Q: In the OT, who was the first believer to answer hard questions?
A: The first person recorded to do so was Moses in Exodus 18:13-16, who afterwards at Jethro’s suggestion had judges to decided the less difficult things in Exodus 18:22-26. Solomon, when the Queen of Sheba asked him hard questions in 2 Chronicles 9:1-2. Presumably, many of these questions were about God and his law.

Q: Why do you trust the Old Testament?
A: Both scripture and archaeology indicate there are no significant changes in our copies today for at least five reasons:
God promised to preserve His word in Isaiah 55:10-11; 59:21; 1 Peter 1:24-25, Matthew 24:35. We can trust God.
Jesus and the New Testament confirmed the Old Testament scriptures in Matthew 19:4; 22:32,37; 39; 23:35; Mark 10:3-6; Luke 2:23-24; 4:4; 11:51; 20:37; 24:27,44
Archaeological evidence: In the Septuagint, the Torah was translated into Greek around 400 B.C. The Dead Sea Scrolls were from about 250 B.C. to after the time of Christ, and we can compare them with our Bibles today. Aramaic Targums are translations made around the time of Jesus. The Dead Sea Scrolls are about 95,000 fragments from 867 manuscripts of the Old Testament and other writings. About 1/3 of the Dead Sea scrolls are manuscripts of the Old Testament according to The NIV Study Bible p.1432. Archaeology shows the Bible Jesus knew was preserved. Nahal Hever (=Wadi Habra) is a cave near Engedi, that has parts of 35 scrolls. One is a fragment written between 50 B.C. and 50 A.D. of the minor prophets in Greek Nahal Hever scroll 5/6HevPs has part of Psalm 22, and another has Psalm 15:1-2.
At Masada, there was a copy of Joshua dated 169-93 B.C. The Journey from Texts to Translations p.190 also says texts at Masada come from Genesis, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Psalms, and Ezekiel. The Romans captured Masada in April 73 A.D., so the scrolls were before then.
Note that the Genesis fragment (Genesis 46:7-11), Talmon thinks could be from a paraphrase of Genesis included in the Book of Jubilees. See The Dead Sea Scrolls & Modern Translations of the Old Testament p.80 for more info.
The Nash Papyrus, dated 150 B.C., contains the Ten Commandments combined from Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-6:4f. In it the sixth and seventh commandments are reverses according to The Journey from Texts to Translations p.188.
At wadi Muraba’at/Murabba’at a Hebrew scroll (Mur.88) of ten of the twelve Minor Prophets is from c. 132 A.D. Small fragments of Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Isaiah were found in cave 2. See The Journey from Texts to Translations p.188-189 also says that all Muraba’at scrolls are virtually identical to the Massoretic text.
Early church writers, as early as 97/98 A.D., extensively referred to the Old Testament.
Jewish scribes, even though hostile to Christianity, preserved the same Old Testament found in every Protestant Bible today.
As a side note for Muslims, Sura 4:150-151 says, "Those who deny Allah and his messengers, and wish to separate between Allah and his messengers, Saying: ‘We believe in some but reject others’: and wish to take a course midway, (151) They are in truth unbelievers;..."
Sura 3:48 says, "And Allah will teach him [Jesus] the book and Wisdom, the Torah, and the Gospel. If Jesus was taught the Old Testament, and we have the Old Testament from the time of Jesus, then Jesus was taught what we have.
Sura 3:50 says, "‘I [Jesus] have come to you), to attest the Torah which was before me. ... I have come to you with a Sign from your Lord. So fear Allah, and obey me." People have a near impossible time trying to do the following.
Sura 5:47 says, "Let the People of the Gospel Judge by what Allah hath revealed Therein...." If the People of the Gospel are to judge by what God has revealed in the Gospel, then how can the Gospel they are to judge by not be the Gospel God told them to judge by?
Sura 5:48 says, "To thee (People of the Book) We sent the scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah hath revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging from the truth that hath come to thee...."
Sura 15:9-10 says "We have, without doubt, Sent down the Message; And We will assuredly Guard it [from corruption]. We did send messengers before thee Amongst the sects of old:" Sura 15:9 does not say just the "Qur’an" was guarded, but "the message."
In summary, God is Almighty, All-knowing, and far from careless. We can trust that He has always preserved right direction for those who look to follow wherever He leads.

Q: In the OT, how many verses and words are there?
A: According to Wick Allison in That’s In the Bible? - The Ultimate Learn-As-You-Play Bible Quiz Book, (Dell Trade 1994) p.18, the (KJV) Old Testament has 23,214 verses and 647,000 words in English. This includes Genesis: 1533, Exodus: 1,213, Leviticus: 859, Numbers: 1,288, and Deuteronomy: 959, for a total of 5,852 verses in the Torah.

Q: What evidence is there that the Jews recognized there were no prophets for the 400 year period?
A: There are at least four sources of evidence.
1 Maccabees 4:45; 9:27; 14:41 says the people were waiting "until a prophet should arise".
The Manual of Discipline among the Dead Sea Scrolls also looked for the "coming of a prophet".
The Babylonian Talmud 7-8 says "After the latter prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, the Holy Spirit departed from Israel"
The New Testament never quotes any book written after Malachi.
See A General Introduction to the Bible p.243 for more info.)

Q: Into how many sections did the Jews divide the Old Testament?
A: As A General Introduction to the Bible p.243 shows, different Jews had different classifications.
No classification is in the Septuagint, Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, the lists of Epiphanius of Salamis (c.315-403 A.D.)
Law and prophets are mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 7:12; 22:40
Moses and all the Prophets was mentioned in Luke 24:27.
Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms is what Jesus said in Luke 24:44.
Law (Torah), Prophets, Writings is first mentioned in the Prologue to Ecclesiasticus (c.132 B.C.), but it does not list which books are in which section.
Josephus (c.100 A.D.) also has three sections, but only 4 books in the writings. Apparently Ruth was counted in Judges, Lamentations was counted in Jeremiah, and Esther and Daniel were with the prophets.
Philo the Jew (lived 20 B.C. to 50 A.D.) mentioned "the Law, the Prophecies, as well as hymns and the others which foster and perfect knowledge and piety". (The Contemplative Life 3.25)
The Babylonian Talmud gave the modern threefold division.
Law (Torah): (5 books in the order of: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
Prophets: 8 books in the order of: Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel (as one book), 1 and 2 Kings (as one book), Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Twelve minor prophets (Hosea through Malachi). In the Hebrew Bible, the twelve minor prophets directly follow Ezekiel.
Writings (Ketubim): 11 books in the order of: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Ruth, Esther, Lamentations, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah (as one book) and 1 and 2 Chronicles (as one book).
See A General Introduction to the Bible p.22-23,243-250 for more info.

Q: When were the books of the Old Testament written, and where did the New Testament quote from them?
A: The Old Testament is one of the most amazing books in the entire world. Its thirty-nine books were written over a span of one thousand years by kings, slaves, priests, warriors, shepherds, rich, and poor. Here is a table of the dates of writing and a partial list of New Testament references. For a complete list of references consult Kurt Aland et al. The Greek New Testament 3rd edition 1975 p.897-903.

O.T. Book	Author	Dates B.C.	Quotes and References
Genesis	Moses	ca.1407 B.C.	Mt 19:4-5; Mk 9:16; 10:6,8; Acts 3:25; 7:3,7; Rom 4:17,18; 9:7,9,12; 1 Cor 6:16; 15:45; 2 Cor 4:6; Gal 3:6,8,16; 4:30; Eph 5:31; Heb 4:4; 6:14; Jms 3:23
Exodus	Moses	ca.1407 B.C.	Mt 5:21,38; 15:4; 19:19; 22:32; Mk 7:10; 10:19; 12:26; Lk 2:23; 18:20; ~Jn 6:31; 19:36; Acts 7:28,32,34,40; 23:5; Rom 9:15,17; 13:9; 1 Cor10:7; 2 Cor8:15; Heb8:5;9:20; 12:20; Jms2:11 (2 times)
Leviticus	Moses	ca.1407 B.C.	Mt 5:38,43; 15:4; 19:19; 22:39; Mk 7:10; 12:31; Lk 2:24; 10:27; Rom 10:5; 13:9; Gal 3:12; 5:14; Jms 2:8; 1 Pet 1:16
Numbers	Moses	ca.1407 B.C.	2 Tm 2:19 (LXX) ~Jn 19:36
Deuteronomy	Moses (mostly)	ca.1407 B.C.	Mt 4:4,7,10; 5:38; 6:13; 15:4; 18:16; 19:19; 22:37; Mk 7:10; 10:19; 12:30; Lk 4:4,8,12; 10:27; 18:20; Acts 3:23; 7:37; Rom 10:6-7,8,19; 11;8; 12:19; 13:9; 15:10; 1 Cor 9:9; Gal 3:10,14; Eph 6:3; Heb 1:6; 10:30 (2 times); 12:21,29; 13:5; Jms 2:11 (2 times)
Joshua	Joshua	ca.1377 B.C.	~Heb11; Jms 2:25
Judges	anon. Samuel?	1377-1004 B.C.	~Heb 11:32
Ruth	anon. Samuel?	ca.1011 B.C.	~Mt 1:5; ~Lk 3:32
1,2 Samuel	anon. Samuel?	1050-1004 B.C.	Rom 15:9; 2 Cor 6:18; Heb 1:5
1,2 Kings	anonymous	c.950-550 B.C.	Rom 11:3,4
1,2 Chron.	anon. Ezra?	c.950-550 B.C.	Heb 1:5
	part written	340 B.C.
Ezra	Ezra	450-430 B.C.	Neh 8:1; 12:32
Nehemiah	Nehemiah	445-430 B.C.	~Ezra 2:2; ~Jn 6:31
Esther	anonymous	c.470-424 B.C.	-
Job	anonymous	perhaps 2100	Rom 11:35; 1 Cor 3:19
Psalms	David & others	ca.1050 B.C.	Mt 4:6; 8:2; 13:35; 21:9,16,42; 22:44; 23:39; 27:46; Mk 11:9; 12:11,36; 15:34; Lk 4:11; 13:35; 19:38; 20:17,43; Jn 2:17; 6:31,45; 10:34; 12:13; 13:18; 15:25; 19:24,36; Acts 1:20 (2 times); 2:28,35; 4:11,26; 13:33,35; Rom 2:6; 3:12,13 (2 times),14,18; 4:8; 10:18; 11:10; 15:3,9,11; 1 Cor 3:20; 10:26; 15:27; 2 Cor 4:13; 9:9; Eph 4:8,26; Heb 1:5,7,9,12,13; 2:8,12; 3:11,15; 4:3,7; 5:5,6; 7:17,21; 10:7,30; 13:6; 1 Pet 2:7; 3:12; Rev 2:27; 19:15
