Old Testament

The Old Testament (OT) is the first part of the Christian biblical canon. It is mostly based on the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, also called the Tanakh. These are ancient writings in Hebrew and sometimes Aramaic by the Israelites. The second part of Christian Bibles is the New Testament, written in Koine Greek.

The Old Testament has many books written by different people over many years. Christians usually split it into four groups: the first five books, called the Pentateuch or the Jewish Torah; books about the history of the Israelites, from their conquest of Canaan to their defeat and exile in Babylon; books of poems and wise sayings that look at life, right and wrong behavior, and fairness; and books by prophets who spoke for God.

Different Christian groups have slightly different Old Testaments. The Catholic canon has 46 books, the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches have up to 49, and the Protestant Bible usually has 39. Most of these books are the same, but they are in different orders. Some books are in Christian Bibles but not in the Hebrew Bible; these are called deuterocanonical books. Catholic and Orthodox churches include them, but most Protestant Bibles do not, though some Anglican and Lutheran Bibles put them in a special section called Apocrypha.

Content

Main articles: Biblical canon and Development of the Old Testament canon

The Old Testament is the first part of the Christian Bible. It has 39 books in Protestant Bibles, 46 in Catholic Bibles, and even more in Orthodox Bibles. These books are grouped into four main parts: the Pentateuch (Torah), the historical books, the "wisdom" books, and the prophets.

Different Bible versions use different names for the books. For example, some older Catholic Bibles use names like "1 Paralipomenon" instead of "1 Chronicles." Modern Bibles try to use the same names for all readers. Some books are found in some Bibles but not in others. These are called the Biblical apocrypha. Catholics call these books deuterocanonical, while Orthodox Christians call them anagignoskomena, meaning "that which is to be read."

Some books in the Orthodox Bible are also found in an old part of the Catholic Bible called the Latin Vulgate.

Historicity

Further information: Historicity of the Bible § Hebrew Bible/Old Testament

Some stories in the Old Testament might come from even older tales. For example, the flood story in Genesis shares similarities with an ancient story called the Gilgamesh flood myth. Experts have noticed that the early life of Moses has elements like the story of a leader named Sargon of Akkad.

Over time, ideas about how much of the Old Testament is based on real events have changed. Earlier scholars often accepted the stories unless there was strong proof against them. But today, many experts are more careful, especially when looking at early tales about leaders and big events like the Exodus or the United Monarchy. Recent studies mix careful thinking with discoveries from old places, finding that some stories match what archaeologists have found, especially from around the 9th century BC onward.

Composition

Further information: Composition of the Torah, Dating the Bible, and Documentary hypothesis

The first five books—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy—were completed during a special time called the Persian period (538–332 BC). These books were written by leaders who had returned from being away from their home and were in charge of the Temple.

The books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel and Kings tell the story of the people of Israel from when they settled in a new land up until a big event around 587 BC. Scholars believe these books were written during a difficult time called the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BC.

The Books of Chronicles talk about many of the same events as the first five books and were likely written around the 4th century BC. The books of Ezra–Nehemiah were probably finished by the 3rd century BC. Some versions of the Old Testament include books called the Books of the Maccabees, written between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC.

These history books make up about half of the Old Testament. The rest includes books about prophets, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve "minor prophets". These were mostly written between the 8th and 6th centuries BC, except for Jonah and Daniel, which came later. There are also books called "wisdom" books, like Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Psalms, and Song of Songs. These have different dates, with some parts possibly dating back to the Hellenistic time (332–198 BC).

Themes

The Old Testament shows God as the creator of the world. It teaches that God chose the people of Israel as special and made a promise, or covenant, with them through Moses. In this promise, Israel agreed to follow God’s rules, and God promised to protect and support them.

Other important ideas in the Old Testament include saving people, fairness, and doing what is right. It talks about obeying God and trusting Him. Some parts question whether following special rules is as important as helping others. The Old Testament also wonders why bad things happen to good people and how a kind God can allow trouble.

Formation

Main article: Biblical canon

See also: Development of the Hebrew Bible canon, Development of the Old Testament canon, Septuagint, and Books of the Vulgate

The Old Testament is a collection of important books that many people believe come from a divine source. These books went through a long process of writing and editing by many authors over many years.

By around the 5th century BC, Jewish people considered the first five books, called the Torah, to be very important. Later, around the 2nd century BC, they also began to see other books, called the Prophets, as important too.

Hebrew texts were translated into Greek starting around 280 BC. These Greek translations are known as the Septuagint. The Septuagint includes some books that are not in all versions of the Old Testament today. It became the basis for the Old Testament used in some Christian churches.

In the Western Church, Latin became the main language. In 382 AD, a leader named Pope Damasus I asked a scholar named Jerome to create a new Latin Bible. Jerome’s work, called the Vulgate, became the standard Bible for many Western Christians.

Different groups of Christians have used various versions of the Old Testament over time, including translations into Aramaic, Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, and Arabic.

Christian theology

See also: Christian views on the Old Covenant

Christians call the collection of ancient writings the "Old Testament" because they believe it leads to the "New Testament," which tells the story of Jesus. They think these writings show how God's promises were fulfilled through Jesus.

The Second Vatican Council taught that the New Testament is hidden inside the Old Testament, and the Old Testament becomes clear when we look at the New Testament. This helps Christians see the value of the Old Testament.

Christians believe Jesus is the Christ, meaning the anointed one, which comes from Jewish ideas. The Old Testament talks about a king who would be anointed with oil when he became ruler. By the time of Jesus, some Jewish people hoped for a king from David's family to rule in Jerusalem. Others looked for a special figure called the "Son of Man" who would judge the world at the end of time. None of these ideas from the Old Testament expected the Messiah to suffer and die for everyone's mistakes, which is a new idea brought by Jesus' story.