Scripture Helps: Old Testament

Welcome to the Old Testament

Note: The citation of a source not published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the endnotes does not imply that it or its author is endorsed by the Church or represents the official position of the Church.

What is the Old Testament?

The Old Testament is a record of God’s dealings with His covenant children from the Creation until about four hundred years before the birth of Jesus Christ. The Hebrew word translated as “testament” can also mean “covenant.” In the Old Testament, we read about the history of God’s covenant people. This covenant started with Adam and continued through the great patriarchs. It was renewed through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their descendants, who are called “the house of Israel” or “the children of Israel.”

The teachings and covenants in the Old Testament have guided followers of Jehovah from the beginning. The teachings and prophecies of many Old Testament prophets were preserved for the Nephites and Lamanites on the brass plates. These teachings serve as the scriptural foundation used by Nephi, Jacob, Abinadi, Alma, and others to teach their people and write their own records. These were the scriptures of Jesus’s day, and He often referred to the writings of the Old Testament during His ministry. New Testament writers like Matthew, John, and Paul often relied on the Old Testament as a foundation for their witnesses of the Savior. The teachings and covenants of the Old Testament remain foundational for us today.

Like all scripture, the Old Testament teaches and testifies of Jesus Christ. He is Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament. President Spencer W. Kimball taught: “Old Testament prophets from Adam to Malachi are testifying of the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ was the God of the Old Testament, and it was He who conversed with Abraham and Moses. It was He who inspired Isaiah and Jeremiah; it was He who foretold through those chosen men the happenings of the future, even to the latest day and hour.”

How did we get the Old Testament?

The books of the Old Testament were likely originally written on material such as animal skin or papyrus. These were transcribed and preserved as scrolls, written mostly in Hebrew. Ancient manuscripts were eventually compiled into one collection that came to be known as the Hebrew Bible. The word bible comes from the Greek word biblia, which means “books.” There are no surviving original manuscripts written by the authors of the Old Testament. The oldest existing manuscripts of Old Testament texts date back to the third century BC.

Old Testament Prophet, by Judith Mehr

Several important efforts were made over the centuries to organize and preserve the writings of the Old Testament. Two of these efforts are the Septuagint and the Masoretic text. The Septuagint was a Greek translation of Old Testament writings compiled during the third to second century BC. This was the version of the Old Testament commonly used by the Jews in the Savior’s day. The Masoretic text was formed in approximately the seventh through the tenth centuries AD by a group of Jewish scholars known as the Masoretes. Modern English versions of the Old Testament, including the King James Version, have been influenced by the Septuagint and Masoretic text.

Despite the efforts of faithful people to preserve the biblical text, there were still inspired writings that were not included in the Bible. For example, there are several books of scripture mentioned in the Bible that for various reasons are missing or lost. Additionally, variations began to occur in biblical texts over time. This was often the result of scribal or translation errors. The Book of Mormon prophet Nephi also prophesied that some plain and precious truths would be removed from the Bible by people with unrighteous motives to “pervert the right ways of the Lord” and lead people astray.

Notwithstanding the imperfections that exist in modern-day Bibles, the miraculous nature of its preservation should not be overlooked. President M. Russell Ballard observed: “The Holy Bible is a miracle! It is a miracle that the Bible’s 4,000 years of sacred and secular history were recorded and preserved by the prophets, apostles, and inspired churchmen.”

How is the Old Testament organized?

When the Old Testament was compiled, its books were not always placed in chronological order but were instead grouped according to their subject material. Anciently, the books of the Old Testament were grouped into three main sections: the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. Most Christian Bibles today arrange the books of the Old Testament into the following four categories:

1. The Law. The books from Genesis through Deuteronomy give a history of God’s dealings with His children from the creation of the earth through the end of Moses’s life. They are often called the Law because they contain the law of Moses.

2. The History. The books from Joshua through Esther continue to relate the history of the children of Israel for more than 600 years after Moses.

3. The Poetry. The books from Job through Song of Solomon are filled with teachings and revelations that are written in poetic form. The book of Psalms contains the words to various pieces of sacred music.

4. The Prophets. The books from Isaiah through Malachi contain the teachings of prophets whose ministries occurred during or after the time in which kings ruled over the children of Israel. These books are not in historical order.

Why do Latter-day Saints use the King James Version of the Bible?

From 1604 through 1611, about 50 scholars appointed by King James I of England worked on a new English translation of the Bible. It became known as the King James Version, sometimes called the Authorized Version.

The translators relied on earlier English Bible translations. They also consulted other resources, including manuscripts of Bible texts in Hebrew and Greek. It was the King James Version of the Bible that Joseph Smith studied. The King James Version is of lasting value to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in part because its vocabulary and style of language can be seen throughout the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants.

The First Presidency wrote: “While other Bible versions may be easier to read than the King James Version, in doctrinal matters latter-day revelation supports the King James Version in preference to other English translations. … It is the English language Bible used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

Where can I learn more about preferred non-English translations of the Bible?

In the Scriptures collection in Gospel Library, you can find Translations and Formats. Select “Holy Bible” to see a list of Bible translations published or preferred for use by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

What is the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible?

The Prophet Joseph Smith showed a great love for the Bible throughout his life. However, he was aware that there were problems with the text. He explained that over time, many changes and errors had crept into the biblical text, which caused people to misunderstand its teachings.

In the summer of 1830, the Prophet Joseph Smith began to revise the King James Version of the Bible in English, intending to correct and clarify the text. This revision came to be known as the Joseph Smith Translation. Joseph considered this work to be part of his prophetic calling. Joseph completed most of his work by July 1833, though he continued to make minor changes to the manuscript until his death in 1844.

Even though his revision is often called a “translation,” the Prophet did not translate the Bible from one language to another. Nor did he use Hebrew or Greek sources or dictionaries. Instead, he studied passages from the King James Version of the Bible and then made corrections and additions as inspired by the Holy Ghost. His early translation work expanded and added to many biblical accounts, creating entirely new passages of text. Examples of this include the book of Moses and Joseph Smith—Matthew. Other revisions included “smaller changes that improved grammar, clarified meaning, modernized language, corrected points of doctrine, or alleviated inconsistencies.”

Joseph and Sidney, by Annie Henrie Nader

President Dallin H. Oaks stated that “as a member of the royal family of scripture [the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible] should be noticed and honored on any occasion when it is present.”

Many of the Prophet’s inspired revisions can be found in the Joseph Smith Translation Appendix in the Study Helps collection in Gospel Library. Other important revisions can also be found in the footnotes and the Bible appendix of Latter-day Saint editions of the Bible.

Learn More

Old Testament overview

• “Old Testament Overview”

The Bible

• M. Russell Ballard, “The Miracle of the Holy Bible,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2007, 80–82

• D. Todd Christofferson, “The Blessing of Scripture,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2010, 32–35

• Richard N. W. Lambert and Kenneth R. Mays, “400 Years of the King James Bible,” Ensign, Aug. 2011, 40–45

Joseph Smith Translation

• Church History Topics, “Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible,” Gospel Library

Media

Videos

“The Blessings of Scripture” (3:03)

“The Holy Bible” (1:39)

Images

Moses Seeing Jehovah, by Joseph Brickey

Isaiah Writes of Christ’s Birth (The Prophet Isaiah Foretells Christ’s Birth), by Harry Anderson

Ezra Called as a Scribe, by Robert T. Barrett

Notes

1. Malachi, the author of the final book in the Old Testament, wrote and prophesied in approximately 430 BC (see Bible Chronology, “Chronology of the Old Testament”; Guide to the Scriptures, “Malachi,” Gospel Library).

2. See Guide to the Scriptures, “Bible,” Gospel Library.

3. See Doctrine and Covenants 84:14–17.

4. See Genesis 46:8; Exodus 2:23–25; 40:38; Isaiah 46:3. See also “Thoughts to Keep in Mind: The Covenant,” Come Follow Me—For Home and Church: Old Testament 2026, 55.

