The Bible - The Old Testament - The Bible - Old Testament

The Bible: The Old Testament

1. The Old Testament
Student Learning Objectives
● Explain why we read the Old Testament.
●Classify the arrangement of the Old
Testament.
●Summarize the four major parts of the Old
Testament.

2. Why do we read the Old
Testament?
The Old Testament prepares us for the
coming of Jesus Christ. We do read,
study, and pray the Old Testament
because it contains God’s revelation.

3. The Catechism of the Catholic
Church teaches us that: “The
Old Testament is an
indispensable part of Sacred
Scripture” (CCC, 121).
It is the true Word of God that
is “to prepare for the coming of
Christ, the redeemer of all and
of the messianic kingdom to
announce this coming by
prophecy (Dei Verbum, 15).
The Messianic Kingdom refers
to the prophesied reign of the
Messiah, a future era of peace,
justice, and divine rule as
foretold in Jewish and Christian
theology. It is associated with
the coming of a divinely chosen
leader (the Messiah) who will
establish God's kingdom on
Earth.

4. Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah and that the
Messianic Kingdom began with His first coming and will be fully
realized at His Second Coming.
It is often connected with the Kingdom of God or Kingdom of
Heaven, as preached by Jesus in the Gospels.
Many Christians see the Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 20:1-6)
as a period of Christ's reign on Earth before the final judgment.

5. Messianic Kingdom represents the fulfillment
of God's promise of a world where
righteousness prevails, evil is defeated, and
humanity lives in harmony under divine rule.

6. The Old Law or the Law of Moses, contained
in the Old Testament is a preparation for the
Gospel.
St. Irenaeus wrote: “The Law is a pedagogy
and a prophecy of things to come”.

7. The Old Testament is important in several ways:
1.It contains the truth of God’s promises to the Chosen
People, and through them, to all people.
2.It reveals our true identity as God’s special creatures.
3.It records the experiences of our ancestors in faith.
4.It reveals a living God, who meets us when we read
and pray with these words of Sacred Scripture.

8. The Second Vatican Council further taught that “God,
the inspirer and author of both Testaments, wisely
arranged that the New Testament should be hidden in
the Old Testament and the Old should be made
manifest in New” (Dei Verbum, 16).

9. OLD TESTAMENT - 46 Books, written in
Hebrew
NEW TESTAMENT - 27 Books, written in
Greek

10. DEUTEROCANONICAL (for Catholics) - A
term meaning “second canon”. These are the
books included in the Old Testament but not in
Hebrew scriptures. These were mostly written in
Greek after 300 BC. These additions are 1 and 2
Maccabees, Judith, Tobith, Baruch, Sirach,
Wisdom, and parts of Esther and Daniel.

11. APOCRYPHAL BOOKS (for Protestants) –
It is a Greek word meaning “hidden”. For
Catholics, it refers to pious literature related to
the Bible but not included in the canon of the
Bible. Examples: 1 Esdras and the Book of
Jubilees.

12. SEPTUAGINT - An important ancient Greek
translation of the Old Testament. The word
“Septuagint” comes from the Latin word for
“seventy” referring to the legendary seventy (or
seventy-two) scholars who translated the work in
seventy - two days.

13. VULGATE - This translation became the
Church’s official translation of the Bible from
the original languages. St. Jerome completed the
Latin translations of the Old and New
Testaments.

14. Classifying and Arranging the
Old Testament Books
Four major parts of the
Old Testament

15. Jews traditionally divided the books of the
Hebrew scriptures into three distinct
sections:
1. Law (in Hebrew, Torah) - also known as the first five
books of the Bible or the Pentateuch
2. Prophets (in Hebrew, Neviim)
3. Writings (in Hebrew, Ketuvim)

16. TaNaK - it is an acronym which is often
used as a shorthand by modern Jews to
refer to the Hebrew Scriptures.
T – Torah (הָרוֹתּ)–" Law" or "Instruction"
N – Nevi’im (םיִאיִבְנ)–" Prophets"
K – Ketuvim (םיִבוּתְכ)–" Writings"

17. Four major categories of Old
Testament writings found in
the Catholic Bible.

18. PENTATEUCH (5)
Genesis (Gn)
Exodus (Ex)
Leviticus (Lv)
Numbers (Nm)
Deuteronomy (Dt)
The Pentateuch refers to “five books''.
These sacred books, also known as
the Torah, contain the Jewish Law and
important instruction on belief and
practice. They include many
memorable stories of our faith:
Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah,
Abraham, and the patriarchs. They
recount the stories of Jewish slavery in
Egypt, YHWH’s covenant with the
Chosen People, the Exodus, and
Moses. They provide the Old Law
including the Ten Commandments.

19. HISTORICAL BOOKS (16)
Joshua (Jos)
Judges (Jdg)
Ruth (Ru)
1 Samuel (1 Sm)
2 Samuel (2 Sm)
1 Kings (1 Kgs)
2 Kings (2 Kgs)
1 Chronicles (1 Chr)
2 Chronicles (2 Chr)
Ezra (Ezr)
Nehemiah (Neh)
Tobit (Tb)
Judith (Jdt)
Esther (Est)
1 Maccabees (1 Mc)
2 Maccabees (2 Mc)
The Historical Books narrate how the Chosen
People lived out the covenant in the Promised Land.
The first six books have the same style as the book
of Deuteronomy and describe how the Holy land
was conquered and settled. They also describe the
Chosen People’s desire to be ruled by a king. Saul,
the first king, and David are described along with
the declining monarchy up to the time of the
Babylonian Captivity in 586 BC.
The next four books are written from the vantage
point of a priestly writer. They tell the story of
Babylonian Captivity and the return under Ezra and
Nehemiah.
The period after the exile also produced some short
moralistic tales to uplift and inspire the Jews. First
and Second Maccabees record the successful revolt
of the Jews against the Greek rulers in Syria.

20. WISDOM BOOKS (7)
Job (Jb)
Psalms (Ps[s])
Proverbs (Prv)
Ecclesiastes (Eccl)
Song of Songs (Song [Sg])
Wisdom (Wisdom of Solomon) (Wis)
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) (Sir)
These works contain some of the
most beautiful and practical
religious literature in the world.
Job wrestles with the ever-current
problem of suffering and good
versus evil. The Psalms contain
many exquisite hymns and prayers
for both public and private use.
The Song of Songs is an allegorical
love song that treats God’s love for
his people.

21. PROPHETIC BOOKS (18)
Isaiah (Is)
Jeremiah (Jer)
Lamentations (Lam)
Baruch (Bar)
Ezekiel (Ez)
Daniel (Dn)
Hosea (Hos)
Joel (Jl)
Amos (Am)
Obadiah (Ob)
Jonah (Jon)
Micah (Mi)
Nahum (Ha)
Habakkuk (Hb)
Zephaniah (Zep)
Haggai (Hg)
Zechariah (Zec)
Malachi (Mal)
The prophets were powerful
figures who spoke for
YHWH, often warning the
people to remain faithful to
the covenant or face dire
consequences. Their words
remain forceful reminders of
a just and faithful God who
loves justice and requires the
believer to live faithfully and
compassionately.

22. How does the Old
Testament help you
understand and
strengthen your faith in
Jesus Christ? Give one
specific example from the
Old Testament and
explain its significance.