Bible Quiz: Books of the Bible
Genesis to Revelation, all sixty-six — where each book sits on the shelf, which ones are only a single chapter long, which two are named after women, which one never mentions God by name, and what the Minor Prophets are actually “minor” at. You get fifteen questions drawn from a bank of 40, and every answer shows the reference behind it, so even a miss teaches you the order.
That round walked the whole shelf — the five books of the law, the twelve Minor Prophets, Paul’s thirteen letters, the one-chapter books, and a couple of books hiding in plain sight.
You know where the books sit. Here is a gentle way to meet the one they point to.
This free 3-day sample starts in the Gospels — short daily readings on what Jesus said and did, and what walking with him looks like on an ordinary day. No reading chart to fall behind on, just a few minutes each morning.
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Common Questions About the Books of the Bible
How many books are in the Bible, and why do some Bibles have more?
The Bible most English readers own, the Protestant Bible, has 66 books: 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. Catholic Bibles have 73, because they include seven more Old Testament books, among them Tobit, Judith, Wisdom and 1 and 2 Maccabees, along with longer versions of Esther and Daniel. Eastern Orthodox Bibles include a few more still. The difference goes back to which Jewish writings early Christians read in Greek translation versus the shorter Hebrew collection. On the New Testament there is no disagreement at all: every major Christian tradition has the same 27 books, from Matthew to Revelation. This quiz uses the 66-book Protestant order, which is the one printed in the King James Version and most modern English translations.
What are the sections of the Old and New Testament?
Christian Bibles group the 39 Old Testament books into five shelves. The Law is Genesis through Deuteronomy. The History books run from Joshua to Esther, twelve in all. The Poetry and Wisdom books are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon. The Major Prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel and Daniel, and the twelve Minor Prophets run from Hosea to Malachi. They are called minor only because they are shorter. The New Testament has its own shelves: four Gospels, the book of Acts, thirteen letters that open with Paul’s name, eight more letters from Hebrews to Jude, and Revelation at the end. Learning the shelves first makes the individual books far easier to place, which is why several questions in the quiz above ask about them.
What is the easiest way to memorize the books of the Bible in order?
Most people who know all 66 learned them in small groups, not as one long list. Start with the shelves, then learn each shelf as its own short run. Many children learn them by song, and there are well-known tunes for both testaments. Short memory hooks help with the tricky stretches: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians are often remembered as "General Electric Power Company." It also helps to notice landmarks, such as the four one-chapter books near the end of the New Testament, or Psalms sitting near the middle of the Bible. Then practice little and often. Playing a short round like the one above a few times a week, and reading the explanation after every answer, builds the order faster than rereading a table of contents.
Is this books of the Bible quiz good practice for Bible Quizzing or Sunday school?
Yes. It is built in study mode, so every question shows the reference or fact behind the answer as soon as you pick one, which makes it useful for quiz teams, Sunday school classes, homeschool lessons and family game nights. The bank covers the order of the books, the Old and New Testament sections, chapter counts, the one-chapter books, who each letter is addressed to, and which book you would open to find a well-known passage. Each round draws 15 questions at random from a bank of 40 and shuffles the answer choices, so a group can play several rounds without seeing the same set twice. It runs in any phone browser with nothing to download, and there is no account, so a leader can put it on a screen and let the room answer together.
How can I test how well I know the books of the Bible?
The quickest way is to play the quiz at the top of this page. It takes about five minutes, asks 15 questions about all 66 books, and gives you your score at the end along with a short passage to think about. A low score is completely normal the first time. Few people have ever been asked which book comes between Nahum and Zephaniah, or which book never uses the word God. Every explanation is written to teach, so your second round will almost always be better than your first. When you finish, you can share your score with a friend or a group chat and see who knows the shelf best. Scroll back up, press Start Quiz, and see how many of the 66 you can place.