The Catholic Bible divides the Old Testament into the following four sections:
1. Pentateuch (or Torah): These are the first five books of the Bible, traditionally attributed to Moses. They contain the foundational laws and stories of the Jewish faith. The books are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
2. Historical Books: These books narrate the history of the Israelites, from their conquest of Canaan to the Babylonian exile and their return. Examples include Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Maccabees.
3. Wisdom and Poetry Books: These books explore themes of wisdom, justice, praise, and lament. They include books like Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom, and Sirach.
4. Prophetic Books: These books contain the messages and warnings of the prophets, who spoke on behalf of God, calling the people to repentance and announcing future events. These are divided into major prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel) and minor prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi).