The Tanakh, in the standard Jewish canon, contains 24 books.

Quick Scoop

  • The Tanakh is the Hebrew Bible used in Judaism, divided into three main sections: Torah , Nevi’im , and Ketuvim.
  • These three sections together are counted as 24 distinct books in traditional Jewish enumeration.
  • The number 24 comes from combining books that many Christian Bibles separate, such as Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra–Nehemiah, and the Twelve Minor Prophets each being counted as one book.

Some historical Jewish sources and later writers mention an older way of grouping them as 22 books, but the widely accepted Jewish count today is 24.

TL;DR: When people ask “how many books are in the Tanakh?” the standard Jewish answer is 24 books.

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