Old Testament

Bible

Sections Old Testament New Testament Pentateuch The Gospels About History Canon Exegesis Accuracy Criticism Inerrancy Literalism Chronology Translations Hermeneutics Concepts Sabbath Sin Resurrection Prophet The Virgin Birth Tithe See also Christianity

The Old Testament (Tanakh (תנ״ך) in Hebrew) is a collection of different biblical books comprising the Jewish religious scriptures. It can be divided into three general categories: Historical, Poetic, and Prophetic. The Old Testament was inspired by God, giving His teachings to human beings in document form: using direct communication with Moses, communicating through the Prophets, and through works inspired by the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh), in the Sacred Writings. The human authors of some books are known, while for others the authorship remains a matter of controversy. The Hebrew names of these three sections give rise to the acronym "Tanakh": Torah (Instruction), Nevi'im (Prophets), and K'tuvim (Sacred Writings).

Christians embrace the Old Testament as part of their holy scriptures, which, together with the New Testament make up the Bible. In contrast to Jews, they see the Old Testament giving prophetic references to the coming of Jesus Christ. Versions from ancient times exist in both Hebrew and Greek including the Dead Sea Scrolls giving a very ancient snapshot dating back to the time of Jesus.

Contents

The Old Testament documents the creation of the world by God, and the tribulations and errors of human beings, in particular His chosen people the Israelites. Following the history of the Jews from their earliest patriarchs to their enslavement, freedom, becoming a nation, period of the judges, ruled by kings, splitting into two nations, and eventual conquest. It continues until about 400 B.C. when God's chosen people have once again been allowed to return to the Holy Land and have come back to the worship of the Lord God. From the writing of the earliest five books, which is traditionally ascribed to Moses, to the last, is believed to be a period of about 1,000 years. The New Testament doesn't pick up until 400 years later with the story of Jesus.

The laws set forth in the Old Testament include the Noahide laws and the Mosaic Law. The latter further includes the Ten Commandments.

Canon

The Palestinian Jewish Canon of the Old Testament Tanakh in Hebrew was fixed by the Jewish Anshei K'nesset HaGedolah (Men of the Great Assembly), also known as the Council of Jamnia, established in Galilee in the 1st century A.D. (circa A.D. 90) after the destruction of the great Temple of Jerusalem A.D. 70. Though some books have been given different names, this is the same Old Testament canon found in Protestant Bibles (except for ordering and naming conventions based on usage in the Catholic Bible). The larger and more ancient Biblical Canon of Catholic and Orthodox Old Testaments originally in Greek predating the time of the Council of Jamnia contain different sets of books (retained and included by Jerome in the Latin Vulgate translation) but removed from the Christian Bible by Protestants during the 16th century A.D. Protestant Reformation as "additional" groups referred to as the Apocrypha. Most Old Testaments including the Catholic go back to the earliest Hebrew translations, but the Greek Orthodox church uses the earliest Greek versions commonly called the Septuagint, traditionally ascribed to rabbinical authority as the authentic Greek translation of the Jewish scriptures as early as the 3rd century B.C.. The Jewish communities already established in Africa long before the time of Christ rejected the newer Palestinian canon attributed to the rabbis at Jamnia and retained almost all of the books included in the Septuagint, the one sole exception being the Book of Sirach called Ecclesiasticus.

The twenty-four books, in the Hebrew listing, are:

I Torah

• 1-5: Torat Moshe/תּוֹרַת־מֹשֶׁה (The Pentateuch):
  • B'resheet/בראשית (Genesis)
  • Sh'mot/שמות (Exodus)
  • VaYikra/ויקרא (Leviticus)
  • B'midbar/במדבר (Numbers)
  • D'varim/דברים (Deuteronomy)

II Nevi'im/נביאים

• 6-9: Nevi'im Rishonim/נביאים ראשונים (Early Prophets):
  • Y'hoshua/יהושע (Joshua)
  • Shoftim/שופטים (Judges)
  • Sh'mu'el I and II/שמואל (Samuel 1 and 2)
  • M'lakhim/מלכים (Kings 1 and 2)

• 10-13: Nevi'im Acharonim/נביאים אחרונים (Later Prophets):
  • Yesha'yahu/ישעיה (Isaiah)
  • Yirmiyahu/ירמיה (Jeremiah)
  • Yechezk'el/יחזקאל (Ezekiel)
  • Shneim-'Asar/תרי עשר:
    • Hoshea/הושע (Hosea)
    • Yo'el/יואל (Joel)
    • Amos/עמוס (Amos)
    • Ovadyah/עובדיה (Obadiah)
    • Yonah/יונה (Jonah)
    • Mikhah/מיכה (Micah)
    • Nachum/נחום (Nahum)
    • Khavakuk/חבקוק (Habakkuk)
    • Tz'fanyah/צפניה (Zephaniah)
    • Khagai/חגי (Haggai)
    • Z'kharyah/זכריה (Zechariah)
    • Mal'akhi/מלאכי (Malachi)

