Old Testament: summary and general meaning

The word "Bible" in translation means "books", that is, it is a large book, which itself consists of several. Indeed, the whole Bible consists of many parts that not only differ in content and style of presentation, but have been written by various authors for several centuries.

First of all, the Bible is divided into the New Testament and the Old Testament. The summary of each part, or rather a small annotation for each book can be found in the Law of God or the Orthodox Encyclopedia. The Old Testament begins with the book of Genesis.

Genesis (Old Testament), summary

"Genesis" is a book that tells about the creation of the world, the fall of man, the history of antediluvian civilization, the history of the flood. Around the middle of the book, the story switches to the story of one family: the family of Abraham. It was the descendants of Abraham who became the founders of the entire Jewish people. It is this small people who have for centuries maintained faith in the true God, and therefore his history is given special attention. The twelve sons of Jacob, Joseph and the arrival of Jews in Egypt are the main moments of the last chapters of Genesis.

Exodus (Old Testament), summary

The book "Exodus" is the second book of the Old Testament. It is written by Moses, like Genesis, and begins the narrative from the moment when the life of Jacob's descendants in Egypt became unbearable. "Exodus" is the history of the flight of the chosen people from Egypt and the search for their land. In the desert, Moses will be given commandments, the very ten commandments that are still taught by children in Sunday schools. Stories about the divergent sea, manna that comes down from the sky, and about the golden calf - all from the book "Exodus."

Books in the Old Testament 39, and they are all very different. Not all of them are historical or law-positive, like "Genesis" or "Exodus." There are also poetic works, for example, "Ecclesiastes", which are prophetic, for example, "The Book of the Prophet Isaiah."

Perhaps the most famous and often used book is the Psalter (Old Testament). The summary of this book is difficult to convey, because it consists of verses. These poems were written, of course, not in Russian, so when translating rhymes and size are lost. But still poetic images, repentant or joyful mood, reasoning about the will of God remains.

In general, the Old Testament is a book of the Jewish people. Christians consider them prophetic, they find in the text many indications that Christ is the Messiah. For them, the essence of the Old Testament is to bring the Jewish people to Christ, to accept Him as Savior. Modern Jews completely disagree with this. For the Jews, the composition and text of these books is somewhat different from the Christian version.

Is it worth reading the Bible, and if it's worth, then why?

First of all, the Bible is a book about God. If a person is interested in faith, if he wants to find out for himself the meaning of his life and generally what is happening, it is worth reading the Bible.

Many heroes of paintings, books and even musical works are mentioned in the Bible. In order to refresh the memory of the deeds of King Saul or quickly recall all the executions of Egypt, you can read the brochure: "The Bible. Old Testament. Summary". But still, everyone should read this book at least once.