The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;

Hebrew Hebrew (, , or ) is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is regarded as one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-survivi ...

: , or ), is the canonical collection of

scriptures, including the

Torah The Torah (; he, תּוֹרָה, "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") includes the first five books of the Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (; Hebrew: , or ), is the Biblical canon, canonical collection of Hebrew language, Heb ...

Torah

, the

Nevi'im Nevi'im (; he, נְבִיאִים ''Nəḇīʾīm'', "Prophets", literally "spokespersons") is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (; : , or ), is the of scriptures, including the , the , and the ...

, and the

Ketuvim Ketuvim (; hbo, כְּתוּבִים Kethūvīm "writings") is the third and final section of the Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (; Hebrew Hebrew (, , or ) is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language of the Afro ...

. These texts are almost exclusively in

Biblical Hebrew Biblical Hebrew ( ''Ivrit Miqra'it'' or ''Leshon ha-Miqra''), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of Hebrew Hebrew (, , or ) is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroas ...

, with a few passages in

Biblical Aramaic Biblical Aramaic is the form of Aramaic Aramaic (Classical Syriac The Syriac language (; syc, ܠܫܢܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ / '), also known as Syriac Aramaic (''Syrian Aramaic'', ''Syro-Aramaic'') and Classical Syriac (in its literary and l ...

(in the books of

Daniel Daniel is a masculine Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behavior Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling ...

and

Ezra Ezra (; he, עֶזְרָא, '; fl. 480–440 BCE), also called Ezra the Scribe (, ') and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra The Book of Ezra is a book of the Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (; : , or ), is the of scripture ...

, the verse

Jeremiah Jeremiah, Modern Modern may refer to: History *Modern history Human history, also known as world history, is the description of humanity's past. It is informed by archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human acti ...

10:11, and some single words). The authoritative form of the Hebrew Bible for

Rabbinic Judaism Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century Common era, CE, after the codification of ...

is the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נוסח המסורה, Nusakh Ham'mas'sora) is the authoritative Hebrew Hebrew (, , or ) is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language ...

(7th to 10th century CE), which consists of 24 books, divided into '' pasukim'' (verses). The contents of the Hebrew Bible are similar to those of the

Protestant Protestantism is a form of that originated with the 16th-century , a movement against what its followers perceived to be in the . Protestants originating in the Reformation reject the Roman Catholic doctrine of , but disagree among themselves ...

Christian

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon A biblical canon or canon of scripture is a set of texts (or "books") which a particular Jewish or Christian religious community regards as aut ...

, in which the material is divided into 39 books and arranged in a different order.

Catholic Bible A Catholic Bible is a Christian Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek Koine Greek (, , Greek approximately ;. , , , lit. "Common Greek"), also known as Alexandrian dialect, common Attic, Hellenistic or Biblical Greek, was the koiné lang ...

Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible The Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible (EOB) is an English language English is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language first spoken in History of Anglo-Saxon England, early medieval England, which has eventually become the World lang ...

s and

Ethiopian Orthodox The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of Eastern Christianity's branch of Oriental Orthodox ...

Bibles contain additional materials, derived from the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals Roman numerals are a that originated in and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe wel ...

(texts translated into

Koine Greek Koine Greek (, , Greek approximately ;. , , , lit. "Common Greek"), also known as Alexandrian dialect, common Attic, Hellenistic or Biblical Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and written d ...

) and other sources. In addition to the Masoretic Text, modern scholars seeking to understand the history of the Hebrew Bible use a range of sources. These include the Septuagint, the

Syriac language The Syriac language (; syc, / '), also known as Syriac Aramaic (''Syrian Aramaic'', ''Syro-Aramaic'') and Classical Syriac (in its literary and liturgical form), is an Aramaic Aramaic (: ''Arāmāyā''; : ; : ; ) is a language that ...

Peshitta The Peshitta ( syc, ܦܫܺܝܛܬܳܐ ''or'' ') is the standard version of the Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek Koine Greek (, , Greek approximately ;. , , , lit. "Common Greek"), also known as Alexandrian dialect, common Attic, Hel ...

translation, the

Samaritan Pentateuch The Samaritan Pentateuch, also known as the Samaritan Torah ( he, תורה שומרונית ''torah shomronit''), is a text of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, written in the Samaritan script and used as Religious text, sacred scriptur ...

, the

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are and religious first found in 1947 at the in what was then , near in the , on the northern shore of the . Dating back to between the and the , the Dead Sea Scrolls are considered ...

collection and quotations from rabbinic manuscripts. These sources may be older than the Masoretic Text in some cases and often differ from it. These differences have given rise to the theory that yet another text, an

Urtext Urtext (, from ''ur-'' "primordial" and ''text'' "text", ) may refer to: * Urtext (biblical studies), the text that is believed to precede both the Septuagint and the Masoretic text * Urtext edition, in classical music, the version of the music as ...

of the Hebrew Bible, once existed and is the source of the versions extant today. However, such an Urtext has never been found, and which of the three commonly known versions (Septuagint, Masoretic Text, Samaritan Pentateuch) is closest to the Urtext is debated.

