Understanding the Bible can be daunting. We often look up books of the Bible from the Table of Contents, but may not understand how those books fit into the bigger story of the Bible. Well, this is the place for you!

But what if you could get a layout of how the books of the Bible line up with the full story of the Bible? It would be key to understanding the Context, History, and Authors of the passages you’re reading!

The Bible is divided into two main parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament. In simple terms the, the Old Testament tells the story of God’s people, Israel, leading up to Jesus Christ. And the New Testament tells of Jesus’ life and ministry and the early church.

Within the two main sections, the Old and New Testaments, we find four subcategories within each. Take a look…

Layout of the Old Testament

The first section is the Old Testament (consists of 39 books) and is a story of God’s creation of mankind, mankind’s fall away from God, and God’s ultimate desire and rescue plan for humanity. It can be broken into four categories:

• The Law (also known as the Pentateuch or Torah)

• History

• Wisdom (includes poetry and praise)

• Major and Minor Prophets

Layout of the New Testament

The second section is the New Testament (consists of 27 books) and is the story of God’s redemption plan for humanity through Jesus. It can be broken into four categories:

• Gospels

• Early Church History

• Letters to the Early Church

• Prophecy (Apocalyptic)

Interested in learning more about the layout of the Bible? Check out this article, and download the Layout of the Bible Printable for easy reference as you dive into God’s Word!