How Many Books Are in the Bible?

The Short Answer: It Depends on the Canon

If you ask, “How many books are in the Bible?”, you will hear several different numbers. That is not because people cannot count. It is because “the Bible” is not a single universal list in every tradition. The official list of books a community recognizes as Scripture is called the canon, and different communities have different canons.

So the real question becomes: Which Bible are we talking about? A Protestant Bible, a Catholic Bible, an Orthodox Bible, or the Jewish Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) will not always contain the exact same set of books, and they may organize them differently.

Common Book Counts (and What They Mean)

Here are the most common counts you will encounter:

• Protestant Bibles: 66 books (39 Old Testament + 27 New Testament).
• Catholic Bibles: 73 books (they include additional Old Testament books often called the deuterocanonical books).
• Eastern Orthodox traditions: often around 76–81 books, depending on the church and its received tradition.
• Jewish Tanakh: 24 books (no New Testament), corresponding in content to the Christian Old Testament in many cases, but counted and arranged differently.

Notice that these numbers are not only about “adding” or “removing.” Sometimes they reflect how books are grouped and how the collection is organized.

Why the Tanakh Has 24 While the Old Testament Is Often Counted as 39

This difference is mostly a matter of counting and grouping, not a completely different set of stories. The Jewish Tanakh arranges the Hebrew Scriptures into three sections: Torah (Law), Prophets, and Writings. In that system, several writings that many Christian Bibles count as separate books are counted as one unit.

For example, the “Twelve Minor Prophets” (Hosea through Malachi) are traditionally treated as a single combined book in the Hebrew Bible. Likewise, books that appear split into two volumes in many Christian editions (such as 1–2 Samuel, 1–2 Kings, and 1–2 Chronicles) can be treated differently in ancient counting traditions. The content is largely the same, but the filing system is not.

What Are the Deuterocanonical Books?

The largest difference between many Protestant and Catholic Bibles appears in the Old Testament. Catholic Bibles include seven books that are not part of the canon in most Protestant Bibles: Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Baruch, and 1–2 Maccabees (plus additional sections in Esther and Daniel in many Catholic editions).

In Catholic tradition these are called deuterocanonical, meaning they were recognized as canonical in a “second” stage of reception, compared with books that were more universally acknowledged earlier in the West. In many Protestant traditions, these writings are placed in a separate section titled “Apocrypha” (especially in older printings) or omitted entirely from standard editions.

It is important to understand what this means in practice: a Protestant reader may never encounter the story of the Maccabean revolt in their Bible, while a Catholic reader may hear it read in worship and cite it as Scripture.

Why Some Orthodox Bibles Have More Books

Eastern Orthodox traditions often draw strongly on the Greek-speaking Christian world, where the Septuagint (a Greek translation of Jewish Scriptures produced before the time of Jesus) played a major role. The boundaries of the Old Testament collection in Greek usage were not identical everywhere, and some churches received additional writings as part of their liturgical and canonical life.

That is why the exact number can vary across Orthodox churches (Greek, Russian, Ethiopian, and others). The key point is that Orthodox canons reflect the history of what was read, prayed, and treated as authoritative in those communities.

The New Testament: Usually 27 Books

Across Catholic, Protestant, and most Orthodox traditions, the New Testament is generally a stable collection of 27 books: four Gospels, Acts, letters (Pauline and general), and Revelation. Judaism does not include the New Testament at all because it does not recognize those writings as Scripture.

So Who Decided the Canon?

Canon formation was not a single meeting where someone “invented the Bible.” It was a long historical process. Communities read certain writings in worship, copied them, taught from them, and treated them as authoritative. Over time, lists became more explicit, debates were resolved in different ways, and official recognition solidified.

Because Judaism and Christianity developed in different directions (and because Christianity itself has multiple traditions), it is normal that different canons exist. Understanding the canon is not merely a trivia answer; it is a doorway into the history of how sacred texts are recognized, preserved, and used.

Why This Question Matters

Knowing the canon helps you read more intelligently. It explains why a friend might quote Wisdom or 2 Maccabees while you cannot find it in your Bible. It also clarifies why book order differs, why some editions include an “Apocrypha” section, and why certain stories or phrases are common in one tradition and rare in another.

In short: the Bible has a core shared story across traditions, but the exact table of contents depends on the community and its received canon.