The Old Testament...often referred to by some as the 'Hebrew Bible'

The Old Testament is a term used to describe the first 39 books of the Bible. It is now becoming popular to refer to these books as the Hebrew Bible, because of their close association with the Hebraic Community to which they were first given. 

However, such a distinction seems unwarranted as many of the remaining 29 books of the Bible were written by Jewish authors, addressing Jewish issues, and to Jewish / Gentile church communities, expressed in Jewish themes and cultural history.

The word Testament is from the Greek meaning agreement, relating to covenant. There are many covenants within Scripture as a whole, the primary overarching covenant is the Covenant of Grace & Redemption. The Old Testament is the earliest expression of this covenant and covers:

  1. the proclamation of the existence of God...
  2. the decision to create out of nothing, all that is currently known to exist...
  3. God's view of what was created and highlights the nobility of man and his fall from grace into sin's slavery...
  4. the establishment of the foundation of God's redemption plan, of all that once was, and has now been lost since creation began...
  5. the establishment of a chosen people of God, a nation called Israel, and charts their history through times of joy, trials and errors, yet demonstrates God's unswerving faithfulness to His people and His promises...
  6. the supernatural and miraculous interventions of God in support of His people and in defence of His name...
  7. the First exodus from Egypt, the Second Exodus from Babylon and the establishment of a third and final exodus, the Exodus from the slavery of Sin, and of Satan.
The Bible, and the Christian Faith, are incomplete without the Old Testament. The New Testament was never intended to replace the Old Testament. Instead, it was written to complement the Old; to complete its narrative.... Furthermore, the Ministry of Christ would be an enigma without the Old Testament, the historical setting of Christianity is grounded in the Old Testament, and many Key Revelations of God, are to be found in the Old Testament.