User:Pasadi97

2013-01-28T13:28:37Z

Pasadi97:

User:Pasadi97

2013-01-28T13:24:26Z

Pasadi97:

Talk:Iconography

2013-01-28T07:34:29Z

2013-01-26T16:12:27Z

Pasadi97:

Paraskeve the New

2013-01-26T16:09:08Z

Pasadi97:

Old Testament

2013-01-26T15:33:37Z

Pasadi97:

Old Testament

2013-01-26T15:30:22Z

Pasadi97:

{{OldTestament}}
The '''Old Testament''' is first of the two divisions of [[Holy Scripture]]. According to historians, the Old Testament was composed between the 5th century BC and the 2nd century BC, though parts of it, such as the Torah, and Song of Deborah (Judges 5), date back much earlier.

Traditionally the Old Testament is divided into the law books (the Pentateuch and historical books), the Psalms and other wisdom books, and the prophets because of what [[Jesus Christ|Christ]] said in [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2024:44;&version=9; Luke 24:44]:
:And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be
:fulfilled, which were written in the ''law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms'', concerning me. (KJV)

The term ''Old Testament'' itself is a translation of the Latin ''Vetus Testamentum'', from the Greek Ἡ Παλαιά Διαθήκη (hē Palaia Diathēkē), all meaning "The Old Covenant" (or "Testament"). The Latin rendered testament in English originally came from the Latin for "witness" and from there expanded to mean "to make a will"; thus, though it is purported to be synonymous with "covenant," it has a distinct legal flavoring. Further semantic extensions in English have made the English term more ambiguous[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/testament].

The Orthodox Church also numbers among the genuine books of the Old Testament the so-called ''apocryphal'' books, literally meaning the "secret" or "hidden" writings. A less Protestant-biased term for these parts of Scripture is the ''[[Deuterocanon|deuterocanonical writings]]''.

== The Five Books of the Law ==
The '''Five Books of the Law''' are the first five books of the Old Testament, known jointly as the ''[[Pentateuch]]'' (Gr. Πεντάτευχος, literally ''five volumes''), and they describe God's creation of the world, the rebellion of [[Adam and Eve]] and the fall of man. These books are also called the '''Books of Moses'''. They detail the early history of God's people of Israel from the days of Abraham (ca. 2000 BC) right through to the era of [[Moses]] (ca. 1250 BC).

The Five Books of the Law are:

* [[Genesis]], meaning "beginning"
* [[Exodus]], meaning "exit" or "departure"
* [[Leviticus]]
* [[Numbers]]
* [[Deuteronomy]], meaning "second law"

Although scholars believe that the Law was not written by the personal hand of Moses, and that the books show evidence of being the result of a number of oral and written traditions and time periods, the Church connects the Law with Moses, the great man of [[God]] to whom "the Lord used to speak ... face to face, as a man speaks to his friend" (Exodus 33:11).

== The Books of History ==
The second section of the [[Septuagint|LXX Old Testament]] is known as the '''Historical Books'''. This group covers the history of Israel from the settlement in the promised land of Canaan to the first centuries before Christ.

They include:
*[[Book of Joshua|Joshua]] (Jesus Navi)
*[[Judges]]
*[[Book of Ruth|Ruth]]
*First and Second Kingdoms
#[[I Kingdoms]] (I Samuel)
#[[II Kingdoms]] (II Samuel)
*Third and Fourth Kingdoms
#[[III Kingdoms]] (I Kings)
#[[IV Kingdoms]] (II Kings)
*First and Second Chronicles
#[[I Paraleipomenon]] (I Chronicles)
#[[II Paraleipomenon]] (II Chronicles)
#[[Book of Nehemiah|Nehemiah]]
#[[I Esdras]]
#[[II Esdras]] (Ezra)
*The Final Books
#[[Tobit]] (Tobias)
#[[Judith]]
#[[Book of Esther|Esther]]
#[[I Maccabees]]
#[[II Maccabees]]
#[[III Maccabees]] (English bible)

In the [[Holy Scripture|canon]] of the Orthodox Church—which is generally that of the [[Septuagint]], the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible—1 & 2 Samuel are called 1 & 2 Kings; and 1 & 2 Kings are called 3 & 4 Kings. Also, the so-called apocryphal books, listed above (I Esdras, II Esdras, Tobit, Judith, I Maccabees, II Maccabees, III Maccabees, IV Maccabees), are considered by the Orthodox as genuine parts of the Bible. The Old Testament apocrypha is a body of writings considered by the non-Orthodox to be of close association with the Bible, but not actually part of its official canonical contents.

