According to the Declaration of Faith, how many books are in the Old Testament?

• A. Forty
• B. Thirty-nine
• C. Thirty-eight
• D. Thirty-seven

Answer: (B)

The number tested here reflects the standard Protestant canon, which the Declaration of Faith follows. The Old Testament is understood to contain thirty-nine books, divided into five parts: the Law (Genesis through Deuteronomy) with five books; History (Joshua through Esther) with twelve; Poetry and Wisdom (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs) with five; Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel) with five; and Minor Prophets (the Twelve, from Hosea to Malachi) with twelve. Adding these together gives 5 + 12 + 5 + 5 + 12 = 39. This differs from Catholic and Orthodox canons, which include additional books known as the deuterocanon.