Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)
Critique • Other views • Quotes • Text • Biblical canons
First page of Genesis in Gutenberg Bible, 1455About the book
The authors
Unknown, Israel, Judah and Babylon
First publication
c.1200–100 BCE
Form
Prose and poetry
Genre
Religion, mythology, history
Writing languages
Hebrew and Aramaic
Length
Approx. 632,500 words (Old Testament, King James Version)
Inside and outside the Biblical canons
Do you know all the books that have appeared in one version or another of Hebrew Bible or Old Testament? Have you even heard of them all?
Probably not. Most people know only the writings that make up the canons of whatever Jewish or Christian scriptures they are most familiar with. Many don't even know those.
Churches and other publishers of those ancient and medieval anthologies have had a wide diversity of prose, poems and letters from which to select for inclusion in their Biblical canons. Not everything was considered appropriate for every religion's or sect's holy book. Choices had to be made, whether based on literary value, tradition or theological debate.
The major canons containing these works are:
• The Hebrew bible, also known as the Tanakh or the Masoretic text.
• The Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible used by the early Christian church.
• The Protestant bible, used by most Protestant churches.
• The Anglican bible, used by the Church of England and other Anglican churches.
• Roman Catholic bible, used by Rome-based Latin Catholicism.
• Eastern Orthodox bible, used by Greek, Russian, Georgian Orthodox Catholic Churches.
• Orthodox Tewahedo bible, used by Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo churches.
All the books noted here appeared in these or less well-known canons. They are listed in order of composition. Dates though are estimates and most have been disputed by scholars.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as "Sefer Shoftim", Septuagint as "Kritai", Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as "Tehillīm", Septuagint as "Psalmoi", Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as "Mishiel", Septuagint as "Paroimial", Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible as "Messale" (Proverbs 1–24) and (Proverbs 25–31).
Appearing in Hebrew bible as "Yeshayahu", Septuagint as "Ēsaias", Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible as "Isaias", Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as "Hōšēa", Septuagint as "Hōsēé", Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible as Osee, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as "Āmōs", Septuagint, Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as "Mīḵā hamMōraštī" ("Micah the Morashtite"), Septuagint as "Michaias", Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible as Michaes, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible, Septuagint as Naoum, Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as "Dəvārīm" ("Things" or "Words"), Septuagint as "Deuteronomion", Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as Ṣəfanyā, Septuagint as Sophonias, Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible as Sophonias, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as "Sefer Yəhōšūa", Septuagint as "Iēsous", Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible as "Josue", Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as "Sefer Shmuel", Septuagint as "1 and 2 Basileiōn", Protestant bible as two books, Anglican bible as two books, Roman Catholic bible as "1 and 2 Kingdoms", Eastern Orthodox bible as "1 and 2 Kingdoms", Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as "Sēfer Məlāḵīm", Septuagint as "1 and 2 Basileiōn", Protestant bible as two books, Anglican bible as two books, Roman Catholic bible as "3 and 4 Kingdoms", Eastern Orthodox bible as "3 and 4 Kingdoms", Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as "Yirmĭyāhu", Septuagint as "1 and 2 Hieremias", Protestant bible, Roman Catholic bible as "Jeremias", Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible including "Baruch", "Lamentations", "Letter of Jeremiah", and "4 Baruch".
Appearing in none of the major canons.
Appearing in Hebrew bible, Septuagint as "Ambakoum", Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible as "Habacuc", Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as "Šəmōṯ" ("The Names"), Septuagint, most Protestant bibles, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Protestant bible in Apocrypha, Anglican bible in Apocrypha, Roman Catholic bible, Eastern Orthodox bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as Yekhezqel, Septuagint as Iezekiēl, Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible as Ezechiel, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible, Septuagint as "Obdiou", Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible as "Abdias", Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as "Eikhah", Septuagint as "Thrēnoi", Protestant bible, Roman Catholic bible, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible as part of "Ethiopic Lamentations of Jeremiah".
Appearing in Hebrew bible as "Megillath Ruth" ("the Scroll of Ruth"), Septuagint as "Routh", Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Orthodox Tewahedo bible as "Säqoqawä Eremyas".
Appearing in Hebrew bible as "Bərē'šīṯ" ("In the beginning"), Septuagint, Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as "Vayyīqrā" ("And He called"), Septuagint as "Leutikon", Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as "Bəmīḏbar" ("In the desert"), Septuagint as "Arithmoi", Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as "Sefer Ḥaggay", Septuagint as "Angaios", Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible as "Aggeus", Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as "Zəḵarya", Septuagint as "Zacharias", Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible as "Zacharias", Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing some Roman Catholic bibles as a separate prayer.
