Old Testament

The Old Testament is the first major division of the Christian biblical canon, consisting of ancient Hebrew and, in some cases, Aramaic writings traditionally attributed to the people of Israel. It broadly corresponds to the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, which contains 24 books. Christian traditions vary in the number of books included: Protestant Bibles contain 39, Catholic Bibles 46, and Eastern and Oriental Orthodox canons contain up to 49. The second division of the Christian Bible is the New Testament, written in Koine Greek.
The Old Testament includes works composed over many centuries. These writings reflect diverse literary forms, theological themes and historical settings, from creation narratives to prophetic oracles and wisdom poetry. Christian tradition commonly arranges the books into four major segments: the Pentateuch, the historical books, the poetic or wisdom books, and the prophetic writings.

Canon and Variations Among Traditions

Despite broad overlap, different Christian denominations include different sets of books:

• Protestant canons include 39 books, omitting texts not found in the Masoretic Hebrew Bible.
• Catholic canons, established at the Council of Trent (1546), include 46 books, incorporating the deuterocanonical books, which were largely derived from the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures.
• Eastern and Oriental Orthodox canons include additional works, many of which appear in the Septuagint. These are often described as “anagignoskomena”, meaning texts suitable for reading in church.

Books accepted by some traditions and excluded by others are collectively known as the biblical apocrypha. Historical Protestant editions such as the Luther Bible and the 1611 King James Version included these books in an appendix, though many contemporary Protestant Bibles omit them entirely.
The order of books also varies. Jewish tradition, reflected in the Talmud and in medieval codifications such as Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah, arranges the writings into the Torah, Nevi’im (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings). Modern Christian editions typically retain the sequence used in the Latin Vulgate, with certain spelling differences influenced by translations from the Hebrew Masoretic Text.

Content and Structure

The Old Testament contains a broad array of literary genres and theological concerns. Christian editions divide the books broadly as follows:

• The Pentateuch/Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. These books provide creation narratives, ancestral traditions, laws and accounts of early Israelite identity.
• Historical Books: including Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra–Nehemiah and, in some traditions, the Books of the Maccabees. These works chart the history of Israel from the conquest of Canaan through the monarchy, exile and restoration.
• Wisdom and Poetic Books: such as Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs, which explore themes of human experience, ethical reflection, suffering and divine justice.
• Prophetic Books: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the twelve minor prophets. These writings include warnings, visions and promises, often focused on Israel’s covenantal obligations and the consequences of disobedience.

Historicity and Scholarly Perspectives

The historical reliability of Old Testament narratives has long been debated. Early scholarship often adopted a maximalist view, assuming the accuracy of biblical accounts unless proven otherwise. This approach was widespread into the early twentieth century and remained influential in some regions until the 1970s.
Modern scholarship has moved towards a more critical position. Certain narratives—particularly those dealing with the Patriarchs, the Exodus, the Israelite conquest and the United Monarchy—have been increasingly questioned in light of archaeological evidence. Scholars note similarities between biblical stories and ancient Near Eastern literature, such as the flood narrative in Genesis and the Epic of Gilgamesh, or the stories of Moses and Sargon of Akkad.
The minimalist school of the 1990s emphasised scepticism, doubting the historical value of many early biblical accounts. More recent scholarship tends to take a balanced view, recognising that while some narratives lack corroboration, others align with material evidence, particularly from the 9th century BC onward. This nuanced approach accepts the composite nature of the texts, acknowledging that they reflect both historical memory and theological interpretation.

Composition and Literary Development

Most scholars agree that the Pentateuch achieved its final form in the Persian period under the administration of Yehud Medinata, shaped by elite groups returning from the Babylonian exile. The books from Joshua to Kings form what is widely known as the Deuteronomistic History, a unified narrative thought to have been compiled during the 6th century BC.
The Books of Chronicles, offering an alternative perspective on earlier histories, likely date from the 4th century BC, while Ezra–Nehemiah was probably completed in the 3rd century BC. The Books of the Maccabees, included in Catholic and Orthodox canons, were written in the Hellenistic period.
The prophetic books were composed over a wide span of time, predominantly between the 8th and 6th centuries BC, though works such as Jonah and Daniel are generally dated much later. Wisdom literature reflects a similarly broad chronology, with Proverbs containing material from various periods, Job dating to the 6th century BC and Ecclesiastes likely completed in the 3rd century BC.

Themes

The Old Testament presents God as the creator and sovereign ruler, whose relationship with Israel is articulated through covenant. Although the portrayal of God varies across the texts, he is consistently depicted as the source of moral authority and the ultimate judge of nations. Major themes include:

• Creation and covenant: the idea of a divinely ordered world and Israel’s special role within it.
• Law and morality: ethical instruction and legal codes governing community life.
• Prophecy and judgement: warnings against idolatry, injustice and faithlessness.
• Wisdom and human experience: reflections on suffering, virtue, love and mortality.
• History and identity: narratives that shape collective memory and define Israel’s place among neighbouring cultures.