In this section, you can explore the Old Testament – one story at a time. Below, you’ll find 100 key stories from the Old Testament, brought together into six groups. This collection will grow over time, so you might have to be patient if your favourite story isn’t featured just yet!

I. Stories from Genesis

“I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” (Acts 7:32)
Genesis is a book of beginnings. It explains how God created the universe and the first humans within it. It describes how they betrayed his trust and how sin took hold in the world. But it also gives hope. From Genesis, we learn about the life-changing promises God made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their families.

1	The Creation of the World	Genesis 1:1-31
2	The Creation of Adam and Eve	Genesis 2:1-25
3	The Temptation and Fall	Genesis 3:1-24
4	The First Gospel	Genesis 3:14-19
5	Abel is murdered	Genesis 4:1-16
6	Noah’s Ark	Genesis 6:9 – 8:19
7	The Covenant with Noah	Genesis 8:20 – 9:17
8	The Call of Abram	Genesis 12:1-9
9	Abram meets Melchizedek	Genesis 14:1-24
10	The Hospitality of Abraham	Genesis 18:1-15
11	Sarah the mother of Isaac	Genesis 21:1-7
12	Abraham sacrifices Isaac	Genesis 22:1-19
13	Isaac, God’s faithful servant	Genesis 26:1-33
14	Rebekah at the well	Genesis 24:1-67
15	Jacob takes Esau’s birthright	Genesis 27:1-45
16	Jacob’s Ladder	Genesis 28:10-22
17	Rachel the shepherdess	Genesis 29:1-30
18	Joseph is betrayed by his brothers	Genesis 37:1-36
19	Joseph’s life in Egypt	Genesis 39:1 – 45:28
20	The Death of Joseph	Genesis 50:22-26

II. Stories of the Exodus

^“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Exodus 20:2)
The book of Exodus – and most of the book of Numbers – tells the story of how the Israelites left Egypt for the Promised Land. It describes how Moses led them out of slavery, how he received the Law of God on Mount Sinai and tells of the survival of the people for forty years in the wilderness.

21	The Early Life of Moses	Exodus 1:1-2:25
22	Moses at the Burning Bush	Exodus 3:1-15
23	The Plagues of Egypt	Exodus 7:14 – 12:34
24	The Passover	Exodus 12:21-28
25	The Crossing of the Red Sea	Exodus 14:1-21
26	Miriam celebrates the Exodus	Exodus 15:1-21
27	The Miracle of the Manna	Exodus 16:1-36
28	Moses receives the Law	Exodus 20:1-21
29	The Ark of the Covenant	Exodus 25:1-22
30	Aaron is appointed high priest	Sirach 45:6-22
31	Moses sends out Twelve Spies	Numbers 13:1-33
32	Moses strikes the rock	Numbers 20:1-13
33	Moses raises the bronze serpent	Numbers 21:4-9
34	Moses appoints Joshua as leader	Deuteronomy 31:1-8
35	Moses dies on the mountain	Deuteronomy 34:1-12

III. The Story of Israel

“You have granted that your people, Israel, will be your own people forever, and you, O Lord, will be their God.” (1 Chronicles 17:22)
The history of Israel as a nation began after the conquest of the Promised Land. We learn of the establishment of the royal family, the building of the Temple of Jerusalem and then the division of the country into two states (Judah and Israel). The Bible also covers the destruction of Jerusalem, the exile of the Jews in Babylon and their eventual return to their homeland.

36	Balaam foresees a star	Numbers 22:1 – 24:25
37	Joshua crosses the Jordan	Joshua 3:1- 4:24
38	Deborah judges Israel	Judges 4:4-10
39	Gideon and his fleece	Judges 6:1-40
40	Samson removes the gates of Gaza	Judges 16:1-3
41	Ruth meets her husband Boaz	Ruth 2:1-23
42	Hannah commits Samuel to God	1 Samuel 1:1-28; 2:18-21
43	Samuel judges Israel	1 Samuel 7:1-17
44	David defeats Goliath	1 Samuel 17:1-54
45	Jonathan’s friendship with David	1 Samuel 18:1-5
46	Abigail acts as peacemaker	1 Samuel 25:1-42
47	David becomes king	2 Samuel 5:1-3
48	King David’s affair with Bathsheba	2 Samuel 11:1-12:15
49	Rizpah mourns her crucified sons	2 Samuel 21:1-14
50	Bathsheba, the mother of King Solomon	1 Kings 1:1-2:19
51	King Solomon asks for wisdom	1 Kings 3:1-15
52	The Temple of Solomon	2 Chronicles 3:1-7:10
53	The Visit of the Queen of Sheba	1 Kings 10:1-13
54	The Proverbs of Solomon	Proverbs 1:1-7
55	Elijah prophesies to Israel	1 Kings 17-19
56	The Call of Elisha	1 Kings 19:9-21
57	Elijah is taken up to heaven	2 Kings 2:1-13
58	King Josiah the Reformer	2 Chronicles 34 and 35
59	King Hezekiah’s recovery	Isaiah 38:1-20
60	Zerubbabel rebuilds the Temple	Ezra 3:1-13
61	Nehemiah rebuilds Jerusalem	Nehemiah 2:1-20
62	St Raphael travels with Tobias	Tobit 4:1-2; 5:1-22
63	Queen Esther protects the Jews	Esther 8:1-8
64	Judith slays Holofernes	Judith 13:1-20
65	The Martyrs of the Maccabees	2 Maccabees 7:1-42
66	The Patience of Job	Job 1:1 – 2:13
67	The Three Holy Youths	Daniel 3:1-97
68	St Gabriel the Archangel	Daniel 9:20-27
69	St Michael the Archangel	Daniel 12:1
70	The Trial of Susanna	Daniel 13:1-64

IV. The Prophets

“Surely the Lord God does nothing, without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7)
In the Old Testament, there are sixteen prophetic books. In the name of God, the prophets called on the people to repent, warned them about future upheavals and spoke up for the poor and marginalised. They foretold a new era, when God would make a new covenant with his people and there would be blessings for all nations.

71	The Prophet Isaiah	Isaiah 60:1-22
72	The Prophet Jeremiah	Jeremiah 31:1-40
73	The Prophet Ezekiel	Ezekiel 36:24-28
74	Daniel in the Lion’s Den	Daniel 6:1-25
75	The Twelve Prophets	Sirach 49:10
76	Jonah and the Whale	Jonah 2:1-10
77	Haggai’s prophecy of the Temple	Haggai 2:1-9
78	Amos foresees a global faith	Amos 9:11-15
79	Joel foretells the Holy Spirit	Joel 2:28-29
80	Malachi foretells the Mass	Malachi 1:10-11

V. Prophecies of the Messiah

“Then, beginning with Moses and going through all the Prophets, he interpreted for them all the passages from the Scriptures that pertained to him.” (Luke 24:27)
The ancient rulers and prophets of Israel spoke of the coming of the Messiah, a great leader who would come to restore God’s kingdom. Building on this, the New Testament shines a light on the various coded references to Christ’s life, death and resurrection that are found throughout the Old Testament.

81	The Jesse Tree	Isaiah 11:1-9
82	The Virgin Birth	Isaiah 7:1-17
83	The Birth in Bethlehem	Micah 5:1-5
84	The Stay in Egypt	Hosea 11:1-4
85	The Arrival of a Great Prophet	Deuteronomy 18:13-22
86	The Suffering Servant	Isaiah 52:13-53:12
87	The Crucifixion	Psalm 22:1-18
88	The Death of God’s Son	Wisdom 2:12-20
89	The Piercing of the Messiah	Zechariah 12:10-14
90	The Resurrection of the Messiah	Psalm 16:9-11

VI. Sacred songs

“I will sing forever of the Lord’s kindness; with my lips I will proclaim your faithfulness throughout the generations.” (Psalm 89:1)
Some of the most famous figures of the Old Testament – such as Moses, David and Solomon – were songwriters. As a result, many of the great events of Israel’s history are celebrated in song. The Psalms in particular, as the hymnbook used in the Temple of Jerusalem, include many heartfelt songs of salvation.

91	The Song of Moses	Exodus 15:1-22
92	The Song of Deborah	Judges 5:1-31
93	The Song of Judith	Judith 15:15-16:17
94	The Prayer of Habakkuk	Habakkuk 3:1-15
95	The Psalms of David	Psalm 45:1-17
96	The Seven Penitential Psalms	6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143
97	The Song of Songs	Song of Songs 3:11 – 4:8
98	The Sanctus	Isaiah 6:1-8
99	The Lamentations	Lamentations 3:1-66
100	The Song of Creation	Daniel 3:51-90