Since its inception, Old Testament Essays (New Series) functions as a vehicle that publishes Old Testament research from various points of view. Its readers are members of the Old Testament Society of South Africa and scholars in Africa and the rest of the world interested in the Old Testament in general as well as in (South) African biblical scholarship. 

The primary aim of Old Testament Essays (New Series) is to regulate and propagate the study of the Old Testament in (South) Africa. Various fields related to the study of the Old Testament are covered: philological / linguistic studies, historical critical studies, archaeological studies, socio-historical studies, literary studies, rhetorical studies, and many more. OTE is open for the publication of essays of young scholars in collaboration with members of the OTSSA who serve as mentors in the writing process. OTE publishes articles in English, Dutch, French, and German or any of the South African indigenous languages, i.e. Afrikaans, Venda, Zulu, Northern Sotho, etc..

Old Testament Essays (New Series) is since 2015 an open access journal with back dated issues to 2008 available on the SciELOSA portal under a Creative Commons Licence CC BY.