The list of the 66 books of the bible can be misleading if you don’t know much about the history of the bible.
the bible has different “books” because each book is really a separate document, written at various times throughout history.
You are reading: 66 books of the bible pdf
although now we have the bible between two covers, it didn’t start that way. no one person sat down and wrote all these books.
That’s why bible study is so broad and interesting. In this post, we’ll explore the 66 books of the Bible, how they’re organized, their authors, and their meaning.
how many books are there in the old and new testament
there are 39 books in the old testament and 27 books in the new testament.
Despite the way they are arranged, the stories are not all in chronological order.
That’s why things like the chronological bible reading plan exist.
what are the 66 books of the bible in order?
the order of the books of the bible does not mean that the stories are all in order. remember that the books are all separate, written by different people at different times in history
this list is just how they are currently arranged in the bible you buy or come across.
old testament books of the bible
here are the 39 books of the old testament in order
new testament books of the bible
here are the 27 books of the new testament in order
download list of the 66 books of the bible – old and new testament
how do you organize the books of the bible
the old testament is basically the entire jewish bible. it is called tanahk, which is actually an acronym for the divisions of the Hebrew scriptures.
tanahk means torah (instruction or law, also called pentateuch), neviʾim (prophets), and ketuvim (writings).
the a’s were added to make it pronounceable.
tnk can be used to remember how the books of the old testament are organized by genre.
old testament – law books (known as the pentateuch)
- genesis
- exodus
- leviticus
- numbers
- deuteronomy
old testament books – history
old testament books – major prophets
- isaiah
- jeremiah
- lamentations
- ezekiel
- daniel
old testament books – minor prophets
- hosea
- joel
- amos
- obadiah
- jonas
- micah</li
- nahum
- habakuc
- zephaniah
- haggai
- zechariah
- malachi
66 books of the bible list – new testament
the new testament is divided into 4 literary genres: gospels, history, epistles (letters) and prophecy.
new testament books – gospels
books of the new testament – prophecy
- disclosure
download old and new testament bible books by genre
66 books of the bible and their meanings and authors
a popular question about scripture is: who wrote the bible?
well, no person would be the answer. the bible has approximately 40 authors.
That’s why the Bible has “books”.
for the most part, the books of the bible got their names based on:
- the purpose of the book
- who wrote the book
- who the book was for
- the name of the person who is the subject of the book
- the name of the person delivering the message of the book
66 books of the bible list and their meanings and authors – the pentateuch
- genesis
meaning: the Hebrew word is bereshith. means at the beginning. in Greek it means birth or origin.
author: Moses
- exodus
meaning: the word is veelleh shemoth. means exit. Exodus is said to have been written by Moses.
author: Moses
- Leviticus
meaning: the Hebrew word isvayyikra. means worship.
author: Moses
- numbers
meaning: the Hebrew word is bemidbar. means in the desert.
author: Moses
- deuteronomy
meaning: the Hebrew word is mishnah torah and means repeated/law. another hebrew title for the book is devarim which means words and was taken from the opening of the book “these are the words that moses spoke…”
author: Moses
66 books of the bible list and their meanings and authors – history books
- joshua
meaning: the Hebrew is yahsua (jesus) or yahvah (god). the name means the savior or yahweh is salvation.
author: unknown
- judges
meaning: the Hebrew is shophetim. means ruler. it could also mean liberator or savior.
author: unknown
- ruth
meaning: The Hebrew word is re’ut, which could loosely be translated as friend or companion. author: unknown
- 1 samuel and 2 samuel
meaning: the Hebrew is shemuel. means request of god or god has heard. however, the name of the book was based on the life of the prophet samuel from his birth to the death of saul.
author: unknown
- 1 kings and 2 kings
meaning: the Hebrew word is melachim which means king. These books got their name because they tell the story of the kings of ancient Israel.
author: unknown
- 1 chronic, 2 chronic
meaning: the Hebrew is dibrei hayyamim. means word of the days.
author: ezra the prophet.
- ezra
meaning: the name means help.
author: ezra the prophet
- nehemiah
meaning: the name means comforter of yahweh or yahweh comforts.
author: nehemiah
- ester
meaning: the name of the book is based on the main character. means star.
author: unknown
66 books of the bible list and their meanings and authors – poetry/wisdom
- work
meaning: the Hebrew is lyyob and means persecuted or hated.
author: unknown
- psalms
See Also: Top Activity Books for Kids Ages 9 to 12 – Imagination Soup
meaning: the Hebrew is tehillim and means songs to rejoice.
authors: it was written by many different authors: david, solomon, moses, the sons of korah, sons of asaph, heman, ethan el ezrahit.
- proverbs
meaning: the Hebrew is mashal which means to rule or have dominion.
author: was mostly written by king solomon but chapters 30 and 31 were written by agur and lemuel.
- ecclesiastes
meaning: the Hebrew word is koheleth which means preacher.
author: king solomon.
- song of solomon
meaning: the Hebrew is shir hashshirim which means song of songs.
author: king solomon.
Download the OLD TESTAMENT Books of the Bible, authors and meanings.
66 books of the bible list and their meanings and authors – major prophets
- Isaiah
meaning: the Hebrew is yesha’yahu and it means yahweh’s salvation or yahweh is salvation or god saves.
author: the prophet isaiah
- jeremiah
meaning: the Hebrew is yirmiyahu which means yahweh will exalt or yahweh will raise up.
author: the prophet jeremiah
- lamentations
meaning: the book was named from the first word of the book. the Hebrew word is ekah which means how. however, in English lamentations mean a “mourning song”. these are hymns of jeremiah.
author: the prophet jeremiah
- ezequiel
meaning: the Hebrew word is yehezkel and means strength of god or god will strengthen.
author: prophet ezekiel.
