News flash: the Bible is huge: about 611,000 words long, all divvied up across 66 smaller documents called the “books” of the Bible.
That’s because the Bible is a collection of writings from different authors writing at different times. In some ways, that makes it easier to approach the Bible: we can read it in “chunks” rather than needing to read the whole Bible at once.
But it also makes it a bit confusing. The Bible itself is a book. In fact, the word “bible” comes from the Latin and Greek words for “book” (biblia and biblos, respectively). But it’s a book of books. That means if you want to know the Bible better, you’ll need to get acquainted with the 66 documents it comprises.
That can take a while, so . . .
I’ve written a one-sentence overview of every book of the Bible. They’re listed in the order they show up in the Protestant Bible. If you want more, I’ve linked to quick, 3-minute guides to every book of the Bible, too.
This is a lot to take in, so if you want to start with baby steps, check out this list of the shortest books of the Bible.
The Old Testament includes 39 books which were written long before Jesus was born.
The first five books of the Bible are called the Torah, or the Law of Moses.
Genesis answers two big questions: “How did God’s relationship with the world begin?” and “Where did the nation of Israel come from?”
Author: Traditionally Moses, but the stories are much older.
Fun fact: Most of the famous Bible stories you’ve heard about are probably found in the book of Genesis. This is where the stories of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the Ark, the Tower of Babel, Abraham and Isaac, Jacob’s ladder, and Joseph’s coat of many colors are recorded.
God saves Israel from slavery in Egypt, and then enters into a special relationship with them.
Author: Traditionally Moses
God gives Israel instructions for how to worship Him.
Author: traditionally Moses
Israel fails to trust and obey God, and wanders in the wilderness for 40 years.
Author: Traditionally Moses
Moses gives Israel instructions (in some ways, a recap of the laws in Exodus–Numbers) for how to love and obey God in the Promised Land.
Author: Traditionally Moses
Joshua (Israel’s new leader) leads Israel to conquer the Promised land, then parcels out territories to the twelve tribes of Israel.
Author: Nobody knows
Fun fact: You’ve probably heard of a few fantastic stories from this book (the Battle of Jericho and the day the sun stood still), but most of the action happens in the first half of this book. The last half is pretty much all about divvying up the real estate.
Israel enters a cycle of turning from God, falling captive to oppressive nations, calling out to God, and being rescued by leaders God sends their way (called “judges”).
Author: Nobody knows
Two widows lose everything, and find hope in Israel—which leads to the birth of the future King David.
Author: Nobody knows
Israel demands a king, who turns out to be quite a disappointment.
Author: Nobody knows
David, a man after God’s own heart, becomes king of Israel.
Author: Nobody knows
The kingdom of Israel has a time of peace and prosperity under King Solomon, but afterward splits, and the two lines of kings turn away from God.
Author: Nobody knows
Both kingdoms ignore God and his prophets, until they both fall captive to other world empires.
Author: Nobody knows
This is a brief history of Israel from Adam to David, culminating with David commissioning the temple of God in Jerusalem.
Author: Traditionally Ezra
David’s son Solomon builds the temple, but after centuries of rejecting God, the Babylonians take the southern Israelites captive and destroy the temple.
Author: Traditionally Ezra
The Israelites rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, and a scribe named Ezra teaches the people to once again obey God’s laws.
Author: Ezra
The city of Jerusalem is in bad shape, so Nehemiah rebuilds the wall around the city.
Author: Nehemiah
Someone hatches a genocidal plot to bring about Israel’s extinction, and Esther must face the emperor to ask for help.
Author: Nobody knows
Satan attacks a righteous man named Job, and Job and his friends argue about why terrible things are happening to him.
Author: Nobody knows
A collection of 150 songs that Israel sang to God (and to each other)—kind of like a hymnal for the ancient Israelites.
Author: So many authors—meet them all here!
A collection of sayings written to help people make wise decisions that bring about justice.
Author: Solomon and other wise men
A philosophical exploration of the meaning of life—with a surprisingly nihilistic tone for the Bible.
Author: Traditionally Solomon
A love song (or collection of love songs) celebrating love, desire, and marriage.
Author: Traditionally Solomon (but it could have been written about Solomon, or in the style of Solomon)
God sends the prophet Isaiah to warn Israel of future judgment—but also to tell them about a coming king and servant who will “bear the sins of many.”
Author: Isaiah (and maybe some of his followers)
God sends a prophet to warn Israel about the coming Babylonian captivity, but the people don’t take the news very well.
Author: Jeremiah
A collection of dirges lamenting the fall of Jerusalem after the Babylonian attacks.
Author: Traditionally Jeremiah
God chooses a man to speak for Him to Israel, to tell them the error of their ways and teach them justice: Ezekiel.
