Bible Book OrderSitemap
The following articles are found on this website.
Using Scripture to Order the Books of the Bible
This website defines a new book order for the Bible based on the book of Isaiah. By matching each book of the Bible to a chapter in Isaiah God's intended book order emerges. We refer to this book order as "the Bible's Book Order" or "Isaiah's Book Order."
Discovery Story
The idea that Isaiah is the key for properly ordering the books of the Bible took some time to realize. The first time I thought to match the chapters of Isaiah with the books of the Bible I assumed the traditional book order. In fact, the concept of book order wasn't even on my radar screen in those days.
Book-ends
Book-ends are those funny things that hold books upright on the shelf. They frame a series of books and keep them from falling over. When the books of the Bible are ordered based on Isaiah, book-ends appear around the Bible, the Testaments and the Gospels.
Comparison of Book Orders
We've reordered the books of the Bible by matching them to chapters in the book of Isaiah. The resulting book order (which we like calling Isaiah's book order) is quite different from the traditional book order everyone learned in Sunday school (or college). So I've created a table to show the similarities and differences.
Introduction to Isaiah's Book Order
Every book in the Bible uniquely matches a chapter in the book of Isaiah. The rest of this page offers a sampling of those matches with brief explanation so you can see how this idea works.
Table of Matches
The following table shows the matches between the chapters of Isaiah and the books of the Bible.
Isaiah 1 Genesis
The following is a map between Isaiah chapter 1 and Genesis chapters 1-4.
Isaiah 2 Exodus
The following is a map between Isaiah chapter 2 and Exodus chapters 19-34.
Isaiah 3 Leviticus
The following is a map between Isaiah chapter 3 and Leviticus chapters 1-13.
Isaiah 4 Numbers
The following is a map between Isaiah chapter 4 and Numbers chapters 12-35.
Isaiah 5 Deuteronomy
The following is a map between Isaiah chapter 5 and Deuteronomy chapters 32-33.
Isaiah 6 Joshua
The following is a map between Isaiah chapter 6 and Joshua chapters 5-24.
Isaiah 7 Judges
The following is a map between Isaiah chapter 7 and Judges chapters 9-18.
Isaiah 8 First Samuel
The following is a map between Isaiah chapter 8 and First Samuel chapters 1-28.
Isaiah 9 Second Samuel
This following is a map between Isaiah chapter 9 and Second Samuel chapters 2-18.
Isaiah 10 First Kings
The following is a map between Isaiah chapter 10 and First Kings chapters 17-22.
Isaiah 11 Second Kings
This is a map between Isaiah 11 and Second Kings. The key match is Remnant.
Isaiah 12 Ezekiel
This page is a map between Isaiah 12 and the book of Ezekiel. The question mark below signifies an unknown match. The key matches are Song, Well and Presence.
Isaiah 13 Isaiah
This page is a map between Isaiah chapter 13 and the book of Isaiah. The key matches are Isaiah, Nobles, Labor and Sword.
Isaiah 14 Jeremiah
This page is a map between Isaiah chapter 14 and Jeremiah. The key match is Ascend.
Isaiah 15 Lamentations
This page is a map between Isaiah 15 and Lamentations. The key match is Weep.
Isaiah 16 Ezra
This is a map between Isaiah 16 and Ezra. The key matches include Send Lambs, Throne, Heard About Moab, Prayer At Sanctuary, Word Of Yahvah and 3 Years/Days.
Isaiah 17 Nehemiah
This page is a map between Isaiah 17 and Nehemiah. Key matches include Ruined, Gather and Merchants.
Isaiah 18 Esther
The following is a map between Isaiah 18 and Esther. Key matches in this series are Ambassadors and Gifts.
Isaiah 19 Zechariah
The following is a map between Isaiah 19 and Zechariah. Key matches include Brothers, Rivers Dry, Foolish Shepherd, Drunkenness, 5 Cities and Worship.
Isaiah 20 Micah
This page is a map between Isaiah chapter 20 and the book of Micah.
Isaiah 21 Jonah
This page is a map between Isaiah 21 and Jonah.
Isaiah 22 Amos
The folloing is a start at a map between Isaiah 22 and the book of Amos.
Isaiah 23 Hosea
The following is a start at a map between Isaiah 23 and the book of Hosea. The key match is Prostitute.
Isaiah 24 Haggai
The following is a start at a map between Isaiah 24 and the book of Haggai.
Isaiah 25 Zephaniah
This is a map between Isaiah 25 and Zephaniah. The key matches in the map are Heap, Refuge and Rejoice.
Isaiah 26 Psalms
This is a start at a map between Isaiah chapter 26 and the book of Psalms.
Isaiah 27 Job
This is the start at a map between Isaiah chapter 27 and the book of Job. Question marks signify unmatched verses. The goal is to use every verse in the chapter. Key matches to be determined when the pattern match is finished.
Isaiah 28 Ecclesiastes
The following is a start at a map between Isaiah 28 and the book of Ecclesiastes.
