After Nehemiah and Malachi, no prophets from God were known for 400 years. As Daniel predicted, Greece defeated Persia, and later Greece fell to the “fourth kingdom” (Rome)—the general period set by God to establish His own Messianic kingdom (Daniel 2:40, 44). About halfway through this 400-year period, the Old Testament’s full collection of books was translated into the Greek Septuagint (LXX), along with other books called the Apocrypha. The Jews never recognized the apocryphal books as part of their Bible.
The Old Testament provides the background for a full understanding of the New Testament. In fact, New Testament writers quoted the Old Testament about 300 times, with many more allusions. Jesus divided the Old Testament into three overall groups: “the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44). He quoted the Old Testament as “the word of God” (Luke 24:27) and affirmed, “Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35).