Complete Guide to Biblical Genres [Chart]

Written on 06/30/2025
Jacob Edson

Recognizing each biblical genre helps us better understand God’s purpose for each passage we encounter, and how to apply it in our lives.

The post Complete Guide to Biblical Genres [Chart] appeared first on Bible Gateway News & Knowledge.

The Bible tells a unified story. But it does so through dozens of authors writing across 15 centuries — and in several different genres.

When you read or hear the word “genre” you might think of different types of books you’d find at a bookstore or library, e.g., fiction, memoir, poetry, etc. These are literary genres, but there are other kinds (or genres) of writing, too: for instance, letters, or even tax receipts.

The Bible, too, is a library — but an ancient one, so some of its genres are different from the ones we’re familiar with. Others, like letters, are similar, though their style and purpose might have changed over the past few millennia.

Like the Trinitarian God, the Bible speaks one Word in different voices. In English translation these voices can sometimes get flattened out (intentionally or unintentionally), but reading in the original languages they are much clearer. Since not all of us are going to go to seminary and learn to read Greek and Hebrew, understanding biblical genres is one of the best ways to grasp the diversity of voices speaking to us through the text.

Old Testament scholar John Walton has said that the Bible is written for us, but not to us. It was written to people who lived long ago, in a very different culture than ours. Knowing how to read each genre in the Bible the way its original audience would have read (or heard) it enriches our relationship to Scripture by helping us understand God’s purpose for each book or passage we encounter, and therefore how we can apply it in our lives.

This article will give a brief overview of each of the major genres you can expect to find in the pages of your Bible, and which genre each book (mainly) belongs to. The Bible is big and complex, and most books contain several genres within their pages, so we won’t be able to touch on every detail here. But you will walk away with a better understanding of how to approach each book, so you aren’t looking for history in the psalms or prophecy in the epistles.

Chart of Bible Books and Their Genres

Our Bibles are typically organized according to genre, so it’s easy see the major types of writing we’re working with (even if it can also make it frustrating to discern the chronological order of events!).

Here’s a handy chart of every book in the Protestant canon with its main genre and some of its most prominent subgenres. Scroll down to the next section to learn more about each of them.

Keep in mind that the biblical writers seldom tell you what genre they’re writing. (There are exceptions, such as “this is the genealogy of so-and-so,” or “a letter from Paul to so-and-so.”) Scholars continue to debate not only how we should classify each book or passage, but also how to define each genre. But this will give you a good overview of the current consensus.

Chart listing every book of the Bible in order, its main genre, and its primary subgenres

Major Genres and Subgenres in the Bible

Now let’s take a closer look at the most important genres to know when you’re reading the Bible, including their different subgenres and some examples of where you might find each.

Remember, this list is somewhat subjective, as scholars continue to analyze and debate how we should understand and apply biblical genres in our reading.

Cosmogony

A cosmogony is an account of the creation or origins of the universe. You won’t find a ton of these in the Bible, but the ones that exist are absolutely critical to the entire biblical story. Ever since they were written, believers have intensely debated how literally or historically the Bible’s cosmogonic accounts should be taken. But what is beyond doubt is how clearly they communicate God’s sovereignty over every aspect of creation.

Examples in the Bible:

Genealogy

A genealogy is a simple list of the ancestry of a particular figure in the Bible. They often serve to connect important figures, such as Jesus to David, or to establish national lineages, such as the “Table of Nations” descending from Noah.

Examples in the Bible:

Law

Traditionally, the first five books of the Bible are called the Torah, Hebrew for “Law.” These are divine statutes, commandments, and legal codes governing covenant life for the Israelites. While there are many types of “codes” and instructions in these books — along with plenty of narrative and other material — the overall theme is the commandments God gives to establish covenantal relationship with his people.

There are many types of law found in the Old Testament. Here are a few of them.

  • The Ten Commandments: The core instructions given to Moses on Mount Sinai. (Exodus 20:1-17, Deuteronomy 5:4-21)
  • Building/Ritual Codes: Detailed instructions for constructing sacred spaces (such as the Tabernacle) or performing priestly rites. (Exodus 25-31, most of Leviticus and Deuteronomy)
  • Treaty/Land Grant: Standardized documents, common in the ancient Near East, that recorded and codified diplomatic agreements, especially of vassalage to a suzerain in return for protection. In the Bible, God typically takes the role of suzerain and Israel of vassal. (Genesis 12:1-3, Joshua 1:2-5)
  • Blessings and Curses: Formulaic pronouncements of blessing for obedience or curse for disobedience, also common in ancient Near Eastern literature. (Deuteronomy 28)

History/Narrative

The books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Esther are considered the historical/narrative books of the Bible. These are for the most part chronological, prose accounts of events in Israel’s history, along with short passages of other genres such as poetry, song, and prophecy.