III K'tuvim/כתובים

• 14-16: Sifrei Emet (Books of Truth):
  • Tehilim/תהלים (Psalms)
  • Mishlei/משלי (Proverbs)
  • Iyov/איוב (Job)

• 17-21: The Five Megilot (Five Scrolls):
  • Shir-HaShirim/שיר השירים (Song of Solomon/Song of Songs)
  • Rut/רות (Ruth)
  • Eikhah/איכה (Lamentations)
  • Kohelet/קהלת (Ecclesiastes)
  • Ester/אסת (Esther)

• 22-24: Other Writings:
  • Dani'el/דניאל (Daniel)
  • Ezra-Nechemyah/עזרא ונחמיה (Ezra-Nehemiah)
  • Divrei-HaYamim/דברי הימים (Chronicles 1 and 2)

The forty-nine books (fifty with an appendix) in the Greek listing are: Η ΠΑΛΑΙΑ ΔΙΑΘΗΚΗ The Old Testament

1 Γένεσις (Genesis)

2 Έξοδος (Exodus)

3 Λευίτικόν (Leviticus)

4 Άριθμοί (Numbers)

5 Δευτερονόμιον (Deuteronomy)

6 Ίησούς Ναυή (Joshua)

7 Κριταί (Judges)

8 Ρούθ (Ruth)

9 Βασιλιών Α (1 Kingdoms / 1 Samuel)

10 Βασιλιών Β (2 Kingdoms / 2 Samuel)

11 Βασιλιών Γ (3 Kingdoms / 1 Kings)

12 Βασιλιών Δ (4 Kingdoms / 2 Kings)

13 Παραλειπομένον Α (1 Paralipomenon / 1 Chronicles)

14 Παραλειπομένον Β (2 Paralipomenon / 2 Chronicles)

15 Έσδρας Α (1 Esdras)

16 Έσδρας Β (2 Esdras / 1 Esdras or Ezra)

17 Νεεμίας (2 Esdras or Nehemiah)

18 Τωβίτ (Tobit)

19 Ίουδίθ (Judith)

20 Έσθήρ (Esther with the Rest of Esther included within the 10 chapters of Esther)

21 Μακκαβαίων Α (1 Maccabees)

22 Μακκαβαίων Β (2 Maccabees)

23 Μακκαβαίων Γ (3 Maccabees)

24 ψαλμοί (Psalms including a supernumerary psalm (outside the number) at the end of Psalm 150 sometimes called Psalm 151 A Psalm of David)

25 Ίώβ (Job)

26 Παροιμία (Psalms)

27 Έκκλησιαστής (Ecclesiastes)

28 Άσμα Άσμάτων (Song of Solomon or Canticles or Canticle of Canticles)

29 Σοφία Σολομώντος (Wisdom of Solomon)

30 Σοφία Ίησού Σεράχ (Wisdom of [Jesus] Sirach or Ecclesiasticus)

31 Ώσηέ (Osee or Hosea)

32 Άμώς (Amos)

33 Μιχαίας (Micheas or Micah)

34 Ίωήλ (Joel)

35 Όβδιού (Obdias / Abdias or Obadiah)

36 Ίωνάς (Jonas or Jonah)

37 Ναούμ (Nahum)

38 Άμβακούμ (Habacuc or Habbakuk)

39 Σοφνίας (Sophonias or Zephaniah)

40 Άγγαίος (Aggeus or Haggai)

41 Ζαχαρίας (Zacharias or Zachariah)

42 Μαλαχίας (Malachias or Malachi)

43 Ήσαίας (Isaias or Isaiah)

44 Ίερεμίας (Jeremias or Jeremiah)

45 Βαρούχ (Baruch)

46 Θρήνοι Ίερεμίου (Lamentations of Jeremiah or Lamentations)

47 Έπιστολή Ίερεμίου (Letter of Jeremiah)

48 Ίεζεκιήλ (Ezekiel)

49 Δανιήλ (Daniel with chapters 13 and 14)

Μακκαβαίων Δ [Παράρτημα] (4 Maccabees [Appendix])

The Catholic canon from the Council of Trent's dogmatically defined list of the books of the Bible, "as traditionally read in the Church", implicitly omits without mention or comment First Esdras (which is not the Book of Ezra), Third Maccabees, and Psalm 151, and the appended Fourth Maccabees included in the Greek Orthodox Bible.

The books included by Jerome in the Vulgate also include First Esdras (which is not the Book of Ezra), Second Esdras (an apocalypse written after the destruction of the temple A.D. 70 with the addition of an ancient Christian preface, chapters 1 and 2, sometimes called 5 Ezra, and epilogue, chapters 15 and 16, sometimes called 6 Ezra), and the Prayer of Manasses or Manasseh.

The Clementine Edition of the Latin Vulgate as approved by the Catholic Church after the Council of Trent retained in an appendix to the Old Testament the books of First Esdras, all of Second Esdras and the Prayer of Manasseh, "lest they be lost altogether".

See also

• Septuagint
• Pentateuch
• Philosophy
• Jewish philosophy
• Singing the Hebrew Scriptures
• Old Testament morality
• Books of the Old Testament