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Books of the Old Testament

The Books of the Old Testament

 Hebrew Text

The Old Testament is also known as the Hebrew Bible, as it was, of course, written mostly in Hebrew.  Some parts of the book of Daniel were written in Aramaic.

The Old Testament is divided into three sections:

  • The Five Books of Moses
  • The Prophets, and
  • The Writings

The Five Books of Moses 

The five books of Moses, also called the Law, or Torah in Hebrew, or Pentateuch in Greek are:

  • Genesis
  • Exodus
  • Leviticus
  • Numbers, and
  • Deuteronomy

Genesis which means creation or generation gives an account of the origin of all things.  It gives the history of mankind to the time of Noah and then the history of ancient Israel to the time of Joseph.

Exodus, the departure, gives an account of the Israelites in Egypt, Moses' attempt to free them and their eventual freedom and journey to the Promised Land.

Leviticus is generally a series of Laws. 

Numbers gives a record of the number of people during and after their wanderings in the wilderness.  It gives an account of the Israelites journey from Sinai to Moab.  There were fewer people at the end of the journey than there were at the beginning. 

Deuteronomy consists of the discourses Moses gave to the Israelites about the events of the forty years in the wilderness and warnings not to forsake God.  It also recounts the laws God gave Moses at Mount Sinai and a list of blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience.  It also tells of the death of Moses which was probably written by Joshua.

The Prophets

The Prophets can be divided into three parts:

The Former Prophets

  • Joshua
  • Judges
  • 1 and 2 Samuel
  • 1 and 2 Kings

These books really detail all the leaders of Israel over a period of time.

The Major Prophets

  • Isaiah
  • Jeremiah
  • Ezekiel

The Minor Prophets

  • Hosea
  • Joel
  • Amos
  • Obadiah
  • Jonah
  • Micah
  • Nahum
  • Habakkuk
  • Zephaniah
  • Haggai
  • Zechariah
  • Malachi

The difference between the Major and Minor Prophets is really the length of their books, Major being longer and Minor being the shorter books.

The Writings

  • Psalms
  • Proverbs
  • Job
  • Song of Songs
  • Ruth
  • Lamentations
  • Ecclesiastes
  • Esther
  • Daniel
  • Ezra
  • Nehemiah
  • 1 and 2 Chronicles
 

Will You Be Remembered? Nehemiah Chapter 3

Nehemiah and his helpers finish rebuilding the Jerusalem Wall

The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassanah.  They laid its beams and put its doors and bolts and bars in place.  Meremoth son of Urah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired the next section.  Next to him Meshullam son of Berekiah, the son of Meshezabel, made repairs and next to him Zadok son of Baana also made repairs.  The next section was repaired by the men of Tekoa… (Neh. 3:3-5 New International Version)

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