By The Water
The Bible contains 66 books: 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New. The Old Testament runs from Genesis to Malachi in four groups — Law (5), History (12), Wisdom & Poetry (5), and Prophets (17). The New Testament runs from Matthew to Revelation — four Gospels, Acts, twenty-one letters, and Revelation.
Old Testament — 39 books
The Law (Torah / Pentateuch) — 5
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Creation, covenant, exodus, and the shaping of Israel; “the book of the law” Joshua was told to meditate on day and night (Joshua 1:8).
History — 12
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. Conquest to kingdom, exile to return — roughly a thousand years of God keeping covenant with a stiff-necked, beloved people.
Wisdom & Poetry — 5
Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon. Suffering, prayer, prudence, futility, and love — the interior life of the covenant, given words.
Prophets — 17
Major (longer books, not more important): Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel. Minor (the “Book of the Twelve”): Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. Covenant lawyers and watchmen — indictment, woe, and stubborn hope, ending with Malachi's promise of a messenger to come.
New Testament — 27 books
Gospels — 4
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Four witnesses to one life: Matthew for the King promised to Israel, Mark for the Servant in action, Luke for the Savior of the nations, John “that ye might believe” (John 20:31).
History — 1
Acts — Luke's second volume: the risen Christ builds his church from Jerusalem to Rome.
Paul's letters — 13
Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon — ordered roughly by length, churches first, then individuals.
General letters — 8
Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2 & 3 John, Jude — written to the scattered church at large.
Prophecy — 1
Revelation. The unveiling of Jesus Christ, and the Bible's last word: “Surely I come quickly” (Revelation 22:20).
Why this order?
The canonical order groups by literary type, not timeline — Job likely predates Exodus, and the prophets interleave with Kings historically. That's a feature: each section reads as a composed collection. (Curious how a timeline order compares? See what order to read the Bible.) The 66 books hold 1,189 chapters — 929 Old Testament, 260 New — which divide neatly into a year of reading; the arithmetic is in how long it takes to read the Bible.
Memorizing the shelf
Learn the group headings first (Law → History → Wisdom → Prophets; Gospels → Acts → Letters → Revelation), then fill in each shelf. Singing the books in order still works at any age; so does simply reading through them — a one-year plan makes the order muscle memory by June.
Open the word, not just a definition
In By The Water the whole shelf is laid out visually — every book, every chapter, with your progress marked per testament and a guided insight waiting in each chapter, the first chapter of every book free.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in the Bible?
66 — 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New. Catholic Bibles include 7 additional deuterocanonical books (73 total); this list follows the Protestant canon.
What are the 5 books of the Law called?
The Pentateuch (Greek, 'five scrolls') or Torah (Hebrew, 'instruction'): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy — traditionally attributed to Moses.
What's the difference between Major and Minor Prophets?
Only length. Isaiah runs 66 chapters; Obadiah, 21 verses. The twelve Minor Prophets fit on one ancient scroll, so they were collected as 'the Book of the Twelve' — no ranking of importance is implied.
What is the shortest book of the Bible? The longest?
By verses, 3 John is shortest (14 verses; 2 John has fewer words). Psalms is longest — 150 chapters — and also holds the longest chapter (Psalm 119) — while Psalm 117 is the shortest chapter in the Bible.