Learn the Old Testament Books

Why bother? In a Bible study or listening to a preacher, You have have experienced the awkward situation of hearing a biblical reference cited (usually book, chapter, and verse, as in "Isaiah 53, eight"--book of Isaiah, chapter 53, verse 8) and not knowing where to find it in your Bible. Everyone else seems to turn to it instantly, while you fumble and stumble, searching back and forth from beginning to end. You might have the same difficulty when in reading, you come across a biblical reference, such as Isa. 53:8. Learning the books of the Bible in what is called "canonical order" will help you to turn to any passage quickly and easily. One way or another, you will have to memorize the books in order.

Singing is easier – Because rote memorization is so tedious, most of us avoid it if at all possible. Here is an easier way: you can sing the books of the Old Testament. Singing a catchy song is not nearly so tedious; in fact, it can be fun. I offer below two songs for learning the Old Testament. Both tunes should be familiar to you, but if not, links will acquaint you with the melodies.

• Books of the Old Testament by Division (Tune: "The More We Get Together" Sheet Music | Listen to Song).
  The main value of this song is learning that the divisions of the Old Testament are 5-12-5-5-12 (for the Law, History, Poetry, Major Prophets, and Minor Prophets).

Let us sing the Books of Moses, of Moses, of Moses,
Let us sing the Books of Moses, there are five of them all.
First Genesis, then Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers,
The last is Deuteronomy, the fifth of them all.

Let us sing the Books of History, of History, of History
Let us sing the Books of History, there are twelve of them all.
First Joshua, then Judges, and then there's Ruth,
First and Second Samuel, and First and Second Kings
Then First and Second Chronicles, then Ezra and Nehemiah,
The last is Esther, the twelfth of them all.

Let us sing the Books of Poetry, of Poetry, of Poetry,
Let us sing the Books of Poetry, there are five of them all.
First Job, then Psalms, and Proverbs, too,
Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.

Let us sing the Major Prophets, Major Prophets, Major Prophets
Let us sing the Major Prophets, there are five of them all.
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel,
The last is Daniel, the fifth of them all.

Let us sing the Minor Prophets, Minor Prophets, Minor Prophets,
Let us sing the Minor Prophets, there are twelve of them all.
Hosea, then Joel, and Amos, and Obadiah,
Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk,
Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.
There are 39 books in the Old Testament.

• Faster Books of the Old Testament Song (Tune: "Sink the Bismark" - Listen to Song)
  You will notice that most lines have four books (three have five). To make it fit, I used the alternate name "Song of Songs" for what is more generally known as "Song of Solomon." Enjoy!

  Genesis, then Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers
  Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, and Ruth.
  First and Second Samuel, then First and Second Kings,
  First and Second Chronicles, and Ezra, Nehemiah.

  Esther, Job, then Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes too,
  Song of Songs, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations,
  Ezekiel, and Daniel, Hosea, Joel, and Amos,
  Obadiah,Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk,
  (repeat last two bars of tune):
  Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.

• Even Faster Books of the Old Testament Song (Tune: "Ten Little Indians" – Listen to song)

  Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
  Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth,
  First and Second Samuel, First and Second Kings,
  First and Second Chronicles.

  Oh! Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job,
  Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes,
  Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah,
  Lamentations.

  Oh! Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel,
  Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah,
  Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah,
  Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

If you have other tunes for the Old Testament books, please let me know. Once you know the Old Testament books, you should go ahead and learn the song for the books of the New Testament as well.