Bible online, read: New Testament, Old Testament. Gospel

Old Testament- the first and older of the two parts of the Christian Bible, along with the New Testament. The Old Testament is the Holy Scripture common to Judaism and Christianity. The Old Testament is believed to have been written between the 13th and 1st centuries. BC e. Most of the books of the Old Testament are written in Hebrew, but some of them are written in Aramaic. This fact is associated with a change in the political situation.

Read the Old Testament online for free.

Historical books

Books instructive

Prophetic books

The texts of the Old Testament were widely disseminated after their translation into ancient Greek. This translation dates from the 1st century and is called the Septuagint. The Septugian was adopted by Christians and played a key role in the spread of Christianity and the formation of the Christian canon.

The name "Old Testament" is a tracing paper from ancient Greek. In the biblical world, the word "covenant" meant a solemn agreement of the parties, which was accompanied by an oath. According to Christian tradition, the division of the Bible into the Old and New Testaments is based on lines from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah:

"Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah."

The Old Testament is authorship.

The books of the Old Testament were created by dozens of authors over the centuries. Most books traditionally bear the names of their authors, but most modern Bible scholars agree that authorship was attributed much later and that in fact the vast majority of the books of the Old Testament were written by anonymous authors.

Fortunately, the text of the Old Testament has come down to us in many copies. These are the original texts in Hebrew and Aramaic, and numerous translations:

• Septuagint(translation into ancient Greek, made in Alexandria in the III-I centuries BC),
• Targums- translation into Aramaic,
• Peshitta- translation into Syriac, made among the early Christians in the 2nd century AD. e.
• Vulgate- translation into Latin, made by Jerome in the 5th century AD. e.,

The Qumran manuscripts are considered the most ancient source (incomplete) of the Old Testament.

The Septuagint became the basis for the Church Slavonic translations of the Old Testament - the Gennadiev, Ostroh and Elizabethan Bibles. But the modern translations of the Bible into Russian - the Synodal and the translation of the Russian Bible Society were made on the basis of the Masoretic text.

Features of the texts of the Old Testament.

The texts of the Old Testament are considered divinely inspired. The divine inspiration of the books of the Old Testament is recognized in the New Testament, a similar point of view is shared by early Christian historians and theologians.

Canons of the Old Testament.

To date, there are 3 canons of the Old Testament, somewhat different in composition.

1. Tanakh - Jewish canon;
2. Septuagint - Christian canon;
3. Protestant canon that arose in the 16th century.

The canon of the Old Testament was formed in two stages:

1. Formation in the Jewish environment,
2. Formation in a Christian environment.

Jewish canon is divided into 3 parts:

1. Torah (Law),
2. Nevi'im (Prophets),
3. Ketuvim (Scriptures).

Alexandrian canon differs from the Jewish one in the composition and arrangement of the books, as well as in the content of individual texts. This fact is explained by the fact that the Alexandrian canon is based not on the Tanakh, but on the proto-Masoretic version. It is also possible that some of the test differences are due to Christian reinterpretation of the original texts.

Structure of the Alexandrian Canon:

1. legal books,
2. Historical books,
3. teaching books,
4. Prophetic books.

From the point of view of the Orthodox Church, the Old Testament consists of 39 canonical books, while the Catholic Church recognizes 46 books as canonical.

Protestant canon appeared as a result of the revision of the authority of the biblical books by Martin Luther and Jacob van Liesveldt.

Why read the Old Testament?

The Old Testament can be read for various purposes. For believers, this is a sacred, sacred text, for the rest, the Old Testament can become a source of unexpected truths, an occasion for philosophical reasoning. You can read the Old Testament along with the Iliad and the Odyssey as a great monument of ancient literature.

Philosophical and ethical ideas in the Old Testament are rich and varied. We are talking about the destruction of false moral values, and the love of truth, and the concepts of infinity and limit. The Old Testament sets out a peculiar view of cosmology, discusses issues of personal identification, marriage and family issues.

Reading the Old Testament, you will discuss both everyday issues and global issues. On our site you can read the Old Testament online for free. We have also provided the texts with various illustrations of Old Testament subjects in order to make reading even more pleasant and informative.

The Old and New Testaments are the two constituent parts of the Bible, which is the holy book of all Christians.

Time and language of writing

The Old Testament (also called Scripture) was created in the pre-Christian era: XIII-I centuries. BC. It is written in Hebrew, partly in Aramaic. This book is revered as Holy Scripture by Christians and Jews (they call it the Tanakh and differ from the editions of the Christian Old Testament).

