The English word “bible” comes from the Greek word for books or scrolls: biblia (plural). In 2 Timothy 4:13, Paul asks Timothy to bring his “books” (biblia) when he comes to visit him in prison. Our word “Bible” is singular because it refers to the entire collection of sixty-six books: thirty-nine in the Old Testament (books about God’s relationship with Israel) and twenty-seven in the New Testament (books about Jesus and the early church). Grouping the books as follows helps understand how they are arranged and what they contain.
Pentateuch | Historical Books | Psalms | Wisdom Books | Prophets |
Genesis | Joshua | Psalms | Job | Isaiah |
Exodus | Judges | Proverbs | Jeremiah | |
Leviticus | Ruth | Ecclesiastes | Lamentations | |
Numbers | 1–2 Samuel | Song of Songs | Ezekiel | |
Deuteronomy | 1–2 Kings | Daniel | ||
1–2 Chronicles | Minor Prophets: | |||
Ezra | Hosea | |||
Nehemiah | Joel | |||
Esther | Amos | |||
Obadiah | ||||
Jonah | ||||
Micah | ||||
Nahum | ||||
Habakkuk | ||||
Zephaniah | ||||
Haggai | ||||
Zechariah | ||||
Malachi |
Gospels | Acts | Letters of Paul | General Letters | Revelation |
Matthew | Acts | Romans | Hebrews | Revelation |
Mark | 1–2 Corinthians | James | ||
Luke | Galatians | 1–2 Peter | ||
John | Ephesians | 1–3 John | ||
Philippians | Jude | |||
Colossians | ||||
1–2 Thessalonians | ||||
1–2 Timothy | ||||
Titus | ||||
Philemon |
The word “testament” comes from the word testamentum, the Latin translation of the Hebrew and Greek words for “covenant.” The English word “testament” refers to a covenant. Christians accept both the Old Testament and the New Testament, while Jews who reject Jesus as Messiah reject the new covenant or testament. In the biblical sense, a covenant refers to what God has done to establish a relationship with human beings. Over time, the term “testament” came to refer to the writings that describe the covenant.