Editing Old Testament (section)

==Christian theology==
{{Main|Christian views on the Old Covenant}}
Christianity is based on the belief that the [[historical Jesus]] is also the [[Christ]], as in the [[Confession of Peter]]. This belief is in turn based on Jewish understandings of the meaning of the Hebrew term [[Messiah]], which, like the Greek "Christ", means "anointed". The Hebrew Scriptures describes a king anointed with oil on his accession to the throne: he becomes "The {{LORD}}'s anointed" or Yahweh's Anointed.

By the time of Jesus, some Jews expected that a flesh-and-blood descendant of [[David]] (the "[[Davidic line|Son of David]]") would come to establish a real Jewish kingdom in Jerusalem, instead of the [[Judaea (Roman province)|Roman province]] of Judaea.{{Sfn | Farmer | 1991 | pp = 570–71}} Others stressed the [[Son of Man]], a distinctly other-worldly figure who would appear as a [[Last Judgment|judge at the end of time]]. Some expounded a synthesised view of both positions, where a messianic kingdom of this world would last for a set period and be followed by the other-worldly age or [[World to Come]].

Some{{who|date=February 2022}} thought the Messiah was already present, but unrecognised due to Israel's sins; some{{who|date=February 2022}} thought that the Messiah would be announced by a forerunner, probably [[Elijah]] (as promised by the prophet [[Malachi]], whose book now ends the Old Testament and precedes [[Gospel of Mark|Mark]]'s account of [[John the Baptist]]). However, no view of the Messiah as based on the Old Testament predicted a Messiah who would suffer and die for the sins of all people.{{Sfn | Farmer | 1991 | pp = 570–71}} The story of Jesus' death, therefore, involved a profound shift in meaning from the Old Testament tradition.{{Sfn | Juel | 2000 | pp = 236–39}}

The name "Old Testament" reflects Christianity's understanding of itself as the [[Fulfillment theology|fulfillment]] of Jeremiah's prophecy of a [[New Covenant]] (which is similar to "testament" and often conflated) to replace the existing [[Covenant (biblical)|covenant]] between God and Israel ([[Jeremiah 31:31]]).<ref>{{bibleverse|Jeremiah|31:31}}</ref>{{Sfn | Jones | 2000 | p = 215}} The emphasis, however, has shifted from Judaism's understanding of the covenant as a racially or tribally based pledge between God and the Jewish people, to one between God and any person of faith who is "in Christ".{{Sfn | Herion | 2000 | pp = 291–92}}