Old Testament - General

What are the FOUR major divisions of the current OT?

What are the THREE major divisions of the Hebrew OT?

What was the language of the OT?

What is the Septuagint LXX?

What is the meaning of “canon” in reference to the Bible?

What are the Deutero-canonical Books?

The Books of the O.T.The Five Books of Moses – The Law – The TorahGenesis The beginnings (the primeval history) Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob & JosephExodus Salvation – Israel in Egypt, Wilderness & Sinai Passover – Covenant – Law – TabernacleLeviticus Sanctification – Be Holy for I AM HOLY 5 Sacrifices – Feasts – PurificationsNumbers In the Wilderness – Trip to the Promised LandDeuteronomy Commitment 3 Sermons by MosesThe Historical BooksJoshua – Judges – RuthI & II Samuel – I & II Kings – I & II ChroniclesEzra – Nehemiah – Esther

The Books of the O.T.Poetical Books – Wisdom BooksJob Mystery of SufferingPsalms Life of PraiseProverbs Victory of WisdomEcclesiastes Illusion of the worldly desiresSong of Songs Union with ChristProphetsMajorIsaiah – Jeremiah – Lamentation – Ezekiel – DanielMinorHosea – Joel – Amos – Obadiah – Jonah – Micah Nahum – Habakkuk – Zephaniah Haggai – Zechariah – Malachi

The Divisions of the Hebrew O.T.Traditionally 24 books arranged in 3 divisions:

Torah – ‘law’The 5 books of Moses – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

Nebiim – ‘prophets’The 4 Former Prophets – Joshua, Judges, Samuel, KingsThe 4 Latter Prophets – Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the Book of the Twelve Prophets

Ketubim – ‘writings’Psalms, Proverbs, JobMegillot – ‘scrolls’: Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentation, Ecclesiastes, EstherDaniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles

The 24 are identical to the 39 of the generally used OTThe Lord Jesus and the Apostles used “the scripture” in the debate –

reference to the entire Hebrew canon (e.g. Luke 11:50) and the 3 divisions (Luke 24:44)

The Language of the O.T.

Hebrew – some Aramaic (in Daniel)

The Septuagint LXX – Latin word for 70The Greek translation done in Alexandria in c. 300 B.C.Quickly became the Bible of the Jews outside Palestine and the early Church

The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible by St. Jerome

Textual Transmission

The Talmudists (A.D. 100-500)Followed very elaborate regulations in transcribing synagogue scrolls

The Massoretic Period (A.D. 500-900)From Massora (Tradition) – were well disciplined and devised a complicated system of safeguards against scribal slips

The Dead Sea scrolls consist of about 900 documents, including texts from the Hebrew Bible, discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves in and around the Wadi Qumran near the ruins of the ancient settlement of Khirbet Qumran, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea.

The texts are of great religious and historical significance, as they include some of the only known surviving copies of Biblical documents made before 100 BC and preserve evidence of late Second Temple Judaism. They are written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, mostly on parchment, but with some written on papyrus. These manuscripts generally date between 150 BC to 70 AD. The scrolls are most commonly identified with the ancient Jewish sect called the Essenes.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are traditionally divided into three groups: "Biblical" manuscripts (copies of texts from the Hebrew Bible), which comprise roughly 40% of the identified scrolls; "Apocryphal" or "Pseudepigraphical" manuscripts (known documents from the Second Temple Period like Enoch, Jubilees, Tobit, Sirach, non-canonical psalms, etc., that were not ultimately canonized in the Hebrew Bible), which comprise roughly 30% of the identified scrolls; and "Sectarian" manuscripts (previously unknown documents that speak to the rules and beliefs of a particular group or groups within greater Judaism) like the Community Rule, War Scroll, Pesher (Hebrew pesher פשר = "Commentary") on Habakkuk, and the Rule of the Blessing, which comprise roughly 30% of the identified scrolls.

The Canon

From Greek “kanon” meaning reed or cane. It also means rule or measure.

In case of the Bible, it refers to the list of books accepted as Holy Scripture: the Canonical Books.

Deutro-Canonical BooksTobitJudithCont. of Esther Chapter 10 - 16Wisdom of SolomonJoshua Son of Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus)BaruchEpistle of JeremiahCont. of Daniel Ch. 3 (cont.) & Ch. 13-14I, II & III MaccabeesEsdrasPsalm 151 PsalmsPrayer of Manasseh Kings

The Catholic deuterocanonical scriptural texts are:TobitJudithAdditions to Esther (Vulgate Esther 10:4-16:24)WisdomSirach (or Ecclesiasticus)Baruch, including the Letter of Jeremiah (Additions to Jeremiah in the Septuagint)Additions to Daniel:

Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children (Vulgate Daniel 3:24-90)Susanna (Vulgate Daniel 13, Septuagint prologue)Bel and the Dragon (Vulgate Daniel 14, Septuagint epilogue)1 Maccabees2 Maccabees

The Eastern Orthodox books included in the Old Testament are the seven deuterocanonical books listed above, plus 3 Maccabees and 1 Esdras (also included in the Clementine Vulgate), while Baruch is divided from the Epistle of Jeremiah, making a total of 49 Old Testament books in contrast with the Protestant 39-book canon

Other texts printed in Orthodox Bibles are considered of some value (like the additional Psalm 151, and the Prayer of Manasses) or are included as an appendix (like the Greek 4 Maccabees, and the Slavonic 2 Esdras).

Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nelson's Complete Book of Bible Maps & Charts : Old and New Testaments. Rev. and updated ed. Nashville, Tenn. : Thomas Nelson, 1996

Time Line

Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nelson's Complete Book of Bible Maps & Charts : Old and New Testaments. Rev. and updated ed. Nashville, Tenn. : Thomas Nelson, 1996

Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nelson's Complete Book of Bible Maps & Charts : Old and New Testaments. Rev. and updated ed. Nashville, Tenn. : Thomas Nelson, 1996

Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nelson's Complete Book of

Bible Maps & Charts : Old and New Testaments. Rev. and

updated ed. Nashville, Tenn. : Thomas Nelson, 1996

Old Testament - GeneralWhat are the FOUR major divisions of the current OT?Low (Pentateuch / The Five Books), History Books, Poetical Books, Prophets (Major & Minor)What are the THREE major divisions of the Hebrew OT?Torah (Law / Moses), Prophets, Writings (Psalms)What was the language of the OT?Hebrew – some Aramaic (in the Book of Daniel)What is the Septuagint LXX?The Greek translation of the OT (c. 300 B.C.)What is the meaning of “canon” in reference to the Bible?It means rule or standard and it refers to the list of books accepted as Holy Scripture (the Canonical Books)What are the Deutero-canonical Books?Books found in the Greek translation but not in the Hebrew version of the OT and are accepted by the Orthodox and Catholic churches.