Author: Ezekiel
Daniel becomes a high-ranking wise man in the Babylonian and Persian empires, and has prophetic visions concerning Israel’s future.
Author: Daniel (with other contributors)
Hosea is told to marry a prostitute who leaves him, and he must bring her back: a picture of God’s relationship with Israel.
Author: Hosea
God sends a plague of locusts to Judge Israel, but his judgment on the surrounding nations is coming, too.
Author: Joel
A shepherd named Amos preaches against the injustice of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
Author: Amos
Obadiah warns the neighboring nation of Edom that they will be judged for plundering Jerusalem.
Author: Obadiah
A disobedient prophet runs from God, is swallowed by a great fish, and then preaches God’s message to the city of Nineveh.
Author: Traditionally Jonah
Micah confronts the leaders of Israel and Judah regarding their injustice, and prophecies that one day the Lord himself will rule in perfect justice.
Author: Micah
Nahum foretells of God’s judgment on Nineveh, the capital of Assyria.
Author: Nahum
Habakkuk pleads 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.
Author: Habakkuk
God warns that he will judge Israel and the surrounding nations, but also that he will restore them in peace and justice.
Author: Zephaniah
The people have abandoned the work of restoring God’s temple in Jerusalem, and so Haggai takes them to task.
Author: Haggai
The prophet Zechariah calls Israel to return to God, and records prophetic visions that show what’s happening behind the scenes.
God has been faithful to Israel, but they continue to live disconnected from him—so God sends Malachi to call them out.
The New Testament includes 27 books about Jesus’ ministry and what it means to follow him. The first four books of the New Testament are called the Gospels.
This is an account of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, focusing on Jesus’ role as the true king of the Jews.
Author: Matthew
This brief account of Jesus’ earthly ministry highlights Jesus’ authority and servanthood.
Author: John Mark
Luke writes the most thorough account of Jesus’ life, pulling together eyewitness testimonies to tell the full story of Jesus.
Author: Luke
John lists stories of signs and miracles with the hope that readers will believe in Jesus.
Author: John
Jesus returns to the Father, the Holy Spirit comes to the church, and the gospel of Jesus spreads throughout the world.
Author: Luke
Paul summarizes how the gospel of Jesus works in a letter to the churches at Rome, where he plans to visit.
Author: Paul
Paul writes a disciplinary letter to a fractured church in Corinth, and answers some questions that they’ve had about how Christians should behave.
Author: Paul
Paul writes a letter of reconciliation to the church at Corinth, and clears up some concerns that they have.
Author: Paul
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.
Author: Paul
Paul writes to the church at Ephesus about how to walk in grace, peace, and love.
Author: Paul
An encouraging letter to the church of Philippi from Paul, telling them how to have joy in Christ.
Author: Paul
Paul writes the church at Colossae a letter about who they are in Christ, and how to walk in Christ.
Author: Paul
Paul has heard a good report on the church at Thessalonica, and encourages them to “excel still more” in faith, hope, and love.
Author: Paul
Paul instructs the Thessalonians on how to stand firm until the coming of Jesus.
Author: Paul
Paul gives his protegé Timothy instruction on how to lead a church with sound teaching and a godly example.
Author: Paul
Paul is nearing the end of his life, and encourages Timothy to continue preaching the word.
Author: Paul
Paul advises Titus on how to lead orderly, counter-cultural churches on the island of Crete.
Author: Paul
Paul strongly recommends that Philemon accept his runaway slave as a brother, not a slave.
Author: Paul
A letter encouraging Christians to cling to Christ despite persecution, because he is greater.
Author: Nobody knows
A letter telling Christians to live in ways that demonstrate their faith in action.
Author: James (likely the brother of Jesus)
Peter writes to Christians who are being persecuted, encouraging them to testify to the truth and live accordingly.
Author: Peter
Peter writes a letter reminding Christians about the truth of Jesus, and warning them that false teachers will come.
Author: Peter
John writes a letter to Christians about keeping Jesus’ commands, loving one another, and important things they should know.
Author: John
A very brief letter about walking in truth, love, and obedience.
Author: John
An even shorter letter about Christian fellowship.
Author: John
A letter encouraging Christians to contend for the faith, even though ungodly persons have crept in unnoticed.
Author: Jude
John sees visions of things that have been, things that are, and things that are yet to come.
Author: John
Even if you’ve been reading the Bible for years, it’s easy to forget some of its books. To help you remember them all, we created a books of the Bible poster. It lists every book in order with a neat graph comparing their lengths. It also highlights the five authors who wrote most of the Bible, how long it takes to read the whole thing, and other fun comparisons.
This helpful visual aid makes an excellent addition to classrooms, church offices, or anywhere else you’d like to reflect on this important collection of books.
