How to remember the books of the Bible in order

By the Without Notes teamLast checked 2 November 2026

The Protestant Bible has 66 books: 39 in the Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi, and 27 in the New Testament, from Matthew to Revelation. This page follows the order in most Protestant Bibles. Catholic and Orthodox Bibles include more books, and the Hebrew Bible has the same books as the Protestant Old Testament, counted as 24 and in a different order. Learn them ten at a time: the first ten on your body from your feet up, then each ten after that on a place you know well. A scene from the book itself works best: Ruth gathering barley around your neck, or a crown on your head for 2 Samuel, when David becomes king.

1 to 10, on your body
  1. GENESISFeet
  2. EXODUSKnees
  3. LEVITICUSThighs
  4. NUMBERSHips
  5. DEUTERONOMYStomach
  6. JOSHUAChest
  7. JUDGESShoulders
  8. RUTHNeck
  9. 1 SAMUELFace
  10. 2 SAMUELTop of head
11 to 20, on a second place you know
  1. 1 KINGSStop 1
  2. 2 KINGSStop 2
  3. 1 CHRONICLESStop 3
  4. 2 CHRONICLESStop 4
  5. EZRAStop 5
  6. NEHEMIAHStop 6
  7. ESTHERStop 7
  8. JOBStop 8
  9. PSALMSStop 9
  10. PROVERBSStop 10
21 to 30, on a third place you know
  1. ECCLESIASTESStop 1
  2. SONG OF SONGSAlso called the Song of SolomonStop 2
  3. ISAIAHStop 3
  4. JEREMIAHStop 4
  5. LAMENTATIONSStop 5
  6. EZEKIELStop 6
  7. DANIELStop 7
  8. HOSEAStop 8
  9. JOELStop 9
  10. AMOSStop 10
31 to 40, on a fourth place you know
  1. OBADIAHStop 1
  2. JONAHStop 2
  3. MICAHStop 3
  4. NAHUMStop 4
  5. HABAKKUKStop 5
  6. ZEPHANIAHStop 6
  7. HAGGAIStop 7
  8. ZECHARIAHStop 8
  9. MALACHIThe last book of the Old TestamentStop 9
  10. MATTHEWThe first book of the New TestamentStop 10
41 to 50, on a fifth place you know
  1. MARKStop 1
  2. LUKEStop 2
  3. JOHNStop 3
  4. ACTSStop 4
  5. ROMANSStop 5
  6. 1 CORINTHIANSStop 6
  7. 2 CORINTHIANSStop 7
  8. GALATIANSStop 8
  9. EPHESIANSStop 9
  10. PHILIPPIANSStop 10
51 to 60, on a sixth place you know
  1. COLOSSIANSStop 1
  2. 1 THESSALONIANSStop 2
  3. 2 THESSALONIANSStop 3
  4. 1 TIMOTHYStop 4
  5. 2 TIMOTHYStop 5
  6. TITUSStop 6
  7. PHILEMONStop 7
  8. HEBREWSStop 8
  9. JAMESStop 9
  10. 1 PETERStop 10
61 to 66, on a seventh place you know
  1. 2 PETERStop 1
  2. 1 JOHNStop 2
  3. 2 JOHNStop 3
  4. 3 JOHNStop 4
  5. JUDEStop 5
  6. REVELATIONStop 6

Try it: the first ten on your body

Ten words, one at a time, each on a part of your body: feet, knees, thighs, hips, stomach, chest, shoulders, neck, face, the top of your head. For each, type what the word does to that part, in a few words; the first two come with a scene to start you off. Up to 15 seconds a word. Then look away for 15 seconds, and walk up your body from your feet to get them back.

Where does the order slip?

1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles come in pairs, and each book of a pair gets its own spot. The twelve Minor Prophets, Hosea to Malachi (28 to 39), are short books with similar names in a long run, so give each one its own scene, such as a great fish for Jonah. In the New Testament, Paul’s letters to churches come before his letters to people: Romans to 2 Thessalonians, then 1 Timothy to Philemon. Catholic Bibles have 73 books: they add Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach and Baruch, and longer versions of Esther and Daniel, and their New Testament is the same 27 books in the same order. Orthodox Bibles add more again, and the number varies from church to church.

How do you learn more than ten?

Your body holds ten. For 11 onwards, take a place you know well, such as your home, and choose ten stops in the order you walk through it, starting at the front door. Each place holds ten, and it joins on after the top of your head, so the walk runs on from 10 to 11 without a break.

Learn ten at a time, and walk the earlier tens again from memory before you add the next.

How do you keep it?

Walk up your body again tomorrow and a few days later, and say each item before you look. Recalling something before you look at it again is one of the best-supported ways to learn. If an item doesn’t come back, give it a new scene in the same spot.

In a 2022 study, ten parts of the body, typed from feet to head, worked as well as a classical memory palace for recalling a list in order. There’s more in how to memorize a list in order and the body method.

Keep this list with Without Notes

After the free first lesson, paste this list into Without Notes. It puts the items on your places in order, you write each scene, and it checks you at 1, 7 and 30 days, unaided.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia: Books of the Bible
  2. Wikipedia: Biblical canon
  3. Kluger et al. 2022, Memory: ten body parts against a classical memory palace
  4. Yang et al. 2021, Psychological Bulletin: recall practice in 222 classroom studies

Without Notes is a study tool. It does not diagnose or treat memory problems. If you’ve noticed changes in your memory that worry you, please talk to a doctor first.