In the New Testament, the book of Acts is a historical narrative, although it focuses much more narrowly on the acts of the apostles rather than an overarching national history.

  • Epic: In its traditional form, epics are grandiose, poetical stories of heroic adventures that often directly relate to a particular national identity. The Bible doesn’t contain epics in that sense, but some of the stories from Judges and of David in 1-2 Samuel bear resemblance to his genre.
  • Census: Enumerations of people (often by tribe or family) typically given as straightforward headcounts. (Numbers 1-4, 2 Samuel 24, 1 Chronicles 21)
  • Conquest Account: A military campaign narrative describing battles, strategies, and outcomes of an ongoing conquest. Much of Joshua is a conquest account of Canaan.
  • Regnal Summary: A brief summary of a king’s reign, usually formulaic, including length of reign and main actions (e.g., “So-and-so reigned X years, did Y, and died”). These too were common across the ancient Near East and indeed much of the ancient world. Dozens of these can be found in 1-2 Kings and 1-2 Chronicles.
  • Memoir: A first-person autobiographical account or reflection of their own deeds. Most of Ezra and Nehemiah are in memoir form.

Story

Stories are short, straightforward, largely self-contained narratives (compared to the large, ongoing narrative of most of the Bible) that typically illustrate a specific point. These are often very similar in format to a short story today. Ruth, Esther, and Jonah are the primary examples of short stories found in the Bible, but they can also be found in Genesis, Judges, and elsewhere.

  • Court Tale: A dramatic story set in a royal court, often involving intrigue or clever action. (Much of Joseph’s story in Genesis 39-50; Esther)
  • Humor/Satire: Just like today, humorous satire employs irony, absurdity, or caricature to provoke laughter or critique. As scholar John Walton explains, “Satire exaggerates reality, but by its nature is based on reality…. The satire in the book of Jonah targets Jonah personally as a ludicrous example of how a prophet might behave.” Elements of satire can also be found in Numbers 22:21-35 and in Esther.

Wisdom

The genre of “wisdom literature” can be difficult to describe, in part because it’s largely defined after the fact by the books of the Bible that claim it under their heading: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs.

On first glance, these books have little in common with one another. But at their most basic, they all say something profound about the universal human condition.

  • Dialogue: A conversational (often dramatic) conversation between two or more characters, the dialogue was a popular way to deliver teachings across the ancient world. In the Bible, this genre is best exemplified by the book of Job, though you can also see it in much shorter form throughout the Gospels (e.g., John 3:1-21).
  • Proverb: The most traditional type of wisdom literature, these are short, pithy sayings expressing a general truth or moral principle. Found (obviously) in the book of Proverbs.
  • Personal Reflection: Not technically a genre per se, this is some scholars’ best attempt to define Ecclesiastes, a book with no obvious parallels either in the Bible or elsewhere in ancient literature.
  • Sermon: A formal speech of instruction or exhortation on religious/moral topics. (Deuteronomy 5-28, Matthew 5-7, Acts 13:16-41)
  • Parable: A short, usually allegorical, story conveying a moral or spiritual lesson, though its meaning is often mysterious and requires an astute teacher to interpret. This was Jesus’ preferred method of teaching (see Matthew 13 and Luke 12), but they can be found in the Old Testament as well (2 Samuel 12:1-7, Isaiah 5:1-7).
  • Fable: A short, allegorical tale similar to a parable, though generally more simplistic in format, and typically featuring plants or animals. (Judges 9:8-15)

Poetry

Unlike prose, poetry is written in verse (often metered), tends to be dense with imagery and emotion, and historically was often intended to be sung. Hebrew poetry didn’t typically rhyme but featured other literary techniques such as parallelism (repeated or contrasting phrases or themes), alliteration, and euphony (similar sounds that slide off the tongue).

By some counts, poetry accounts for over a third of the Old Testament.

Prophecy

At its most basic, prophecy is any divinely inspired message delivered by God through a person of his choosing. Often associated with predictions of the future — especially of cataclysm and doom — most prophecy in the Bible is actually an indictment of the status quo and a call to repentance to avoid a future cataclysm.

Prophecy can consist of spoken or written messages, apocalyptic visions, or even “symbolic actions” on the part of the prophet.

  • Oracle: By far the most common type of prophecy, these are messages from God, often portending destruction of Israel or its neighbors (Isaiah 13-19, Jeremiah 46-51), but sometimes promising deliverance or renewal (Isaiah 60-62, Jeremiah 30-33).
  • Symbolic Action Report: An overlooked aspect of prophecy, these are like parables acted out by a prophet, visually representing a message from God. They are often intended to be shocking and countercultural. (Jeremiah 13, 19; Ezekiel 4, Hosea 1)

Apocalypse/Vision

Similar to and often confused with prophecy, an “apocalypse” is a direct revelation of divine mysteries about cosmic events, often involving bizarre or even frightening visions or dreams. The term “apocalypse” has come to be associated with the end times, but it actually means an “unveiling” of hidden truths. In the Bible, these are occasionally given by God himself, but much more frequently are from “an angel of the Lord” instead.

Though containing profound truths about God and his plan and purpose for creation, apocalypses in (and out of) the Bible are extremely dense with strange, phantasmagoric, and often allegorical imagery that’s easy to misinterpret. Books like Ezekiel and Revelation almost didn’t make it into the Bible because of their potential to mislead and distract believers from living out the Law or the Gospel here and now. It’s important to approach such texts with humility and awe, rather than trying to force any particular interpretation upon them.

Examples of apocalyptic literature in the Bible include:

Gospel

The word “gospel” is an Old English translation of the Greek word euangelion — literally “good news.” As a genre, it is essentially unique to the Bible, combining a biographical account of someone’s (Jesus’) life with explanations of his teachings and reports of miracles he performed during his ministry.

  • Biography: A historical, chronological study of a person’s life. The framing method of all four gospels, especially Matthew and Luke.
  • Miracle Report: Description of a miraculous act (often by Jesus or the early church, though they are found in the Old Testament as well) intended to reveal God’s power, mostly through healing, resurrection, or casting out demons, but occasionally through other incredible feats (e.g., walking on water). These occur in all four gospels but are especially important to Mark and John. See also Exodus 14; 1 Kings 17:17-24, 18:17-40; Acts 3:1-10, 9:32-41).

Letter/Epistle

Just like today, a letter or “epistle” (simply another word for “letter”) was a written correspondence addressed to individuals or communities, usually with teaching and exhortation. The Roman empire contained not only a well-developed network of roads but also an advanced postal system, making letter delivery possible across great distances. Even so, given the risks to Christians in the time of Emperor Nero, many of the New Testament’s letters were smuggled by dedicated messengers from churches founded by Paul, Peter, or other early apostles.

One important difference between letters today and in New Testament times is that, while today most letters are addressed to an individual or perhaps a family, in the first century letters were more commonly addressed to an entire community. Since most people were illiterate, these letters were often read aloud during church gatherings. This is the case for most of the letters in the Bible, aside from 1-2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.

  • Theology: Literally “the study of God,” theology appears in the Bible almost exclusively in the New Testament letters as explicit teaching or exposition about God, Christ, or other church doctrines. John’s gospel also contains theological passages of Jesus’ self-revelation to his disciples.
  • Advice: Just as it sounds, this is practical counsel for godly living, found throughout the letters from Paul, James, Peter, John, and Jude.

Conclusion: Understanding Biblical Genre

As this post has shown, there is a wide range of different genres in the Bible, and understanding the differences between them is essential to engaging with and interpreting each passage of Scripture. Being able to tell when you’re reading a symbolic action report, a land grant, a parable, or an apocalyptic vision will help you understand what message God is trying to convey in those sections, and immerse you more fully in his Word.

If you’re ready to dig even deeper, Bible Gateway Plus provides access to dozens of trusted study tools and commentaries that can help you explore genre, context, and meaning with greater depth and clarity. (Indeed — it’s where I did most of my research for this article.) Get started with a free trial today!

The post Complete Guide to Biblical Genres [Chart] appeared first on Bible Gateway News & Knowledge.