The five first books tell the story of the creation of the world and the nation that God chose for himself. They are called law books because they have the Mosaic laws, divided into two groups, the law of God (the ten commandments) and the disciplinary law given by Moses. The law books are:
Tells the story of Israel after the people settled in Canaan, the promised land. They are called historical books because a history of Israel can only be written starting from the time the people settled in Canaan. The historical books are:
These books speak about the greatness of God and the beauty of His creation. They also offer counsel on living a righteous life before God. They are classified as **Poetic** because they were written in verse rather than prose. The poetic books are:
In times of crisis, God sent His prophets to speak to the people. This is the theme of these books. The term 'major' refers to their length, not their importance. The books of the Major Prophets are:
The Minor Prophets are a collection of twelve short books, yet they are very important for understanding the history of Israel. These books contain prophecies addressed to specific situations in the life of Israel at a given historical moment, as well as prophecies directed against particular actions of a people who were enemies of Israel. The books of the Minor Prophets are: