The Bible is made up of two main sections, the Old Testament and the New Testament. the old testament is the first section and documents everything from the creation of life to the birth of jesus christ. The Old Testament consists of 39 different books that document Israel’s ancient history and serve as the moral teachings and foundation of the Christian and Jewish faith.
We will explore the books that make up the Old Testament, taking into account the way this first great division of scripture is organized.
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brief history of canonization and translation
As we prepare to take a closer look at the books of the Old Testament, let us briefly consider how the list of 39 books as we know it came to be. Some mistakenly believe that the Hebrew Bible, that is, the Tanakh, is identical to what Christians know as the Old Testament. But this is not the case. The Hebrew Bible varies in the way it categorizes and divides the books.
the decision about which books should be included in the old testament was a matter of debate. When a book or text is recognized as authoritative, it is said to be “canonized,” that is, officially considered part of the Bible. Today, Christians consider the Bible to be a closed canon, meaning that it cannot be opened to include new texts in the future.
the tradition surrounding the Hebrew scriptures
The decision about which books would be included in the Old Testament was based in part on the long history of Jewish canonization with respect to the Hebrew Bible. Although the Hebrew Bible has its own distinctive history and organization, it forms the basis of what became the Christian Old Testament. the authority of most of these ancient texts was agreed upon by the Jewish teachers and communities almost from the time they were written. around the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. c., these key Jewish texts were translated by Jewish scholars from the original Hebrew into Greek, in a translation known as the Septuagint. the Septuagint included all the books of the tanakh, as well as several other later Jewish scriptures of cultural importance. Some of these additional books include Tobit, Judith, and Sirach.
from the Hebrew Bible to the Christian Bible
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In the early days of the Christian church, the Septuagint was used as the primary basis for the Old Testament. All major Christian traditions recognize the key texts (those found in the Hebrew Bible) as canon. however, there is a less uniform consensus regarding the later additional books (Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, etc.).
The additional books are believed to have been written primarily in the intertestamental period, that is, the period between the events of the old and new testaments. there are also additional sections of some books of the tanakh that seem to have been added later. the books of daniel and esther, for example, have sections added. The Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles include many of these books and additions in their biblical canons. In Protestant traditions, these are considered biblical deuterocanonical or apocryphal books, meaning that while these texts may offer insight into the life and times in which they were written, they are not considered an authoritative part of Protestant bibles.
old testament organization
the old testament of the bible is organized in four main sections. these sections are known as the pentateuch, the historical books, the wisdom books, and the prophetic books, subdivided into major and minor prophets. We’ll take a closer look at each of these sections.
the pentateuch
Like the Torah, the Pentateuch contains the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These books document the history and beginnings of the world with special emphasis on the formation of the people of Israel. Leviticus, numbers and deuteronomy are also known as the law. The law, as expressed in the Old Testament, shows how God’s people should live. Composed of narrative accounts and formalized guidelines for living, the Pentateuch presents God’s plan for humanity and his relentless fidelity to his people.
historical books
The next major section of the Old Testament is the historical books. These books recount events ranging from Israel’s conquest of Canaan, to the dissolution of the Kingdom of Israel and the Babylonian captivity, to the eventual return to Jerusalem. The books in this section are Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. in this section we can see why the old testament has more books than the hebrew bible; certain texts are divided into several books. for example, in the tanakh, samuel is one book, while in the old testament it is divided into two.
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the books of wisdom
The Wisdom Books consist of the Books of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs. these books are composed of poetry, narratives and moral sayings. wisdom books focus on reflections on worship, love, suffering and life.
the prophetic books
Finally, we have the prophetic books. Each of the prophetic books consists primarily of a historical account and a call to action from the various prophets, or messengers, sent to the people by God. They not only document the events of ancient Israel, but also explain the lasting significance of the events that occur during this time. The prophetic books provide a record of the messages that God commanded the prophets to share with the people.
Biblical prophets can be divided into two main groups: the major and minor prophets. the designation of the prophets as “major” or “minor” is not a statement of their importance or value. rather, the so-called major prophets are the longer prophetic books, while the minor prophets are a collection of shorter books. here we see another difference in organization between the tanakh and the old testament. in the Hebrew scriptures the twelve minor prophets are compiled into a single volume or book, called the twelve. In the Christian Bible, each prophet is separated into an individual book.
The major prophets include Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. The twelve minor prophets are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
final thoughts
The various books of the Old Testament demonstrate the tenacity of God’s love for his people. Comprised of many texts by many human authors, over an extensive period of time, and in a variety of literary genres and styles, the Old Testament canon is intended to point us to God and encourage us to live righteously. Through laws, historical accounts, words of worship and wisdom, and prophetic calls, the Old Testament sets the stage for the gospel, introducing us to a God who loves the world so much that he will send us his son, Jesus Christ.
If you’d like to learn more about the Old Testament and the books of the Bible as a whole, check out Alabaster’s collection of beautifully designed Bibles and other supplemental materials to help you along your journey.
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