arrangement concludes with Chronicles.
A Practical Way to Start Reading
Reading from Genesis straight through to Malachi is certainly possible, but it is not the only approach.
Someone completely new to the Bible might begin with Genesis to understand its foundational narratives, then read Exodus for the story of Moses and Israel.
Psalms and Proverbs can provide a change of pace because they contain shorter poetic and wisdom passages. Ruth and Esther are also relatively compact narratives that can be read independently.
When reaching the prophets, checking the historical setting can make their messages much easier to follow. Knowing whether a prophet spoke before, during or after the exile often explains the warnings and promises appearing in the text.
Using a Bible with introductory notes, maps and timelines can also help readers understand unfamiliar places, rulers and historical periods without interrupting the reading experience too much.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the first book of the Old Testament?
Genesis is the first book in both common Christian arrangements and the Jewish Torah. It begins with creation narratives before following early biblical figures including Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.
What is the last book?
In most Protestant Christian Bibles, Malachi is the final Old Testament book. Other religious traditions arrange their scriptural collections differently, so the final book is not identical in every canon.
Why are there Major and Minor Prophets?
The distinction mainly concerns the length of the writings. Books associated with the Major Prophets are generally much longer than the twelve books known collectively as the Minor Prophets.
Are Psalms and Proverbs historical books?
No. They are generally classified as poetry or wisdom literature. Although they sometimes refer to historical people or circumstances, their primary forms and purposes differ from narrative books such as Samuel or Kings.
Do all Christian Bibles contain exactly the same Old Testament?
No. Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox traditions differ in the number and arrangement of certain writings. Many of the central books are shared, but the recognised canon is not identical across every Christian tradition.
Conclusion
The Old Testament is easier to understand when viewed as a library rather than one continuous type of writing. Its books include law, historical narrative, poetry, wisdom and prophecy produced within different periods and circumstances.
Knowing these categories provides a useful map for new readers. It also explains why Genesis feels very different from Psalms, why Proverbs differs from Kings and why understanding historical context becomes especially valuable when reading the prophets.
Rather than worrying about memorising every title immediately, start with the major sections and gradually become familiar with how the individual books fit into the larger biblical story.