Isaiah 29 Proverbs of Solomon
The following is a start at a map between Isaiah 29 and the book of Proverbs.
Isaiah 30 Ruth
The following is a start at a map between Isaiah 30 and the book of Ruth.
Isaiah 31 Song of Solomon
The following is a map between Isaiah 31 and Song of Solomon. The key matches are Pharaoh's Chariots, Lions and Fire of Yahvah. Question marks signify unknown matches.
Isaiah 32 Joel
The following is a map between Isaiah 32 and Joel. The key match is the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Isaiah 33 Obadiah
The following is a start at a map between Isaiah 33 and the book of Obadiah.
Isaiah 34 Malachi
The following is a start at a map between Isaiah 34 and the book of Malachi. The key match is Edom.
Isaiah 35 Nahum
This page maps Isaiah chapter 35 to the book of Nahum. The key matches in the set are Carmel, Highway and Lion.
Isaiah 36 Habakkuk
This is a map between Isaiah 36 and Habakkuk. The key matches are Horses, On The Wall, Make It Plain, Wine, Idols and Silence. The question mark signifies an unknown match.
Isaiah 37 First Chronicles
This is a map between Isaiah chapter 37 and the book of First Chronicles. The key matches are False Gods Burned and Angel. There's also a general match between David's two attempts to bring the ark to Jerusalem and Hezekiah's two visits to the Temple. The first try fails for both, because they asked the wrong guys to do the job. The second try succeeds. This overarching theme is difficult to capture in simple quotations, so the matches titled Round One and Round Two provide explanatory notes.
Isaiah 38 Second Chronicles
The following is a map between Isaiah 38 and Second Chronicles. The key matches are Hezekiah's Illness and Temple.
Isaiah 39 Daniel
This page lays out a map between Isaiah 39 and the book of Daniel. Though the quotes are given in large chunks there are several matches between the two, namely visitors from Babylon, temple treasures and Hezekiah's descendants.
Isaiah 40 John
This is a map between Isaiah 40 and the Gospel of John. The key matches in this map are Voice, Cry, Triumphal Entry, Hands, Tent/House, Look Up and Run. The question mark signifies an unknown match.
Isaiah 41 Matthew
The following is a map between Isaiah 41 and the book of Matthew. The key matches are God With Us, Herod Dies, John's Speech, Jesus' Wilderness Fast and Great Light.
Isaiah 42 Mark
This is a map between Isaiah 42 and Mark. Key matches are Jesus' Baptism, Parable of the Sower, Eyes Blinded, Suffering Woman and Eyes Opened.
Isaiah 43 Luke
The following is a start at a map between Isaiah 43 and the book of Luke.
Isaiah 44 Acts
The following is a map between Isaiah 44 and Acts. The key matches are Chosen, Spirit and Idol. The question mark signifies an unknown match.
Isaiah 45 Philippians
The following is a start at a map between Isaiah 45 and the book of Philippians. The key match is Knee box/tongue confess.
Isaiah 46 First Thessalonians
This is a map between Isaiah 46 and First Thessalonians. The key matches are Idol and Deliver. The question mark signifies an unknown match.
Isaiah 47 Second Thessalonians
The following is a map between Isaiah 47 and the book of Second Thessalonians. The key match is As God.
Isaiah 48 Second John
The following is a map between Isaiah chapter 48 and the book of Second John. The key matches are Truth, Beginning, Deceivers and Teach.
Isaiah 49 Second Timothy
The following is a start at a map between Isaiah 49 and the book of Second Timothy.
Isaiah 50 First Corinthians
The following is a start at a map between Isaiah 50 and the book of First Corinthians.
Isaiah 51 Galatians
The following is a start at a map between Isaiah 51 and the book of Galatians.
Isaiah 52 Ephesians
The following is a map between Isaiah 52 and Ephesians. The key matches are Uncircumcised, Name, Feet, Sing, Armor of God and Servant.
Isaiah 53 Romans
This is a map between Isaiah 53 and Romans. Key matches include Report, Root, Submission and Resurrection.
Isaiah 54 Hebrews
The following is a map between Isaiah 54 and Hebrews. The key matches are Children, Tent, Noah, Mountain and City.
Isaiah 55 Jacob
This is a map between Isaiah 55 and the book of Jacob (James). The key matches in the map are Come, Near and Rain.
Isaiah 56 First Timothy
The following is a map between Isaiah 56 and First Timothy. The key matches in this map are Prayer, Gather and Elders.
Isaiah 57 Jude
The following is a start at a map between Isaiah 57 and the book of Jude.
Isaiah 58 Second Corinthians
The following is a start at a map between Isaiah 58 and the book of Second Corinthians.
Isaiah 59 Philemon
The following is a start at a map between Isaiah 59 and the book of Philemon.
Isaiah 60 Colossians
This page is a map between Isaiah chapter 60 and the book of Colossians. Question marks signify unknown matches.
Isaiah 61 First John
The following is a start at a map between Isaiah 61 and the book of First John.
