The Old Testament: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

in the first century, the writings we now call the Old Testament were simply Scripture for Israel, and thus for Jesus and the apostles. The first generation of the church had no inkling of a New Testament, much less of a need for one. They had the Law of Moses; they had prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel; they had the psalms of King David

So the Hebrew Bible became part of the Christian canon, albeit renamed and reinterpreted as the Old Testament.

The Hebrew canon has three divisions: Torah (the Pentateuch or Mosaic books), Nevi’im (the prophetic literature) and Ketuvim (‘Writings’). Each has a different sanctity and authority. Torah is the basic source of Jewish law and faith. The prophetic literature is roughly coextensive with the Israelites’ experience as a people in its land, from the d

Tanakh (an acronym for Torah, or Pentateuch; Nevi’im, or Prophets; and Ketuvim, or Writings).

Tanakh (an acronym for Torah, or Pentateuch; Nevi’im, or Prophets; and Ketuvim, or Writings).

In Judaism the canonization of the Old Testament and Mishnah went hand in hand with creating the institution of the rabbinate. In Christianity the canonization of the New Testament went hand in hand with the creation of a unified Christian church. Christians trusted church officials—like Bishop Athanasius—because of what they read in the New Testam