The New Testament was written at the beginning of our era - starting from Ser. 1st century - in ancient Greek (or rather, Koine: a variant of the Greek language that was formed in the Hellenistic era in the Eastern Mediterranean and became the language of interethnic communication). The New Testament is the holy book of Christians.

There are 39 books in the Old Testament that are canonical for the Orthodox (there are discrepancies with other denominations here). The Jewish Tanakh includes the Pentateuch (Torah), the Prophets, the Scriptures.

The New Testament consists of four gospels Jesus Christ): from Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. It also contains the Acts of the Apostles, 21 Epistles and Revelation (Apocalypse) John the Evangelist.

What is the difference between the Old Testament and the New, AiF.ru asked father Andrei (Posternak), candidate of historical sciences and priest.

“The Old Testament is part of the Bible, a sacred book for Christians, in which the main idea is the history of the chosen Jewish people, who kept the true faith in those days when Jesus Christ did not come to Earth. And the Old Testament gives us examples of the righteous life of people who were waiting for the coming of the Messiah, the coming of Christ. These are prophecies about Christ, and the righteous waiting for him, and examples of a pious life. But still, this is a description of people who believed, hoped, waited, but did not find the Messiah (Christ).

And the New Testament is history after the faith of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. That is why the New Testament begins with the four books of the Gospels, which tell about the life of Jesus Christ, then there are sermons (Acts of the Apostles) and letters of the apostles, which give edification to all those who have adopted the Christian faith. And it is clear that for modern Christians the New Testament is the main part of the Bible, because all Christian commandments, rules and norms that they must comply with are based on it,” Father Andrei said.

The Bible is one of the oldest records of the wisdom of mankind. For Christians, this book is the revelation of the Lord, the Holy Scriptures and the main guide in life. The study of this book is an indispensable condition for the spiritual development of both the believer and the unbeliever. Today, the Bible is the most popular book in the world, with over 6 million copies in total.

In addition to Christians, adherents of a number of other religions recognize the sacredness and divine inspiration of certain biblical texts: Jews, Muslims, Baha'is.

The structure of the Bible. Old and New Testament

As you know, the Bible is not a homogeneous book, but a collection of a number of narratives. They reflect the history of the Jewish (God's chosen) people, the activities of Jesus Christ, moral teachings and prophecies about the future of mankind.

When we talk about the structure of the Bible, two main parts should be distinguished: the Old Testament and the New Testament.

- common scripture for Judaism and Christianity. The books of the Old Testament were created between the 13th and 1st centuries BC. The text of these books has come down to us in the form of lists in a number of ancient languages: Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek, Latin.

In Christian doctrine there is the concept of "canon". Those writings that the church has recognized as inspired by God are called canonical. Depending on the denomination, a different number of texts of the Old Testament are recognized as canonical. For example, Orthodox Christians recognize 50 scriptures as canonical, Catholics 45, and Protestants 39.

In addition to the Christian, there is also a Jewish canon. Jews recognize as canonical the Torah (Pentateuch of Moses), Nevi'im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Scriptures). It is believed that Moses was the first to write the Torah directly. All three books form the Tanakh - the "Jewish Bible" and are the basis of the Old Testament.

This section of the Holy Letter tells about the first days of mankind, the Flood and the further history of the Jewish people. The narrative "brings" the reader to the last days before the birth of the Messiah - Jesus Christ.

There have been discussions among theologians for a very long time whether Christians need to observe the Law of Moses (ie, the prescriptions given by the Old Testament). Most theologians are still of the opinion that the sacrifice of Jesus made it unnecessary for us to comply with the requirements of the Pentateuch. A certain part of the researchers came to the opposite. For example, Seventh-day Adventists keep the Sabbath and do not eat pork.

The New Testament plays a much more important role in the life of Christians.

is the second part of the Bible. It consists of four canonical gospels. The first manuscripts date back to the beginning of the 1st century AD, the latest - to the 4th century.

In addition to the four canonical gospels (from Mark, Luke, Matthew, John), there are a number of apocrypha. They touch on previously unknown facets of the life of Christ. For example, some of these books describe the youth of Jesus (canonical - only childhood and maturity).

Actually, the New Testament describes the life and deeds of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior. Evangelists describe the miracles performed by the Messiah, his sermons, as well as the finale - martyrdom on the cross, which atoned for the sins of mankind.

In addition to the Gospels, the New Testament contains the book of the Acts of the Apostles, the epistles and the Revelation of John the Theologian (Apocalypse).

Acts tell about the birth and development of the church after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In fact, this book is a historical chronicle (real people are often mentioned) and a geography textbook: territories from Palestine to Western Europe are described. The apostle Luke is considered its author.

