Did you know that the 66 books of the Bible aren’t in perfect chronological order. Yes, overall the Bible is in “order” starting with the beginning in Genesis and ending in Revelation. But throughout it’s organized first by genre or type of literature and then chronologically (more or less). 

For instance, the Bible is divided into two main parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament and then categorized into four subcategories or genres within each (e.g. History, Wisdom, Prophecy). See here to learn more about the Layout of the Bible.

It can be confusing when we don’t realize that books can overlap each other and can often cover the same time period from different perspectives. For example, the book of Psalms, which are collected and grouped in the center of the Bible, actually spans almost the entire Old Testament (see chart below). 

Understanding the layout of the Bible and the order of when events took place, helps you understand the Bible better. You get a clearer picture of what was happening in HISTORY during that time, or what the AUTHOR experienced that may have impacted what or how they wrote.

If you are interested in reading the Bible in chronological order, there are reading plans available on the YouVersion Bible App or we feature a physical copy of a chronological Bible on our Recommended Resources page.

To help give you clarity on when the books of the Bible took place, we’ve provided some handy chronological timeline charts for your reference. You can also download printables of these charts in our Chara Shop.

OLD TESTAMENT BOOKS CHRONOLOGICALLY

NEW TESTAMENT BOOKS CHRONOLOGICALLY

*All dates are approximate and intended to show when the events in the book take place, not when the books were written.