Old Testament
The Old Testament is the Christian term for the books of the Jewish scriptures. Comprised of between 28 and 40 books (depending on editing and whether or not the apocrypha are included).
The Old Testament, while comprising the bulk of the Jewish scriptures (along with the Talmud, the books of Jewish law), is also viewed as the first part of the Christian scripture commonly known as the Bible. The rest of the Bible is the New Testament, which is entirely accounts of the life of Jesus Christ and the deeds of his followers after his death on the cross. The New Testament is not accepted as scriptural by Jews.
In period, stories and parables from the Old Testament stories were popular, well-known, and often accepted as the literal, historical truth.