5. See 1 Nephi 5:10–16.

6. See Thomas F. Olmstead, “The Savior’s Use of the Old Testament,” Ensign, July 2002, 46–51.

7. See Bible Dictionary, “Quotations from the Old Testament in the New Testament.”

8. See Andrew C. Skinner, “Finding Jesus Christ in the Old Testament,” Ensign, June 2002, 24–28; Marissa Widdison, “Finding Jesus Christ in the Old Testament,” Liahona, Jan. 2022, 12–17.

9. Spencer W. Kimball, “Revelation: The Word of the Lord to His Prophets,” Ensign, May 1977, 76.

10. See Bible Dictionary, “Bible”; Richard Neitzel Holzapfel and others, Jehovah and the World of the Old Testament: An Illustrated Reference for Latter-day Saints (2009), 374; M. Russell Ballard, “How the Lord Prepared the World for the Restoration,” Ensign or Liahona, Jan. 2020, 16.

11. See Bible Dictionary, “Bible.”

12. See Holzapfel and others, Jehovah and the World of the Old Testament, 374. The Dead Sea Scrolls, which were discovered beginning in 1947, are a collection of numerous ancient manuscripts and fragments that contain some of the oldest samples of Old Testament texts in Hebrew.

13. See Bible Dictionary, “Septuagint.”

14. See Michael D. Coogan and others, eds., The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version, 5th ed. (2018), 1845; see also Holzapfel and others, Jehovah and the World of the Old Testament, 374. With the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls beginning in 1947, scholars found that the texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls—which were more than a thousand years older than the Masoretic text—closely matched the Hebrew texts preserved by the Masoretes (see Holzapfel and others, Jehovah and the World of the Old Testament, 374–75).

15. See Bible Dictionary, “Bible.”

16. See the section titled “Lost Scriptures” in Guide to the Scriptures, “Scriptures,” Gospel Library.

17. See Lori Driggs, “Nephi’s Vision and the Loss and Restoration of Plain and Precious Truths,” in The Things Which My Father Saw: Approaches to Lehi’s Dream and Nephi’s Vision, ed. Daniel L. Belnap and others (2011), 78–80. See also Holzapfel and others, Jehovah and the World of the Old Testament, 374.

18. 1 Nephi 13:26–27.

19. M. Russell Ballard, “The Miracle of the Holy Bible,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2007, 80.

20. See Guide to the Scriptures, “Bible,” Gospel Library. When Jesus spoke about the Law and the Prophets (see Matthew 7:12; 22:37–40), He was referencing this structure of the scriptures.

21. These five books are also called the Torah (Hebrew for “teachings”) and the Pentateuch (see Guide to the Scriptures, “Pentateuch,” Gospel Library).

22. Joseph Smith noted that the Song of Solomon is not an inspired book (see Bible Dictionary, “Song of Solomon”).

23. See Lincoln H. Blumell and Jan J. Martin, “The King James Translation of the New Testament,” in New Testament History, Culture, and Society: A Background to the Texts of the New Testament, ed. Lincoln H. Blumell (2019), 673–74, 677.

24. See Blumell and Martin, “The King James Translation of the New Testament,” 674–75.

25. See “History of the Scriptures,” in About the Scriptures, Gospel Library. See also Eric D. Huntsman, “The King James Bible and the Doctrine and Covenants,” in The King James Bible and the Restoration, ed. Kent P. Jackson (2011), 182–96.

26. “First Presidency Statement on the King James Version of the Bible,” Ensign, Aug. 1992, 80. “Other editions of the Bible may be useful for personal or academic study” (General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 38.8.40.1, Gospel Library).

27. See Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 207.

28. See Guide to the Scriptures, “Joseph Smith Translation (JST),” Gospel Library.

29. Church History Topics, “Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible,” Gospel Library.

30. Dallin H. Oaks, “Scripture Reading, Revelation, and Joseph Smith’s Translation of the Bible,” in Plain and Precious Truths Restored: The Doctrinal and Historical Significance of the Joseph Smith Translation, ed. Robert L. Millet and Robert J. Matthews (1995), 13.