who wrote the old testament?

Question

does having an old testament mean that there were christians before christ? Or what does it mean? Just any background info. you know about it would be helpful.

Answer 1

the Holy men of the Jewish faith wrote the Tanakh
Torah which is the five books of Moses also called Pentateuch,
Nevi'im (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings)
All the Christians before Paul began his crusade were Jews
it was the idea of James to paste the new Roman religion onto the existing Jewish one

Answer 2

There were Christians before Christ in the sense that there were certain prophets who said a Messiah would come and Christians believe Jesus to be that Messiah.

The old testament itself was written by various people. For instance the pentateuch (Jewish Torah if memory serves) was supposedly written by Moses. This seems a little hard to believe. Deuteronomy, for instance, is mostly just a collection of bits from the previous four books and ends with Moses's death, which may well have been a tricky one for him to write.

What you have to remember is that Christianity started as and technically still is a denomination of Judaism. It's something akin to the relation between Mormons and Catholics (despite what an old RE teacher used to say, I'll refrain from suggesting that Mormons are not Christians) or Muslims with Jews and Christians. They work with the stories of the antecedents, but add in the teachings of a new prophet. As such, Christians have to be aware of the teachings of the Old Testament, despite the fact that Jesus is only directly involved in the New Testament.

Oh, and the old testament is, for brevity's sake, the Jewish Bible, Jesus was a Jew and his claim to the kingdom of heaven, from a human point of view, was ratified by reference to books that are now considered part of the old testament.

Answer 3

The Old Testament was written by a variety of people.The main ones were Moses [the first five books] and David. Most of the books are by unknown authors. Christianity grew out of Judaism, which is why the first five books in the Christian Old Testament are the Jewish Pentateuch. Basically then Chritianity began after Jesus, but has its roots in Judaism.

Answer 4

The Old Testament was a translation of the Hebrew Bible and was written centuries before the birth of Christ. No, there were no Christians before the birth of Christ. Christ himself was a Jew as where his followers before they converted. If you want to read more about it I have linked a site.

Answer 5

The Old Testament was written concerning Christ from the beginning to the end of the New. The very 1st prophecty in the Bible is in Genesis 3:15. It is about CHRIST.

If you need more help please let me know and I will be glad to help you understand it. The Old Testament like the New was written by Holy Men of God, sent by God, inspired with the Holy Spirit, which was sent from God.

Answer 6

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. (2Tim 3:16)

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.(2Peter 1:21)

God instructed Moses to write down the laws ,ten commandments and the first five books a.k.a. The Pentateuch,
the Books of the Law, the Law, and the Torah.

The books of the Old Testament are the prophecy about the coming of Jesus Christ.

Answer 7

The Old Testament books find their beginnings in the oral traditions of mankind. The oral traditions are the stories, history, laws, prayers, songs and poems that were passed from one generation to the next before they were written down and collected.

From oral tradition, these collections of thoughts and understandings were recorded by various authors and formed into separate writings, or books. God Himself instructed many of the writers to write their experience and encounters with Him and the manifestations of His powers (i.e. Moses). All of these writings were written in Hebrew and in response to God’s interaction with His people and His actions in history. These writings take on significance precisely because they have developed in this gradual way. They make plain that God reveals Himself to man and deals with people right where they are.

The Old Testament testifies to the fact that collections of inspired and recognized books were being put in the Ark of the Covenant and later, the temple. It was the job of the priests to watch over and guard these books. If you are familiar with the works of Josephus, the Jewish historian, you will recall that he tells us that the Old Testament canon was completed and recognized as completed by the Jews after their return from Babylon in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah (around 400 B.C.). By Jesus’ day the Jewish people still held to Ezra's collection which they called “the Scriptures.”

Christians accept the Jewish Old Testament collection of books primarily because Jesus accepted them. Jesus quoted Scripture authoritatively; referred to it as “the Word of God” and believed it to be the revelation of God given under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Jesus believed the whole Old Testament to be authoritative and cited each of the Old Testament’s main divisions: the law (Matthew 4:4); the poetic books (Mark 12:10ff); and the prophets (Mark 7:6). This is the same way that Jews of Jesus’ day referred to the Old Testament: the law, the prophets, and the writings (or Psalms - Psalms being the first and most prominent book in the writings) - See Luke 24:44.

The Old Testament is authoritatively quoted 239 times, cited 1,600 times, and alluded to many other times by the apostles. Most of the 39 books of the Old Testament are quoted as God’s word somewhere in the New Testament.

Also, believers were not called Christians prior to Jesus and the emergence of Christianity. They were Jews or Gentiles. Hope this helps.

Answer 8

There were faithful human worshipers of the same God Jesus Christ worshipped before Jesus came to earth - yes. The author of the Bible told Moses (one of the men who wrote down many of the author's words, just as a secretary does): "This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel, 'Jehovah the God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is my name to time indefinite, and this is the memorial of me to generation after generation." (Exodus 3:15)

The first human to be loyal to God was named Abel (who was killed by his brother Cain), and there were faithful worshippers of God all throughout the human history covered by the old testament.

The old testament contains everything leading up to the coming of Jesus; all of the prophesies about him; all of the reasons that the world needed him to come; the history of his ancestors and how God cared for them so that His Son the Messiah could come, vindicate His sovereignty and rescue mankind from slavery to sin and death.

It also contains the life stories of many, many faithful worshippers of God that set wonderful examples for Christians to follow. A short list of these ones is stated in the new testament at Hebrews chapter 11. It summarizes many of the true stories contained in the old testament.

The entire Bible is really a cohesive whole, between the two testaments answering such questions as: Why does God permit suffering? Why do we grow old and die? What is the purpose of life? What can a person do to be truly happy and successful? What happens to us at death, and what hope is their for our dead loved ones? Whose worship does God accept? How can I have a happy family life?

I would highly recommend the book: "What Does the Bible Really Teach" (the link below shows how to get one free of charge), to use along with your Bible. It can help you to understand the whole Bible and how it helps us unlock the secrets of life.

I hope this answer has been helpful to you.

~Jessica

Answer 9

Let me do some digging. I will see if I have the ancient letters here somewhere. You can email me if you have more specific details. Added: According to Thackston's book on Aramaic dialects. Canaanite is a language group ths includes Ugaritic Hebrew, and Phoenician. You should be able to locate the character sets for Ugaritic and Phoenician, as well as the paleo-Hebraic character set, online

Answer 10

Most of the writings in the Old Testaments are authored by anonymous Israelites, and in many cases it is not known whether they were compiled by individuals or groups.

God Bless You