The name "Tanakh"

''Tanakh'' is an

acronym An acronym is a word In linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language A language is a structured system of communication used by humans, including speech (spoken language), gestures (Signed language, sign langu ...

, made from the first

Hebrew letter

of each of the

's three traditional divisions:

(literally 'Instruction' or 'Law'),

(Prophets), and

(Writings)—hence TaNaKh. The three-part division reflected in the acronym ''Tanakh'' is well attested in the

rabbinic literature Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire spectrum of rabbi A rabbi is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi, following a course of study of Jewish texts ...

. During that period, however, ''Tanakh'' was not used. Instead, the proper title was ''Mikra'' (or ''Miqra'', מקרא, meaning ''reading'' or ''that which is read'') because the biblical texts were read publicly. The acronym 'Tanakh' is first recorded in the medieval era. ''Mikra'' continues to be used in Hebrew to this day, alongside Tanakh, to refer to the Hebrew scriptures. In modern spoken

, they are interchangeable.

The term "Hebrew Bible"

Many

biblical studies Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek Koine Greek (, , Greek approximately ;. , , , lit. "Common Greek"), also known as Alexandrian diale ...

scholars advocate use of the term ''Hebrew Bible'' (or ''Hebrew Scriptures'') as a substitute for less-neutral terms with Jewish or Christian connotations (e.g. ''Tanakh'' or

). The

Society of Biblical Literature The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), founded in 1880 as the Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis, is an American-based learned society A learned society (; also known as a learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) ...

's ''Handbook of Style'', which is the standard for major academic journals like the ''

Harvard Theological Review The ''Harvard Theological Review'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal An academic or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular list of academic disciplines, academic di ...

'' and conservative Protestant journals like the ''

Bibliotheca Sacra ''Bibliotheca Sacra'' is a theological journal published by Dallas Theological Seminary, first published in 1844 and the oldest theological journal in the United States The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United State ...

'' and the '' Westminster Theological Journal'', suggests that authors "be aware of the connotations of alternative expressions such as...Hebrew Bible

Old Testament" without prescribing the use of either.

Alister McGrath Alister Edgar McGrath (born 1953) is a Northern Irish theologian, priest, intellectual historian Intellectual history (also the history of ideas) is the study of the history of human thought and of intellectuals, people who conceptualize, discu ...

points out that while the term emphasizes that it is largely written in Hebrew and "is sacred to the Hebrew people", it "fails to do justice to the way in which Christianity sees an essential continuity between the Old and New Testaments", arguing that there is "no generally accepted alternative to the traditional term 'Old Testament.'" However, he accepts that there is no reason why non-Christians should feel obliged to refer to these books as the Old Testament, "apart from custom of use."McGrath, Alister, ''Christian Theology'', Oxford: Blackwell, 2011, pp. 120, 123. .

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic The Abrahamic religions, also referred to collectively as the world of Abrahamism and Semitic religions, are a group of Semitic-originated religion Religion is a social system, social-cultural system of ...

has long asserted a close relationship between the Hebrew Bible and New Testament, although there have sometimes been movements like

Marcionism Marcionism was an Early Christianity, early Christian Dualistic cosmology, dualistic belief system that originated from the teachings of Marcion of Sinope in Rome around the year 144. Marcion was an Diversity in early Christian theology, early Ch ...

(viewed as heretical by the early church), that have struggled with it. Modern Christian formulations of this tension include

supersessionism Paul the Apostle is often cited by those who believe that Jewish law is no longer valid.">Jewish_law.html" ;"title="Paul the Apostle is often cited by those who believe that Jewish law">Paul the Apostle is often cited by those who believe that Jew ...

covenant theology Covenant theology (also known as covenantalism, federal theology, or federalism) is a conceptual overview and biblical hermeneutics , interpretive framework for understanding the overall structure of the Bible. It uses the theological concept of ...

new covenant The New Covenant (Biblical Hebrew, Hebrew '; Koine Greek, Greek ''diatheke kaine'') is a biblical interpretation originally derived from a Book of Jeremiah#Sections of the Book, phrase in the Book of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31-34), in the Hebrew ...

theology,

dispensationalism Dispensationalism is a religious interpretive system and metanarrative for the Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek τὰ βιβλία, ''tà biblía'', "the books") is a collection of religious texts or scriptures sacred to Christians, J ...

and

dual-covenant theology 275px, Christians consider Jesus to be the mediator of the New Covenant">Jesus.html" ;"title="Christians consider Jesus">Christians consider Jesus to be the mediator of the New Covenant. Depicted is his famous Sermon on the Mount in which he Matth ...

. All of these formulations, except some forms of dual-covenant theology, are objectionable to mainstream Judaism and to many Jewish scholars and writers, for whom there is one eternal

covenant Covenant may refer to: Religion * Covenant (religion) In religion, a covenant is a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general. The concept, central to the Abrahamic religions The Abraha ...

between God and the

Israelites The Israelites (; ) were a confederation of Iron Age ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, Semitic-speaking tribes of the ancient Near East, who inhabited a part of Canaan during the history of ancient Israel and Judah, tribal and monarchic peri ...

, and who therefore reject the term "Old Testament" as a form of

antinomianism Antinomianism (Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Myc ...

. Christian usage of the "Old Testament" does not refer to a universally agreed-upon set of books but, rather, varies depending on denomination.

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism Protestantism is a form of Christianity Christianity is an , based on the and of . It is the , with about 2.5 billion followers. Its adherents, known as , make up a major ...

and Protestant denominations that follow the

Westminster Confession of Faith Westminster is a district in central London, central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street has many Tourism in London, visitor attractions and historic landmarks, includin ...

accept the entire Jewish canon as the Old Testament without additions, although in translation they sometimes give preference to the

(LXX) rather than the Masoretic Text; for example, see Isaiah 7:14. "Hebrew" refers to the original language of the books, but it may also be taken as referring to the Jews of the

Second Temple The Second Temple (, ), also known in its later years as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Jewish holy temple that stood on the Temple Mount The Temple Mount (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , ; "Mount of the House f God, i.e. the Temple in ...

era and their descendants, who preserved the transmission of the Masoretic Text up to the present day. The Hebrew Bible includes small portions in

Aramaic Aramaic (Classical Syriac The Syriac language (; syc, / '), also known as Syriac Aramaic (''Syrian Aramaic'', ''Syro-Aramaic'') and Classical Syriac (in its literary and liturgical form), is an Aramaic Aramaic (Classical Syriac ...

(mostly in the books of

and

), written and printed in

Aramaic square-script

, which was adopted as the

Hebrew alphabet The Hebrew alphabet ( he, wikt:אלפבית, אָלֶף־בֵּית עִבְרִי, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is an abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew language ...

after the

Babylonian exile The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile is the period in Jewish history during which a number of people from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon, the capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. After the Battle of Carchemish in ...

Development and codification

There is no scholarly consensus as to when the Hebrew Bible canon was fixed: some scholars argue that it was fixed by the

Hasmonean dynasty The Hasmonean dynasty ( audio
; he, חַשְׁמוֹנַּאִים, ''Ḥašmona'īm'') was a ruling ...

, while others argue it was not fixed until the second century CE or even later.McDonald & Sanders, ''The Canon Debate'', 2002, p. 5, cited are Neusner's ''Judaism and Christianity in the Age of Constantine'', pp. 128–145, and ''Midrash in Context: Exegesis in Formative Judaism'', pp. 1–22. According to

Louis Ginzberg Rabbi A rabbi is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi, following a course of study of Jewish texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of the rabbi developed in the Phari ...

's ''

Legends of the Jews ''The Legends of the Jews'' is a chronological compilation of aggadah from hundreds of Bible, biblical legends in Mishnah, Talmud and Midrash. The compilation consists of seven volumes (four volumes of narrative texts and two volumes of footnotes ...

'', the twenty-four book canon of the Hebrew Bible was fixed by

and the scribes in the

Second Temple period The Second Temple period in Jewish history Jewish history is the history of the Jews, and their nation, Judaism, religion and Jewish culture, culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Although Judaism a ...

. According to the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, תַּלְמוּד ''Tálmūḏ'') is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the ...

Talmud

, much of the Tanakh was compiled by the men of the

Great AssemblyAccording to Jewish tradition the Men of the Great Assembly ( he, כְּנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה) or Anshei Knesset HaGedolah (, "The Men of the Great Assembly"), also known as the Great Synagogue, or ''Synod'', was an assembly of 120 scrib ...

(''Anshei K'nesset HaGedolah''), a task completed in 450 BCE, and it has remained unchanged ever since. The 24-book canon is mentioned in the Midrash Koheleth 12:12: ''Whoever brings together in his house more than twenty four books brings confusion''.

