Old Testament

The first major division of the Christian Bible, comprising books also found in the Jewish Tanakh. Its canon, arrangement, and numbering vary among Christian traditions.

Hebrew Bible: The collection of Jewish scriptures, largely corresponding to the books Christians call the Old Testament but arranged and counted differently. Its overlapping texts and distinct arrangement clarify the Old Testament’s relationship to Jewish scripture.
Textual criticism: The study of manuscript evidence to reconstruct and understand the history of a text. It compares ancient witnesses to identify variants in Old Testament books.
Ancient Israelite religion: The religious traditions practiced by the ancient peoples of Israel and Judah before and during the Second Temple period. Its beliefs and practices form the historical setting of many Old Testament texts.
New Testament: The second major division of the Christian Bible, centered on Jesus and the earliest Christian movement. It is the Christian Bible’s other major division and is read alongside the Old Testament.
Covenant theology: A theological framework that understands God’s relationship with humanity through covenants. It connects Old Testament promises and laws with Christian accounts of salvation.
Biblical canon: A community’s recognized collection of authoritative biblical books. Different Christian canons determine which books belong to the Old Testament.
Dead Sea Scrolls: Ancient Jewish manuscripts discovered near the Dead Sea, including biblical texts and related writings. They preserve early witnesses to Old Testament texts and their variations.
Kingdom of Israel: An ancient Israelite kingdom in the northern Levant, distinct from the southern kingdom of Judah. Its history and traditions contributed to the formation of biblical narratives and prophecy.
Tanakh: The Jewish scriptural collection organized into Torah, Prophets, and Writings. It shares many books with the Old Testament but differs in organization and, across traditions, contents.
Biblical typology: An interpretive approach that reads earlier biblical persons or events as patterns fulfilled later. Christian interpreters use it to relate Old Testament figures and events to Jesus.

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