The 39 books of the Hebrew Bible contain prophecies of Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection. Jesus is the focal point of both the Old and New Testaments. Actually, the idea of an Old and New Testament is a human invention that blurs the fact that the Bible is one, not two separate entities. The Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible fit together perfectly. The Old Testament books serve as the foundation of the New Testament books. The New Testament explains the Old Testament.
Books of Moses or Books of the Law
Genesis~Exodus~Leviticus~Numbers~Deuteronomy
- The books of The Law contain lots of history vital to understanding humanity and the overall message of the Bible. Nevertheless, these are called books of Moses because the Lord used him in writing and compiling the historical portions, as well as the list of laws.
Historical books
Joshua~Judges~Ruth~1 Samuel~2 Samuel~1 Kings~2 Kings~1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles~Ezra~Nehemiah~Esther
- The historical books deal with the establishment and development of Israel as a nation. However, the nations of all the Middle East also find a place in these records of God’s dealing with mankind.
Poetic books
Job~Psalms~Proverbs~Ecclesiastes~Song of Solomon
- We refer to the books of Job through Song of Solomon as poetic because in the Hebrew language they appear in poetry form. We learn much about God’s laws and Israel’s history by reading these inspiring and uplifting books.
Major Prophets
Isaiah~Jeremiah~Lamentations~Ezekiel~Daniel
- The term major doesn’t indicate that Isaiah through Daniel is more important than the Minor Prophets. Major and minor refer to size or the length of the books. Again, we learn much about world history in these lengthy writings. Additionally, the Major Prophets record many details about the future of humanity.
Minor Prophets
Hosea~Joel~Amos~Obadiah~Jonah~Micah~Nahum~Habakkuk~Zephaniah~Haggai
Zechariah~Malachi
- The thirteen books we categorize as Minor Prophets reveal details regarding the kingdoms of that era. Like the Major Prophets, Hosea through Malachi foretells numerous intricate details of humanities future. Some of these have come to pass, but many await fulfillment.
“May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers,” 1 Kings 8:58.
