WHAT is the Old Testament?

The Old Testament is the primary religious text of Judaism. It’s also a crucial part of the Christian Bible that includes both the Old Testament (before the birth of Jesus) and the New Testament (after the birth of Jesus). The Old Testament hints of Jesus, but The New Testament reveals Jesus (John 5:46). For a one page summary on how the Old Testament and New Testament are connected, please read “One Page Bible Summary“.

There are 39 Books of the Old Testament in most Christian Bibles, although there are other books that are sometimes included in other versions of the Bible. The Old Testament was written by 25+ authors about events that took place on 2 Continents — Asia and Africa. God and His LOVE for the Israelites is the central subject of the Old Testament. The Old Testament is an account of the creation of our world, as well as the birth, growth and troubles of the nation of Israel.

WHO wrote the books of the New Testament?

The books of the New Testament were written mostly in Hebrew by 25+ different authors — all Jewish. The first 5 books of the Old Testament (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) were written by Moses and are called Torah, Pentateuch or Law. The 5 books of Wisdom (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon) were mostly written by King David and his son, King Solomon. The books of History were written mostly by various prophets. The books of Prophecy were written by the prophet for which the book was named. For a breakdown of the books of the Bible by category, please read “Connecting the Old and New Testament“.

WHEN did the events of Old Testament happen?

The historical events recorded in the Old Testament span approximately 4,000 years before the birth of Jesus, the Christ from 4000BC to AD 1. Moses, the author of Genesis through Deuteronomy, was born around 1600BC, so the first 2,500 years were history by the time he started writing. The Old Testament also includes prophetic books that contain prophecies that have already happened, as well as some that will happen in the future. However, most of the other books were written about the time the events were happening. The consistency and connectedness from the different authors, over thousands of years, can only be attributed to the Spirit of God.

WHERE did the events of Old Testament happen?

Most of the Old Testament events took place primarily in Israel in Western Asia and in Egypt which is in Africa. The establishment of the nation of Israel happened after the Israelites spent hundreds of years in Egypt. In fact, their miraculous freedom from slavery in Egypt is still celebrated annually at Passover.

Books of the Old Testament

The original scriptures were not divided into chapters and verses, but most modern translations do this for easier reference.  For example, Genesis 3:1-4 indicates the scripture is from the Book of Genesis, Chapter 3, Verses 1-4.  The Book names are often abbreviated.  For example, the book of Matthew may be abbreviated as Matt or Mt.  If there is more than one book with the same name, such as Kings, the books are distinguished by numbers before the book name (e.g. 1Kings, 2Kings or I Kings, II Kings). The books of the Bible, including their order and contents, differ slightly between religious groups due to differing opinions about which writings are authoritative as scripture, also known as Biblical Canon.  

Books of the Old Testament: WHO, WHAT, WHEN and WHERE

Continue Reading…What are the books of the New Testament?

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