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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