The Old Testament: Difference between revisions

[[File:Great Isaiah Scroll Ch53.jpg|섬네일|Great Isaiah Scroll (Dead Sea Scrolls) (Source: [http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/isaiah The Israel Museum])]]

The '''Old Testament''', written before the birth of [[Jesus Christ]], contains the history of the Israelites, God’s plan for salvation, and prophecies about the [[Messiah]]. There are 39 books in total, arranged in the following order: books of the law, books of history, books of poetry, and books of prophecy. The Old Testament was written over a period of about a thousand years. Its last book, [[Book of Malachi|Malachi]], was written around 400 B.C.<ref>How Did We Get the Old Testament?, ''Zondervan Academic'', May 18, 2018</ref><ref>Who Wrote the Bible?, ''History.com'', September 26, 2023</ref><ref>The New Cambridge History of the Bible, 1 - The languages of the Old Testament, May 5, 2013, pp. 3–21</ref>  

The word ''Old Testament'' means ''Old Covenant''. It contains God’s promise that was given to the Israelites until Jesus Christ came. Originally, it was called the “Scriptures.” Over time, it started to be called the “Old Testament” to differentiate it from the [[The New Testament|New Testament]]. It is also called the Hebrew Bible because most of it was written in Hebrew. The Bible quoted by Jesus and the apostles was the Old Testament.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Luke+24%3A27&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=Luke 24:27 |publisher= |quote= }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Acts+8%3A30-35&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=Acts 8:30–35 |publisher= |quote= }}</ref>

|[[Book of Genesis|Genesis]], [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]],  [[Book of Leviticus|Leviticus]], [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]], [[Book of Deuteronomy|Deuteronomy]]  

|[[Book of Judges|Judges]]

|[[Book of 1 Kings|1]] & [[Book of 2 Kings|2 Kings]]

|[[Book of Ezra|Ezra]]

|[[Book of Jeremiah|Jeremiah]], [[Book of Lamentations|Lamentations]]

|[[Book of Ezekiel|Ezekiel]]

The book of '''Psalms''' are a hymn anthology of the Old Testament composed of poems written by various writers for use in worship and praise. It contains various themes, such as praising the power of God, asking for salvation by pleading about personal circumstances, faith and the law, and prophecies about the Messiah. The book of '''Job''' highlights the life of Job, who underwent suffering and endurance which resulted in blessings. In the book of '''Ecclesiastes''', Solomon, who realized the futility of life, speaks about the importance of living with the fear of God; and the book of '''Proverbs''' records the wisdom that enables us to equip ourselves with the proper character as God’s people. The book of '''Song of Songs''' sings about the love between a man and a woman ostensibly, but on the other side, it also shows God’s love for the saints.<ref name=":2" />

In the Old Testament times, God fulfilled His will by showing His words or visions to Moses and other prophets.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Amos+3%3A7&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=Amos 3:7 |publisher= |quote= }}</ref> The prophets, who were called by God, proclaimed to Israel and recorded what they had received. The message that is the most prominent in the books of prophecy is that God calls for repentance and judgment on Israel and that in due time God will restore the kingdom. These books of prophecy are divided into two groups: major prophets and minor prophets. The minor prophets are short and have God’s revelations given during a certain time frame. Among the major prophets, the book of '''Isaiah''' talks about the prophecies of the Messiah with great importance. The book of '''Jeremiah''' shows the prophet’s work of proclaiming repentance and judgment with tears to the corrupt Kingdom of Judah. The book of '''Ezekiel''' records many revelations and visions, and the book of '''Daniel''' describes various prophecies based on Daniel's visions and experience of being taken captive in Babylon and attaining a high position.<ref name=":2" />

[[file:Dead Sea Scrolls Before Unraveled.jpg |섬네일 |The Dead Sea Scrolls when found: The material used was parchment. (Source: [https://archive.org/details/scrollsfromdeser00habeuoft/page/n21/mode/2up The Scrolls from the Judean Desert] by Habermann, Abraham Meir, p. 23)]]

In Israel, some people copied the Bible professionally; these people were called the [[Teacher of the Law|scribes]]. It is said that when making copies of the Bible, the parchment, ink color, and the scribes' clothing were fixed, and that the regulations of the shape and spacing of letters were also very strict. In addition, to prevent making any errors, the scribes had to read the original text aloud while transcribing, not relying on their memory. In order not to miss a single letter, they even counted the number of letters. It was then reviewed by another scribe to ensure accuracy.<ref>How Were the Scribes Who Copied the New Testament in Antiquity, and What Were Their Tools and Materials?, ''Christian Publishing House Blog''</ref><ref>Process of copying the Old Testament by Jewish Scribes, Scott Manning</ref>