	Ps 137	after 587 B.C.
Proverbs	Solomon, Agur,	c.971-931 B.C.	Rom 2:6; 12:20; Heb 12:6,13; Jms 4:6; 1 Pet 4:18; 5:5; 2 Pet 2:22
	Lemuel, others
	25:1 copied	729-686 B.C.
Ecclesiastes	Solomon	after 967 B.C.	- (Rom 3:12 similar concept)
S. of Songs	anonymous	after 967 B.C.	-
Isaiah	Isaiah	696-622 B.C.	Mt 3:3; 4:16; 8:17; 12:21; 13:14-15; 21:13; 24:29; Mk 1:3; 4:12; 7:6,7; 9:48; 11:17; 13:25; Lk 3:4-6; 4:19; 8:10; 19:46; 22:37; Jn 1:23; 12:40; Acts 7:50; 8:33; 13:34,47; 28:27; Rom 2:24; 3;17; 9:20,28,29,33; 15:12,21; 10:15,16,20, 21; 11:8; 14:11; 1 Cor 2:9,16; 14:21; 15:32,54; 2 Cor 6:2,17; Gal 4:27; Heb 2:13 (2 times); 1 Pet 1:25; 2:6,8,22; 3:14
Jeremiah	Jeremiah	627/6-587 B.C.	Mt 2:18; 21:14; Mk 11:17; Lk 19:46; 23:30; 2 Cor 10:17; Heb 9:12; 10:16,17
	Jer 52:31-34	ca.561 B.C.
Lamentations	Likely Jeremiah	586-583 B.C.	-
Ezekiel	Ezekiel	7/593-571 B.C.	Rom 2:24; 2 Cor 6:17
Daniel	Daniel	606-536 B.C.	Mt 24:15; Mk 13:14; Rev 4:14
Hosea	Hosea	c.790-710 B.C.	Mt 2:15; 9:13; 12:7; Lk 23:30; Rom 9:25,26; 1 Cor 15:55
Joel	Joel	900;587;400?	Acts 2:21; Rom 10:13
Amos	Amos	760 earthquake	Acts 7:43; 15:16-18
Obadiah	Obadiah	844;723;585?	-
Jonah	Jonah	ca.763 B.C.	2 Ki 14:25; references: Mt 12:39-41; Lk 11:29-32
Micah	Micah	before 722 B.C.	Mt 2:6; 10:36; 10:35-36
Nahum	Nahum	before 612 B.C.	-
Habbakuk	Habbakuk	c.697-598 B.C.	Ac 13:41; Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:38
Zephaniah	Zephaniah	640-609 B.C.	-
Haggai	Haggai	520-515 B.C.	Ezra 5:1; Heb 12:26
Zechariah	Zechariah	520-515 B.C.	Mt 21:5; 26:31; Mk 14:27; Jn 12:15; 19:37
Malachi	Malachi	538; 450-430	Mt 11:10; Mk 1:2; Lk 7:27; Rom 9:13

The author is the person to whom God revealed his word. The words were either written down by him or by secretaries. For example, Jeremiah’s scribe Baruch wrote down many of his prophecies. Jeremiah 51:64 says, "...the words of Jeremiah end here."
There are about 250 references to Old Testament passages in the New Testament. Old Testament writers often mentioned each other.
Five books of the Law: Joshua 1:7; 8:31; 23:6; 1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 14:6;17:37;18:6; 1 Chronicles 16:40; 2 Chronicles 17:9; 23:18; 30:5,16,18; 31:3; 35:26; Ezra 3:2,4; 6:18; 7:6; Daniel 9:11,13; Hosea 8:12
Ezra: Nehemiah 8:1; Nehemiah 12:32
Nehemiah: Ezra 2:2
Isaiah: 2 Kings 19:2; 2 Chronicles 32:20
Jeremiah: Daniel 9:2; 2 Chronicles 36:22
Jonah: 2 Kings 14:25
Micah: Jeremiah 26:18
Haggai: Ezra 5:1; Ezra 6:14
Zechariah: Nehemiah 12:1,4,16, Ezra 5:1; 6:14
The point of this is that the Old Testament books fit together, as interlocking pieces of a puzzle.

Q: What ancient books are mentioned by the Old Testament but not in the Old Testament?
A: In ancient times, just as now, there are a number of religious and historical writings, many of varying quality. Besides the apocryphal books, there are what are called "pseudo-apocryphal books" that are not accepted by anyone today. These are often spurious works that claim to be written by a great historical figure but in fact are not. Of course if something is false, it is not God’s word. Other books, while not perfect, are not too bad. Of course if a godly person writes something that is true, that is not necessarily God’s word, nor did he claim it to be so. Likewise a good Christian book written today can be good, but not God’s word. Some books, like 1 Enoch, are more complicated. First Enoch is a composite book, with the oldest author likely writing most of the first section. By the way, Jude 14-15 quotes from the oldest part of First Enoch.
The Old Testament itself mentions some books and records we do not have any copies of today.
Acts of Solomon 1 Kings 11-41
Chronicles of Kings 1 Kings 14:19, 29, 2 Kings 19:9-12, 11
Kings of Judah/Israel 2 Chronicles 16:11; 25:26; 28:26,32; 27:2; 35:27; 36:8
Kings of Israel 2 Chronicles 20:34; 33:18; 24:7; 1 Kings 14:19
Jasher (Upright one) Joshua 10:13; 2 Samuel 1:18
Wars of the Lord Numbers 21:14
These were never claimed to be scripture, but these simply other reliable records, which have been lost to the modern world.

Q: Which Early Church authors quoted from which Old Testament Books?
A: Here is what I have found.

Cr 1 Clement (of Rome) (16 pgs) 97/98 A.D.
Ba Epistle of Barnabas (13 pgs) c.100 A.D.
Ig Ignatius (21 pgs) c.110-117 A.D.
Pa Papias disciple of John (3 pgs) 110-113 A.D.
Di Didache (Teach. of 12 Disc.)(6 pgs) <125 A.D.
Dg (anonymous) to Diognetus (6 pgs) c.130 A.D.
Po Polycarp, disciple of John (4 pgs) c.150 A.D.
JM Justin Martyr (119 pgs) 138-165 A.D.
He Shepherd of Hermas (47 pgs) 160 A.D.
Th Theophilus [Antioch](33 pgs)168-181/188 A.D.
Me Melito of Sardis (11 pgs) 170-177 A.D.
Ae Athenagoras (34 pgs) c.177 A.D.
Ir Irenaeus (264 pgs) 182-188 A.D.
Te Tertullian [Rome] (854 pgs) 200-220 A.D.
MF Octavius of Minucius Felix 210 A.D.
CA Clement of Alexan.(424 pgs)193-217/220 A.D.
Hi Hippolytus, (233 pgs) 225-235/6 A.D.
Or Origen (622 pgs) 230-254 A.D.
Nv Novatian (39 pgs) 250-257 A.D.
an Anonymous against Novatian(7 pgs)c.255 A.D.
And Treatise on Rebaptism (11 pgs)
Cp Cyprian and friends (270 pgs) 248-258 A.D.
Not shown are Bardesan (154-230) [ref. to Gen] or Julius Africanus (232-245 A.D.). [Neh,Dan by name, allude Ex]
W = Books or quotes mentioned by name or by writer
G = Mentioned as words of God + quoted
B = Mentioned as scripture or quoted + "it is written"
Q = quote of 1 or more verses. ½ =quote of ½ a verse
A = Allusion. – = no reference X = excluded

Writer	Cr	Ba	Ig	Pa	Di	Dg	Po		JM		He		Th		Me	Ae	Ir	Te		CA		Hi		Or		Nv		an		Cp
Old T.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		-		-		-		W	-	W	W				W		W		W		W		-
Gen	B	G	-	-	-	-	-		W		-		W		W	A	B	G		W		W		W		W		W		W
Ex	G	W	-	-	Q	-	-		W		-		G		W	-	W	W		Q		W		W		W		Q		W
Lev	-	W	-	-	-	-	-		W		-		-		W	-	½	W		W		-		W		-		-		W
Num	Q	-	A	-	-	-	-		W		A		-		W	-	W	W		B		W		W		-		W		W
Dt	Q	W	A	-	-	-	-		W		-		-		W	-	W	W		W		W		W		W		W		W
Josh	Q	-	-	-	-	-	-		W		-		-		W	-	W	W		W		Q		B		-		-		W
Jdg	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		-		-		-		W	-	A	W		W		-		W		-		W		W
Ruth	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		-		-		-		W	-	-	-		-		-		-		-		-		-
1,2Sm	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		W		-		-		W	-	B	A		W		W		W		-		Q		W
1,2Ki	A	-	-	-	-	-	-		W		-		-		W	-	Q	W		W		Q		W		-		W		W
1,2Ch	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		-		-		-		W	-	-	-		-		W		W		½		-		W
Ezr	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		-		-		-		-	-	-	-		-		-		A		-		-		-
Neh	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		-		-		-		X	-	-	-		-		-		-		-		-		Q
Esth	W	-	-	-	-	-	-		-		-		-		X	-	-	-		W		-		W		-		-		-
Job	B	-	-	-	-	-	-		W		-		Q		W	-	-	-		W		W		W		-		-		W
Ps	W	W	-	-	-	-	-		W		-		W		W	-	W	W		W		W		W		W		W		W
Prov	G	-	G	-	-	-	-		W		-		W		W	B	W	W		W		W		W		-		-		W
Ecc	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		-		A		-		W	-	-	W		W		W		W		-		-		W
SofS	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		-		-		-		W	-	A	W		-		W		W		-		-		W
Isa	Q	G	Q	-	-	-	Q		W		-		W		W	W	W	W		W		W		W		W		W		W
Jer	-	G	-	-	-	-	-		W		A		W		W	W	W	W		W		W		W		-		W		W
Lam	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		-		-		-		-	-	A	Q		W		-		W		-		-		Q
Ezek	G	G	-	-	-	-	-		W		-		W		W	-	W	W		W		W		W		A		W		W
Daniel	A	B	-	-	-	-	-		W		-		-		W	-	W	W		W		W		W		-		W		W
12 min-or pro.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		W		-		-		W	-	-	-		-		-		W		-		-		-
Hosea	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		W		-		W		-	-	W	W		W		Q		W		W		-		W
Joel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		B		-		W		-	-	B	W		W		-		W		W		Q		W
Amos	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		W		-		-		-	-	B	W		W		W		Q		½		-		W
Obad	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		-		-		-		-	-	-	-		-		-		-		-		-		-
Jonah	A	-	-	-	-	-	-		W		-		-		-	-	W	W		W		-		-		-		-		-
Micah	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		W		-		-		W	-	Q	W		W		W		B		-		Q		W
Nahum	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		-		-		-		-	-	-	W		Q		-		-		-		-		W
Hab	B	-	-	-	-	-	-		-		-		W		W	-	W	W		W		-		W		W		-		W
Zeph	-	B	-	-	-	-	-		-		-		-		-	-	-	-		W		-		W		-		A		W
Haggai	-	B	-	-	-	-	-		-		-		-		-	-	-	A		B		-		W		-		-		W
Zech	-	G	-	-	-	-	-		W		A		W		-	-	W	W		W		½		W		W		W		W
Malachi	½	-	-	-	-	A	-		W		-		W		-	-	W	W		W		W		W		-		-		W
Writer	Cr	Ba	Ig	Pa	Di	Dg	Po	JM		He		Th		Me		Ae	Ir	Te	CA		Hi		Or		Nv		an		Cp
Time	97/98 A.D.							150 A.D.				168 A.D.						200			225 A.D. 258 A.D.
Pages	151 pages									135 pgs							264	854	424		225		622		57 pgs				270

Q: What lists of Old Testament books do we have apart from Bible texts?
A: Ben Sira, in 2nd century B.C. Ä all but Ezekiel
Philo (De Vita Contemplativa 25) Ä 3 sections
Jewish writer Josephus <100 A.D. Contra Apion 1.8.
Jewish Council at Jamnia 90 A.D. Ä no Apocrypha
Council at Carthage 397 A.D. Ä has historic Apocrypha (including 1, 2 Esdras and the Prayer of Manasses, not found in the Catholic Apocrypha today)

Q: Where are chiasms found in the Old Testament?
A: Chiasms are a symmetric poetic structure common in Hebrew poetry. Here are some of them.
Genesis 7:4-8:12; 7:21-23a
Numbers 15:35-36
1 Samuel 2; 3:17; 3:1-4:1; 8:5-22, and 18:20-26
2 Samuel 1:19-27; 5:17-8:18; and 23:1-7
Job 4:5-5:27
Psalm 3:7-8; 51, 58. Psalm 109 is close to a chiasm.
Isaiah 15:1-14; 21:1-10; 22:8-11; 22:1-4; 22:8-11; 22:12-14; 23:1-14; 24:1-13; 26:1-21; 27:1-13; 29:9-14; 32:1-5; 37:14-20; 38:1-8; 38:10-20; 41:17-20; 42:1-4; 42:13-17; 43:1-7; 43:8-13; 43:22-24; 43:25-44:5; 44:6-8; 48:17-22; 51:1-3; 51:7-8; 51:13-15; 55:1-13; 56:9-12; 59:14-20; 61:5-9; 63:15-64:12; 65:1-66:24; 65:17-18b; 65:18c-20; 66:5-14; 66:18-24.
Jeremiah 9:1-11; 20:24-18
Zechariah 6:9-15
Ezekiel 26:3-14 has chiastic structure, though it is not a perfect chiasm.
Some commentators see the entire books of Esther and Matthew as chiastic in structure.

Q: In the Old Testament, where is Aramaic found?
A: The Encyclopedia Britannica volume 1 (1956) p.684 says, "the earliest records of Aramaic go back to about 800 B.C…. The alphabet at this time differs little from that of the Moabite Stone." It says there were two tendencies which were completed during the time of the Persians
The Bible passages in Aramaic are the following:
Genesis 31:47 (two words only)
Daniel 2:4b-7:28
Ezra 4:8-6:18
Ezra 7:12-26
Jeremiah 10:11
Ecclesiastes has some Aramaic expressions
Some names are both Hebrew and Aramaic
El, Mordecai, Mara (Ruth 1:20), Tobias, Geshem
Some other words are both Hebrew and Aramaic.
lahen ("therefore" in Aramaic, "to them" in Hebrew) (Ruth 1:13)
Two inscriptions in halls in caves 11 miles (18 km) west of Amman, Jordan mention "Tobiah" in Aramaic. (From 590 B.C. to as late as 200 B.C.)
All post-exilic Old Testament books have some Babylonian or Aramaic expressions according to When Critics Ask p.265-267. For reference, Isaiah has no Aramaic terms.
Various words in the Gospels in the New Testament are in Aramaic too.

Q: In the Old Testament, what is the difference between a scribal (or copyist) error, and an error in the originals? Which explanation would be more reasonable?
A: Scribal errors are typically mispellings, changes of a few letters, or occasionally skipping or repeating a line of text.
For a particular passage, if we only had the Old Testament, it would be difficult to say which was more reasonable because we do not have enough manuscripts. However, we can compare by analogy with the 10,000+ New Testament manuscripts. The New Testament manuscripts show many one, two, and three letter variations due to scribal errors and mispellings. To say that the New Testament manuscripts had lots of scribal errors because we have many manuscripts to prove it, and the Old Testament had almost none because we do not have many manuscripts showing variations, would not make sense, because we do not have so many Old Testament manuscripts. No, rather, the frequency of copyist errors in the Old Testament is probably of roughly similar magnitude as copyist errors in the New Testament.

Q: Do Church of Christ denominations believe the God of the Old Testament is different from the God of the New Testament? (a Christian asked this)
A: No, this is a false charge I have heard. Some Church of Christ churches have some serious errors relating to water baptism actually saving people, contrary to Acts 10:44-48, and a Pelagian view of man’s nature, contrary to John 6:44,65 and Romans 3:10-18. However, to the best of my knowledge no Church of Christ person has ever said the God of the Old Testament is different from the New Testament. The various schools of the Gnostics, an ancient type of heresy, were the ones who said this.

