How many books are in the Jewish Bible?

• A. 24
• B. 27
• C. 39
• D. 46

Answer: (A)

The number of books in the Jewish Bible is 24. This comes from how the Hebrew canon groups them: five books in the Torah, eight books in the Prophets (the Former Prophets—Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings—count as four, and the Latter Prophets plus The Twelve count as four more), and eleven books in the Writings (Psalms, Proverbs, Job, and the Five Scrolls—Ruth, Esther, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Lamentations—plus Daniel, Ezra–Nehemiah, and Chronicles). Because some books are combined (for example, Samuel and Kings are each a single book in the Hebrew Bible, and The Twelve is counted as one), the total adds up to 24. This differs from the Protestant Old Testament’s 39 books and the Catholic canon’s 46.