Over the past fifty years, the Bible has sold more than 3.9 billion copies. In fact, it outperforms the Lord of Rings trilogy, the Harry Potter series, and even the classics such as Anne Frank’s Diary. You see, the Old and New Testaments are set in such a way that the birth of Jesus Christ is highlighted. The Protestant, Jewish, and Catholic faiths all have unique translations and depictions of the Bible.
Both the Old Testament and New Testament have undergone numerous changes over the past years, including the publication of the King James Bible in 1611 as well as the addition of other books that were found later.
What is the Old Testament?
The Old Testament is the first part of the Bible, covering concepts about the Earth’s creation through Noah and the flood, Moses, and many more, concluding with the Jews being disqualified to Babylon.
The Bible’s Old Testament is quite the same as the Hebrew Bible, originating in the ancient religion of Judaism. The precise beginnings of the Jewish religion are still unknown, but the initial mention of Israel is Egyptian encryption from the 13th century BC.
The earliest and oldest known mention of Yahweh is in an inscription about the King of Moab in the 9th century BC. It’s believed that Yahweh was adapted from the mountain god in ancient Edom or Seir.
What are the Books of the Old Testament?
In case you didn’t know yet, the Old Testament contains 46 (Catholic), 39 (Protestant), or more books. These are divided approximately into the Pentateuch (Torah), the historical books, the “wisdom” books, and the prophets.
The Pentateuch
The Pentateuch is composed of the first five books of the Old Testament. This conveys the series of beginnings—the beginning of the Earth, of humankind, and the promise of God to the Israelites.
The first book, Genesis, opens the world’s creation by God. The ideal world falls into evil when humans disobey the Lord, and the human population splits into different languages and nations. After many generations, God speaks to a man called Abraham.
God makes a promise with him to make his descendants into a great country and provide them good land. Abraham then shows a solid faith in God, and God seals that promise with a number of tests and signs. The writing of these books has been attributed to Moses. It also holds supreme rank in the Old Testament canon in holiness and respect.
The Greek expression implied five scrolls and was disseminated by the Alexandrian Jews in the 1st century AD who had come under the huge influence of Greek culture. On top of that, the Hebrew-speaking Jewish community called these five books The Law, Torah, or The Law of Moses.
The Historical Books
This section is composed of:
- Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel,
- 1 and 2 Kings
- Joshua
- Judges
- Nehemiah
- 1 and 2 Chronicles
- Esther
- Ezra
Those books share a visionary view of history, outlining how the obedience or defiance of God’s people is directly associated with the curses and blessings of the covenant.
In the Hebrew plan, Joshua, Judges, and the books of Kings and Samuel create a group of books referred to as the Former Prophets because of the prophetic view from which they’re written.
The Poetic and Wisdom Writings
This group is composed of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. Compared to modern and classical poetry, ancient Hebrew poetry has no unique scheme of accentuation, rhythm, or meter to differentiate it from prose.
It’s also distinguished for its parallelism or the counterbalancing of ideas in phrases. To the Hebrews, wisdom included skill in living and the powers of observation. It also has the capacity of human intellect and the application of experience and knowledge to day-to-day life. All of that came from a viewpoint that was rooted in fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom.
The Major Prophets
These are composed of Ezekiel, Daniel, Lamentations, Jeremiah, and Isaiah. These books were proclaimed major due to the number of texts and not because they’re thought more crucial than the minor prophetic books.
On top of that, the Old Testament prophet managed to be revealed during times of trouble. God utilized the prophets to offer wisdom and direction during times of crisis. What’s more, there were also utilized by God to remind the people of their covenantal promises.
The Minor Prophets
These include Malachi, Zechariah, Haggai, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Nahum, Micah, Jonah, Amos, Obadiah, Joel, and Hosea. These books of the major and minor prophets were known to become part of the classical prophecy era of the Old Testament.
The classical prophecy started in the 8th century during the ruler of Jeroboam II in the northern kingdom of Israel. Hosea and Amos were the earliest examples of the north, while Isaiah and Micah were the first distinguished prophets in the southern kingdom of Judah. If you’re still looking for info on the Books of the Old Testament, we suggest you check out this page: https://www.alabasterco.com/blogs/education/how-many-books-old-testament
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