Bibles do not all have the same number of books, or the same order. This page sets three Bibles side by side, shows the Hebrew Bible in its own order, and shows how the five books of Moses got their Hebrew names.
The books, their order, and how Bibles count them.
Rows run in English Bible order. Shaded rows are books only in the Catholic Bible. A dash means the book is not in that Bible.
| Book | English BibleProtestant, 39 books | Catholic Bible46 books | Hebrew Bible24 books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genesis | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Exodus | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Leviticus | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Numbers | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Deuteronomy | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Joshua | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Judges | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Ruth | 8 | 8 | 14 |
| 1 Samuel | 9 | 9 | 8One book: Samuel |
| 2 Samuel | 10 | 10 | |
| 1 Kings | 11 | 11 | 9One book: Kings |
| 2 Kings | 12 | 12 | |
| 1 Chronicles | 13 | 13 | 24One book: Chronicles |
| 2 Chronicles | 14 | 14 | |
| Ezra | 15 | 15 | 23One book: Ezra and Nehemiah |
| Nehemiah | 16 | 16 | |
| Tobit | — | 17 | — |
| Judith | — | 18 | — |
| Esther | 17 | 19Longer form | 22 |
| 1 Maccabees | — | 20 | — |
| 2 Maccabees | — | 21 | — |
| Job | 18 | 22 | 16 |
| Psalms | 19 | 23 | 15 |
| Proverbs | 20 | 24 | 17 |
| Ecclesiastes | 21 | 25 | 18 |
| Song of Songs | 22 | 26 | 19 |
| Wisdom | — | 27 | — |
| Sirach | — | 28 | — |
| Isaiah | 23 | 29 | 12 |
| Jeremiah | 24 | 30 | 10 |
| Lamentations | 25 | 31 | 20 |
| Baruch | — | 32With the Letter of Jeremiah | — |
| Ezekiel | 26 | 33 | 11 |
| Daniel | 27 | 34Longer form | 21 |
| Hosea | 28 | 35 | 13One book: The Twelve |
| Joel | 29 | 36 | |
| Amos | 30 | 37 | |
| Obadiah | 31 | 38 | |
| Jonah | 32 | 39 | |
| Micah | 33 | 40 | |
| Nahum | 34 | 41 | |
| Habakkuk | 35 | 42 | |
| Zephaniah | 36 | 43 | |
| Haggai | 37 | 44 | |
| Zechariah | 38 | 45 | |
| Malachi | 39 | 46 |
Hebrew names as listed by OU Torah (Orthodox Union) and the Jewish Virtual Library. English spellings of Hebrew names vary between lists. The five books of Moses follow the say lines on their cards.
The order is the list in the Talmud, Bava Batra 14b. It is not the only old order. Some Jewish lists put Psalms or Job first among the Writings.
Sources: the Jewish Encyclopedia (1906), article “Pentateuch,” says each book is named in Hebrew by “the first significant word,” and that the Septuagint names point to what is in each book. The Hebrew words and their meanings are copied from the word cards.