The historical books of the Bible were written well after the events described in them actually took place.

==Wisdom books==
The Wisdom books include Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon, as well as the Wisdom of Jesus, Son of Sirach, also called Ecclesiasticus, and the Wisdom of Solomon from the so-called apocrypha.
* [[Psalms]]
* [[Prayer of Manasseh]]
* [[Book of Job|Job]]
* [[Proverbs]]
* [[Ecclesiastes]]
* [[Song of Solomon]] (Song of Songs or Canticle of Canticles)
* [[Wisdom of Solomon]]
* [[Wisdom of Sirach]] (Wisdom of Jesus, Son of Sirach, also called Ecclesiasticus)
Although not technically a ''wisdom'' book, the Prayer of Manasseh from the so-called [[apocrypha]], is a penitential prayer of the King of Judah, which for the Orthodox is part of the Bible. (It is included in the [[Great Compline]] service of the Orthodox Church.)

==Prophets==
16 books in the Old Testament are called by the names of [[prophet]]s, although not necessarily written by their hands. A prophet is one who speaks the word of God by direct divine inspiration, not just one who foretells the future.

===Major prophets===
Four of the prophetic books are those of the so-called ''major prophets'':
* [[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]]
* [[Book of Jeremiah|Jeremiah]] includes book of [[Book of Baruch|Baruch]] and the [[Epistle of Jeremiah]]
* [[Book of Ezekiel|Ezekiel]]
* [[Book of Daniel|Daniel]]

===Minor prophets===
The books of the 12 so-called ''minor prophets'':
* [[Book of Hosea|Hosea]]
* [[Book of Joel|Joel]]
* [[Book of Amos|Amos]]
* [[Book of Obadiah|Obadiah]]
* [[Book of Jonah|Jonah]]
* [[Book of Micah|Micah]]
* [[Book of Nahum|Nahum]]
* [[Book of Habakkuk|Habakkuk]]
* [[Book of Zephaniah|Zephaniah]]
* [[Book of Haggai|Haggai]]
* [[Book of Zechariah|Zechariah]]
* [[Book of Malachi|Malachi]]

==Others==
Some Orthodox Churches include:
* [[IV Maccabees]]
* [[Book of Odes]]
* [[Psalm 151]]

==God's possible interpretation==
Matthew 7:12: Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.

Possible interpretation of Matthew 7:12
Love your neighbor or pray for the neighbor to be loved to be loved by your neighbor.
Give money or pray for others to have money to receive money.
Give salvation or pray for salvation of others to receive salvation .
Give food or pray for people to receive food to receive food.
Give knowledge to receive knowledge.
Give help to receive help.
It may not be by chance that Fr Ilarion Argatu advice for having money was to give 3% to the poor and 10% for building churches. Also it may not be by chance that most richest countries are the ones helping other countries or that saints are helping many people with their salvation.
It may not be by chance that countries having many jobs have a culture of volunteering.

==God in Old Testament==
The main point of Bible, that includes the Old Testament, is to describe the relation between God and humanity. In Old Testament we see God making the Creation and the interaction between God and Creation until the incarnation of the Word of God.

In the Old Testament we see that God does not allow people to see him, anyhow in Jeremiah 31:31-34 God speaks about a New Law and that at that time everybody will know God . Even if the interpretation was not this, today many know Word of God or Jesus from icons. Also the only religion that has Holy Book describing both the Old and New Law, conforming probably with Jeremiah 31:31 is Christianity.

A New Law may mean another Law, thus Old Law may not be forever according with Jeremiah 31:31. Also based on Jeremiah 31:31 we know about a New Law and new may mean that restrictions of the Old Law may not be considered anymore including restrictions on food. Also a New Law may have another celebration day of Sunday instead of Saturday.

