1. Old Testament 101: Your Survival Guide to the OT
Grades 6 & 7 Religious Education

2. Why Do We Need The Old Testament?
The very first verse of the New Testament answers this question:
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the son of Abraham (Mt 1:1)
“Genealogy” is from a Greek word that means the study of ancestry
The genealogy listed in Matthew’s Gospel gives us a summary of Old Testament history
In other words, the first thing to know about Jesus Christ, Matthew tells us, is how he is related to the Old Testament

3. Why Do We Need The Old Testament?
As Catholics, we need to know the Old Testament before we can understand the New Testament
Just like you need to understand algebra before you can understand trigonometry

4. What is the Old Testament?
The Old Testament is a complete library of everything that was best in the literature of Israel
Since the people of Israel were the Chosen People of God, the best of their literature is more than human literature
It is divinely inspired
Together, the books of the Old Testament tell the story of the long journey toward salvation—a journey that leads straight to the New Testament, where promises of the Old Testament are fulfilled

5. What do you mean the New Testament fulfills the Old Testament?
The New Testament completes & accomplishes all the promises of the Old Testament
It DOES NOT cancel the Old Testament; the Old Testament is still just as much Sacred Scripture as it was before the coming of Christ
Think not that I have come to abolish the law & the prophets. I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven & earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished (Mt 5:17-18)

6. The Books of the Old Testament
There are 46 books in the Old Testament; there are four main types of books:
Law
History
Wisdom
Prophecy
Of course, not every book has only one type of writing in it
Much of the most important history is in the books of the Law, & some books of Wisdom also contain important words of prophecy
The books are arranged according to their most important functions

7. The Law
The 1st five books of the Bible were considered the most important in Jewish tradition
These books are referred to by different names:
Books of the Law, or the Torah
5 Books of Moses (traditionally, Moses is said to have been the author)
Pentateuch (from the Greek word for “five volumes”)
The Books of the Law
Genesis (Greek for “beginning”): tells the story of the creation of the world & the beginning of the nation of Israel
Exodus (Greek for “going out”): tells the story of the Israelites’ escape from Egypt & their wandering in the desert on the way to Canaan
Leviticus: a book of laws, most which have to do with religious observances
Numbers: gives a census of all the tribes of Israel
Deuteronomy (Greek for “second law”): repeats some of the laws in earlier books & also gives new laws for the Israelites

8. History
The next group of books tells the history of the people of Israel, from the conquest of Canaan through the end of the kingdoms of Israel & Judah and on to the restoration of Jerusalem
Some books cover long periods of history, while other tell a much shorter period of Israel’s history
The Books of History
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 & 2 Samuel
1 & 2 Kings
1 & 2 Chronicles
1 & 2 Maccabees
Ezra
Nehemiah
Tobit
Judith
Esther

9. Wisdom
The Wisdom Literature tells stories—some poetic in nature—about the greatness of God, the justice & mercy of God, the futility of hoping in things of this world, etc.
Some books are written for the purpose of giving us wise sayings & principles intended to guide us in our lives
The most widely known of these books is Psalms—many of them attributed to King David
The Books of Wisdom
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Wisdom
Sirach

10. Prophecy Prophets are sent by God to bring his words to his people
Often the prophets warned Israel of disasters to come if the people did not return to the True God
But when disasters did come, God sent his prophets predicted the coming of the Messiah who would lead his people out of bondage
Catholics know that their predictions came true in Jesus Christ
The Books of Prophecy
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Baruch
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi