All 66 Books of the Bible

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 . . .

Here’s a snapshot of every book of the Bible

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.

Old Testament 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

Books of Poetry in the Old Testament

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

22. Song of Solomon (Song of Songs)

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)

Books of prophecy in the Old Testament

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.

New Testament books of the Bible

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.



40. The Gospel of Matthew

This is an account of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, focusing on Jesus’ role as the true king of the Jews.

Author: Matthew

41. The Gospel of Mark

This brief account of Jesus’ earthly ministry highlights Jesus’ authority and servanthood.

Author: John Mark

42. The Gospel of Luke

Luke writes the most thorough account of Jesus’ life, pulling together eyewitness testimonies to tell the full story of Jesus.

Author: Luke

43. The Gospel of John

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’s epistles

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

The general, or Catholic, epistles

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 content 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