Isaiah 62 First Peter
This page is a map between Isaiah chapter 62 and the book of First Peter. Key matches include Watchmen, Stones and A Holy People.
Isaiah 63 Second Peter
The following is a start at a map between Isaiah 63 and the book of Second Peter.
Isaiah 64 Titus
The following is a start at a map between Isaiah 64 and the book of Titus.
Isaiah 65 Third John
This page lays out a map between Isaiah chapter 65 and the book of Third John. Key matches include Not Received, Good and Evil and A New Name.
Isaiah 66 Revelation
This page lays out a map between Isaiah chapter 66 and the book of Revelation. There are a few key matches, the rest fill in around them. The key matches are Throne, Birth and New Heavens.
Introduction to The Title Sentences
We had finished working out the order of the books. A few weeks later were visiting friends at our monthly fellowship. They had apparently been looking at how genealogies in Scripture often form sentences when the names in the genealogy are translated. Though I already knew this, several friends came up to me and privately explained how this works. After the 3rd time I decided something was up, and that I needed to apply the same strategy on the names of the Bible's books.
Sentence Derivation
There are places in the Bible where genealogical lists of names form sentences. This is a strange literary style since modern English readers rarely assign meaning to proper names. But, in the Bible, all names have meaning, which allows for these odd literary devices.
Introduction to The Book Chain
The discovery that the books of the Bible connect together end-to-end across the Bible began several years ago while attending a college lecture. One of my favorite Bible professors took a rabbit trail from the main lecture, or so it seemed. What I learned that day stuck and grew into this study in the Book Chain.
Genesis - Exodus
Exodus - Leviticus
Leviticus - Numbers
Numbers - Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy - Joshua
Joshua - Judges
Judges - First Samuel
First Samuel - Second Samuel
Second Samuel - First Kings
First Kings - Second Kings
Second Kings - Ezekiel
Ezekiel - Isaiah
Isaiah - Jeremiah
Jeremiah - Lamentations
Lamentations - Ezra
Ezra - Nehemiah
*This connection is less obvious than most. My hunch is the broken walls imagery in the Nehemiah quote is a metaphor for the breach in the covenant people resulting from the men of Jerusalem marrying foreign women.
Nehemiah - Esther
Esther - Zechariah
Zechariah - Micah
Micah - Jonah
Jonah - Amos
Amos - Hosea
Hosea - Haggai
Haggai - Zephaniah
Zephaniah - Psalms
*This connection is based on the knowledge that "Psalms" means "songs." The songs that Yahvah is "singing" at the end of Zephaniah are the Psalms. The first verse of Psalms is quoted above as a stand in for the whole book.
Psalms - Job
Job - Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes - Proverbs of Solomon
Proverbs of Solomon - Ruth
Ruth - Song of Solomon
Song of Solomon - Joel
Joel - Obadiah
Obadiah - Malachi
Malachi - Nahum
Nahum - Habakkuk
Habakkuk - First Chronicles
*In my mind this link is the most vague in the book chain. It works, and I think it's correct, but it's vague. The idea behind "Review" is Habakkuk asks God to "revive his work from the past" and First Chronicles does that in the form of a genealogy (and retelling stories from Kings later in the book).
First Chronicles - Second Chronicles
Second Chronicles - Daniel
Daniel - John
John - Matthew
Matthew - Mark
Mark - Luke
Luke - Acts
Acts - Philippians
Philippians - First Thessalonians
First Thessalonians - Second Thessalonians
Second Thessalonians - Second John
Second John - Second Timothy
Second Timothy - First Corinthians
First Corinthians - Galatians
*If you read the above quotes in the ASV, the key word used is "anathema." A peek at my Aramaic interlinear reveals the same Aramaic word, "khram," is in both verses so the ASV is more consistent here then the KJV and does a better job showing the connection between these books.
Galatians - Ephesians
Ephesians - Romans
Romans - Hebrews
Hebrews - Jacob
Jacob - First Timothy
First Timothy - Jude
Jude - Second Corinthians
Second Corinthians - Philemon
Philemon - Colossians
Colossians - First John
First John - First Peter
First Peter - Second Peter
Second Peter - Titus
Titus - Third John
Third John - Revelation
Revelation - Genesis
Introduction to The Letter Map
Using the book of Isaiah the 66 books of the Bible can be arranged into a canonical, inspired, book order. But there's a secondary order for reading and study, that is based on mapping the letters of the Hebrew/Aramaic alphabet to the books of the Bible. This alternative reading order is really a refactor of Isaiah's Book Order.
Hey
Hey is (05) Deuteronomy, (27) Job and (49) Second Timothy.
Vav
Vav is (06) Joshua, (28) Ecclesiastes and (50) First Corinthians.
Tet
Tet is (09) Second Samuel, (31) Song of Solomon and (53) Romans.
Noon
Noon is (14) Jeremiah, (36) Habakkuk and (58) Second Corinthians.
Tzadik
Tzadik is (18) Esther, (40) John and (62) First Peter.
Sheen
Sheen is (21) Jonah, (43) Luke and (65) Third John.