Below are a couple of charts giving you the breakdown (by section and by book) of the Bible.
Why "a couple of charts"? Because there are different Bibles, containing different books (some more, some less) in different orders. As important as it is for you to know what's in the books of the Bible and how the various books of the Bible were put together, it is equally important for you to think about how different Bibles create different emphases using the same books.
I. The Jewish Bible (aka the TANAK, the Jewish Scriptures, the Hebrew Bible)
The Jewish Bible is broken down into three sections: Torah (also called the Pentateuch or Five Books of Moses); the Nevi'im or Prophets (made up of Former Prophets and Latter Prophets); and the Ketuvim or Writings
Since antiquity they have been collected in the following order (their traditional English names are given, with a translation of their Hebrew names in parentheses):
TORAH | PROPHETS/NEVI'IM | WRITINGS/KETUVIM |
Genesis (In the beginning) Exodus (Names) Leviticus (And he called) Numbers (In the wilderness) Deuteronomy (Words) |
Former prophets Joshua (Joshua) Judges (Judges) 1-2 Samuel (Samuel) 1-2 Kings (Kings)
Latter Prophets Isaiah (Isaiah) Jeremiah (Jeremiah) Ezekiel (Ezekiel) Book of the Twelve (The Twelve) contains: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi |
Psalms (Songs of Praise) Job (Job) Proverbs (Proverbs) Ruth (Ruth) Song of Solomon (Song of Songs) Ecclesiastes (The Teacher) Lamentations (How!) Esther (Esther) Daniel (Daniel) Ezra-Nehemiah (Ezra-Nehemiah) 1-2 Chronicles (Book of Days) |
Who reads it? Jews
When was it written? Scholars believe that most of the individual books of the TANAK were put together from pre-existing sources, the earliest of which may date as far back as 1000 or 900 BCE. Some time after that the individual books were put together; the last ones, from Writings, may have been written as late as 100 BCE.
When was it put together? It is likely that the TANAK was put together in stages, corresponding to its three parts: The Torah was probably compiled around 400 BCE; the Prophets as a collection was probably compiled around 200 BCE; the Writings probably came together as the entire TANAK was canonized (i.e., standardized into a closed list of books), probably not until 100 CE.
What languages is it written in? Most of it was written in Hebrew; parts of it in Aramaic (a later dialect related to Hebrew and written in the same alphabet)
II. The Christian Bible
The Christian Bible is broken down into two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament
OLD TESTAMENT |
NEW TESTAMENT |
|||
Pentateuch Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy |
Historical Books Joshua Judges Ruth* 1-2 Samuel 1-2 Kings 1-2 Chronicles* Ezra-Nehemiah* Tobit Judith Esther* (with additions) 1-2 Maccabees |
Holy Writings Job* Psalms* Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon* Wisdom of Solomon Wisdom of Ben Sira |
Prophets Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations* Baruch Ezekiel Daniel* (with additions) Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi |
Gospels Matthew Mark Luke John
Acts of the Apostles
Pauline Letters Romans 1-2 Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians 1-2 Thessalonians 1-2 Timothy Titus Philemon Hebrew
General Letters James 1-2 Peters 1-2-3 John Jude
Revelation (of John) |
Who reads it? Christians. Catholic and Orthodox Christians read all of the books listed above, including those written in red italics. Protestant Christians (a division of Christianity made up of various denominations that distinguish themselves spiritually and liturgically from Catholic and Orthodox Christians) read all of the books below except those written in red italics
When was it written? The earliest parts of the Old Testament were written perhaps as long as 1000 or 900 BCE (see above under The Jewish Bible); the latest parts of the New Testament were written perhaps as late as 150 CE
When was it put together? The canon of the Old Testament emerged sometime between 100 BCE and 100 CE; the canon of the New Testament emerged over the course of the first four or five centuries CE. The canon of the Protestant Bible was based primarily on the earlier Catholic Bible (see above The Catholic/Orthodox Bible), with some books rearranged and others (primarily the Deuterocanon or Apocrypha) removed altogether; this work was done by Martin Luther, the first Protestant Reformer, in the 16th century CE
What languages was it written in? The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and Aramaic; the New Testament was written in Greek
What is the difference between the Old Testament and the Jewish Bible? The Christian Old Testament is "incomplete" without the accompanying books of the New Testament, whereas the Jewish TANAK is complete unto itself. The Protestant Old Testament and the Jewish TANAK contain the same books, although all Christian Bibles arrange the books of the Old Testament differently from Jewish Bibles (the prophets are placed last, emphasizing their connection to the "fulfillment" of the New Testament). Books that are arranged differently in the Old Testament are marked in the chart above with an asterisk (*).
Additionally, Catholic and Catholic and Orthodox Bible contain the deuterocanon, the "second canon" which is called Apocrypha by Protestants and not usually considered part of the official canon of sacred Scriptures.