How Many Books Are in the Bible? 66, 73 and Why They Differ
The most common answer is 66 books: 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. Catholic Bibles contain 73 books, because they include seven additional Old Testament books. Some Orthodox Bibles contain a few more. None of these numbers is "wrong" in its own tradition. They reflect different lists of recognized books, and this guide explains each without taking a side.
The quick answer
| Tradition | Old Testament | New Testament | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protestant | 39 | 27 | 66 |
| Roman Catholic | 46 | 27 | 73 |
| Eastern and Oriental Orthodox | 46 or more, depending on the church | 27 | Varies |
| Jewish (Tanakh) | 24 books (same content as the 39, counted differently) | not applicable | 24 |
The Jewish count of 24 is not a smaller Bible. It covers the same material as the Protestant Old Testament. Jewish counting treats the twelve Minor Prophets as one book and counts Samuel, Kings and Chronicles each as a single book, among other combinations.
The 66-book Bible
The 66 books are divided into the Old Testament (39 books) and the New Testament (27 books). Within each, the books are grouped by the kind of writing.
The Old Testament: 39 books
| Section | Books | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Law (Pentateuch) | Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy | 5 |
| History | Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther | 12 |
| Poetry and Wisdom | Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon | 5 |
| Major Prophets | Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel | 5 |
| Minor Prophets | Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi | 12 |
"Major" and "Minor" refer to length, not importance. The Major Prophets are longer books; the twelve Minor Prophets are shorter.
The New Testament: 27 books
| Section | Books | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Gospels | Matthew, Mark, Luke, John | 4 |
| Acts | Acts | 1 |
| Paul's Letters | Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon | 13 |
| General Letters | Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2 and 3 John, Jude | 8 |
| Prophecy | Revelation | 1 |
A few useful facts: the longest book by chapters is Psalms (150). The shortest by chapters are books with one chapter, such as Obadiah, Philemon, 2 John, 3 John and Jude. All told, the 66-book Bible has 1,189 chapters, 929 in the Old Testament and 260 in the New.
The 73-book Bible
Catholic Bibles include seven additional books in the Old Testament, known as the deuterocanonical books, which means "second canon":
- Tobit: a family story of faithfulness, a journey and healing in exile.
- Judith: a courageous widow delivers her town.
- Wisdom of Solomon: a wisdom book on righteousness and God's care in history.
- Sirach (Ecclesiasticus): a large collection of wisdom sayings.
- Baruch: prayers, wisdom poetry and comfort for exiles in Babylon.
- 1 Maccabees: a historical account of the Maccabean revolt.
- 2 Maccabees: a theological retelling of the same crisis, with martyrs and hope in resurrection.
Catholic Bibles also include additional passages within Esther and Daniel, which is why you may see them described as "books and parts of books" in some sources.
Protestant Bibles generally either omit these books or place them in a separate section, often called the Apocrypha (the word means "hidden" or "set apart"). Many Protestant Bibles from the 1500s and 1600s, including the original 1611 King James Version, printed them between the testaments.
Why the lists differ
The difference goes back to which Old Testament writings were recognized. Early Christians commonly used a Greek translation of Jewish scriptures that included the additional books. Later, Jewish tradition settled on the Hebrew list, and at the Reformation many Protestant churches adopted that shorter Hebrew list for their Old Testament. The Catholic Church affirmed the longer list at the Council of Trent in the 1500s. Orthodox churches also kept a longer list, with some variations among them.
This is a historical summary, and the full story has more detail. Different traditions read the same history differently, and there are respected scholars on all sides. This site does not ask you to choose.
Why does the order differ from the date?
The order of the books in a printed Bible is by type of writing, not by the date of events. That is why a letter such as James may come after a letter written later, and why the prophets are placed together at the end of the Old Testament, even though they spoke during the time of the kings. For a time-ordered view, see the Bible timeline.
How to use this when you read
- If your Bible has 66 books, you can read everything in it with confidence. If it has 73, the extra seven sit within the Old Testament or between the testaments.
- If you are reading a Bible from a tradition different from your own, check which books it contains in the table of contents.
- If you want to learn about the seven additional books, a short orientation to each one helps.
The Bible Roadmap follows the standard 66-book arrangement for its one-page guides, covering 39 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books. Its Deuterocanon Supplement is an additional bonus covering the seven additional books, so a reader from either tradition has the books they use. It also includes a 66-book checklist and memory chart that groups every book by section, with a short memory hook for each.
Where to go next
Once you know how many books there are, the next questions are who wrote them and when. See who wrote the Bible and when, or get a one-line overview of every book in Bible book summaries.