Language and pronunciation

The original

writing system A writing system is a method of visually representing verbal communication Communication (from Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language A classical language is a language A language is a structured system of communic ...

of the Hebrew text was an

abjad An abjad () is a type of writing system A writing system is a method of visually representing verbal communication Communication (from Latin ''communicare'', meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is "an apparent answer to th ...

abjad

consonant In articulatory phonetics The field of articulatory phonetics is a subfield of phonetics that studies articulation and ways that humans produce speech. Articulatory phoneticians explain how humans produce speech sounds via the interaction of d ...

s written with some applied vowel letters (''"

matres lectionis ''Matres lectionis'' (from Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken in the area around Rome, known as Latium. Through the power ...

"''). During the early

Middle Ages In the history of Europe The history of Europe concerns itself with the discovery and collection, the study, organization and presentation and the interpretation of past events and affairs of the people of Europe since the beginning of ...

scholars known as the

Masoretes The Masoretes ( he, בעלי המסורה, Ba'alei ha-Masora) were groups of Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים ISO 259-2 , Israeli pronunciation ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites I ...

created a single formalized system of vocalization. This was chiefly done by

Aaron ben Moses ben Asher Aaron ben Moses ben Asher (Hebrew language, Hebrew: ; Tiberian Hebrew: ʾAhărôn ben Mōšeh benʾĀšēr; 10th century, died c.960) was a Judaism, Jewish sofer, scribe who lived in Tiberias in northern Israel and refined the Tiberian vocalizati ...

, in the

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Established around 20 Common Era, CE, it was named in honour of the List of Roman emperors, second emperor of the ...

school, based on the oral tradition for reading the Tanakh, hence the name

Tiberian vocalization The Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian pointing, or Tiberian niqqud (Hebrew Hebrew (, , or ) is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is regarded ...

. It also included some innovations of Ben Naftali and the Babylonian exiles. Despite the comparatively late process of codification, some traditional sources and some Orthodox Jews hold the pronunciation and

cantillation Cantillation is the ritual chanting of prayers and responses. It often specifically refers to Jewish Hebrew cantillation. Cantillation sometimes refers to diacritics used in texts that are to be chanted in liturgy. Cantillation includes: * Chant ...

to derive from the revelation at Sinai, since it is impossible to read the original text without pronunciations and cantillation pauses. The combination of a text ( ''mikra''), pronunciation ( ''niqqud'') and cantillation ( ''te`amim'') enable the reader to understand both the simple meaning and the nuances in sentence flow of the text.

Number of different words used

The number of distinct words in the Hebrew Bible is 8,679, of which 1,480 are

hapax legomena In corpus linguistics, a ''hapax legomenon'' ( also or ; ''hapax legomena''; sometimes abbreviated to ''hapax'', plural ''hapaxes'') is a word or an Fixed expression, expression that occurs only once within a context: either in the written rec ...

, words or expressions that occur only once. The number of distinct

Semitic root The root (linguistics), roots of verbs and most nouns in the Semitic languages are characterized as a sequence of consonants or "wikt:radical, radicals" (hence the term consonantal root). Such abstract consonantal roots are used in the formation of ...

s, on which many of these biblical words are based, is roughly 2000.

Books of the Tanakh

The Tanakh consists of twenty-four books, counting as one book each 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel, 1 Kings and 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles, and

Ezra–Nehemiah Ezra–Nehemiah ( he, עזרא נחמיה , ') is a book in the Hebrew Bible found in the Ketuvim section, originally with the Hebrew title of Ezra ( he, עזרא, '). The book covers the period from the fall of Babylon in 539 BC to the seco ...

. The

Twelve Minor Prophets The Minor Prophets or Twelve Prophets ( he, שנים עשר, ''Shneim Asar''; arc, תרי עשר, ''Trei Asar'', "Twelve") ( grc, δωδεκαπρόφητον, "the Twelve Prophets"), occasionally Book of the Twelve, is a collection of prophet ...

() are also counted as a single book. In Hebrew, the books are often referred to by their prominent first word(s).

Torah

The Torah (תּוֹרָה, literally ''"teaching"''), also known as the

Pentateuch The Torah (; he, תּוֹרָה, "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") includes the first five books of the Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (; Hebrew: , or ), is the Biblical canon, canonical collection of Hebrew language, Hebre ...

, or as the ''"Five Books of Moses"''. Printed versions (rather than scrolls) of the Torah are often called ''"Chamisha Chumshei Torah""'' ( ''"Five fifth-sections of the Torah"'') and informally a '' "Chumash"''. * ''Bərē’šīṯ'' (בְּרֵאשִׁית, literally ''"In the beginning"'') – ''

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Literature and comics * Genesis (DC Comics), a 1997 DC Comics crossover * Genesis (Marvel Comics), a Marvel Comics villain * Genesis, a fictional character from the ''Preacher (comics), Preacher'' comic-book series * ''Genes ...

Genesis

'' * ''Šəmōṯ'' (שְׁמֹות, literally ''"The names

'') – ''

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion *Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible *The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Jujuy E ...

'' * ''Vayyīqrā’'' (וַיִּקְרָא, literally ''"And He called"'') – '' Leviticus'' * ''Bəmīḏbar'' (בְּמִדְבַּר, literally ''"In the desert

'') – ''

Numbers A number is a mathematical object A mathematical object is an abstract concept arising in mathematics. In the usual language of mathematics, an ''object'' is anything that has been (or could be) formally defined, and with which one may do deduc ...

'' * ''Dəvārīm'' (דְּבָרִים, literally ''"Things"'' or ''"Words"'') – ''

Deuteronomy The Book of Deuteronomy (literally "second law" from Greek ''deuteros'' + ''nomos'') is the fifth book of the Jewish , where it is called ''Devarim'' ( he, דְּבָרִים), "the words f Moses F, or f, is the sixth Letter (alphabet), let ...

Nevi'im

''Nevi'im'' ( , ''"Prophets"'') is the second main division of the Tanakh, between the Torah and

. This division includes the books which cover the time from the entrance of the Israelites into the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of indefinite geographical extension in the Southern Levant The Southern Levant is a geographical region In geography, regions are areas that are broadly divided by physical ...

until the

Babylonian captivity The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile is the period in Jewish history during which a number of people from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon, the capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. After the Battle of Carchemish in ...

of Judah (the ''"period of prophecy"''). Their distribution is not chronological, but substantive. The

Former Prophets Nevi'im (; he, נְבִיאִים ''Nəḇî'îm'', "Prophets" literally "spokespersons") is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (; Hebrew: , or ), is the Biblical canon, canonical collection of Hebrew ...

( ) * ''Yəhōšua‘'' (יְהוֹשֻעַ) – ''

Joshua Joshua () or Yehoshua ( he, יְהוֹשֻׁעַ ''Yəhōšūaʿ'') ''Yēšūʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ibn Nūn''; la, Iosue functioned ...

'' * ''Šōfṭīm'' (שֹׁפְטִים) – ''

Judges A judge is an official who presides over a court. Judge or Judges may also refer to: Roles *Judge, an alternative name for an adjudicator in a competition in theatre, music, sport, etc. *Judge, an alternative name/aviator call sign for a member ...

'' * ''Šəmū’ēl'' (שְׁמוּאֵל) – ''

Samuel Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl''; ar, إِشْمَوِيل ' or '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the , plays a key role in the transition from the period of the to the institution of a under ...

'' * ''Məlāḵīm'' (מְלָכִים) – '' Kings'' The

Latter Prophets Nevi'im (; he, נְבִיאִים ''Nəḇî'îm'', "Prophets" literally "spokespersons") is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible (the '' Tanakh''), between the Torah (instruction) and Ketuvim (writings). The Nevi'im are divided in ...

( ) * ''Yəša‘yāhū'' (יְשַׁעְיָהוּ) – ''

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God God, in monotheistic thought, is conceived of as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trus ...

'' * ''Yīrməyāhū'' (יִרְמְיָהוּ) – ''

'' * ''Yəḥezqē’l'' (יְחֶזְקֵאל) – ''

Ezekiel Ezekiel (; he, יְחֶזְקֵאל ''Yĕḥezqēʾl'' ; in the Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Koine ...

Ezekiel

'' The

(, ''Trei Asar'', ''"The Twelve"''), which are considered one book * ''Hōšēa‘'' (הוֹשֵׁעַ) – ''

Hosea In the Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (; Hebrew: , or ), is the Biblical canon, canonical collection of Hebrew language, Hebrew scriptures, including the Torah, the Nevi'im, and the Ketuvim. These texts are almost exclusively i ...

'' * ''Yō’ēl'' (יוֹאֵל) – '' Joel'' * ''‘Āmōs'' (עָמוֹס) – ''

Amos AMOS or Advanced Mortar System is a Finno-Swedish 120 mm automatic twin barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical A cylinder (from Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece Greece ( el, Ε ...

'' * ''‘Ōḇaḏyā'' (עֹבַדְיָה) – ''

Obadiah Obadiah (; he, עֹבַדְיָה – ''ʿŌḇaḏyā'' or – ''ʿŌḇaḏyāhū''; "servant of Yah") is a biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek τὰ βιβλία, ''tà biblía'', "the books") is a collection of religiou ...

'' * ''Yōnā'' (יוֹנָה) – ''

Jonah Jonah or Jonas, ''Yōnā'', "dove"; gr, Ἰωνᾶς ''Iōnâs''; ar, يونس ' or '; Latin: ''Ionas'' Ben (Hebrew), son of Amittai, is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran, from Gath-hepher of the northern Kingdom of Israel (Samaria ...

'' * ''Mīḵā'' (מִיכָה) – ''

Micah Micah (; ) is a given name. Micah is the name of several people in the Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (; Hebrew: , or ), is the Biblical canon, canonical collection of Hebrew language, Hebrew scriptures, including the Torah, the Nevi ...

'' * ''Naḥūm'' (נַחוּם) – ''

Nahum 200px, icon.html"_;"title="Russian_Orthodox_icon">Russian_Orthodox_icon_of_the_Prophet_Nahum,_18th_century_(Iconostasis_of_Transfiguration_of_Jesus.html" ;"title="Iconostasis.html" ;"title="icon.html" ;"title="Russian Orthodox icon">Russian Ortho ...

'' * ''Ḥăḇaqqūq'' (חֲבַקּוּק) – ''

Habakkuk Habakkuk, who was active around 612 BC, was a prophet In religion, a prophet is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with human ...

'' * ''Ṣəfanyā'' (צְפַנְיָה) – ''

Zephaniah Zephaniah (, ) is the name of several people in the Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (; Hebrew: , or ), is the Biblical canon, canonical collection of Hebrew language, Hebrew scriptures, including the Torah. These texts are almost exc ...

'' * ''Ḥaggay'' (חַגַּי) – ''

Haggai Haggai (; he, חַגַּי – ''Ḥaggay''; Koine Greek Koine Greek (, , Greek approximately ;. , , , lit. "Common Greek"), also known as Alexandrian dialect, common Attic, Hellenistic or Biblical Greek, was the koiné language, common su ...

'' * ''Zəḵaryā'' (זְכַרְיָה) – '' Zechariah'' * ''Mal’āḵī'' (מַלְאָכִי) – ''

Malachi Malachi, Malachias, Malache or Mal'achi (; ) was the traditional writer of the Book of Malachi, the last book of the Neviim (Prophets) section in the Tanakh, Hebrew Bible. According to the 1897 Easton's Bible Dictionary, it is possible that Ma ...

Ketuvim

''Kəṯūḇīm'' (, ''"Writings"'') consists of eleven books.

Poetic books

In Masoretic manuscripts (and some printed editions), Psalms, Proverbs and Job are presented in a special two-column form emphasizing the parallel

stichs

in the verses, which are a function of their

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek#REDIRECT Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece Greece ( el, Ελλάδα, , ), officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country located in Southeast Europe. Its popula ...

. Collectively, these three books are known as ''Sifrei Emet'' (an acronym of the titles in Hebrew, איוב, משלי, תהלים yields ''Emet'' אמ"ת, which is also the Hebrew for "

truth Truth is the property of being in accord with fact A fact is something that is true True most commonly refers to truth Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth 2005 In ...

truth

"). These three books are also the only ones in Tanakh with a special system of

notes that are designed to emphasize parallel stichs within verses. However, the beginning and end of the book of Job are in the normal prose system. * ''Təhīllīm'' (תְהִלִּים) – ''

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), commonly referred to simply as Psalms, the Psalter or "the Psalms", is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh ...

Psalms

'' * ''Mīšlē'' (מִשְׁלֵי) – ''

Book of Proverbs #REDIRECT Book of Proverbs The Book of Proverbs (Hebrew: מִשְלֵי, ''Míshlê (Shlomoh)'', "Proverbs (of Solomon)") is a book in the third section (called Ketuvim) of the Hebrew Bible and a book of the Christianity, Christian Old Testament. ...

'' * ''’Īyyōḇ'' (אִיּוֹב) – ''

Book of Job The Book of Job (; he, אִיּוֹב – ''ʾIyyōḇ'') is a book of the Hebrew Bible. It addresses the problem of theodicy, meaning why God permits evil in the world, through the experiences of the eponymous protagonist. Job (biblic ...

Five scrolls

The five relatively short books of the

Song of Songs The Song of Songs ( he, שִׁיר הַשִּׁירִים ; grc-gre, ᾎσμα ᾀσμάτων, Âisma āismátōn, ; la, Canticum canticōrum, ), also Song of Solomon, Canticle of Canticles, or Canticles, is one of the ' (scrolls) found in th ...

, the

Book of Ruth The Book of Ruth (abbreviated Rth) ( he, מגילת רות, ''Megilath Ruth'', "the Scroll of Ruth", one of the Five Megillot) is included in the third division, or the Writings (Ketuvim Ketuvim (; hbo, כְּתוּבִים Kethūvīm "wri ...

, the

Book of Lamentations The Book of Lamentations ( he, אֵיכָה, ''‘Êykhôh'', from its incipit The incipit () of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition File:Chord chart.svg, 250px, Jazz and ...

Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes (; Hebrew language, Hebrew: , , grc, Ἐκκλησιαστής, ) written , is one of the Ketuvim ("Writings") of the Hebrew Bible and one of the wisdom literature, "Wisdom" books of the Christianity, Christian Old Testament. Th ...

, and the

Book of Esther The Book of Esther (Hebrew Hebrew (, , or ) is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is regarded as the language of the Israelites, Judeans ...

are collectively known as the ''Ḥamesh Megillot'' (Five Megillot). These are the latest books collected and designated as "authoritative" in the Jewish canon, with the latest parts having dates ranging into the 2nd century BCE. These scrolls are traditionally read over the course of the year in many Jewish communities. These books are read aloud in the synagogue on particular occasions, the occasion listed below in parenthesis. * ''Šīr hašŠīrīm'' (שִׁיר הַשִּׁירִים) – ''

'', also known as ''Song of Solomon'' (on

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; he, פֶּסַח '), is a major Jewish holiday Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Translitera ...

) * ''Rūṯ'' (רוּת) – ''

'' (on

Shavuot (''Ḥag HaShavuot'' or ''Shavuos'') , nickname = English: "Feast of Weeks" , observedby = Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים ISO 259-2ISO The International Organization for Standardization (ISO; ) is an international sta ...

Shavuot

) * ''’Ēḵā'' (אֵיכָה) – ''

'' (on

Tisha B'Av Tisha B'Av ( he, תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב ''Tīšʿā Bəʾāv''; , "the ninth of Av") is an annual fast day in Judaism Judaism is an Abrahamic The Abrahamic religions, also referred to collectively as the world of Abrahamis ...

) * ''Qōheleṯ'' (קֹהֶלֶת) – ''

'' (on

Sukkot or ("Booths, Tabernacles") , observedby = Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים ISO 259-2International Organization for Standardization, ISO 259 is a series of international standards for the romanization of Hebrew, romanization of Heb ...

Sukkot

) * ''’Estēr'' (אֶסְתֵר) – ''

'' (on

Purim Purim (; Hebrew: ; , "Cleromancy, lots", from the word , , translated as 'lot' in the Book of Esther, perhaps related to Akkadian language, Akkadian , "stone, urn"; also called the Festival of Lots) is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the savi ...

Purim

)

Other books

Besides the three poetic books and the five scrolls, the remaining books in Ketuvim are

and Chronicles. Although there is no formal grouping for these books in the Jewish tradition, they nevertheless share a number of distinguishing characteristics. * Their narratives all openly describe relatively late events (i.e. the Babylonian captivity and the subsequent restoration of Zion). * The Talmudic tradition ascribes late authorship to all of them. * Two of them (Daniel and Ezra) are the only books in Tanakh with significant portions in

. * ''Dānī’ēl'' (דָּנִיֵּאל) – ''

Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BCE biblical apocalypse with an ostensible 6th century BCE setting, combining a prophecy of history with an eschatology (a portrayal of end times) both cosmic in scope and political in focus. It gives "an acc ...

'' * ''‘Ezrā'' (עֶזְרָא) – ''

Book of Ezra The Book of Ezra is a book of the Hebrew Bible; which formerly included the Book of Nehemiah in a single book, commonly distinguished in scholarship as Ezra–Nehemiah. The two became separated with the first printed Mikraot Gedolot, rabbinic bi ...

'' and ''

Book of Nehemiah The Book of Nehemiah, in the Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (; Hebrew: , or ), is the Biblical canon, canonical collection of Hebrew language, Hebrew scriptures, including the Torah, the Nevi'im, and the Ketuvim. These texts are almos ...

'' * ''Dīvrē hayYāmīm'' (דִּבְרֵי הַיָּמִים) – ''

Books of Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a Hebrew Hebrew (, , or ) is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it i ...

Book order

The Jewish textual tradition never finalized the order of the books in Ketuvim. The

Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; he, תַּלְמוּד ''Tálmūḏ'') is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has ...

(

Bava Batra Bava Batra (also Baba Batra; Talmudic Aramaic: בָּבָא בַּתְרָא "The Last Gate") is the third of the three Talmudic tractates in the Talmud in the order Nezikin; it deals with a person's responsibilities and rights as the owner of pro ...

14b – 15a) gives their order as Ruth, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Daniel, Scroll of Esther, Ezra, Chronicles. In Tiberian

Masoretic The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נוסח המסורה, Nusakh haMasora) is the authoritative Biblical Hebrew, Hebrew and Biblical Aramaic, Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text ...

codices The codex (plural codices () was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, wit ...

, including the

Aleppo Codex The Aleppo Codex ( he, כֶּתֶר אֲרָם צוֹבָא, romanized Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language A language is a structured system of communication used by huma ...

and the

Leningrad Codex The Leningrad Codex ( la, Codex Leningradensis, the "codex The codex (plural codices ()) was the historical ancestor of the modern book A book is a medium for recording information Information can be thought of as the resolution o ...

