The term Old Testament refers to all versions and translations of the Hebrew Bible and is the first major part of the Bible used by Christians. It is usually divided by Judaism into the categories of law: Torah; prophecy: Neviim; and writings: Kethuvim (history, poetry, wisdom books); as denoted by the acronym Tanakh. The Protestant Old Testament is for the most part identical with the Jewish Tanakh. The differences between the Tanakh and the Protestant Old Testament are minor, dealing only with the arrangement and number of the books. For example, while the Tanakh considers 1 Kings and 2 Kings to be one book, the Protestant Old Testament considers them to be two books. Similarly Ezra and Nehemiah are considered to be one book by the Tanakh. The differences between the Tanakh and other versions of the Old Testament such as the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Syriac, Latin, Greek and other works, are greater as some include books not in the Tanakh and even in the books included, some have sections that the others do not.

The term "Old Testament" is a translation of the Latin Vetus Testamentum, which translates the Greek η Παλαια Διαθηκη, hē Palaia Diathēkē, meaning "The Old Covenant (or Testament)". Some believe Christians came to call this group of books the Old Testament because of a belief taught in the Epistle to the Hebrews and based on Jeremiah 31:31–34 that Jesus of Nazareth established a New Covenant or testament between God and mankind. This new covenant is said to be in contrast with the covenant made through Moses during the Exodus (Heb 8:9; Jer 31:32), see also Expounding of the Law#Antithesis of the Law. Books written after Jesus established this new covenant or testament are thus called the books of the new covenant/testament, or simply the New Testament. The earlier books are then called the books of the Old Testament in contrast. This is due to a level of ambiguity concerning the translation of diatheke — literally, "by the bag," a foreswearing of faithful trust — which can be read as either testament or covenant. Also, though not a commonly held view, not all Christians believe there is a contrast, first proposed by Marcion of Sinope, between the Old and New Testaments.

Most Jews accept as Scripture the same books as those found in the Protestant Old Testament, though the ordering of the books in the Jewish Bible differs from that of the Protestant English Old Testament. However, because Judaism does not accept the books of the New Testament as Scripture, they do not label their Bible "the Old Testament". For Jews the books of the Protestant Old Testament are simply "the Bible". Since the books of the Jewish Bible were written primarily in Hebrew (with some Aramaic), the Bible of Judaism is also called "the Hebrew Bible". The term "Hebrew Bible" is an attempt at a theologically neutral term as compared with "the Old Testament", which is distinctively Christian. Another Jewish term for the Jewish Bible/Old Testament is Tanakh, which is short for Torah, Nebi'im, and Ketubim, or Law, Prophets and Writings, the three major divisions of the Hebrew Bible.
 

	Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament Author: R. Laird Harris;
	Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible... Author: Kevin J. Vanhoozer; Buy New: $34.64
	Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms Author: Stanley J. Grenz; Buy New: $7.00

Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Hardcover)
by Gleason Archer, R.Laird Harris, Bruce Waltke

Hardcover: 1152 pages
Publisher: Moody Publishers (October 1, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN: 0802486495
Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.2 x 1.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.31 pounds

This is a great set. I got it about 20 years ago when it first came out, and, as a pastor of over 23 years, I say "Go for it!" Although I do not refer to this work every week, it comes in handy when I need to do a Hebrew word study. Because it is cross-indexed with Strongs, you can find the Hebrew words (and their definitions/expansions) without knowing a stitch of Hebrew. For practical ministry use, this is the set to get! It provides plenty of information, clear definitions, but does not get tedious (usually). I would recommend it over older studies which are not nearly as accurate (especially those done before the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in the 1940's).  (Edward J Vasicek (Kokomo, IN USA)