The Old Testament was written almost entirely in Hebrew, which is a Semitic dialect similar to Phoenician and Ugaritic. The only part that is written in Aramaic (another Semitic language similar to Hebrew) Ezr 4:8-6:18; 7:12-26; Dan 2:4-7:28, and Jer 10:11. The New Testament is written entirely in Greek. Archaeology shows that this is the common daily language (koine) of the contemporary Graeco-Roman world.
Preface to the Old Hebrew Testament:
The canonical books in the modern Hebrew Bible are 24 in number divided into three parts
- The law (Torah),
- the prophets (Nebiim),
- and the writings (Ketubim), also called "Psalms" (Luke 24:44).
This division is ancient, and this is clearly implicit in the preface to the Apocrypha to Ecclesiastes (180 BC), Philo(Philo of Alexandria also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt.) knew it and was mentioned by our Lord (Luke 24:44).
Old Testament classification during early Christian Century:
Old Testament arrangement in the Bible:
Josephus expressed the current Jewish views of the first century. As per Josephus: it is a total of 22 books (5 books of the Law, 13 books of the Prophets, 4 books of the writings) instead of the next 24 books.
The Book of the Law includes Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
The 13 prophetic books of Josephus include all the historical and prophetic verses, each of which counts as one book: Judges-Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, and Ezra-Nehemiah, Jeremiah-Lamentations, and the Twelve Minor Prophets (7 books in total).
Josephus is also included in the prophets Joshua, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Job, and Esther. In his writings, he placed Psalms, Proverbs, Canticles, and Ecclesiastes.
Canticles refer to sacred songs which are as follows:
Therefore, the 22 books of Josephus are only books of the Hebrew canon (not including the Apocrypha). Their arrangement in the 22 books (number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet) clearly represents an order prior to that of the rabbinic arrangement in the 24 books of the modern Hebrew Bible.
Melito of Sardis (170 AD), Origen (250 AD) and Jerome (400 AD) followed the Jewish authorities to confirm the 22 volumes of Josephus and made some changes to the enumeration.
However, in the early Christian century, the triple division has undergone some obvious changes from the second part to the third part of the book.
The form as it has come down to us from the Masoretic period (c. 600-900 A.D.) is as follows:
1. The Law (Torah), 5 books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
2. The Prophets (Nebiim), 8 books:
5 books: Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther
Prophetic-Historical Books, 3 books: Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles
The form as it has come down to us from the Masoretic period (c. 600-900 A.D.) is as follows:
1. The Law (Torah), 5 books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
2. The Prophets (Nebiim), 8 books:
Former Prophets, 4 books: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings
Latter Prophets, 4 books: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel
the Twelve 12 minor prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.3. The Writings, 11 books: Poetical Books, 3 books: Psalms, Proverbs, Job The Scrolls (Megilloth: "Scrolls of the Megilloth" is a term in the Old Testament that means The Five Scrolls (Five Megillot): Ruth, Esther, Song of Solomon, Lamentations, and Ecclesiastes.),
5 books: Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther
Prophetic-Historical Books, 3 books: Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles
Old Testament arrangement in the Bible:
Josephus expressed the current Jewish views of the first century. As per Josephus: it is a total of 22 books (5 books of the Law, 13 books of the Prophets, 4 books of the writings) instead of the next 24 books.
The Book of the Law includes Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
The 13 prophetic books of Josephus include all the historical and prophetic verses, each of which counts as one book: Judges-Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, and Ezra-Nehemiah, Jeremiah-Lamentations, and the Twelve Minor Prophets (7 books in total).
Josephus is also included in the prophets Joshua, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Job, and Esther. In his writings, he placed Psalms, Proverbs, Canticles, and Ecclesiastes.
Canticles refer to sacred songs which are as follows:
- "Canticle of Moses" (Exodus 15:1-19).
- "Canticle of Moses" (Deuteronomy 32:1-43).
- "Canticle of Isaiah the Prophet" (Isaiah 12).
- "Canticle of the Three Children" (Daniel 3:57).
- "Canticle of Ezechias" (Isaiah 38:10-20).
- "Canticle of Anna" (1 Samuel 2:1-10).
- "Canticle of Habacuc" (Hab 3:2-19).
- "Canticle of Zachary" (Luke 1:68-79),
- "Canticle of the Mother Mary" (Luke 1:46-55),
- "Canticle of Simeon" (Luke 2:29-32)
Melito of Sardis (170 AD), Origen (250 AD) and Jerome (400 AD) followed the Jewish authorities to confirm the 22 volumes of Josephus and made some changes to the enumeration.
Jerome was also familiar with the rabbinic 24-book division, which was obtained by separating Ruth from Judges and Lamentations from Jeremiah leading to the final arrangements of the Old Testament in the modern-day bibles.