The 39 books of what is called “the Old Testament” begins with the creation narrative in the book of Genesis and ends with the book of Malachi. The first eleven chapters of the book of Genesis tell the story of the of creation, the fall, and the resulting violence of man toward man and his rejection of the Creator as supreme authority. These chapters answer the question, “why Israel?” Beginning with chapter twelve of Genesis, the rest of the Old Testament focuses on the rise and fall of the Nation of Israel.
The Bible is frequently divided into five sections:
- The Pentateuch. Pentateuch means simply “five books”. In Greek, the Pentateuch (which Jews call the Torah) includes the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
- History. Kings, Chronicles, Samuel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
- Wisdom — sometimes known as Poetry. Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon.
- Major Prophets. Isiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel.
- Minor Prophets. Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi