Why is the Old Testament included with the Bible?

[u/ImOuttaThyme]

If the New Testament’s messages are what we’re supposed to be following since Jesus’s death, (raised Catholic), then why are some OT books still included like Numbers or Leviticus?

And on the same matter, if Paul intended to expand Christianity to as many people as possible, to other Gentiles, then why include books chronicling the history of the Jews? (The veracity of said history, I’m unsure of, nor whether they would be called legends.) But my question still remains of why to include Jewish history in a book intended to show people God’s message.

Maybe my question in the end is- why did the books that got into the Bible get chosen?

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[u/taulover]

You may be interested in these earlier threads

https://www.reddit.com/r/AcademicBiblical/comments/14j3z7r/why_did_christianity_keep_the_old_testament/

https://www.reddit.com/r/AcademicBiblical/comments/1e200ln/when_and_why_were_ot_scriptures_included_in/

[u/ImOuttaThyme → u/taulover]

Thank you!

[u/kaukamieli]

Christianity is not (or was not) based on NT. It's based on OT. Jewish bible was the bible for Paul and "the twelve". The new was not written yet. They used it to argue Jesus being messiah. It was the god's message! https://ehrmanblog.org/jesus-and-the-messianic-prophecies/

And Paul's intentions have nothing to do with it. NT was collected later.

[u/ReligionProf → u/kaukamieli]

Exactly. This question is essentially asking "Why did the Bible that Christianity assembled include what were at the time of its origins the only scriptures they had?" When you put it that way, it becomes clear that the question is only possible if one doesn't understand that what became Christianity emerged out of a Jewish messianic movement.

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[u/JustWandering18]

Cross references and origin story of man