Intertestamental period

The intertestamental period is a term used to refer to a period of time between the writings of the Christian "Old" and " New Testament " texts. Traditionally, it is considered to be a roughly four hundred year period, spanning the ministry of Malachi (c. 420 BC), the last of the Old Testament prophets, and the appearance of John the Baptist in the early 1st century . Several of the deuterocanonical books, accepted as Scripture by Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy , were written during this time. In addition, many Biblical scholars believe that several Old Testament books were in fact composed much later than 400 B.C. including Daniel , Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles .

The intertestamental period is the gap of time between the period covered by the Hebrew Bible and the period covered by the Christian New Testament . Traditionally, it is considered to cover roughly four hundred years, spanning the ministry of Malachi (c. 420 BC) to the appearance of John the Baptist in the early 1st century AD , almost the same period as the Second Temple period (530 BC to 70 AD). It is known by members of the Protestant community as the "400 Silent Years" because it is believed to have been a span where God revealed nothing new to his people. However, most of the Deuterocanonical or Anagignoskomena books , accepted as scripture by Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy respectively, were written during this time, so it is sometimes also referred to as the Deuterocanonical period . This is also the time when many pseudopigraphal works were produced. An understanding of the events of the intertestamental period provides context for the New Testament.

The intertestamental period is the Protestant term and deuterocanonical period is the Catholic and Orthodox Christian term for the gap of time between the period covered by the Hebrew Bible and the period covered by the Christian New Testament . Traditionally, it is considered to cover roughly four hundred years, spanning the ministry of Malachi (c. 420 BC) to the appearance of John the Baptist in the early 1st century AD , almost the same period as the Second Temple period (530 BC to 70 AD). It is known by some members of the Protestant community as the "400 Silent Years" because some maintain that it was a span where God revealed nothing new to his people. Many of the deuterocanonical or anagignoskomena books , accepted as scripture by Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy respectively, were written during this time. This is also the time when many pseudepigraphal works were produced. An understanding of the events of the intertestamental period provides context for the New Testament.

Period between the Old and New Testaments of the Bible The intertestamental period ( Protestant ) or deuterocanonical period ( Catholic and Eastern Orthodox ) is the period of time between the events of the protocanonical books and the New Testament . It is considered to cover roughly 400 years, spanning from the ministry of Malachi (c. 420 BC) to the appearance of John the Baptist in the early 1st century AD . It is roughly contiguous with the Second Temple period (516 BC–70 AD) and encompasses the age of Hellenistic Judaism . It is known by some Protestants as the "400 Silent Years" because it was a period when no new prophets were raised and God revealed nothing new to the Jewish people . Many of the deuterocanonical books , accepted as scripture by the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodoxy, were written during this time, as were many pseudepigraphal works , the Biblical apocrypha and Jewish apocrypha . An understanding of the events of the intertestamental period provides historical and literary context for the New Testament .