The Old Testament. New and Old Testament

When we talk about Christianity, then in the minds of everyone there are different associations. Each of the people is unique, so understanding the essence of this religion is a subjective category for each of us. Some consider this concept a collection of ancient scriptures , others - an unnecessary belief in supernatural forces. But Christianity is, first of all, one of the world religions, which has been formed for centuries. The history of this phenomenon began long before the birth of the great Christ. Many people can not imagine that the sources of Christianity as a religious worldview appeared as far back as the 12th century BC. In the process of studying Christianity, one should turn to the sacred writings, which give an opportunity to understand the moral foundations, political factors and even some features of the thinking of the ancient people, directly influencing the process of the birth, development and world spread of this religion. Such information can be obtained through a detailed study of the Old and New Testament - the main parts of the Bible.

Structural elements of the Christian Bible

When we talk about the Bible, we need to clearly understand its importance, because it contains all the once famous religious legends. This scripture is so multifaceted, that the fate of people and even entire nations can depend on its understanding.

Quotations from the Bible at all times were treated differently depending on the goals pursued by people. Nevertheless, the Bible is not a true, original version of the holy letter. It is rather a kind of collection consisting of two fundamental parts: the Old and New Testaments. The meaning of these structural elements is fully implemented in the Bible, without any changes or additions.

This sacred script reveals the divine essence of God, the history of the creation of the world, and also provides the basic canons of the life of an ordinary person.

The Bible has undergone all kinds of changes for many centuries. This is due to the emergence of various Christian currents that accept or deny some biblical writings. Nevertheless, the Bible, regardless of the changes, absorbed Jewish, and later - formed Christian traditions, set out in the covenants: Old and New.

General Characteristics of the Old Testament

The Old Testament, or the Old Testament, as it is commonly called, is the main part of the Bible along with the New Testament. This is the oldest scripture that entered the Bible, which we are accustomed to see today. The book of the Old Testament is considered to be the "Jewish Bible".

The chronology of the creation of this holy script is striking. According to historical facts, the Old Testament was written between the 12th and 1st centuries BC - long before the appearance of Christianity as a separate, independent religion. It follows that many Jewish religious traditions and concepts have fully become part of Christianity. The book of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, and the translation was not Greek, only in the period from I to III century BC. The translation was recognized by those first Christians, in whose consciousness this religion was born.

Author of the Old Testament

To date, it is not known the exact number of authors participating in the process of creating the Old Testament. One fact can be stated with certainty: the book of the Old Testament was written by dozens of authors for several centuries. Scripture consists of a large number of books, named after the people who created them. However, many modern scholars believe that most of the books of the Old Testament are written by authors whose names are hidden in the centuries.

Sources of the Old Testament

People who do not understand absolutely nothing in religion believe that the main source of the holy letter is the Bible. The Old Testament is part of the Bible, but it was never a primary source, since it appeared after its writing. The Old Testament is set forth in various texts and manuscripts, the most important of which are as follows:

• Septuagint (translation from Hebrew into Greek).
• Vulgate (also translated - only in Latin).
• Targums (several hundred translations into Aramaic).
• Peshitta (the famous manuscript in which the Old Testament is translated into the Syriac language).

In addition to these sources, it should be noted the importance of the Qumran manuscripts. They contain small fragments of all the books that make up the Old Testament.

Canons of the Old Testament

The canons of the Old Testament are a collection of books (writings) accepted and recognized by the church. We must understand that the Bible, the Old Testament of which is a fundamental part, was created over many centuries. Therefore, its final form was formed already in the bosom of the church under the close supervision of the clergy. As for the Old Testament, today there are three main canons, differing in content and origin:

1. Tanah (the Jewish canon). Fully formed in Judaism.
2. The classical, Christian canon, which was formed under the influence of the Septuagint (Greek translation). The canon was adopted by the Catholic and Orthodox churches.
3. In the 16th century a Protestant canon arose. It occupies an intermediate place between the Tanakh and the classical canon.

The historical formation of all canons took place during two stages:

• Formation in Judaism;
• Formation under the influence of the Christian church.

New Testament

An equally important part of the Bible is the New Testament, which was created much later. In fact, this part of the scriptures tells about the events that were before and during the appearance of Jesus Christ.

The New and Old Testaments radically differ from each other, above all, by the sources that contributed to their emergence. If the Old Testament is based on ancient manuscripts, the New One largely adopts the knowledge of the first part of the Bible. In other words, the Old Testament is the source of the New, even if this statement has some inaccuracies.

General characteristics of the New Testament

The New Testament was formed between the end of the first century BC and the beginning of the 1st century AD. It is written in ancient Greek. It consists of 27 books, four Gospels, narrating about the life of the prophet Jesus, as well as the book of the Acts of the Apostles and the Revelation of John the Theologian. The canonization of the New Testament took place at the Ecumenical Councils. At the same time, there was a problem with the recognition of the Revelation of John the Theologian, because his writing was considered a mystical book.

It should be noted the great influence of the apocryphal, early Christian literature on the formation of the New Testament.

Hypotheses about the origin of the Bible

Some scholars who study quotes from the Bible find confirmation that the two parts of the Holy Scripture have much in common. Many researchers believe that the New Testament is nothing more than one of the books of the Old Testament. Such a hypothesis has not been confirmed to date, although it has a lot of adherents in the scientific community. The problem is that the Old and New Testaments, the differences of which are significant, also have different themes, which really does not allow us to identify them.

The result

So, in the article we analyzed the historical facts in detail and tried to understand what the Bible is. The Old and New Testaments are indispensable parts of the main letter of the Christian church. Their study remains a priority for scientists and to this day, because many secrets still remain unsolved.