Ridgeway Methodist Church, Plympton, Plymouth, England, UK

THE OLD TESTAMENT

The Old Testament is made up of thirty-nine books, written in many different styles and over a period of many hundreds of years. This page provides a brief introduction to each of the Old Testament books.

GENESIS
The book of Genesis, which means "origins" or "beginnings" tells the story of how God created the universe and everything in it. The early chapters include some of the most familiar stories in the Bible. Moving on from the creation story to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and their fall into sin, Genesis goes on to tell of the great flood and the Tower of Babel.

The remainder of the book is taken up with the story of one family, Abraham and his descendants. This section begins with the call of Abraham and the covenant God made with him, before moving on to tell the stories of Abraham's son Isaac and grandson Jacob, who would become known as Israel. Genesis ends with the story of Joseph, Jacob's favourite son, who was sold into slavery in Egypt but went on to rise to a position of great power in the Egyptian court, where the rest of his family would eventually join him.

EXODUS
Exodus begins several centuries after the end of Genesis, when the descendants of Jacob, the Israelites, had fallen into slavery. The book tells of how Moses was called by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, and how God brought his judgement onto Egypt when Pharaoh did not let them go. After the Israelites' escape from Egypt, Exodus goes on to tell of the journey through the desert to Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God.

Much of the rest of the book of Exodus is taken up with the laws that Moses received from God, as well as instructions on how the Tabernacle, the place where God would dwell amongst the people, should be built. Exodus does, however, also include the story of the golden calf that the Israelites built to worship, God's anger at this and Moses' pleading for the people. It is made clear that this sin caused the people to lose their direct relationship with God, as Moses then had to act as a mediator.

LEVITICUS
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NUMBERS
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DEUTERONOMY
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JOSHUA
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JUDGES
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RUTH
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1 SAMUEL
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2 SAMUEL
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1 KINGS
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2 KINGS
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1 CHRONICLES
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2 CHRONICLES
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EZRA
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NEHEMIAH
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ESTHER
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JOB
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PSALMS
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PROVERBS
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ECCLESIASTES
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SONG OF SONGS
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ISAIAH
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JEREMIAH
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LAMENTATIONS
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EZEKIEL
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DANIEL
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HOSEA
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JOEL
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AMOS
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OBADIAH
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JONAH
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MICAH
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NAHUM
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HABAKKUK
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ZEPHANIAH
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HAGGAI
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ZECHARIAH
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MALACHI
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Bible Books
THE OLD TESTAMENT | The New Testament

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