Appearing in Hebrew bible, Septuagint as "Malachias" ("His Messenger"), Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible as "Malachias", Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible, Septuagint as "Iōēl", Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible, Septuagint as "1 Esdras", Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible as"1 Esdras", Eastern Orthodox bible as "1 Esdras" or "Edras B'", Orthodox Tewahedo bible as "1 Esdras".
Appearing in Hebrew bible, Septuagint as 2 Esdras, Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible as 2 Esdras, Eastern Orthodox bible as Esdras Γ' or Neemias.
Appearing in Protestant bible in Apocrypha, Anglican bible in Apocrypha as 1 Esdras, Eastern Orthodox bible as Esdras A' or 2 Esdras, Orthodox Tewahedo bible as 2 Ezra
Appearing in Protestant bible in Apocrypha, Anglican bible in Apocrypha as 2 Esdras, some Eastern Orthodox bible as 3 Edras, Orthodox Tewahedo bible as Ezra Sutel.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as Ester, Septuagint, Protestant bible in Apocrypha, Roman Catholic bible, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as Īyyōḇ, Septuagint as Iōb, Protestant bible in Apocrypha, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as Qophelet, Septuagint as Ekklēsiastēs, Protestant bible in Apocrypha, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as Shir Hashirim, Septuagint as Asma Asmatōn, Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible as Canticle of Canticles, Eastern Orthodox bible as Aisma Aismaton, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as Dīvrē-hayYāmīm ("words of the day"), Septuagint as 1 and 2 Paralipomenon, Protestant bible as 1 aznd 2 Chronicles, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible as 1 and 2 Paralipomenon, Eastern Orthodox bible as 1 snd 2 Paralipomenon, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in none of the major canons.
Appearing in Hebrew bible, Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible as Jonas, Eastern Orthodox bible.
Appearing in 0, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Septuagint, Protestant bible in Apocrypha, Anglican bible in Apocrypha, Roman Catholic bible as Tobias, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Septuagint, Protestant bible in Apocrypha, Roman Catholic bible, Eastern Orthodox bible.
Appearing in none of the major canons.
Appearing in early Orthodox Tewahedo manuscripts.
Appearing in Septuagint as Sophia Iēsou Seirach, Protestant bible in Apocrypha, Anglican bible in Apocrypha, Roman Catholic bible as Ecclesiasticus, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in some Oriental Orthodox bibles, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Hebrew bible as Daniyyel, Septuagint, Protestant bible, Anglican bible, Roman Catholic bible, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Septuagint as Ioudith, Protestant bible in Apocrypha, Anglican bible in Apocrypha, Roman Catholic bible , Eastern Orthodox bible.
Appearing in Septuagint in Odes, Protestant bible in Apocrypha, Anglican bible in Apocrypha as 1 Edras, Eastern Orthodox bible in Odes; some Oriental bibles in 2 Chronicles.
Appearing in Septuagint, Eastern Orthodox bible.
Appearing in Septuagint as 1 and 2 Makkabaiōn, Protestant bible in Apocrypha, Anglican bible in Apocrypha, Roman Catholic bible as 1 and 2 Machabees, Eastern Orthodox bible.
Appearing in Septuagint as Barouch, Protestant bible in Apocrypha, Anglican bible in Apocrypha, Roman Catholic bible, Eastern Orthodox bible.
Appearing in Septuagint as Epistolē Ieremiou, Protestant bible in Apocrypha, Anglican bible in Apocrypha, Roman Catholic bible as Baruch chapter 6, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible aspart of Ethiopic Lamentations of Jeremiah.
Appearing in Septuagint as 3 Makkabaiōn, Protestant bible in Apocrypha, Anglican bible in Apocrypha, Eastern Orthodox bible.
Appearing in Septuagint in Appendix as 4 Makkabaiōn, Protestant bible in Apocrypha.
Appearing in Septuagint in Appendix as Psalmoi Salomōntos.
Appearing in Septuagint as Sophia Salomōntos, Protestant bible in Apocrypha, Anglican bible in Apocrypha, Roman Catholic bible, Eastern Orthodox bible, Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in none of the major canons.
Appearing in none of the major canons.
Appearing in none of the major canons.
Appearing in none of the major canons.
Appearing in Protestant bible in Apocrypha, Eastern Orthodox bible.
Appearing in none of the major canons.
Appearing in Orthodox Tewahedo bible as Säqoqawä Eremyas, part of Ethiopic Lamentations of Jeremiah.
Appearing in none of the major canons.
Appearing in early Orthodox Tewahedo manuscripts.
Appearing in none of the major canons.
Appearing in none of the major canons.
Appearing in Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Appearing in Orthodox Tewahedo bible.
Critique • Other views • Quotes • Text • Biblical canons
