Old Testament: summary and general meaning

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

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

First of all, the Bible is divided into the New Testament and the Old Testament. A brief summary of each part, or rather a small annotation for each book, can be read in the Law of God or an Orthodox encyclopedia. The Old Testament begins with 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. About halfway through the book, the story switches to the story of one family: the family of Abraham. It was the descendants of Abraham who became the ancestors of the entire Jewish people. It was this small nation that for centuries retained faith in the true God, so special attention is paid to its history. The twelve sons of Jacob, Joseph, and the coming of the Jews to Egypt are the highlights of the last chapters of Genesis.

Exodus (Old Testament) summary

The book "Exodus" is the second book of the Old Testament. It was written by Moses, like "Genesis", and begins the story from the moment when the life of the descendants of Jacob in Egypt became unbearable.

"Exodus" is the story of the flight of the chosen people from Egypt and their search for their land. In the wilderness, Moses will be given the commandments, the same ten commandments that children still learn in Sunday schools. The stories of the parting sea, the manna that descends from heaven, and the golden calf are all from Exodus.

There are 39 books in the Old Testament, and they are all very different. Not all of them are historical or lawful, like Genesis or Exodus. There are also poetic works, for example, "Ecclesiastes", there are prophetic ones, for example, "The Book of the Prophet Isaiah".

Perhaps the most famous and frequently used book is the Ps alter (Old Testament). It is difficult to convey the summary of this book, since it consists entirely of poems. These verses were written, of course, not in Russian, so the rhyme and meter were lost in translation. But all the same, poetic images, repentant or joyful mood, reasoning about the will of God remained.

In general, the Old Testament is the book of the Jewish people. Christians consider them prophetic and find many indications in the text 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 do not agree with this at all. For Jews, the composition and text of these books is somewhat different from the Christian version.

Is it worth reading the Bible, and if so, 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 what is happening in general, 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 plagues of Egypt, you can read the brochure: “The Bible. Old Testament. Summary . But still, everyone should read this book in its entirety at least once.