Old Testament Books in Chronological Order
The Bible is divided between the Old and New Testaments. Books written before the time of Jesus make up the Old Testament. Book written after Jesus’ ministry on earth comprise the New Testament.
The Old Testament is organized by genre rather than historical timeline.
Here’s a list of the Old Testament books in chronological order with the traditional (approximate) dates.
By chronological, I mean the historical events recorded in the books took place during this period and/or the author wrote during this period.
I’ve included my “catch phrase” to summarize each book.
Download a free PDF of OT Book Chronology as a chart
Patriarchs to Captivity in Egypt (2000 BC-1720 BC)
- Genesis – Beginnings; From Eden to wilderness
- Job – Understanding suffering
Wilderness to Conquest (1720-1280 BC)
- Exodus – Escape from Egypt
- Leviticus – Ceremonial laws
- Numbers – Wilderness years
- Deuteronomy – Moses’ farewell
- Joshua – Taking the land
- Ruth – David’s ancestors’ love story
Period of the Judges (1240-1050 BC)
- Judges – Living among enemies
United Monarchy (1050-930 BC)
- 1 Samuel – Prophets versus Kings
- 2 Samuel – Uniting the Kingdom
- Psalms – Songs of worship
- 1 Kings – Dividing the kingdom
- 1 Chronicles – Retelling of 1& 2 Samuel
- Proverbs – Understanding society
- Ecclesiastes – Understanding life
- Song of Solomon – Understanding love
Divided Monarchy (1050-586 BC)
- 2 Kings – End of Israel & Judah
- 2 Chronicles – Retelling Judah’s Kings
- Obadiah – Judgement on Edom
- Joel – Day of the Lord
- Jonah – Anyone can repent
- Hosea – Acting out God’s love
- Amos – Judgement is inescapable
- Isaiah – Judgement brings hope
- Micah – Judgement’s restoration
- Nahum – Judgement on Nineveh
- Zephaniah – Judgment’s remnant
- Jeremiah – Warnings of Judgement
- Lamentations – Jerusalem’s destruction
- Habakkuk – Judgment on evil
Exile (586-538 BC)
- Ezekiel – Judgement brings new life
- Daniel – Witnessing in exile
- Esther – Surviving in exile
Return from Exile (438 BC to New Testament)
- Ezra – Return from exile
- Nehemiah – Rebuilding Jerusalem
- Haggai – Rebuilding the temple
- Zechariah – Repentance after exile
- Malachi – God is coming
Further study:
How is the Old Testament Organized
Books of the Bible by date written
Bible Timelines by Swartzentrover.com (PDF)
What is each book of the Bible about?
Book by Ray Stedman: Adventuring Through the Bible: A Comprehensive Guide to the Entire Bible
Ray Stedman: Highlights of the Bible : Genesis to Nehemiah
Ray Stedman: Highlights of the Bible : poets and prophets
Audio series by Ray Stedman: Panorama of Scripture
Blog posts by John MacArthur: An Introduction to each book of the Bible
Dust to Glory by RC Sproul; gives the basic structure of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.
What’s in the Bible? by RC Sproul; for the person who has never had a simple introduction to the Bible.
What’s in the Bible : the story of God through time & eternity (free online)
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash