“Testament” means covenant — a binding relationship God makes with his people. Both halves together make up the 66 books of the Bible. Here is what each covers, how they differ and how they fit together.
What “testament” means
The word comes through Latin from the Greek diathēkē and the Hebrew berit, both meaning covenant. The prophet Jeremiah announced that God would one day make a “new covenant” with his people, written on their hearts rather than on stone:
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt— a covenant they broke, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. “But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.”
At the Last Supper Jesus took up the same words, which is where Christians get the name “New Testament”:
“In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.”
The two testaments at a glance
| Old Testament | New Testament | |
|---|---|---|
| Books | 39 | 27 |
| Chapters | 929 | 260 |
| Verses | 23,145 | 7,941 |
| Original language | Mostly Hebrew, some Aramaic | Greek |
| Time covered | Creation to the return from exile (about the 5th century BC) | The birth of Jesus to the first-century church |
| Written | Over roughly a thousand years | Within about a century (most scholars: c. AD 50–100) |
| First / last book | Genesis / Malachi | Matthew / Revelation |
By verse count, the Old Testament makes up about 74% of the Bible and the New Testament about 26%.
What is in the Old Testament?
The Old Testament tells the story of God and Israel: creation and the first families, the rescue from Egypt, the covenant at Sinai, life in the promised land under judges and kings, and the exile to Babylon and return. Alongside the story are prayers, wisdom and the messages of the prophets. Its books fall into five groups:
- Law: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
- History: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
- Wisdom & Poetry: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs
- Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
What is in the New Testament?
The New Testament begins with four accounts of Jesus’ life, continues with the spread of the early church in Acts, collects letters written to churches and leaders, and ends with the visions of Revelation.
- Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
- Acts: Acts
- Letters: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude
- Revelation: Revelation
Key differences
- Focus. The Old Testament centers on God’s covenant with one nation, Israel. The New Testament centers on Jesus and a community made of Jews and Gentiles together.
- Time span. The Old Testament covers many centuries of history; the New Testament covers less than a hundred years.
- Worship. The Old Testament describes temple sacrifice and priesthood; the New Testament, especially Hebrews, presents Jesus as the final sacrifice and high priest.
- Language and setting. Hebrew in the ancient Near East versus Greek in the Roman world.
How the two testaments connect
Christians read the two testaments as one story. The New Testament quotes and alludes to the Old Testament hundreds of times, and its writers present Jesus as the fulfilment of promises made to Abraham, David and the prophets. Jesus himself put it this way:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.”
A common saying puts it simply: the New is in the Old concealed, and the Old is in the New revealed. Jewish readers, by contrast, read the Hebrew Bible as complete in itself.