The Old Testament canon is organized in our English Bibles into four major sections: law, history, wisdom, and prophecy. The labels - law, history, wisdom, prophecy - are only general labels.
Law:
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy
These first 5 books of the Old Testament, called the Pentateuch (which means "five books"), are perhaps better known as the books of the Law. In fact, the five books of the Law contain a great deal of history. They cover human history in general, and the history of Israel in particular, from the creation of the universe to the death of Moses (c. 1400 B.C.). They also contain the Law of Moses, which is recorded in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy.
This second group of 12 books composes the historical section. These books narrate Israel's history from the death of Moses to its return from the Babylonian captivity (c. 450 B.C.). Collectively, the books of the first two sections, law and history, span the entire length of Old Testament chronology and tell the story of Creation, the Fall, the Flood, and God's activity through his chosen people, Israel, to bring redemption to the world.
Wisdom:
Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon
The third group, the wisdom section, contains 5 books. These books, written in poetic form by Job, David, Solomon, and other inspired writers, explore and express the writers' experiences in life and with God. They delve deeply into important questions about life, such as love, wisdom, foolishness, and pain.
Prophecy (Major):
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel
The fourth and final group of books is the prophecy section, which is divided into two subgroups: the major and minor prophets. The terms major and minor simply refer to the length of the books; the major prophets are longer than the minor prophets. All these books were written by prophets of God from the time of the divided kingdom (931 B.C.) until the return to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity (c. 450 B.C.). It should be noted that all the Old Testament books were written by prophets, but many of the writers in this group of books also held the formal office of prophet in the land of Israel.
The Apocrypha
During the last two centuries before the time of Christ, certain books now known as the Apocrypha (meaning "hidden away") were written. While many Jews considered these books helpful, they were never recognized by the Hebrew community as part of the Old Testament canon. However, most of the Apocrypha was included in the Greek version of the Old Testament, known as the Septuagint. While including the majority of the Apocryphal books in its canon, the Roman Catholic church has excluded 3 of the 15. The three excluded books are 1 & 2 Esdras and The Prayer of Manasseh.
1 & 2 Esdras
Tobit
Judith
Additions to Esther
The Wisdom of Solomon
Ecclesiasticus or the Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach
