how many books are there in the bible

There isn’t just one answer; it depends which “Bible” tradition you mean.

Short answer

• Most Protestant Christian Bibles: 66 books (39 Old Testament, 27 New Testament).

• Roman Catholic Bibles: 73 books.

• Many Eastern Orthodox Bibles: about 79–81 books (exact count varies by church).

• Hebrew Bible (Jewish Tanakh): 24 books (same basic content as the Protestant Old Testament, but grouped differently).

Quick Scoop: Why the numbers differ

Different communities drew their official list of “scripture” (canon) slightly differently, especially around a group of texts often called the Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical books.

• Protestants: exclude these books, giving 66.

• Catholics: include 7 additional Old Testament books (like Tobit, Judith, 1–2 Maccabees), giving 73.

• Orthodox churches: often include even more texts (for example, 3 Maccabees, Psalm 151, etc.), so their total runs to roughly 79–81.

• Jewish canon: counts 24 books by combining some books Protestants split (e.g., Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles each counted as one book instead of two).

A simple example: in a Protestant Bible, 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel are two books; in the Hebrew Bible they are just one, which helps explain why the numbers differ even with essentially the same content.

Forum-style perspective and “trending” angle

In online discussions, you’ll see people say “66 books, period”—they are usually speaking from a Protestant standpoint without realizing that Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and Jews use slightly different collections.

You’ll also see more historically focused threads where people point out that:

• The Ethiopian Orthodox tradition preserves one of the largest canons, with about 81–84 books , depending on how certain texts are counted.

• If you add up every book used in the various Jewish and Christian canons across history, scholars can list around 100 distinct biblical or biblical-adjacent books , far beyond the 66 many English readers are used to.

In many forum debates, the real disagreement isn’t about arithmetic; it’s about which community’s canon someone is assuming as the default.

Mini sections and key facts

1. Standard Protestant Bible

• Total: 66 books.

• Old Testament: 39 books.
• New Testament: 27 books.
• Very common in English-speaking churches and most “standard” Bible apps.

2. Catholic Bible

• Total: 73 books.

• Same 27-book New Testament as Protestants.
• Old Testament includes 7 additional Deuterocanonical books (for example Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, 1–2 Maccabees), plus some additions to books like Daniel and Esther.

3. Eastern Orthodox and Ethiopian traditions

• Greek / Russian Orthodox: around 75–79+ books, depending on how each church counts certain texts.

• Ethiopian Orthodox: about 81–84, one of the largest recognized Christian canons.

4. Jewish Hebrew Bible (Tanakh)

• Total: 24 books.

• Content broadly corresponds to the Protestant Old Testament but with different grouping and order.
• Example: The Twelve “Minor Prophets” are one book, and Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles are each single books.

Simple HTML table of major canons

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Tradition</th>
      <th>Total books</th>
      <th>Notes</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Protestant Christian Bible</td>
      <td>66</td>
      <td>39 Old Testament, 27 New Testament; excludes Deuterocanonical books.[web:1][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Roman Catholic Bible</td>
      <td>73</td>
      <td>Same New Testament as Protestants; Old Testament includes 7 Deuterocanonical books.[web:1][web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Eastern Orthodox Bibles</td>
      <td>≈79–81</td>
      <td>Includes additional Old Testament writings (e.g., extra Maccabees); exact number varies.[web:1][web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Ethiopian Orthodox Bible</td>
      <td>≈81–84</td>
      <td>One of the largest canons; includes several unique books.[web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Hebrew Bible (Tanakh)</td>
      <td>24</td>
      <td>Same core text as Protestant Old Testament but counted and arranged differently.[web:1]</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

TL;DR

If someone asks, “How many books are there in the Bible?” and does not specify a tradition, the most common quick answer in English contexts is 66.

If you want to be precise, you’d say: “It depends on the tradition: 66 (Protestant), 73 (Catholic), about 79–81 (Orthodox), and 24 in the Jewish Hebrew Bible.”

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.