The Old and New Testaments
The Old Testament
The Catholic Old Testament is composed of forty-six books, which is a little different from many Protestant Bibles that have somewhat fewer books, as well as Eastern Orthodox Bibles which have a few more. To make matters even more confusing, there were Old Testaments in circulation in the time of Jesus that were in Hebrew and Greek, and these differed not only in terms of their language, but the order and number of books. We will discuss reasons for these differences later in the course.
The revelation of the Old Testament is the covenant, or rather series of covenants, made by God with the Israelites. These covenants comprise the promises of God to save his people and through them, the entire human race.
God’s promise of salvation is the theme of the Old Testament. Ultimately, God sent his only son to make good on his promises of salvation given earlier. The promise in the Old Testament and its fulfillment in Jesus Christ and the Church described in the New Testament is the most basic way in which the Old and New Testaments are unified.
The New Testament
The New Testament contains twenty-seven books. These books include the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles (which tells us of the happenings in the early Church in the first century), the Epistles (Letters of St. Paul, St. Peter, St. John, St. James, St. Jude, and the Letter to the Hebrews), and the Book of Revelation, sometimes called the Apocalypse of St. John. Here is CCC 120 on this.
The revelation of the New Testament is based on the revelation of the Old. In the Old Testament, God made a covenant with the Israelites. In the New Testament, God extends His covenant to the whole human race. This new covenant was and is God's only Son, Jesus Christ, the promise made by the Father in the Book of Genesis (Gen 3:15) and especially to Abraham in Gen 12:1-3 to bless the nations through him and his descendants. Christ as the new Adam (Rom 5:12-14) and as the seed of Abraham (Gal 3:29) came to save all men. The message of the New Testament is that God wills all men to be saved through His divine Son, who established the Church during His earthly stay as the universal means for attaining eternal salvation.
The Catholic Old Testament is composed of forty-six books, which is a little different from many Protestant Bibles that have somewhat fewer books, as well as Eastern Orthodox Bibles which have a few more. To make matters even more confusing, there were Old Testaments in circulation in the time of Jesus that were in Hebrew and Greek, and these differed not only in terms of their language, but the order and number of books. We will discuss reasons for these differences later in the course.
The revelation of the Old Testament is the covenant, or rather series of covenants, made by God with the Israelites. These covenants comprise the promises of God to save his people and through them, the entire human race.
God’s promise of salvation is the theme of the Old Testament. Ultimately, God sent his only son to make good on his promises of salvation given earlier. The promise in the Old Testament and its fulfillment in Jesus Christ and the Church described in the New Testament is the most basic way in which the Old and New Testaments are unified.
The New Testament
The New Testament contains twenty-seven books. These books include the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles (which tells us of the happenings in the early Church in the first century), the Epistles (Letters of St. Paul, St. Peter, St. John, St. James, St. Jude, and the Letter to the Hebrews), and the Book of Revelation, sometimes called the Apocalypse of St. John. Here is CCC 120 on this.
The revelation of the New Testament is based on the revelation of the Old. In the Old Testament, God made a covenant with the Israelites. In the New Testament, God extends His covenant to the whole human race. This new covenant was and is God's only Son, Jesus Christ, the promise made by the Father in the Book of Genesis (Gen 3:15) and especially to Abraham in Gen 12:1-3 to bless the nations through him and his descendants. Christ as the new Adam (Rom 5:12-14) and as the seed of Abraham (Gal 3:29) came to save all men. The message of the New Testament is that God wills all men to be saved through His divine Son, who established the Church during His earthly stay as the universal means for attaining eternal salvation.
Canon of Scripture
It is useful also to speak of a canon of Scripture. The term "canon" means "norm". Here is the canon of the Catholic Bible, Old and New Testaments.
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