''Masekhet Soferim'' ( he, מסכת סופרים), the "Tractate of the Scribes", is a non-canonical

Talmudic The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) 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 was the cente ...

tractate dealing especially with the rules relating to the preparation of holy books, as well as with the laws of

Torah reading Torah reading (; ') is a Judaism, Jewish religion, religious tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Sefer Torah, Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the scroll (or scrolls) fro ...

. One of the

minor tractate The minor tractates (Hebrew: מסכתות קטנות, ''masechtot qetanot'') are essays from the Talmudic period or later dealing with topics about which no formal tractate exists in the Mishnah. They may thus be contrasted to the Tosefta, whose t ...

s, it is generally thought to have originated in eighth-century

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...

. Being of late and uncertain date, it is now generally printed as Talmudic addenda.

Chapters

Soferim consists of 21 chapters, containing 225 paragraphs ("halakhot") in all. The chapters may be summarized as follows: :1: On parchment and other writing-material; language, and translation of the

Jewish Scriptures The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...

; persons who are qualified to prepare books; leaves and pages; open and closed paragraphs. :2: Spaces between letters, words, lines, pages, and books; space-lines; number of columns to the leaf, and lines to the column; width and height of the scrolls; rollers; sewing; mending; final letters. :3: Writing several books on a single scroll; verse-marks in the scroll of the Law; superscriptions; palimpsests; procedure in regard to incorrectly written scrolls; rolling and unrolling; manner of rolling and reading; respectful handling of the scroll of the Law; careful use of food as a gift of God. :4: The names of God and the interdiction against erasing them;

Masoretic The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...

enumeration of such names; the sinfulness of profanely using any of them. :5: Sacrosanct writing of the names of God; scribal errors in such and in the lines of the sacred scroll; the Divine Name on vessels and utensils; preservation of scrolls and other writings which have become useless; use of loaned writings. :6: Points written in the Torah; textual variations in the ancient scrolls used in the

Temple at Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusa ...

; Masoretic textual and orthographical variants. :7: Masoretic combination of the

Qere and Ketiv Qere and Ketiv, from the Aramaic ''qere'' or ''q're'', ("hat isread") and ''ketiv'', or ''ketib'', ''kethib'', ''kethibh'', ''kethiv'', ("hat iswritten"), also known as "q're uchsiv" or "q're uchtiv," refers to a system for marking differences b ...

. :8: Textual variants in

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

18 and

II Samuel The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Joshu ...

22, and in

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

36-39 and

II Kings The Book of Kings (, '' Sēfer Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of Israel also including the books ...

18-20 :9: Capital letters in the Torah; written words for which others must be substituted in reading; passages which are neither read nor translated. :10: General laws of Torah reading; number of readers; number of persons requisite for public religious functions;

kaddish Kaddish or Qaddish or Qadish ( arc, קדיש "holy") is a hymn praising God that is recited during Jewish prayer services. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God's name. In the liturgy, different version ...

and ''barekhu''. :11: Order of Torah reading and of the translations to be read; errors in Torah reading :12: Method of reading the curses, the songs, and the

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ� ...

; the Torah reading on the

Rosh Hodesh Rosh Chodesh or Rosh Hodesh ( he, ראש חודש; trans. ''Beginning of the Month''; lit. ''Head of the Month'') is the name for the first day of every month in the Hebrew calendar, marked by the birth of a new moon. It is considered a mino ...

Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each night. ...

; mode of writing the songs in

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 * Ex ...

15,

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 membe ...

5, and

Deuteronomy Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_th ...

32, as well as the order of reading Deuteronomy 32. :13: Method of writing the

Hagiographa The Ketuvim (; hbo, , Modern: ''Kəṯūvīm'', Tiberian: ''Kăṯūḇīm'' "writings") is the third and final section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), after Torah (instruction) and Nevi'im (prophets). In English translations of the Hebrew Bi ...

in general and the

scroll of Esther The Book of Esther ( he, מְגִלַּת אֶסְתֵּר, Megillat Esther), also known in Hebrew as "the Scroll" ("the Megillah"), is a book in the third section (, "Writings") of the Jewish ''Tanakh'' (the Hebrew Bible). It is one of the fi ...

in particular; blessings in connection with the Mafṭir and the reading of the Torah. :14: Blessing on reading the Hagiographa in general and the scroll of Esther in particular; liturgical observances prefatory to the reading; persons authorized to read and to officiate as ḥazzanim; individuals qualified to read the scroll of Esther; reading the other smaller scrolls; sanctity of the scroll of the Law;

phylactery Phylactery () originally referred to tefillin, leather boxes containing Torah verses worn by some Jews when praying. In Mandaeism, some different types of phylacteries are known as ''zrazta'' and ''qmaha'', a list of which can be found at list of ...

and

mezuzot A ''mezuzah'' ( he, מְזוּזָה "doorpost"; plural: ''mezuzot'') is a piece of parchment, known as a ''klaf'', contained in a decorative case and inscribed with specific Hebrew verses from the Torah ( and ). These verses consist of the J ...

. :15: Sanctity of other religious writings; diversity of the rabbinical sciences; occupations to be taught to children. :16: Value of the study of the Torah; the

aggadah Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ''Haggāḏā''; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַגָּדְתָא ''ʾAggāḏəṯāʾ''; "tales, fairytale, lore") is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, ...

; manifold interpretations; scholarship of the ancient teachers; sections of the

Pentateuch The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the sa ...

; chapters of the

; the Kedushah prayer. :17: General laws on the sections prescribed for the festivals; assistants at the sacrifice and their prayers; lessons and psalms for

. :18: Daily and festival psalms; order of prayer for the anniversary of the

destruction of Jerusalem The siege of Jerusalem of 70 CE was the decisive event of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), in which the Roman army led by future emperor Titus besieged Jerusalem, the center of Jewish rebel resistance in the Roman province of Jud ...

; observances for the

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day's ...

. :19: Further regulations regarding the psalms for festivals; formulas of prayer for the festivals; eulogy on announcing the new moon; benedictions for weddings and funerals. :20:

Kiddush levana Kiddush Levanah () is a Jewish ritual, performed outside at night, in which a series of prayers are recited to bless the new moon. History The source of the Kiddush Levana is in the Babylonian Talmud: : Rabbi Yochanan taught that one who blesse ...

; lighting the

candles; blessings and Torah reading for Hanukkah; the

Kedushah Kedushah may refer to: * Holiness in Judaism * Kedushah (prayer) ''Kedushah'' (Holiness) is the name of several prayers recited during Jewish prayer services. They have in common the recitation of two Biblical verses - and . These verses come ...

prayer on holidays; "

Hallel Hallel ( he, הַלֵּל, "Praise") is a Jewish prayer, a verbatim recitation from Psalms which is recited by observant Jews on Jewish holidays as an act of praise and thanksgiving. Holy days Hallel consists of six Psalms (113–118), which ...

." :21:

Nisan Nisan (or Nissan; he, נִיסָן, Standard ''Nīsan'', Tiberian ''Nīsān''; from akk, 𒊬𒊒𒄀 ''Nisanu'') in the Babylonian and Hebrew calendars is the month of the barley ripening and first month of spring. The name of the month is ...

, the month of rejoicing;

Purim Purim (; , ; see Name below) is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jews, Jewish people from Haman, an official of the Achaemenid Empire who was planning to have all of Persia's Jewish subjects killed, as recounted in the Boo ...

and its observances; the blessings of the Torah and the Megillah at Purim; Haggadah of the Jewish Patriarchs.

Divisions

Soferim may be divided into three main divisions: chapters 1–5, 6–9, and 10–21, the last of which is subdivided into two sections, 10-15 and 16:2-21. The tractate derives its name from its first main division (chapters 1-5), which treats of writing scrolls of the Law, thus conforming to the ancient custom of naming a work according to its initial contents. According to

Zunz Zunz ( he, צוּנְץ, yi, צונץ) is a Yiddish surname: * (1874–1939), Belgian pharmacologist * Sir Gerhard Jack Zunz (1923–2018), British civil engineer * Leopold Zunz (Yom Tov Lipmann Tzuntz) (1794–1886), German Reform rabbi an ...

, "the little work is now badly disarranged, as is shown by the confusion of the two principal themes .e., the preparation of scrolls, and the rituals of Torah reading and prayers and the position and character of the aggadah." Zunz likewise shows the relationship existing between this work and later

aggadot Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ''Haggāḏā''; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַגָּדְתָא ''ʾAggāḏəṯāʾ''; "tales, fairytale, lore") is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, ...

. This lack of system, however, is not the result of careless copying or other negligence, but is due to the nature of the tractate's redaction; for it is a composite of at least three works, and the systematic order of the earlier part has evidently been disarranged by interpolations. In its present form the tractate is intended more for Torah readers and hazzanim than for

scribes A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...

: it is in great part confined to ritual laws, although it must be borne in mind that the same person doubtless combined the functions of scribe and reader.

First part

This first part is the earliest component of the work, and is extant also as an independent "

," entitled ''Massekhet Sefer Torah''; in this form it is a systematic work, but as incorporated in Soferim, although its division into chapters and paragraphs has been retained, its order has been disarranged by interpolations. A comparison of the two texts shows in an instructive way how ancient Jewish works developed in the course of time. The minor tractate ''Sefarim'', edited by Schönblum, is not earlier (as he assumes) but rather later than ''Masseket Sefer Torah'', from which it is an extract. The name "Sefarim" (= "books") is merely the plural of "sefer," designating the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

as "the book" par excellence.

Second part

Chapters 6 to 9 constitute a separate part, containing

rules for writing; the first four paragraphs of chapter 6 and some passages of chapter 9 are of early date. This portion was undoubtedly added by

Masoretes The Masoretes ( he, בַּעֲלֵי הַמָּסוֹרָה, Baʿălēy Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Masters of the Tradition') were groups of Jewish scribe-scholars who worked from around the end of the 5th through 10th centuries CE, based primarily in m ...

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Fo ...

; and the main portion of the modern Masorah, which also contains the passages in question, likewise originated in the same school. The first two parts of Soferim are acknowledged to be

Judean Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous sout ...

