Books of the Bible
There are 66 Books in the Bible used by the Church of England. The number varies slightly in different Christian sects. The Jewish Bible, which forms the Old Testament (OT)) of the Christian Bible, contains 39 Books.
The listing, in the order given in the Authorised Version, is as follows. Each book is followed by some of the abbreviations conventionally used. Those in the second column are after OED; those in the third are US usage, as recorded in Wikipedia. Where there is no entry in the third column, the two are the same. (You may find other forms, slightly different, in other academic and Christian writings.) Observant users of AWE will notice that books with short names have no abbreviation, although they are listed below for the sake of completeness. Those that are abbreviated have a full stop; the unabbreviated do not (see Punctuation of abbreviations). For some books, there is a shorter title (that in the first column), which is usually used, and a fuller, or more formal, alternative title, which is given in the fourth column.
The books of the Old Testament are:
| Name | OED abbrev. | US usage | full title | notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genesis | (Gen.) | The first Book of Moses, called Genesis | ||
| Exodus | (Exod.) | (Exd.) | The second Book of Moses, called Exodus | |
| Leviticus | (Lev.) | The third Book of Moses, called Leviticus | ||
| Numbers | (Num.) | The fourth Book of Moses, called Numbers | ||
| Deuteronomy | (Deut.) | (Deu.) | The fifth Book of Moses, called Deuteronomy | |
| Joshua | (Josh.) | (Jos.) | ||
| Judges | (Judg.) | (Jdg.) | ||
| Ruth | (Ruth) | (Rth.) | ||
| 1 Samuel | (1 Sam.) | (1Sa.) | the first book of Samuel | Also called (in Vulgate) 1 Kings |
| 2 Samuel | (2 Sam.) | (2Sa.) | the second Book of Samuel | Also called (in Vulgate) 2 Kings |
| 1 Kings | (1 Kgs.) | (1Ki.) | the first book of Kings | 3 Kings in the Vulgate |
| 2 Kings | (2 Kgs.) | (2Ki.) | the second Book of Kings | 4 Kings in the Vulgate |
| 1 Chronicles | (1 Chr.) | (1Ch.) | the first book of Chronicles | called 1 Paralipomenon in Vulgate) |
| 2 Chronicles | (2 Chr.) | (2Ch.) | the second Book of Chronicles | called 2 Paralipomenon in Vulgate) |
| Ezra | (Ezra) | (Ezr.) | called | 1 Esdras in Vulgate) - see also Apocrypha |
| Nehemiah | (Neh.) | called | 2 Esdras in Vulgate) - see also Apocrypha | |
| Esther | (Esther) | (Est.) | Vulgate includes in Esther the part known as the Rest of Esther in Apocrypha | |
| Job | (Job) | |||
| Psalms | (Ps.) | (Psa.) | ||
| Proverbs | (Prov.) | (Pro.) | Also Sentences in Vulgate | |
| Ecclesiastes | (Eccles.) | (Ecc.) | Do not confuse with Ecclesiasticus - see Apocrypha | |
| Song of Solomon | (Song Sol., Sol. Song, Song of Sol.) | (Sgs.) | (Also called Canticles and The Song of Songs) | |
| Isaiah | (Isa.)) | |||
| Jeremiah | (Jer.) | |||
| Lamentations | (Lam.) | |||
| Ezekiel | (Ezek.) | (Eze.) | ||
| Daniel | (Dan.) | Vulgate includes in Daniel 3 sections not in AV - see Apocrypha | ||
| Hosea | (Hos.) | (Hsa.) | ||
| Joel | (Joel) | (Joe.) | ||
| Amos | (Amos) | (Amo.) | ||
| Obadiah | (Obad.) | (Oba.) | ||
| Jonah | (Jonah) | |||
| Micah | (Mic.) | |||
| Nahum | (Nah.) | |||
| Habakkuk | (Hab.) | |||
| Zephaniah | (Zeph.) | |||
| Haggai | (Hag.) | |||
| Zechariah | (Zech.) | |||
| Malachi | (Mal.) |
- The books of the New Testament (NT) are next. These tend to have longer titles which are shortened in ordinary use. The four narratives of Jesus's life, the Gospels, are normally given (in contexts where it is clear that the Bible is meant) by the name of the author. If there is doubt about the context, they add the word 'Gospel' - "X's [or Saint X's] Gospel". People only refer to them as "The Gospel according to Saint X" when they are writing very formally, or speaking as in church. Similarly the Epistles (a formal and rather old-fashioned word for 'Letter') are usually referred to by the name of the congregation (Christian community) to which they were sent by the early missionaries, the Apostles, e.g. Romans. Sometimes they are more fully labelled as 'Paul's Epistle to the Romans'; the fullest title (as given in the Authorised Version as the heading), "The epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans", is given in the fourth column.
| Name | OED abbrev. | US usage | full title | (notes) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew | (Matt.) | (Mat.) | The Gospel according to Saint Matthew | |
| Mark | (Mark) | (Mar.) | The Gospel according to Saint Mark | |
| Luke | (Luke) | (Luk.) | The Gospel according to Saint Luke | |
| John | (John) | (Jhn.) | The Gospel according to Saint John | |
| Acts | (Acts) | (Act.) | The Acts of the Apostles | |
| Romans | (Rom.) | The epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans | ||
| 1 Corinthians | (1 Cor.) | 1Cr.) | The first epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians | |
| 2 Corinthians | (2 Cor.) | (2Cr.) | The second epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians | |
| Galatians | (Gal.) | The epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Galatians | ||
| Ephesians | (Eph.) | The epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians | ||
| Philippians | (Phil.) | (Phl.) | The epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Philippians | |
| Colossians | (Col.) or (Coloss.) | (Col.) | The epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians | |
| 1 Thessalonians | (Thess.) | (1Th.) | The first epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians | |
| 2 Thessalonians | (2 Thess.) | (2Th.) | The second epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians | |
| 1 Timothy | (1 Tim.) | (1Ti.) | The first epistle of Paul the Apostle to Timothy | |
| 2 Timothy | (2 Tim.) | (2Ti.) | The second epistle of Paul the Apostle to Timothy | |
| Titus | (Tit.) | (Tts.) | The epistle of Paul to Titus | |
| Philemon | (Philem.) | (Phm.) | The epistle of Paul to Philemon | |
| Hebrews | (Heb.) or (Hebr.) | (Heb.) | The epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews | |
| James | (Jam.) or (Jas.) | (Jam.) | The general epistle of James | |
| 1 Peter | (1 Pet.) | (1Pe.) | The first epistle general of Peter | |
| 2 Peter | (2 Pet.) | (2Pe.) | The second epistle general of Peter | |
| 1 John | (1 John) | (1Jo.) | The first epistle general of John | |
| 2 John | (2 John) | (2Jo.) | The second epistle of John | |
| 3 John | (3 John) | (3Jo.) | The third epistle of John | |
| Jude | (Jude) | (Jud.) | The general epistle of Jude | |
| Revelation | (Rev.) | The Revelation of St John the Divine | also [The] Apocalypse, particularly in the Roman Catholic church. |
The writings known as the Apocrypha (Apoc.) are listed differently in different faith groups. Some groups recognise as authentic texts which other groups consider apocryphal. Some books recognised, either as canonical or apocryphal by, for example, the Roman Catholic Church may not even be included in Protestant Bibles. For an account of this phenomenon, go to [[2]]. There is a list of Biblical Apocrypha in AWE to accompany this list.
- You may also want to see Referencing the Bible.
