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[[Image:NTmanuscript.jpg|right|thumb|A sixth-century Gospel manuscript in Greek with a drawing of Christ healing the blind]]The '''New Testament''' is the second part of [[Holy Scripture]], after the [[Old Testament]]. The New Testament, also called the '''New Covenant''', details Christ's life and the teachings of the Early Church; it is thus a fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament and the most important text in the life of the Church. The New Testament consists of the [[Gospels]], which detail Christ's earthly life, [[Acts of the Apostles]], the [[Apostolos|Epistles]], and the [[Book of Revelation]]. It is generally acknowledged to have been written by numerous authors between A.D. 48 and 140.
==Books of the New Testament==
*Greek Gospel of the Egyptians, anonymous Gospel narrative; written c. AD 80–150.
*Gospel of the Hebrews, anonymous Gospel narrative; written c. AD 80–150.
*1 [[First Epistle of Clement]], letter of counsel probably composed by Clement, Bishop of Rome, and addressed to the church in Corinth, whose teaching is orthodox but not as worthy of inclusion in the canon as the other epistles; written c. AD 95–96.
*Apocalypse of Peter, anonymous prophecy concerning the end times; written c. AD 100–150.
*The Shepherd of Hermas, anonymous Christian text purportedly by the [[Apostle Hermas]]; contains a broad range of content, including prophecy, direct instruction and parables; written c. AD 100–160.
==Language==
The common language spoken in the [[Holy Land]] at the time of Jesus was [[Aramaic]]. However, the original text of the New Testament was most likely written in [[Koine Greek]], the vernacular dialect in 1st century Roman provinces, and has since been widely translated into other languages, most notably, Latin, Syriac, and Coptic. (However, some of the Church Fathers seem to imply that Matthew was originally written in Hebrew or more likely Aramaic, and there is another contention that the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews wrote in Hebrew, which was translated into Greek by Luke. Neither view holds much support among contemporary scholars, who argue that the literary facets of Matthew and Hebrews suggest that they were composed directly in Greek, rather than being translated.)
It is notable that many books of the New Testament, especially the [[Gospel of Mark]] and the Book of Revelation, are written in relatively poor Greek. They are far from the refined Attic Greek or Classical Greek found composed by the higher classes, ruling elites, and trained philosophers of the time. Relative exceptions to this include the gospels of Luke and John and the [[Acts of the Apostles]].
