基督教（包括《新约》）和犹太教的正典经书。除个别段落外，都是西元前1200～西元前100年期间用希伯来文写成。分为三大部分∶1.律法书或摩西五经，内容有叙事、规条和训诲；2.先知书，记载希伯来重要历史人物事迹及规劝以色列人复归上帝的诸先知事迹；3.圣录，包括诗歌、神学著作及戏剧。希伯来正典总计为二十四卷，天主教及基督教新教所收著作多于此数。天主教正典吸收一些后来为犹太教和新教断为非正典的经书（参阅apocrypha）；新教则将希伯来正典中若干卷分为两卷或多卷∶〈撒母耳记〉、〈列王纪〉及〈历代志〉各分为上下两卷，〈以斯拉－尼希米记〉分为〈以斯拉记〉和〈尼希米记〉，〈十二先知书〉分别析为十二卷。

Sacred scriptures¹ of Judaism and, with the New Testament², of Christianity. Written almost entirely³ in the Hebrew language between 1200 and 100 BC, the Old Testament (also called the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh) is an account of God's dealings with the Hebrews as his chosen people. In the Hebrew Bible, the first six books tell how the Israelites became a people and settled in the Promised Land, the following seven books describe the development of Israel's monarchy⁴ and the messages of the prophets, and the last 11 books contain poetry, theology, and some additional historical works. Christians⁵ divided some of the original Hebrew books into two or more parts, specifically, Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles (two parts each), Ezra-Nehemiah (two separate books), and the Minor⁶ Prophets (12 separate books). The content of the Old Testament varies according to religious tradition, the Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Protestant canons all differing from each other as to which books they include.