Where Are Psalms and Proverbs in the Bible?

Poetry Hidden In Plain Sight

Did you know your Bible has love poetry? It has songs of celebration, prayers from people in pain, and questions about whether all our hard work is getting us anywhere. Today we're learning where to find those books. And a pet parrot is going to help us remember their order. 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.

The 5 12 5 5 12 Framework

This is part three of our five-part series on learning the names of the Old Testament books in order. If this is your first one, you're fine. Listen along. We'll do a quick review, and you can go back to the earlier episodes whenever you can. Now, like I've been telling you every time, I had this old Bible. He wasn't, well, he was old. Well, no, he wasn't. I had a Bible teacher. He used to beat on his desk and drill us on five numbers. These were um these five numbers represented the five groups of books in the Old Testament and how many books are in each of them. So what did we do is say five, twelve, five, five, twelve, five, twelve, five, five, twelve. Say it with me. Five twelve five five twelve. So we've done that first five, and we did that first twelve. Today we're focusing on the next five. Five, twelve, five. That one.

Review Books of Law and History Books

First, we'll do a quick review of everything so far. I'll give you the cue and then you try the names, and then I'll say them. The first cue is goats eat lettuce, not donuts. Right. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Okay, the next cue related to a bread contest. Joshua judges Ruth. Right, that's the easy one. Joshua judges Ruth. The next cue is Samuel crowns the kings. Yes. First and second Samuel, first and second Kings, first and second chronicles. Now, Nehemiah in a sandwich, E-N-E. Right, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. Great job.

Books of Poetry and Wisdom

So now today's group of five contains Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. And some books, some Bibles call that last one Song of Solomon. It's the same book. Job, the first one, is the story of a man who loses almost everything and wrestles with why. Psalms is a whole book of songs and prayers. Proverbs is full of short wise sayings for everyday life. Ecclesiastes asks big questions about what life means. And Song of Songs is a love poem. So here's the

Job’s Pet Parrot Memory Trick

cue. Job's pet parrot eats seeds. Got it? Job's, that's for Job. Pet, that's for the book of Psalms. Parrot, that's Proverbs. Eats, that's Ecclesiastes, and Seeds, that's Song of Songs. So they have two P's in a row. Psalms is the giant book, so it goes first and then Proverbs. So Job's pet parrot eats seeds. Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon. Quick check. Which comes first? Psalms or Proverbs? Right, Psalms, the giant book goes first. So say all five with me. Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon.

Why These Books Fit Real Life

And side note, quick tip for finding your place in the Bible. If you open it right in the middle, most of the time you'll land somewhere in that big book called Psalms. So why is this important? Well, these five books give words to almost everything people feel: grief, joy, doubt, love, questions with no easy answers. So when you're struggling with any of these emotions or feeling full of these emotions, go to these five books and you'll find words, you'll find someone expressing exactly what you're feeling.

Review Drill And What’s Next

So for today, review everything we've covered so far. The first five, the next twelve, and add these five. Say them out loud, check them in the table of contents, then look away and say them again. Okay? So first let's do a quick desk check. Five, twelve, five, five, twelve with me. Five, twelve, five, five, twelve. So we've covered three groups already. We have two more to go. Tomorrow we'll meet the prophets and a guy named Ed. Until then, keep reading, keep seeking, and keep growing in your faith.