How many books are in the first division of the bible?

Answer 1

In the King James Version of the Holy Bible there are 66 books. There are 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament. This will be the same for the NIV, ASV, NASB, NKJV, etc....

The Catholic Bible contains the Apocrypha and other texts.

The Mormon Bible and Jehovah's Witness Bible [may] differ from both of these as the scriptures are not the same and revisions have been made which are not consistent with either the Catholic version or the KJV, NIV, NASB, ASV, NKJV, etc...

The Bible was put together over the early portion of the development of the Catholicos (Universal) church. Books had to be consistent with each other, support each other, as well as a whole host of other very specific requirements which were developed by God fearing, influenced men, seeking to do the will of God.

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Catholic AnswerThe Old Testament consists of 46 books. It can be viewed several different ways:

1. Jesus referred to it as "The Law and the Prophets".

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2. Classically it is divided into:

a. The Pentateuch (The Law) (5 books)

b. The Historical Books

c. The Wisdom Books

d. The Prophets

from The Catholic Encyclopedia:

The canon of the Old Testament in the Catholic Church

The most explicit definition of the Catholic Canon is that given by the Council of Trent, Session IV, 1546. For the Old Testament its catalogue reads as follows:

　

The five books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), Josue, Judges, Ruth, the four books of Kings, two of Paralipomenon, the first and second of Esdras (which latter is called Nehemias), Tobias, Judith, Esther, Job, the Davidic Psalter (in number one hundred and fifty Psalms), Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Canticle of Canticles, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Isaias, Jeremias, with Baruch, Ezechiel, Daniel, the twelve minor Prophets (Osee, Joel, Amos, Abdias, Jonas, Micheas, Nahum, Habacuc, Sophonias, Aggeus, Zacharias, Malachias), two books of Machabees, the first and second.

The order of books copies that of the Council of Florence, 1442, and in its general plan is that of the Septuagint. The divergence of titles from those found in the Protestant versions is due to the fact that the official Latin Vulgate retained the forms of the Septuagint.