Evolve to Survive: Reshuffle Information: exchange and alter information to create new options
There are 66 books in the Bible, 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. They were reshuffled and not arranged in chronological order (which would have been helpful to know when I was just beginning to read the Bible). Actually, the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy are in chronological order and are considered the Books of the Law. From there it feels like the names of the books were each written on a piece of papyrus, placed in a jar of clay, and then individually retrieved to determine the order. As far as I know that did not happen because they are actually organized in literary genres! The following groupings are from Bible Study Tools and (in parentheses, from an unknown source that I used to mark up my Bible’s book listings; I just know it wasn’t my brilliance that came up with the groupings).
Old Testament
Books of law: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
Books of history (Old Testament Narratives): Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
Books of poetry (Wisdom): Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon
Major prophets (prophecy): Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel (apocalyptic prophecy)
Minor prophets (prophecy): Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
New Testament
History of the life of Jesus (New Testament Narratives): Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
Church history (New Testament Narrative): Acts of the Apostles
Paul’s letters (Epistles by Paul) to the churches: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians
Paul’s letters to individual people (Epistles by Paul): 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon
Letters by others (Gentile Epistles): Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation (apocalyptic prophecy)
Why was the Bible compiled in literary genres versus chronological? I do not know. It’s like asking why some books were included in the Bible and some not. Perhaps inspiration from God or perhaps it was like a Fantasy Baseball draft? For my brain, I just like knowing that the Bible is not in chronological order and that there are literary genres that I need to pay attention to when reading. There are Bibles compiled in chronological order (all aptly named Chronological) so whichever way you think the Bible should have been compiled for your brain (which is obviously chronological) you can reshuffle the books in the order you prefer. Go crazy. Maybe you start with the New Testament and then read the Old Testament. Or read the women named books first (that would be short). Or the prophecies or apocalyptic prophecies. Reshuffle as much as you like, especially if it’s not your first time to read the Bible. I don’t believe God will care which order you read the books just as long as you are reading. Especially knowing this statistic from Barna, “In January 2020, we estimated that Bible Users—defined as individuals who read, listen to, or pray with the Bible on their own at least three or four times a year outside of a church service or church event—had reached a 10-year nadir, registering only 48 percent of Americans.”
Reading through the Bible is not a one time event. We have to keep training. Reshuffling is a great option because revelation happens. I do not know how many times I have read Exodus throughout the years, but this time I sat with the fact that Moses had to have a second set of Ten Commandments made because in a tantrum he broke the first set. (See Exodus 20 and 34.) Reshuffling creates epiphanies.