Old Testament

Old Testament

The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism. The number of these writings varies markedly between denominations, Protestants accepting only the Rabbinic canon but dividing it into 39 books, while Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox, Coptic and Ethiopian churches recognise a considerably larger collection derived from the ancient Septuagint.

The books can be broadly divided into the Pentateuch, which lists the Mosaic Law and tells how God selected Israel to be his chosen people, the history books telling the history of the Israelites from their Conquest of Canaan to their defeat and exile in Babylon, the poetic and "wisdom" books dealing, in various forms, with questions of good and evil in the world, and the books of the biblical prophets, warning of the consequences of turning away from God. For the Israelites who were its original authors and readers these books told of their own unique relationship with God and their relationship with Proselytes, but the over-arching Messianic nature of Christianity has led Christians from the very beginning of the faith to see the Old Testament as a preparation for the New Covenant and New Testament.

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Quotes·Quotation by Old Testament, Bible

Genesis

Exodus

¶ I have been a stranger in a strange land. [Exodus 2:22, Old Testament]

¶ You shall not steal. You shall not give false evidence against your neighbour. You shall not set your heart on your neighbour's house. You shall not set your heart on your neighbour's spouse, or servant, man or woman, or ox, or donkey, or any of your neighbour's possessions. [Exodus 20:15-17, Old Testament]

¶ But if her death will have followed, he will repay a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, a scrape for a scrape, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise. [Exodus 21:23-25, Old Testament]

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

Joshua

Judges

Ruth

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

1 Kings

2 Kings

1 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

Ezra

Nehemiah

Tobit

Judith

Esther

1 Maccabees

2 Maccabees

Job

Psalms

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes

Song of Songs

Wisdom

Sirach

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Lamentations

Baruch

Ezekiel

Daniel

Hosea

Joel

Amos

Obadiah

Jonah

Micah

Nahum

Habakkuk

Zephaniah

Haggai

Zechariah

Malachi

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Testament