Old Testament

The Old Testament gathers 46 books written over almost a thousand years. It tells the story of God's covenant with Israel, from creation to the waiting for the Messiah.

🎯 Learning objective

Gain an overview of the Old Testament: its 46 books, its sections, its history and its relationship to Christ.

🏛️ Historical context

It was written in Hebrew, with parts in Aramaic and some books in Greek, between the 10th and 1st centuries BC. Its setting is the ancient Near East: Egypt, Canaan, Assyria, Babylon, Persia and the Greek world.

🕰️ Timeline

OriginsCreation, sin and the promise of salvationGenesis 1-11
Around 1800 BCAbraham and the patriarchsGenesis 12-50
Around 1250 BCExodus, the Sinai covenant and the desertExodus-Deuteronomy
1200-1050 BCConquest and judgesJoshua, Judges, Ruth
1030-931 BCUnited kingdom: Saul, David and SolomonSamuel, Kings, Chronicles, Psalms
931-587 BCDivided kingdom and prophetsKings; Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos...
587-538 BCExile in BabylonEzekiel, Lamentations
538-400 BCReturn and rebuildingEzra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah
167-63 BCMaccabees and the Greek period1-2 Maccabees, Daniel, Wisdom

🧭 Comparison chart

Section	Books	Date	Central theme
The Pentateuch	5	Around 1800 BC – Around 1200 BC	The first five books: creation, the patriarchs, the Exodus and the Law.
Historical books	16	Around 1200 BC – 167-164 BC	The history of God's people from the entry into the promised land to the Maccabees.
Wisdom and poetic books	7	Around 1000 BC – 1st century BC	Prayer, poetry and wisdom for life: Job, the Psalms, Proverbs and more.
Prophetic books	18	Around 760 BC – Around 450 BC	The prophets call to conversion, denounce injustice and announce the Messiah.

💡 Why it matters

"The New Testament is hidden in the Old, and the Old is made clear in the New" (Saint Augustine). Jesus read, prayed and fulfilled these Scriptures; without them he cannot be understood.

📖 How to read these books

Go through it by sections: first the Pentateuch, then the historical books with the timeline, then pray with the Psalms and finally read the prophets, placing each in his period.