The Old Testament vs. The Tanakh: What Every Christian Should Know

The Bible is the best-selling book in history, and for good reason! As Christians, we believe that it’s not just another book but contains God’s very words! Because of this, the Bible is a book that can not only teach you but change your life!

The Bible has been around for a long, long time! The earliest known manuscripts are over 1,000 years old (The Leningrad Codex) and cover events that occurred thousands of years ago! As you know, the Bible is divided into two main parts: the Old and New Testaments. The collection of 39 books we refer to as the Old Testament is similar to the Hebrew Bible used by the Jewish people. Unlike the Protestant Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible doesn’t include the New Testament at all.

So, are the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament the same? Not exactly. Although the Hebrew Bible (also called the Tanakh) and Old Testament contain the same information, it’s arranged differently in each. Let’s take a look.

The Old Testament

The Protestant Old Testament as we know it today has 39 books in the same order as the Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint. The Septuagint, Protestant Old Testament, and Hebrew Bible all contain the same information but are in different languages. The order of the books in the Old Testament (and Septuagint) is due to them being broken up into categories subject-wise.

Old Testament Books in order with divisions:

Books of Law (also called the Pentateuch or Torah, five books)

• Genesis
• Exodus
• Leviticus
• Numbers
• Deuteronomy

Historical Books (12 books)

• Joshua
• Judges
• Ruth
• 1 Samuel
• 2 Samuel
• 1 Kings
• 2 Kings
• 1 Chronicles
• 2 Chronicles
• Ezra
• Nehemiah
• Esther

Wisdom/Poetry Books (5 books)

• Job
• Psalms
• Proverbs
• Ecclesiastes
• Song of Songs

Prophecy Books (17 books)

2 divisions among the prophecy books: Major (longer books, prophesies have a wider focus) and Minor (shorter books, narrow focus)

Major Prophets:

• Isaiah
• Jeremiah
• Lamentations
• Ezekiel
• Daniel

Minor Prophets:

• Hosea
• Joel
• Amos
• Obadiah
• Jonah
• Micah
• Nahum
• Habakkuk
• Zephaniah
• Haggai
• Zechariah
• Malachi

The Hebrew Bible (The Tanakh)

The Hebrew Bible was canonized (deemed to be inspired Holy scripture) early in the Common Era. Some say this occurred at the Rabbinic Council of Jamnia around 90 CE, but other sources say it was intact before that time.

Made up of 24 books, the Hebrew Bible is also called the Tanakh, an acronym that denotes its three main divisions: the Torah, Prophets, and Writings. It’s organized in order of the status of the authors, with Moses first, the early prophets next, and so on.

The Torah (5 books)

The “Ta” in the word “Tanakh” is for the Torah. Also known as the Pentateuch or the Books of Moses (Chumash (חומש) in Hebrew), the Torah is the first five books of the Bible.

• Genesis (the Hebrew name is Bereshit – בְּרֵאשִׁית, meaning “in a beginning”)
• Exodus (Shemot – שְׁמֹות, meaning “names”)
• Leviticus (Vayiqra – וַיִּקְרָא, meaning “and He called”)
• Numbers (Bemidbar – בְּמִדְבַּר, meaning “in the wilderness”)
• Deuteronomy (Devarim – דְּבָרִים, meaning “words”)

The Prophets (8 books)

The “Na” in the word “Tanakh” is for the Prophets or Nevi’im (נְבִיאִים) in Hebrew. These are broken into the Former (or Early) and Latter (or Later) Prophets. Twelve of the books in the Old Testament are combined into one in the Hebrew Bible.

The books in the Old Testament that are divided into two parts, 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings, and 1st and 2nd Chronicles (below in the Writings section), are combined into one book in the Tanakh.

Former Prophets (Nevi’im Reshonim – נְבִיאִים רִאשׁוֹנִים)

• Joshua (Y’hoshua – יְהוֹשֻעַ)
• Judges (Shof’tim – שֹׁפְטִים)
• Samuel (Shmu’el – שְׁמוּאֵל)
• Kings (M’lakhim – מְלָכִים)

Latter Prophets (Nevi’im Acharonim – נְבִיאִים אַחַרוֹנִים)

• Isaiah (Yesha’yahu – יְשַׁעְיָהוּ)
• Jeremiah (Yirmeyahu – יִרְמְיָהוּ)
• Ezekiel (Yechezk’el – יְחֶזְקֵאל)

The Twelve Minor Prophets (Trei Asar– תְּרֵי עָשָׂר, grouped into one book)

• Hosea (Hoshea – הוֹשֵׁעַ)
• Joel (Yo’el – יוֹאֵל)
• Amos (‘Amos – עָמוֹס)
• Obadiah (‘Ovadyah – עֹבַדְיָה)
• Jonah (Yonah – יוֹנָה)
• Micah (Mikhah – מִיכָה)
• Nahum (Nachum – נַחוּם)
• Habakkuk (Havakuk – חֲבַקּוּק)
• Zephaniah (Tz’fanyah – צְפַנְיָה)
• Haggai (Hagai – חַגַּי)
• Zechariah (Z’kharyah – זְכַרְיָה)
• Malachi (Mal’akhi – מַלְאָכִי)

The Writings (11 books)

Ketuvim (כְּתוּבִים) in Hebrew, the Writings division contains eleven books, divided into Poetic, Scrolls, and Histories or “other books.”  Ketuvim is where the final syllable “kh” in the word “Tanakh” comes from.

The Five Scrolls are grouped in one section as they are each traditional readings for specific holidays. Ezra and Nehemiah are combined to make one book, and 1st and 2nd Chronicles are one book as well.

Poetic or Wisdom Books (Sifrei Emet – סִפְרֵי אֶמֶת)

• Psalms (Tehillim – תְהִלִּים)
• Proverbs (Mishlei – מִשְׁלֵי)
• Job (Iyov – אִיּוֹב)

The Five Scrolls (Hamesh Megilliot – חַמֶשׁ מְגִלּוֹת)

• Song of Songs (Shir-HaShirim – שִׁיר הַשִּׁירִים)
• Ruth (Rut – רוּת)
• Lamentations (Eikhah – אֵיכָה)
• Ecclesiastes (Kohelet – קֹהֶלֶת)
• Esther (Ester – אֶסְתֵר)

Histories/Other Books

• Daniel (Dani’el – דָּנִיֵּאל)
• Ezra-Nehemiah (‘Ezra – עֶזְרָא)
• Chronicles (Divrei HaYamim – דִּבְרֵי הַיָּמִים)

Although in a different language and order, we share the precious scriptures of the Old Testament with the Jewish people in their Hebrew Bible! The Protestant Old Testament and Tanakh have differences but contain the same words of our God, written down so that we can study it and ultimately see Him revealed to us! What an incredible book!