WHEN WAS THE OLD TESTAMENT WRITTEN?
The Old Testament is the first part of the Bible. Together with the New Testament, it forms the Scriptures that are sacred to Christians. Jews accept the Old Testament, which they call the Hebrew Bible, as sacred. The Old Testament was written thousands of years ago and over a long period of time.
The process of writing the Old Testament was complicated because much of the material was recited oz chanted out loud long before it was written down. Scholars disagree about how and when the books were actually written. But most scholars today agree that the Old Testament does contain material from the days of Moses.
One of the earliest poems, in Judges 5, is called "War Song of Deborah." It was composed about 1100 B.C.
Many parts of the historical and prophetic books were written during the time of the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Some of the most important prophets and poets lived during the Babylonian Exile, from 587 B. C. to 538 B.C. Many traditions, laws and historical records that had accumulated were collected and put in order at that time.
The books of Psalms and the Song of Solomon were assembled after 538 B.C., when many Jews returned to Palestine. Chronicles, Ecclesiastes, Lather and Daniel were written later.
The entire Old Testament existed by the time of the Maccabean Wars, from 168 B.C. The Biblical manuscripts of the Dead Sea Scrolls, written about 100 years later, show that the text of the Old Testament 2,000 years ago was essentially the same as it is today. The entire Old Testament was written in Hebrew, except for some chapters in the books of Daniel and Ezra and a few words in Genesis and Jeremiah. These are in Aramaic, a language much like Hebrew.
The Old Testament was probably the first work ever translated. The books aroused great interest among people who could not read Hebrew. About 250 B.C., scholars living is Alexandria, Egypt, translated the Torah into Greek. This translation is called the Septuagint.
Translations of other books of the Old Testament followed. Later, the Old Testament was translated into Aramaic and Syria.
The best known Latin translation was the Vulgate, done by St. Jerome about A.D. 450. This translation became the official Old Testament text of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Bible has been called the "Book of Books" because of the tremendous influence it has exerted on mankind. For more than 2,000 years, people have considered the Old Testament the word of God and have turned to it for guidance on life’s problems.
Millions have found in the Old Testament great religious truths and inspired ethical teachings. As a cultural treasure, the Old Testament is one of the most important sources we have for knowledge of the past.
In addition, the poetry and prose of the Old Testament includes some of the greatest literary masterpieces of the world.