What's the difference between the OT and the Torah? And if?

Question

Christians don't believe in the OT why don't they lighten their load and stop carrying that thing around?

Answer 1

The Torah - in the general sense of the word - refers to the "5 Books of Moses." The non-Jewish world have come to call these 5 books - "The Old Testament," because they believe someone came to change the rules of what was written in it. In fact, the rules in what some call the "Old Testament" are still as valid today as they were when Moses came down from Mount Sinai bringing the "5 Books of Moses" down with him.



Although this is a general description, the term Torah is far more complex. The Torah refers to both the written law as handed to Moses on Mount Sinai which encompass not just the "5 Books of Moses" i.e. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, but also includes the remainder 19 books known as Tanach - consisting of the books of the Prophets and the Writings (including Psalms etc.) The word Torah also includes the entire Oral Law given to Moses on Mount Sinai as well. It was not written down.



The oral law includes the missing points that the written law makes no sense about at all. For example, the written law tells one to "Write them on the doorposts of your house" but does not tell anybody WHAT to write - or in fact where about on the doorposts to put whatever one is supposed to write there!



Or for example it states, "And you shall slaughter the animal as I have commanded you," but nowhere in the written law does it clearly describe the process of slaughtering an animal in order to be able to eat it - the process known as Shechita. The written law includes such statements as "And you shall wear them as a sign on your hand and as Totafot between your eyes," but makes no mention of what is to be worn, what the word Totafot actually means or exactly where one is supposed to place them "between one's eyes". The oral Torah explains exactly what must be placed - and where it must be placed.



Incidentally there is no philosophy behind the Torah. It is history. These words were given in the presence of 600 000 Jewish souls who witnessed the giving of the Torah. Moses was responsible for "bringing the Torah" to the Jewish people - but every single Jew was present at the time it was given.



The Torah did not "spring" from the "Old Testament", and neither did the "Old Testament" spring from the Torah. The Torah encompasses everything of what the laws for the Jewish people would encompass - right up until this very day. It is by no means old.



The word Torah comes from the word "Hora'ah" meaning teaching, because it encompasses the teachings necessary for daily living. This is not philosophical, nor is it something that relates to an apparent testament that is old.



The beauty of the Torah is that it also takes into account the rest of the world. While the Jewish people are required to perform 613 commandments as laid out in - what some people call "The Old Testament", the Torah teaches that the entire world - no matter who they are (even those not Jewish) are required to fulfill 7 commandments. See attached sources for more info.

Answer 2

The OT tells how we got here and why we and the world are in the fallen state we find it in.



The NT tells how God is going to put everything right again.



Both testaments are therefore relevant but the most compelling reason for Christians to read and study the Old Testament lies in the New Testament because The New Testament witnesses to the fact that Jesus of Nazareth is the One in whom and through whom all the OT promises of God find their fulfillment.



These promises are only to be understood from the Old Testament. The fulfillment of the promises can be understood only in the context of the promises themselves. The New Testament presupposes a knowledge of the Old Testament. Everything that is a concern to the New Testament writers is part of the one redemptive history to which the Old Testament witnesses.



The New Testament writers cannot separate the person and work of Christ, nor the life of the Christian community, from this sacred history which has its beginnings in the Old Testament.



The New Testament writers constantly quote or allude to the Old Testament. One estimate is that there are at least 1600 direct quotations of the Old Testament in the New, to which may be added several thousand more New Testament passages that clearly allude to or reflect Old Testament verses.



A person can become a Christian without much knowledge of the Old Testament but the more we study the New Testament, the more apparent becomes the conviction shared by Jesus, the apostles, and the New Testament writers in general: namely, the Old Testament is Scripture and Scripture points to Christ.



The manner in which the Old Testament testifies to Christ is a question that has to be resolved on the basis of the New Testament, since it is the New Testament which provides the Christian with an authoritative interpretation of the Old.

