The Intertestamental Period

  • The intertestamental period is that time between the Old Testament and the time of Christ – a period of about 400 years. Roughly speaking, that was 400 BC to 1 AD. (Some mark the end by the birth of Jesus; others by the preaching of John the Baptist.)
  • These 400 years are sometimes called “The 400 Silent Years” or something similar because because we have no writings from prophets in that period. This coincides with the Jewish view that Malachi was the last of the biblical prophets and the next prophetic voice after that would be Messiah.
  • Malachi is generally considered to be the last Old Testament book to be written and James Ussher dates it “about 397 BC.”
  • In rough terms then, here’s the broader timeline for context:
    • 1500 BC – Moses write the first book of the Old Testament
    • 400 – Malachi writes the last book of the Old Testament
    • 1 AD – Jesus is born.
    • 33 AD – Jesus is crucified, resurrected, and ascended
    • 70 AD – Jerusalem is destroyed
    • Sometime between 70 AD and 100 AD, the last New Testament book is written and the Second Coming takes place.
  • During the intertestamental period, the Septuagint was produced.

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