The second part of the Acts of the Apostles tells of Paul's missionary work and ends with his arrival in Rome. The book also answers a number of theoretical questions, such as circumcision among Christians or the observance of the Law of Moses.

Apocalypse These are the visions recorded by John that the Lord gave him. This book tells about the end of the world and the Last Judgment - the final point of the existence of this world. Jesus himself will judge mankind. The righteous, resurrected in the flesh, will receive eternal heavenly life with the Lord, and sinners will go into eternal fire.

The Revelation of John the Theologian is the most mystical part of the New Testament. The text is overflowing with occult symbols: Woman clothed in the sun, number 666, horsemen of the Apocalypse. For a certain time, precisely because of this, the churches were afraid to bring the book into the canon.

What is the gospel?

As already known, the Gospel is a description of the life path of Christ.

Why did some of the Gospels become canonical, while others did not? The fact is that these four Gospels have practically no contradictions, but simply describe slightly different events. If the writing of a certain book by the apostle is not questioned, then the church does not prohibit acquaintance with the apocrypha. But such a gospel cannot become a moral guide for a Christian either.

There is an opinion that all the canonical Gospels were written by the disciples of Christ (the apostles). In fact, this is not so: for example, Mark was a disciple of the Apostle Paul and is one of the seventy Equal-to-the-Apostles. Many religious dissidents and conspiracy theorists believe that the churchmen deliberately hid the true teachings of Jesus Christ from people.

In response to such statements, representatives of traditional Christian churches (Catholic, Orthodox, some Protestant) respond that first you need to figure out which text can be considered the Gospel. It was to facilitate the spiritual search of a Christian that a canon was created that protects the soul from heresies and falsifications.

So what's the difference

Considering the foregoing, it is easy to determine how the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Gospel are still different. The Old Testament describes events before the birth of Jesus Christ: the creation of man, the Flood, Moses receiving the law. The New Testament contains a description of the coming of the Messiah and the future of mankind. The gospel is the main structural unit of the New Testament, which directly tells about the life path of the savior of mankind - Jesus Christ. It is because of the sacrifice of Jesus that Christians are now able to disobey the laws of the Old Testament: this obligation has been redeemed.

The Bible (“book, composition”) is a collection of sacred texts of Christians, consisting of many parts, combined into the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Bible has a clear division: before and after the birth of Jesus Christ. Before birth - this is the Old Testament, after birth - the New Testament. The New Testament is called the Gospel.

The Bible is a book containing the sacred writings of the Jewish and Christian religions. The Hebrew Bible, a collection of Hebrew sacred texts, is also included in the Christian Bible, forming its first part - the Old Testament. Both Christians and Jews consider it to be a record of an agreement (covenant) concluded by God with man and revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai. Christians believe that Jesus Christ announced a new covenant, which is the fulfillment of the Covenant given in Revelation to Moses, but at the same time replaces it. Therefore, the books that tell about the activities of Jesus and his disciples are called the New Testament. The New Testament is the second part of the Christian Bible.

The word "bible" is of ancient Greek origin. In the language of the ancient Greeks, "byblos" meant "books". In our time, we call this word one specific book, consisting of several dozen separate religious works. The Bible is a book containing over a thousand pages. The Bible consists of two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament.

The Old Testament, which tells about the participation of God in the life of the Jewish people before the coming of Jesus Christ.

The New Testament, which gives information about the life and teachings of Christ in all His truth and beauty. God, through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, gave people salvation - this is the main teaching of Christianity. While only the first four books of the New Testament deal directly with the life of Jesus, each of the 27 books seeks in its own way to interpret the meaning of Jesus or show how his teachings apply to the lives of believers.

Gospel (Greek - "good news") - the biography of Jesus Christ; books revered as sacred in Christianity that tell about the divinity of Jesus Christ, his birth, life, miracles, death, resurrection and ascension. The Gospels are part of the books of the New Testament.

Bible. New Testament. Gospel

Bible. Old Testament

The texts of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments presented on this site are taken from the Synodal translation.

Prayer before reading the Holy Gospel

(prayer after the 11th kathisma)

Shine in our hearts, O Lord of mankind, your imperishable light of God's understanding, and open our mental eyes, in your gospel sermons understanding, put in us the fear of your blessed commandments, but carnal lusts, all right, we will go through spiritual life, all even to your pleasing and wise and active. You are the enlightenment of our souls and bodies, Christ God, and we send glory to You, with Your Father without beginning, and the Most Holy and Good, and Your Life-giving Spirit, now and forever, and forever and ever, amen.