- daniel
meaning: the Hebrew word is daniyyel and it means judgment of god or god is my judge.
author: the prophet ezekiel
66 books of the bible list and their meanings and authors – minor prophets
- you mean
meaning:The Hebrew word is hoshea and it means salvation.
author: the prophet hosea
- joel
meaning: the hebrew is yow’el which means that jehovah is their god
author: the prophet joel
- loves
meaning: the Hebrew word is amowc and it means burden or load.
author: the prophet amos
- obadiah
meaning: the Hebrew word is obadyah and it means to serve yahweh.
author: the prophet abbeys
- jonas
meaning: the Hebrew word is yonah and it means dove.
author: the prophet jonah
- micah
meaning: the Hebrew word is miykayah and it means who is like yahweh.
author: the prophet micah
- nahum
meaning: the Hebrew word is nachuwm and it means comfortable.
author: the prophet nahum
- habakuk
meaning: the Hebrew word is chabaqquwq which means to embrace.
author: the prophet habakuk
- zephaniah
meaning: the Hebrew word is tsephanyah and it means hidden from god.
author: the prophet Zephaniah
- haggai
meaning: the Hebrew word is chaggay and means festive.
author: the prophet haggai
- zacharias
meaning: the hebrew word is zekaryah and it means remembered by god.
author: the prophet zechariah
- malachi
meaning: the Hebrew word is malakiy which means my messenger.
author: the prophet malachi
66 books of the bible list and their meanings and authors – the gospels
The word gospel comes from the word euangelion which means good news.
This is what the Gospels are about: how Jesus and his work brought the best news for humanity.
- matthew
meaning: This book was named after the author who wanted to capture the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
author: mateo a former tax collector who became a disciple of jesus
- mark
meaning: This book was named after the author who wanted to capture the ministerial life of Jesus on earth.
author: john-mark, companion of paul and barnabas on their missionary journeys.
- lucas
meaning: This book was named after the author who was an eyewitness to the life and ministry of Jesus.
See Also: Here are the 2016 L.A. Times Book Prize winners – Los Angeles Times
author: luke, a doctor, wrote the book based on interviews.
- john
meaning: the name of the book comes from the author who wanted to capture the power and holiness of jesus as god for his readers to believe.
author: john, disciple of jesus, the one whom jesus loved.
66 books of the bible list and their meanings and authors – history
- acts (of the apostles)
meaning: this book was named after the author who was an eyewitness to the life and ministry of jesus. the book captures the life and missionary work of the apostles in their majority, peter and paul.
Author: Luke, a doctor, wrote the book based on interviews.
66 books of the bible list and their meanings and authors – epistles
These books were written after Jesus died, was resurrected, and returned to heaven.
Christianity as a religion was new and young. Judaism was still the main religion.
Many people who embraced Christianity experienced confusion when they converted from one belief to the next.
some got tired and discouraged by the persecution and mistreatment.
These facts shape the names, meanings, and authors of the epistles.
- romans
meaning: This was a letter written to the church located in Rome.
author: the apostle paul
- 1 Corinthians & 2 Corinthians
meaning: These were letters written to the church located in Corinth.
author: the apostle paul
- Galatians
Meaning: This was a letter written to the church located in Galatia.
author: the apostle paul
- Ephesians
meaning: This was a letter written to the church located in Ephesus.
author: the apostle paul
- Philippians
meaning: this was a letter written to the church located in phillipi.
author: the apostle paul
- Colossians
meaning: this was a letter written to the church located in colosse.
author: the apostle paul
- 1 Thessalonians & 2 Thessalonians
meaning: This was a letter written to the church located in Thessalonica.
author: the apostle paul
- 1 timothy & 2 Timothy
Meaning: These were letters written to Timothy who was a young man, a missionary, and a leader in the early church. the goal was to give him leadership advice and encourage him.
author: the apostle paul
Download NEW TESTAMENT Books of the Bible, authors and meanings
- uncle
Meaning: This was a letter written to titus, who was a missionary in the early church and a student of the apostle paul.
author: the apostle paul
- filemon
Meaning: This was written to a man named Philemon. his slave ran away and the author wrote him a letter asking him to get his slave back in the spirit of freedom for the slave. the name comes from the Greek word philema which means kiss. the name means affectionate.
author: the apostle paul
- Hebrews
Meaning: This was a letter written to Christians in the early church who were struggling in their faith because they were being mistreated and harassed for their beliefs.
author: unknown
- james
Meaning: This was a letter written to an unknown group of Christians. the author wanted to encourage them to live their faith in a practical way.
author: santiago, the brother of jesus
- 1 peter & 2 peter –
Meaning: These letters were written to Christians who were going through a difficult time because of their beliefs. The Greek word is petros which means stone.
author: the apostle peter, disciple of jesus
- 1 juan, 2 juan, & 3 juan
Meaning: These letters were written to Christians about how to love one another.
author: the apostle john, disciple of jesus and the one whom “jesus loved”.
- judas
Meaning: This was a letter written to Christians about remaining faithful in difficult times.
author: judas, brother of james
66 books of the bible list and their meanings and authors – prophecy
- disclosure
meaning: the Greek word is apokalupsis and it means to reveal prophecy.
author: the apostle john, disciple of jesus and the one whom “jesus loved”.
find all the printables in this post.
download all the printables from this post.
how do you remember the 66 books of the bible?
I confess. I don’t always remember where to find some of the books of the bible.
When I used to use a physical bible more often, this was never the case.
now my ipad and phone are taking away this aspect of my biblical knowledge.
but there’s nothing like a song to help us remember something.
If you want to memorize the order of these books, you can use the 66 books of the Bible song.
and you can also use the 66 books of the bible to color pdf.
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