==Jesus or Word of God or Messiah in Old Testament==
Jesus was known as Word of God before taking human flesh , see John 1 where Jesus is declared to be the Word , to be God and Messiah. We can see teachings about Word of God in Genesis 15:1, in III Kings 6:11 or in Zechariah 12:1.

===Messiah in Old Testament===
In Old Testament we see prophecies about the coming of Messiah. Interestingly enough these prophecies speak about two endings, once Messiah dying and once Messiah coming as a leader and peace being restored. So these two endings may be impossible at the same time. So the assumption of one event being described by all prophecies can add great confusion.

The Psalm describing the coming of Messiah use the word describing the coming twice.

In Christian interpretation there are possibly two events, two comings described by the prophecies. Once when Messiah comes as a Savior to save humanity that is to bring back entrance to Heaven through Baptism and immortality through Holy Communion. In this event a part of the prophecies are fulfilled. The second event describes the second coming when probably the remaining prophecies will be fulfilled.

==Holy Spirit in Old Testament==
We can see teachings about Holy Spirit in Genesis 1:2.

==Icons in Old Testament==
Pictures of cherubim on temple door, on temple walls are mentioned in III Kings 6:29.

==Holy relics in Old Testament==
In 4 Kings 13:21 is mentioned the power of the Holy relics. In this book is mentioned that a dead person is thrown over the relics of Prophet Elisha and the dead person becomes alive. In 4 Kings 2:14 we see that belongings of Holy people can perform miracles, for example in this verse we see a cloth of Prophet Elijah being thrown into a river, that would retreat his waters making a clear passage for Prophet Elisha.

==Incense in Old Testament==
We see incense being mentioned multiple times in Old Testament for example in Exodus 30:7-9 and in Exodus 30:1.

==External links==
* [http://www.biblicaltraining.org/old-testament-survey/douglas-stuart/leadership Old Testament Survey], by Douglas Stuart (seminary class)
* [http://st-takla.org/pub_Deuterocanon/Deuterocanon-Apocrypha_El-Asfar_El-Kanoneya_El-Tanya__0-index.html About the Deuterocanon (Second Canonical Books)]
*[[Wikipedia: Old Testament]]

[[Category:Scripture]]
[[Category:Texts]]
[[Category:Old Testament|*]]

[[el:Παλαιά Διαθήκη]]
[[fr:Ancien Testament]]
[[ro:Vechiul Testament]]

Old Testament

2013-01-26T12:30:59Z

Pasadi97:

2013-01-23T12:41:33Z

Pasadi97:

User:Pasadi97

2013-01-23T02:34:59Z

Pasadi97:

User:Pasadi97

2013-01-23T00:49:21Z

Pasadi97:

Programmer engineer doing a PhD in Computer science and Student at Theology.

The wisest man in the World was Solomon and he didn't study at Harvard or Yale or Oxford, not that this studying is bad. He prayed to God for wisdom. In my understanding praying for wisdom should not hurt anybody so it is probably a great idea to be done.

Also Jesus is truth and praying to God to find the truth about all religions and denominations can not hurt also. To be sure we can pray also for whatever we will learn to be useful.

So far, the people that I learn about that prayed to go to best religion and denomination arrived at Eastern Orthodoxy. For people that do not believe this, please pray to be moved to best religion and denomination in the eyes of God and then wait. There are miracles where people of different religions asked God for best religion and answer was Christianity. There are miracles where people of different christian denominations asked God for best denomination and answer was Eastern Orthodoxy.

Interests:
:*-if Creation can go back to a state without sin
:*-understanding salvation individual and in groups and what are the ways to go to Heaven and back in this life and in after life
:*-understanding why even if God's power is infinite and people can access infinite power of God through prayer, there is still evil on the planet and evil is no thoroughly defeated

Previous interests:
:*goal of religions, best religion and denomination in the eyes of God , classification of religions http://www.topix.com/forum/religion/orthodox/T1M29J2ACSAET0923
:*miracles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WazsqUNFo5Y&playnext=1&list=PL581B6B34BF34AE03&feature=results_main
{{user en-3}}
{{user ro}}