, and often in old Spanish manuscripts as well, the order is Chronicles, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ruth, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Esther, Daniel, Ezra.

Nach

Nach, also anglicized , refers to the Nevi'im and Ketuvim portions of Tanakh. Nach is often referred to as its own subject, separate from Torah. It is a major subject in the curriculum of Orthodox high schools for girls and in the seminaries which they subsequently attend, and is often taught by different teachers than those who teach Chumash. The curriculum of Orthodox high schools for boys includes only some portions of Nach, such as the book of Joshua, the book of Judges, and the Five Megillot.

Translations

* ''Jewish Publication Society of America Version, The Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text: A New Translation with the aid of Previous Versions & with the Constant Consultation of Jewish Authorities'' was published in 1917 by the Jewish Publication Society. It was replaced by their ''Tanakh'' in 1985 * ''JPS Tanakh, Tanakh'', Jewish Publication Society, 1985, * ''Tanach: The Stone Edition'', Hebrew with English translation, Mesorah Publications, 1996, , named after benefactor Irving I. Stone. * ''Tanakh Ram'', an ongoing translation to Modern Hebrew (2010–) by Avraham Ahuvya (RAM Publishing House Ltd. and Miskal Ltd.) * The Living Torah and Nach, ''The Living Torah'' and ''The Living Nach'', a 1981 translation of the Torah by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan and a subsequent posthumous translation of the Nevi'im and Ketuvim following the model of the first volume

Jewish commentaries

The major commentary used for the Chumash is the Rashi commentary. The Rashi commentary and David Altschuler, Metzudot commentary are the major commentaries for the Nach. There are two major approaches to the study of, and commentary on, the Tanakh. In the Jewish community, the classical approach is a religious study of the Bible, where it is assumed that the Bible is divinely inspired. Another approach is to study the Bible as a human creation. In this approach, Biblical studies can be considered as a sub-field of religious studies. The latter practice, when applied to the Torah, is considered heresy by the Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish community. As such, much modern day Bible commentary written by non-Orthodox authors is considered forbidden by rabbis teaching in Orthodox yeshivas. Some classical rabbinic commentators, such as Abraham Ibn Ezra, Gersonides, and Maimonides, used many elements of contemporary biblical criticism, including their knowledge of history, science, and philology. Their use of historical and scientific analysis of the Bible was considered acceptable by historic Judaism due to the author's faith commitment to the idea that God revealed the Torah to Moses on Mount Sinai. The Modern Orthodox Judaism, Modern Orthodox Jewish community allows for a wider array of biblical criticism to be used for biblical books outside of the Torah, and a few Orthodox commentaries now incorporate many of the techniques previously found in the academic world, e.g. the Da'at Miqra series. Non-Orthodox Jews, including those affiliated with Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism, accept both traditional and secular approaches to Bible studies. "Jewish commentaries on the Bible", discusses Jewish Tanakh commentaries from the Targums to classical

, the midrash literature, the classical medieval commentators, and modern-day commentaries.

References

;Footnotes ;Sources

External links

Judaica Press Translation of Tanakh with Rashi's commentary
Free online translation of Tanakh and Rashi's entire commentary * Mikraot Gedolot (Rabbinic Bible) at :s:, Wikisource in :s:Mikraot Gedolot, English :wikisource:Mikraot Gedolot/Genesis/1:1, (sample) and :s:he:מקראות גדולות, Hebrew :s:he:מ"ג נחמיה ח ח, (sample)
A Guide to Reading Nevi'im and Ketuvim
– Detailed Hebrew outlines of the biblical books based on the natural flow of the text (rather than the Chapters and verses of the Bible, chapter divisions). The outlines include a daily study-cycle, and the explanatory material is in English, by Seth (Avi) Kadish.
Tanakh Hebrew Bible Project
��An online project that aims to present critical text of the Hebrew Bible with important ancient versions (Samaritan Pentateuch, Masoretic Text, Targum Onkelos, Samaritan Targum, Septuagint, Peshitta, Aquila of Sinope, Symmachus, Theodotion, Vetus Latina, and Vulgate) in parallel with new English translation for each version, plus a comprehensive critical apparatus and a textual commentary for every verse. {{Authority control Hebrew Bible, Ancient Jewish literature Ancient Hebrew texts Sifrei Kodesh,

The name "Tanakh"

The term "Hebrew Bible"

Development and codification

Language and pronunciation

Number of different words used

Books of the Tanakh

Torah

Nevi'im

Ketuvim

Poetic books

Five scrolls

Other books

Book order

Nach

Translations

Jewish commentaries

See also

References

Further reading

External links