Reference Conventions
Books of the Bible: Canonical Order

Our suggested abbreviations are here given in canonical order. The general principle is to make the Old Testament abbreviations systematically different from the New Testament ones, as an aid to the nonexpert reader. Our suggestion is to abbreviate OT titles to three letters, and NT ones to two. In these as in all other abbreviations, we recommend use of the abbreviation only, without a period, so as not to create ambiguity with the sentence-final period.

All OT books except Joel (which has no satisfactory solution smaller than itself) are abbreviated as the first three letters, or sometimes the first three initial and consonantal letters, of the name.

All NT books are given a condensed two letter abbreviation, typically the initial plus the most characteristic consonant following. The abbreviation Ja for [the Epistle of] James accommodates those who feel that, following the Greek, it ought to be called Jacob.

Most of these suggestions may already be found within the range of standard practice; the others are proposed in the interest of uniformity. In this list, OT titles are highlighted, as a precedent for distinguishing them within the parallel and interfiled Alphabetical list. They are distinguished in practice (and this is one of the merits of these abbreviations) by consisting of three letters rather than of two.

Old Testament (39)

Gen (Genesis)
Exo (Exodus)
Lev (Leviticus)
Num (Numbers)
Deu (Deuteronomy)
Jos (Joshua)
Jdg (Judges)
Rth (Ruth)
Sam (Samuel), but only as:
1Sam (First Samuel)
2Sam (Second Samuel)
Kgs (Kings), but only as:
1Kgs (First Kings)
2Kgs (Second Kings)
Chr (Chronicles), but only as:
1Chr (First Chronicles)
2Chr (Second Chronicles)
Ezr (Ezra)
Neh (Nehemiah)
Est (Esther)
Job (Job)
Psa (Psalms)
Pro (Proverbs)
Ecc (Ecclesiastes)
Sng (Song of Songs)
Isa (Isaiah)
Jer (Jeremiah)
Lam (Lamentations)
Eze (Ezekiel)
Dan (Daniel)
Hos (Hosea)
Joel (Joel)
Ams (Amos)
Obd (Obadiah)
Jon (Jonah)
Mic (Micah)
Nah (Nahum)
Hab (Habakkuk)
Zep (Zephaniah)
Hag (Haggai)
Zec (Zechariah)
Mal (Malachi)

New Testament (27)

Mt (Gospel of Matthew)
Mk (Gospel of Mark)
Lk (Gospel of Luke)
Jn (Gospel of John)
Ac (Acts of the Apostles)
Rm (Epistle to the Romans)
Co (Epistle to the Corinthians), but only as:
1Co (First Epistle to the Corinthians)
2Co (Second Epistle to the Corinthians)
Ga (Epistle to the Galatians)
Ep (Epistle to the Ephesians)
Pp (Epistle to the Philippians)
Cs (Epistle to the Colossians)
Th (Epistle to the Thessalonians), but only as:
1Th (First Epistle to the Thessalonians)
2Th (Second Epistle to the Thessalonians)
Tm (Epistle to Timothy), but only as:
1Tm (First Epistle to Timothy)
2Tm (Second Epistle to Timothy)
Tt (Epistle of Titus)
Pm (Epistle to Philemon)
Hb (Epistle to the Hebrews)
Ja (Epistle of James/Jacob)
Pt (Peter), but only as:
1Pt (First Epistle of Peter)
2Pt (Second Epistle of Peter)
Jn (Epistle of John), but only as:
1Jn (First Epistle of John)
2Jn (Second Epistle of John)
3Jn (Third Epistle of John)
Jd (Epistle of Jude)
Rv (Revelation

Apocryphal books should probably be referred to by entire names (Ecclesiasticus, Maccabees) reserving abbreviations for the canonical books. See the parallel page for an integrated and alphabetized list.

6 Feb 2006 / Contact The Project / Exit to Reference Page