Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is the Holy Scriptures for Jews. It may be divided into three sections: Torah [תּוֹרָה], Nevi'im [נְבִיאִים], and Ketuvim [כְּתוּבִים]. These are sometimes called Law, Prophets, and Writings. This corresponds to the Protestant Old Testament.
- Torah [תּוֹרָה] (Law): Genesis or Bereshit [בְּרֵאשִׁית], Exodus or Shemot [שִׁמוֹת], Leviticus or Vayikra [ויקרא], Numbers or Bamidbar [במדבר], Deuteronomy or Devarim [דברים].
- Nevi'im [נְבִיאִים] (Prophets): Former Prophets Joshua or Yehoshua [יהושע], Judges or Shoftim [שופטים], Books of Samuel or Shmu'el [שמואל], Books of Kings or Melakhim [מלכים]. Later Prophets Isaiah or Yeshayahu [ישעיהו], Jeremiah or Yirmiyahu [ירמיהו], Ezekiel or Yehezq'el [יחזקאל], The Book of the Twelve or Trei Asar [תרי עשר]: Hosea or Hoshea [הושע], Joel or Yo'el [יואל], Amos [עמוס], Obadiah or Ovadyah [עובדיה], Jonah or Yonah [יונה], Micah or Mikhah [מיכה], Nahum or Nachum [נחום], Habakkuk or Habaquq [חבקוק], Zephaniah or Tsefania [צפניה], Haggai [חגי], Zechariah or Zekharia [זכריה], Malachi or Malakhi [מלאכי].
- Ketuvim [כְּתוּבִים] (Writings): Psalms or Tehillim [תהלים], Proverbs or Mishlei [משלי], Job or `Iyyov [איוב], The Five Scrolls: Song of Songs or Song of Solomon or Shir ha-Shirim [שיר השירים], Ruth [רות], Lamentations or Eikhah [איכה], Ecclesiastes or Kohelet [קהלת], Esther [אסתר], Daniel [דניאל], Ezra (Book of Ezra and Book of Nehemiah) [עזרא], Books of Chronicles or Divrei ha-Yamim [דברי הימים].
Catholic Bible
The Catholic Bible is divided into two sections: the Old Testament containing Jewish writings and the New Testament containing writings by the first disciples of Jesus.
Old Testament
The Old Testament is divided into four sections: Pentateuch, Historical Books, Wisdom Books, and Prophets.
- Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
- Historical Books: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra & Nehemiah (sometimes called 1 & 2 Esdras), Tobit, Judith, Esther (includes Additions to Esther), 1 & 2 Maccabees
- Wisdom Books: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Song of Solomon), Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach (also called Ecclesiasticus)
- Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Baruch (includes Letter of Jeremiah), Ezekiel, Daniel (includes Susanna & Bel and the Dragon), Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
The Roman Catholic Church consisders the books of Tobit, Judith, the Additions to Esther, 1 & 2 Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach (also called Ecclesiasticus), Baruch (including the Letter of Jeremiah) and the additions to Daniel (Susanna and Bel and the Dragon) as deuterocanonical. They are found in the Septuagint which was the Scriptures for the early church but are not part of the Hebrew Bible.
New Testament
The New Testament is divided into four sections: Gospels, History, Epistles, and Prophecy or Apocalyptic Writings.
- Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
- History: Acts of the Apostles
- Epistles:
- Letters of Saint Paul: Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, (some include Hebrews in this group)
- Letters to all Christians: Hebrews (some include Hebrews with the Letter of St. Paul), James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2, 3 John, Jude
- Apocalypse: Revelation
Protestant Bible
During the Protestant Reformation, the followers of Martin Luther (and other reformers) rejected the Deuterocanonical books from the Catholic Old Testament. This means that the contents of the Protestant Old Testament are the same as the Hebrew Bible but arranged in a different order. The Protestant Old Testament is divided into four sections: Pentateuch, Historical Books, Wisdom Books, and Prophets.
Old Testament
- Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
- Historical Books: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
- Wisdom Books: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Song of Solomon)
- Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
New Testament
The Protestant New Testament contains the same books as the Catholic New Testament in the same order. It is divided into four sections: Gospels, History, Epistles, and Prophecy or Apocalyptic Writings.
- Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
- History: Acts of the Apostles
- Epistles:
- Letters of Saint Paul: Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, (some include Hebrews in this group)
- Letters to all Christians: Hebrews (some include Hebrews with the Letter of St. Paul), James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2, 3 John, Jude
- Apocalypse: Revelation
Protestant Apocrypha
The Apocrypha found in most Protestant Bibles consists of those books accepted by the Catholic Church as Deuterocanonical but rejected by Protestant Churches. It usually also includes some books accepted by various Orthodox Churches and included as an appendix to the Old Testament by the Catholic Church.
Many Protestant Bibles omit the Apocrypha completely. Others include only those books considered Deuterocanonial by the Catholic Church. Others include 1 & 2 Esdras, which is included as an appendix to the Catholic Bible but is not considered canonical, and the Prayer of Manasses which is also not considered canonical by the Catholic Church. The New Revised Standard Version is one of the few translations to include all of these books.
- Deuterocanonical:Tobit, Judith, Additions to Esther, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach (also called Ecclesiasticus), Baruch (includes Letter of Jeremiah), Additions to Daniel (includes Susanna & Bel and the Dragon), 1 & 2 Maccabees
- Included as an Appendix to the Catholic Bible: 1 Esdras (called 2 Esdras in Slavonic and 3 Esdras in Appendix to Vulgate), 2 Esdras (called 3 Esdras in Slavonic and 4 Esdras in the Appendix to Vulgate), Prayer of Manasses
- Included in Greek Orthodox Bibles: Psalm 151, following Psalm 150, 3 Maccabees
- Included as an appendix to Greek Orthodox Bibles: 4 Maccabees
