It’s nice to have the book order memorized, but it’s far more useful to know what’s in the books. So here’s a brief summary of each book of the Old Testament.
Books of Moses.
GENESIS. These are the formation stories of the earth and the Hebrew people.
Creation. - Adam and Eve and humanity’s fall.
- Noah ben Lamech, and humanity wiped out by floods.
- Babel, and humanity’s scattering.
- Avram ben Terah, or Abraham the Hebrew; his relationship with God, and his relocation to Canaan.
- Jacob ben Isaac, or Israel; his relationship with God, and the creation of his large family—the ancestors of
the 13 tribes. - Joseph ben Jacob, or as the Egyptians called him, Chafnat-pahaneakh; how he went from slavery to become Egypt’s vizier, and his brothers’ relocation to Egypt.
EXODUS. Primarily it’s about
the Exodus —how the Hebrew descendants of Israel became a nation, became enslaved by Egypt, and had to be saved by the LORD himself. It tells how the LORD did that, through 10 plagues of judgment upon Egypt. It introduces his prophet Moses ben Amram,his Law, and his instructions for the tabernacle (which’d be replaced four centuries later by the temple). LEVITICUS. Largely consisting of commands, Leviticus mostly focuses on how the L
ORD wanted his priests to perform his ritual sacrifices, and his definitions ofritual cleanliness. He wanted Israelto be holy; these were the steps they had to take.NUMBERS. What happened to the Israelis (
KJV “Israelites”) after the LORD handed down his commands at Mt. Sinai: Wandering though the wilderness, grumbling all the way; failing to enter Canaan, so wandering through the desert some more; rebellions from certain malcontents, and opposition from other Hebrew nations. Various new commands were added by the LORD as needed.DEUTERONOMY. Right before the Hebrews entered Canaan, Moses gave a book-long speech to the new generation of Israelis, reminding them of the Law and informing them what they were in for. (And foretelling how they’d repetitively go through
a cycle of repentance. )