“There are three ways to read a book,” writes one wise man, “you can read it in order to subject it to critical evaluation; one can read, seeking in it comforts for one's feelings and imagination, and, finally, one can read with conscience. The first read to judge, the second to have fun, and the third to improve. The gospel, which has no equal among books, must first be read only with simple reason and conscience. Read like this, it will make your conscience tremble on every page before goodness, before high, beautiful morality.

“When reading the Gospel,” inspires Bishop. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov), - do not look for pleasure, do not look for delights, do not look for brilliant thoughts: look to see the infallibly holy Truth.
Do not be satisfied with one fruitless reading of the Gospel; try to fulfill his commandments, read his deeds. This is the book of life, and one must read it with life.

The Rule Regarding Reading the Word of God

The reader of the book must do the following:
1) He should not read many sheets and pages, because he who has read a lot cannot comprehend everything and keep it in memory.
2) It is not enough to read and to reason a lot about what is read, because in this way what is read is better understood and deepened in memory, and our mind is enlightened.
3) See what is clear or incomprehensible from what is read in the book. When you understand what you are reading, it's good; and when you don't understand, leave it and read on. What is incomprehensible will either be clarified by the next reading, or by another repeated reading, with the help of God, it will become clear.
4) What the book teaches to evade, what it teaches to seek and do, about that try to fulfill it by the very deed. Avoid evil and do good.
5) When you only sharpen your mind from a book, but do not correct your will, then from reading a book you will be worse than you were; more evil are learned and reasonable fools than simple ignoramuses.
6) Remember that it is better to love in a Christian way than to understand highly; it is better to live redly than to say redly: "the mind swells, but love creates."
7) Whatever you yourself learn with the help of God, teach it to others lovingly as the occasion arises, so that the seed sown may grow and bear fruit.”

When we talk about Christianity, different associations arise in the minds of everyone. Each of the people is unique, so understanding the essence of this religion is a subjective category for each of us. Some consider this concept a collection of antiquity, others - an unnecessary belief in supernatural forces. But Christianity is, first of all, one of which has been formed over the centuries.

The history of this phenomenon began long before the birth of the great Christ. Many cannot even imagine that the sources of Christianity as a religious worldview appeared as early as the 12th century BC. In the process of studying Christianity, one must turn to the scriptures, which make it possible to understand the moral foundations, political factors, and even some features of the thinking of ancient people that directly influenced the process of the origin, development and global spread of this religion. Such information can be obtained in the process of a detailed study of the Old and New Testaments - the main parts of the Bible.

Structural Elements of the Christian Bible

When we talk about the Bible, we must clearly realize its importance, because it contains all the once known religious legends. This scripture is such a multifaceted phenomenon that the fate of people and even entire nations can depend on its understanding.

Quotations from the Bible at all times were interpreted differently depending on the goals pursued by people. However, the Bible is not the true, original version of holy writing. Rather, it is a kind of collection consisting of two fundamental parts: the Old and the New Testament. The meaning of these structural elements is fully implemented in the Bible, without any changes or additions.

This scripture reveals the divine essence of God, the history of the creation of the world, and also provides the basic canons of the life of an ordinary person.

The Bible has undergone all sorts of changes over the centuries. This is due to the emergence of various Christian currents that accept or reject some biblical writings. Nevertheless, the Bible, regardless of the changes, absorbed the Jewish, and later the formed Christian traditions, set forth in the testaments: the Old and the New.

General characteristics of the Old Testament

The Old Testament, or as it is commonly called, is the main part of the Bible along with It is the oldest scripture included in the Bible that we are used to seeing today. The book of the Old Testament is considered to be the "Jewish Bible".

The chronology of the creation of this scripture is striking. According to historical facts, the Old Testament was written in the period from the 12th to the 1st century BC - long before the emergence of Christianity as a separate, independent religion. It follows that many Jewish religious traditions and concepts have fully become part of Christianity. The book of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, and a non-Greek translation was carried out only in the period from the 1st to the 3rd century BC. The translation was recognized by those first Christians, in whose minds this religion was just born.

Old Testament author

To date, the exact number of authors involved in the process of creating the Old Testament is unknown. Only one fact can be stated with certainty: the book of the Old Testament was written by dozens of authors over several centuries. Scripture is made up of a large number of books named after the people who wrote them. However, many modern scholars believe that most of the books of the Old Testament were written by authors whose names are hidden for centuries.

Origins of the Old Testament

People who do not understand absolutely nothing in religion believe that the main letter is the Bible. The Old Testament is included in the Bible, but it has never been a primary source, since it appeared after it was written. The Old Testament is presented in various texts and manuscripts, the most important of which are the following: