Q

uestion

73

Since the Bible isn’t in alphabetical or

chronological order, how did it get in its

current order?

Marcia Ford

A.

That depends on which Bible you’re referring to. The Roman

Catholic canon of scripture includes some books that Protestant

Bibles exclude, and in Eastern Orthodox Bibles, some books appear

in a different order.

Generally, though, the books of the Bible are arranged according to the

Jewish tradition of keeping various types of books together and arranging

them chronologically within that type. Genesis through Deuteronomy contains

the basic precepts God gave to the Israelites, which are known as the Law.

Joshua through Esther outlines the subsequent history of the nation of Israel.

Job through Song of Solomon incorporates poetry and wisdom literature.

The writings of the “major” prophets—those whose messages were of critical

importance—are found in Isaiah through Daniel; the “minor” prophets’ writ-

ings, Hosea through Malachi, come last in the Old Testament.

The New Testament follows suit; its books are also arranged by type. The

history books, Matthew through Acts, tell the stories of Jesus and the founding

of the church. Romans through Jude includes letters written by early church

leaders to churches in other areas and to individuals. Revelation is the New

Testament’s book of prophecy.

The order just described generally applies to Bibles used for worship, in

group settings, and the like. For private study, however, you can fi nd study

Bibles in which the books are arranged chronologically, which helps you

navigate your way through the world of the Bible and discover what else was

going on when major events occurred.

Joshua Toulouse

A.

The order of the Old Testament in the Christian Bible is slightly

different from the order of the Jewish Bible, although the books

included are the same. As Warren Carter, my New Testament pro-

fessor in seminary, liked to point out, there was no one keeping minutes while

the canonical discussions were taking place in the fi rst four hundred years of

the Christian movement.

The books in the Bible are placed together by genre. In some of those

genres, there are attempts at chronological ordering. Of course, the actual