Books of the Old Testament
The books of the Old Testament are listed below in the order that they appear in the Christian Bible. They fall into several categories of literature, beginning with 'History.' [See the notes at the end of this page, concerning abbreviations of book names, and concerning the order of books as arranged in the Hebrew Bible.]
History
Genesis ( Gen ) - Sketch - Notes
Exodus ( Ex ) - Sketch - Notes
Leviticus ( Lev ) - Sketch
Numbers ( Num ) - Sketch
Deuteronomy ( Deu ) - Sketch
Joshua ( Josh ) - Sketch
Judges ( Judg ) - Sketch
Ruth ( Ruth ) - Sketch - Notes
I Samuel ( 1Sam ) - Sketch
II Samuel ( 2Sam ) - Sketch
I Kings ( 1Kin ) - Sketch
II Kings ( 2Kin ) - Sketch
I Chronicles ( 1Chr ) - Sketch
II Chronicles ( 2Chr ) - Sketch
Ezra ( Ezr ) - Sketch
Nehemiah ( Neh ) - Sketch
Esther ( Esth ) - Sketch
Poetry
Job ( Job ) - Sketch
Psalms ( Psa ) - Sketch - Notes
Proverbs ( Pro ) - Sketch - Notes
Ecclesiates ( Ecc ) - Sketch
Song of Solomon ( Song ) - Sketch
(also called 'Canticles')
Prophecy
Isaiah ( Isa ) - Sketch - Notes
Jeremiah ( Jer ) - Sketch - Notes
Lamentations ( Lam ) - Sketch - Notes
Ezekiel ( Eze ) - Sketch - Notes
Daniel ( Dan ) - Sketch - Notes
Hosea ( Hos ) - Sketch - Notes
Joel ( Joel ) - Sketch - Notes
Amos ( Amos ) - Sketch - Notes
Obadiah ( Obad ) - Sketch - Notes
Jonah ( Jon ) - Sketch - Notes
Micah ( Mic ) - Sketch - Notes
Nahum ( Nah ) - Sketch - Notes
Habakkuk ( Hab ) - Sketch - Notes
Zephaniah ( Zeph ) - Sketch - Notes
Haggai ( Hag ) - Sketch - Notes
Zechariah ( Zech ) - Sketch - Notes
Malachi ( Mal ) - Sketch - Notes
Abbreviations shown above are used throughout this publication. Usually the abbreviation consists of the first three or four characters of the full name. There are a few exceptions to avoid confusion with similar names. Examples (from the NT List): Philippians = Php; Philemon = Phm.
The Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament of the Christian Bible contain the same textual material. However, in the Hebrew Bible, several books are combined, and the books are arranged in a different order, as shown in the chart below.
Order of Books in the Hebrew Bible
| The Law (Torah) | The Prophets (Nebhim) | The Writings (Kethubhim) |
|---|
| 1.Genesis | A. Former Prophets | A. Poetical Books |
| 2.Exodus | 1.Joshua | 1.Psalms |
| 3.Leviticus | 2.Judges | 2.Proverbs |
| 4.Numbers | 3.Samuel | 3.Job |
| 5.Deuteronomy | 4.Kings | B. Five Rolls |
| B. Latter Prophets | 1.Song of Songs |
| 1.Isaiah | 2.Ruth |
| 2.Jeremiah | 3.Lamentations |
| 3.Ezekiel | 4.Esther |
| 4.The Twelve (minor prophets) | 5.Ecclesiastes |
| | C. Historical Books |
| | 1.Daniel |
| | 2.Ezra-Nehemiah |
| | 3.Chronicles |
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