High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Old Testament is a Christian term for a collection of religious writings of ancient Israel that form the major and first section of Christian Bibles, in contrast to the Christian New Testament which deals explicitly with the 1st century Christianity. The Hebrew Canon approved by Rabbinic Judaism included only certain Hebrew/Aramaic books but not all. Some of these scriptures vary markedly between differing Christian denominations; Protestants accept only the Hebrew Bible`s canon but divide it into 39 books, while Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox, Coptic and Ethiopian churches recognise a considerably larger collection.