Q: Why does God smite people left, right, and center in the Old Testament, but does not do so now?
A: God related to the Israelites before Jesus came somewhat differently than He relates to Christians since the crucifixion.
In the Old Testament, God created a people for himself from descendants of Jacob. They did not have all the knowledge we have been given today, but they knew the importance of the need for sacrifices, and the seriousness of sin. While almost every major theme in the New Testament is also found in the Old Testament, often it is unclear, in veiled form.
Since Jesus came, God deals with his children, from all nations and peoples, more gently. For the Jews who rejected Jesus, and their descendants, God has not seemed to have anything more to say to them, or dealings with them, though they will once again enter the picture during the end times.
Of course, one could argue that God’s "smitings" really have not changed much, since people are still going to Hell. It is just that in Old Testament times, with less knowledge given out, God gave out more warnings, while in New Testament times, we have already been warned.

Q: What are the main manuscripts of the Old Testament we have preserved today?
A: There are five main families, plus a fourth category of odds and ends. The three families are: Massoretic text
The Samaritan Pentateuch compares very closely with the Massoretic text and Dead Sea scrolls, except for some obvious changes (Mt. Gerizim instead of Jerusalem, etc.) All of the Samaritan Pentateuch manuscripts are Medieval though. Some of them are Codex Add. 1846 (1100 A.D.), Codex B (1345/1356 A.D.), Manuscript E (1219 A.D.), and the Abisha’ Scroll (12th -13th century). See The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls p.93-95 for more info.
The Greek Septuagint, including the Lucianic rescension and Christian writings,
Origen’s Hexapla had a Fifth Column of the Septuagint. Pamphilus and Eusebius had it copied many times and distributed. We have preserved a manuscript of that, called the Leiden Codex Sarravianus (4th or 5th century A.D.). Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers Second Series vol.1 p.38
Dead Sea scrolls from about the time of Christ.
The Syriac translation
In addition, here are other manuscripts that were found.
The Nash Papyrus, dated 150 B.C., contains the Ten Commandments combined from Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-6:4f. This was the oldest known Biblical text until the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. A photograph of it is in the New International Dictionary of the Bible p.228.
At Masada, there was a copy of Joshua dated 169-93 B.C. by mass spectrometer radiocarbon dating. (The Dead Sea Scrolls Today p.18). The Romans captured Masada in April 73 A.D., so it was before then.
Nahal Hever is a cave near Engedi just west of the Dead Sea, that has a fragment of the minor prophets in Greek (8 Hev XIIgr). It also has Numbers (5/6 Hev 1a), and Psalms (5/6Hev 1b). According to Manuscripts of the Greek Bible p.34, it was written between 50 B.C. and 50 A.D.. A wealthy woman named Babatha took refuge there at the start of the Bar Kokhba revolt against Rome. It is a revision of the Septuagint, made in Judea, and almost identical to the Massoretic text.
The wadi Muraba’at scroll of the Minor Prophets (Mur 88) is from c. 132 A.D. It contains Habakkuk 1:3-2:11 and 2:18-3:19. Wadi Muraba’at also contains some writings of Bar Kokhba himself in 132 A.D.
See the Dictionary of New Testament Background p.540-541 for more info on Nahal Hever and wadi Muraba’at.

Q: What is the Septuagint?
A: The Septuagint is a translation of the Old Testament into Greek. It consists of the entire Jewish Old Testament plus some additional material. The Septuagint was translated between 285 (for the Torah) and the Old Testament was completed prior to 160 B.C. The translation of the Torah was of high quality, but other books, such as some of the minor prophets, were simply paraphrases; Isaiah probably was the worst. Nonetheless, it is interesting to read the Septuagint the two reasons:
a) To see what is different from the Massoretic version,