The Books of the Bible
The Old Testament Books
There are three groups of books in each testament. Each testament begins with a group of historical books and ends with prophetic books (the New Testament has only one predominantly prophetic book, Revelation). Between the historical and prophetic books are poetic books (Old Testament) and letters or epistles (New Testament).
The Historical Books
The Old Testament has 17 historical books arranged in chronological order. The Jewish people call the first five historical books the Torah (Hebrew for “law,” since these books contain the laws God gave to Moses). These five books are also called the Pentateuch - Greek for “five books.” The history covered in these books can be divided into six periods.
The Poetic Books
Between the historical books and the prophetic books of the Old Testament are five poetic books that contain some of the most beautiful poetry ever written. The book of Psalms, which expresses the full range of human emotions from depression to jubilant trust in God, has been a source of comfort and inspiration for Jews and Christians for three millennia.
The Prophetic Books
The Old Testament contains 17 prophetic books. The first five of these books are called the Major Prophets because they are much longer than the other 12, which are called the Minor Prophets. (Lamentations is a short book that is included with the Major Prophets because it was written by the prophet Jeremiah, who also wrote the book of Jeremiah, the second book of the Major Prophets.)
The New Testament Books
Between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament is a period of about 400 years. We know quite a bit about those “silent years” from other books that are not part of the Old Testament or New Testament.
The Historical Books
The New Testament contains five historical books: the four Gospels, which describe the life of Christ, and the book of Acts, which tells the story of the early church, mostly through the work of the apostle Paul.
The Letters, or Epistles
The New Testament contains 21 letters, or epistles. The first 13 of these were written by the apostle Paul. They are arranged by length, from the longest (Romans) to the shortest (Philemon). Others were written by the apostle John (three letters), Peter (two letters), and James and Jude (one letter each); there is uncertainty as to who wrote the letter to the Hebrews. All the letters were written during the early decades of the church.
The Prophetic Book
The New Testament has only one prophetic book: Revelation. (The Greek word for revelation is apokalupsis, meaning an unveiling or uncovering. For this reason, the book of Revelation is also called the Apocalypse.)