Can You Name the First 5 Books of the Bible?

Genesis, Exodus, What Comes Next

Genesis, Exodus. What comes next? Take a second. If you're drawing a blank, stay with me. Today we're learning the names of the first five books of the Bible in order with one sentence you can picture. It involves a goat with some very specific food preferences.

Welcome And The 39-Book Plan

Well, welcome everyone. I'm your host, Jacqui Adewole, and this is the Bible Basics Podcast, where we break down the basics of the Bible into understandable bite-sized chunks. So this is a special five-part series. Our goal is to learn the names of all 39 books of the Old Testament in order. We'll take them one group at a time. Five short episodes, five groups. Each episode covers one group of books, and each group gets its own memory cue. Some of the cues are a little silly, and that's on purpose. Silly sticks. By the fifth episode, you'll have a memory cue for every book of the Old Testament. And we'll practice them all 39 together. And yes, one of the cues involves Christmas, but you'll have to wait for that one.

The Desk-Drum Number Pattern

Before we learn any names, I want to tell you about this Bible teacher I had. Some of you may have heard me talk about him before. He would drill us on the books of the Bible. And before we learned a single name, he started with the numbers. He'd beat on his desk and say them in rhythm, like this. 5, 12, 5, 5, 12, 5, 12, 5, 5, 12. And we'd have to join in. Then at random times during class, he'd do it again. No warning, just the desk and these numbers. So let's do it. Tap on your steering wheel, your desk, your knee, whatever you have. Five, twelve, five, five, twelve. One more time. Five, twelve, five, five, twelve.

The Old Testament’s Five Groups

These numbers are the shape of the Old Testament, and they tell you how many books in each one of the five groups. So in the first group, there are five books that tell us how it all began. The next twelve are history. The next five are poetry and wisdom. And the last two groups are the prophets. These are the messengers God sent to speak to his people. Five grouped as the major prophets, then twelve called the minor prophets. So knowing the group that a particular book is in gives us a starting point even before you read. Today we'll start at the very beginning.

The Pentateuch And Its Names

You might hear these first five books called the law or the books of Moses. You might also hear the word Pentateuch. It's a Greek word that means five books. And these books are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. So here's the cue.

Goats Eat Lettuce Not Donuts

Goats eat lettuce, not donuts. Goats for Genesis. Eat for Exodus. Lettuce, that's for Leviticus. Not, that's for numbers, and donuts, that's for Deuteronomy. Goats eat lettuce, not donuts. Quick check. What comes after Exodus? Leviticus, because of lettuce. Now say all five with me: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Now, when someone says, turn to the book of Numbers, you'll know that's the fourth book, right? So for today, just say those five names, those five books out loud, just a few times a day. And if you need to, check them in your Bible's table of contents or Google. And just check them, look

Practice Tips And Next Episode Tease

away, and say it again. So here's one thing to think about of these five. Which one would you actually like to read first? So let's go back to where we started: Genesis, Exodus, what comes next? Remember, lettuce not donuts, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Now you know. Tomorrow we'll take on the history books, 12 of them. And one of them is the book of Ruth, which we've been talking about recently. Until then, keep reading, keep seeking, and keep growing in your faith.