Old Testament

The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the <a href="/facts/Biblical_canon/tLsQ13cR">Christian biblical canon</a>, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the <a href="/facts/Hebrew_Bible/y8yblF9f">Hebrew Bible</a>, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious <a href="/facts/Hebrew_(language)/hqKCSy9d">Hebrew</a> and occasionally <a href="/facts/Aramaic/FpvKez1w">Aramaic</a> writings by the <a href="/facts/Israelites/wohGkSzL">Israelites</a>. The second division of Christian Bibles is the <a href="/facts/New_Testament/k066sDIn">New Testament</a>, written in <a href="/facts/Koine_Greek/StKuT1sY">Koine Greek</a>.
The Old Testament consists of many distinct books <a href="/facts/Authorship_of_the_Bible/T50E961S">by various authors</a> produced over a period of centuries. Christians traditionally divide the Old Testament into four sections: the first five books or Pentateuch (which corresponds to the Jewish <a href="/facts/Torah/BdJr9IFo">Torah</a>); the history books telling the history of the Israelites, from their <a href="/facts/Conquest_of_Canaan/rub2N8fj">conquest of Canaan</a> to their <a href="/facts/Babylonian_captivity/skWuJsdJ">defeat and exile in Babylon</a>; the poetic and <a href="/facts/Poetic_Books/sG9yR9oD">wisdom literature</a>, which explore themes of human experience, morality, and divine justice; and the books of the biblical prophets, warning of the consequences of turning away from God.
The Old Testament canon differs among Christian denominations. The <a href="/facts/Eastern_Orthodox_Church/5n20Akh5">Eastern Orthodox</a> and <a href="/facts/Oriental_Orthodox_Churches/Hr4jF7La">Oriental Orthodox</a> Churches include up to 49 books, the <a href="/facts/Catholic_Bible/M3Vrat60">Catholic</a> canon contains 46, and the <a href="/facts/Protestant_Bible/YjW1RNkx">Protestant</a> Bible typically has 39. Most of these books are shared across all Christian canons, corresponding to the 24 books of the <a href="/facts/Tanakh/04qRIX0c">Tanakh</a> but with differences in order and text. Some books found in Christian Bibles, but not in the Hebrew canon, are called <a href="/facts/Deuterocanonical_books/ogFvmWvx">deuterocanonical books</a>, mostly originating from the <a href="/facts/Septuagint/jGpbyr2n">Septuagint</a>, an ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. <a href="/facts/Catholic/YpnKqaEL">Catholic</a> and <a href="/facts/Eastern_Orthodox_Church/5n20Akh5">Orthodox</a> churches include these, while most <a href="/facts/Protestant/NXja4K3g">Protestant</a> Bibles exclude them, though some <a href="/facts/Anglican/CDICRNVn">Anglican</a> and <a href="/facts/Lutheran/L4pMlRcS">Lutheran</a> versions place them in a separate section called <a href="/facts/Biblical_apocrypha/jN7uJrm5">Apocrypha</a>.
While early histories of <a href="/facts/History_of_ancient_Israel_and_Judah/qVoA0uua">Israel</a> were largely based on biblical accounts, their reliability has been increasingly questioned over time. Key debates have focused on the historicity of the <a href="/facts/Patriarchs_(Bible)/X8kP2VKU">Patriarchs</a>, the <a href="/facts/The_Exodus/EYpE0I3K">Exodus</a>, the Israelite conquest, and the <a href="/facts/United_Monarchy/VLPUcfkt">United Monarchy</a>, with archaeological evidence often challenging these narratives. Mainstream scholarship has balanced skepticism with evidence, recognizing that some biblical traditions align with archaeological findings, particularly from the <a href="/facts/9th_century_BC/mzUXxjTa">9th century BC</a> onward.

Old Testament open-in-new

Old Testament