Answer 3

I really *hate* to have my name besmirched by other answerers, especially those who clearly know very little about Judaism. You've already gotten some good answers about the Torah, Tanach and what the Christians call the "Old Testament". I would add one more--Isaiah 7:14, the classic mistranslation. The "Old Testament" has, "...The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son...". The **real** translation, from the Hebrew, is, "the young woman shall conceive, and bear a son...". Note the two crucial differences: "virgin" vs. "young woman" and "a" vs. "the". In general--the Torah (as well as the rest of the Tanach) bears no references at all to Jesus, while the "Old Testament" has grossly mistranslated or misinterpreted verses to imply the life of Jesus. Now, as to the Mishnah--sorry to the above poster, but traditional Judaism *does* hold that both the written Torah and an oral tradition, which goes into detail about how the laws are to be carried out--the Mishnah--were given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. The Mishnah was finally written down about 200 C.E. (that's A.D. to Christians) by Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi. From about 200 C.E. to about 500 C.E., discussions of how to interpret the rather brief wording of the Mishnah went on; this produced a body of literature called Gemara. When the Gemara and Mishnah are combined, they form a work called the Talmud. There are actually two--one written in Babylonia and one in Jerusalem. The Babylonian Talmud is the longer--it takes up about four feet on my bookshelf of oversized books. The Mishnah, by contrast, is about 4 inches thick.

Answer 4

the Torah is only the first five books, the books of Moses

Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers and Deuteronomy

the OT is the Torah plus the Prophets, AND the Holy Writings

Answer 5

answer: The Torah are the five books of Moses.



The Tanakh is the Jewish bible which contains the Torah and the books that Christians call the OT. They seem to need the OT to base their religion in history and not the rampant paganism within Christian beliefs.



The OT is not the Jewish Tanakh. The OT is usually translated with a bit of bias towards the Christian belief that there are hundred of prophecies in the Tanakh that predict the life and death of Jesus.



It doesn't.



There are 23 prophecies of the Jewish Messiah and no one has fulfilled them.



Zechariah 12:10 − The Hebrew Tanakh: “and they shall look upon me whom they have stabbed/ thrust through [with swords”) The King James Version of Zechariah changes one word [stabbed] to “pierced.”



Isaiah 7:14 − The Hebrew Tanakh says “Therefore, the Lord, of His own, shall give you a sign; behold, the young woman (alma) is with child, and she will bear a son and she shall call his name Immanuel.” **Take note, this was written in the present tense.



Isaiah 9:5 − The Hebrew Tanakh reads: “For a child has been born to us, a son has been given us and authority has settled on his shoulders. He has been named “The Mighty God” Isaiah was referring to King Hezekiah, son of Ahaz. Again, in an attempt to insert a Jesus prophecy, the KJV changed the tense from the present to the future, making it, “A child is born, a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God”. [In Hebrew Hezekiah means “the mighty God.”]



Psalms 34:20 refers to David saying no one becomes truly righteous and great without his share of mishaps, He guards all his bones, even one of them was not broken.” Nothing ever shows that this Psalm was intended as prophetic, certainly not applying to Jesus.



Using Isaiah 59:20, Christians again misquote Hebrew Scripture. The New Testament in Romans 11:26, has Paul supposedly saying, “And so all Israel shall be saved; as it is written. There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.” The Tanakh recorded a different event. Isaiah:“ A redeemer will come to Zion, and to those of Jacob who repent from willful sin. Is it in or out of Jerusalem? Just change “to Zion” to “out of Zion.”



(and more)

Answer 6

Torah is the first five books of the OT. The OT is the book that Jesus used, therefore it is part of the history of the Christian church. Would you toss out your grandfather?

Answer 7

The Old Testament includes the Torah, which are the first five books of the Old Testament.

Answer 8

We believe in the OT, but we know it is not a way to be saved.

Answer 9

The OT was given by God to show us we are sinners and need his salvation.



The laws in the OT convict us as sinners