New Testament, Old Testament, are there two Bibles.
It is common for people to refer to the Bible as divided in two parts, the “Old Testament” and the “New Testament”. Just the term “old” and “new” already give the idea that one is applicable and one isn’t, as if the old testament is somewhat obsolete. This division actually divides the Bible in two language sources. The “Old Testament” was written in Hebrew and some small portions in Aramaic. The “New Testament” on the other hand was written in Greek.
But why do we call these two sections “Old and New Testaments”?
The origin of this practice comes from the rendering of 2 Corinthians 3:14 in the Latin Vulgate and the King James Version.
2Co 3:14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.
However the rendering of “Old Testament” is unfortunately incorrect. The Greek work diathekes actually means “covenant as it does in the 32 other places it appears in the Greek text. Many modern Bibles render this word correctly as “covenant” (NE, RS, JB)
The apostle Paul here is not referring to the whole body of Hebrew and Aramaic Scriptures. Just as he doesn’t refer to the Inspired Christian writings as a “New Testament” (or covenant). The apostle Paul is rather talking about the old Law covenant, which was recorded by Moses in the first five books of the Bible, a small section of the Hebrew Scriptures. For this reason Paul says in the next verse: “whenever Moses is read”. This shows that it is not really a valid statement to call the entire Hebrew and Aramaic scriptures “The Old Testament” based exclusively on an erroneous rendition of the Greek word for covenant.
This apparently minor mistake, what could appear a mere case of semantics does have real importance when it causes people to believe that the Hebrew Scriptures are not as important or relevant and are therefore called “Old”. Jesus Christ made rather the opposite point when he referred to the collection of sacred writings as the “The Scriptures in Matthew 21:42 and Mark 14:49. The apostle Paul then went on to refer to them as the “Holy Scriptures”, the “Scriptures” and the “holy writings”. Hardly the description of a portion of the Bible that is out of date or no longer as relevant for us today.
The truth is that the entire Bible is important for those who want to learn and understand the Bible. Just as 2 Tim 3:16 “All Scripture (referring to the entire Bible) is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, reproving (…)”.
Hence there is no valid reason or basis to refer to the Bible in terms of “Old” or “New” as both the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures are of immense value and importance to us. Let us instead appreciate the Bible in its entirety and do our utmost to read it daily.