, and were intended for the scribes; the last three halakhot are a kind of appendix relating to the reading of certain words and passages.

Third part

The third division is chiefly devoted to rules concerning the order of

, together with liturgical laws. It is not a uniform composition, although the first section (chapters 10-15) is concerned almost entirely with the sequence of Torah readings, while the remaining part (chapters 16-21) contains liturgical laws. The contents of 16:1 apparently form the conclusion of the portion of the work which precedes it. The third part of Soferim is likewise Judean in origin, as is shown by its sources; nor is this view contradicted by the phrases "our teachers in the West" (רבותינו שבמערב, 10:8) and "the people of the East and the people of the West" (בני מזרח ובני מערב at 10,end; 13:10), since either a

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

or a Babylonian might have used such expressions, although these passages may be interpolations. The second section of the last portion (16:2-21) was added latest of all. It contains passages from the

Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) 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 was the cente ...

, mentioning the "teachers of the land of Israel" (no longer מערב, as in 21:1) in 17:4, and speaking of the Nazarenes (נוצרים = Christians) in 17:6, while a passage from

Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer (also Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer; Aramaic: פרקי דרבי אליעזר, or פרקים דרבי אליעזר, Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer; abbreviated PdRE) is an aggadic-midrashic work on the Torah containing exegesis and re ...

is cited on the authority of R. Eliezer b. Hyrcanus (19:12). These peculiarities indicate that its date is relatively late, even though these last passages are in the main also

in origin, as is shown by the use of the name "Nazarene."

Place of composition

Many details of the text indicate detailed knowledge of the

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...

and the custom of the

, and thus point to an origin there (rather than in

Babylonia Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...

): * The customs of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

are also mentioned (18:5, 21:6) in a way which indicates an acquaintance with them and points to an author who may have been from

, but was not from

. The names of the school, teachers, and countries also confirm this view. *

Hai Gaon Hai ben Sherira (Hebrew: האי/י בר שרירא) better known as Hai Gaon (Hebrew: האי/י גאון, חאיי גאון), was a medieval Jewish theologian, rabbi and scholar who served as Gaon of the Talmudic academy of Pumbedita during the ...

knew nothing of the liturgical observance mentioned in 19:11 * The controversy regarding the mode of reading (21:7) is taken from the

, not from the parallel passage in the

. The long passage which follows is a direct quotation from the Jerusalem Talmud. * The Babylonian amora

Rav Yosef Rav Yosef bar Hiyya ( he, רב יוסף בר חייא), or simply Rav Yosef, was a Babylonian rabbi of the third generation of amoraim. Biography He was a student of Judah bar Ezekiel and was Abaye's teacher, and a scholarly disputant (''bar plu ...

is designated as "Rabbi," and not as "Rav" (13:7) * The assumption that there are weekly sections which do not contain 21 verses (11:4) applies only to the

triennial cycle The Triennial cycle of Torah reading may refer to either * The historical practice in ancient Israel by which the entire Torah was read in serial fashion over a three-year period, or * The practice adopted by many Reform, Conservative, Reconstruct ...

of the Land of Israel * Soferim 13:3-5 parallels the Jerusalem Talmud, Megillah 3:7 (74b). The hypothesis that Soferim is based on Palestinian sources agrees with the ancient tradition (

Nahmanides Moses ben Nachman ( he, מֹשֶׁה בֶּן־נָחְמָן ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; el, Ναχμανίδης ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ra ...

and others) that all the small tractates are Palestinian in origin; and modern scholars, except for

I.H. Weiss Isaac (Isaak) Hirsch Weiss, also Eisik Hirsch Weiss () (9 February 1815 – 1 June 1905), was an Austrian Talmudist and historian of literature born at Groß Meseritsch, Habsburg Moravia. After having received elementary instruction in Hebrew ...

, also accept this view. There were scholars in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

even after the final redaction of Jerusalem Talmud, and the Bible was still the chief subject of study.

Date of composition

The evidence of all these facts makes it very probable that this tractate was finally redacted about the middle of the 8th century, an assumption which is supported by the statement of

Rabbeinu Asher Asher ben Jehiel ( he, אשר בן יחיאל, or Asher ben Yechiel, sometimes Asheri) (1250 or 1259 – 1327) was an eminent rabbi and Talmudist best known for his abstract of Talmudic law. He is often referred to as Rabbenu Asher, “our Rabb ...

that Soferim was composed at a late date. At that period written prayer-books were doubtless in existence and were probably produced by the scribes, who combined the offices of communal

chazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' ( he, חַזָּן , plural ; Yiddish ''khazn''; Ladino ''Hasan'') is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer. In English, thi ...

and reader. It was natural, therefore, that in tractates intended for the scribes all the regulations should be collected which concerned books, the

Masorah Masorah or Mesorah ( he, מסורה) refers either to the transmission of Jewish religious tradition, or to the tradition itself, and may refer to: * The Hebrew vowel points also known as niqqud. * Masoretic Text, the authoritative text of the Tan ...

, and the liturgy. It is practically certain that few copies of the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) 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 was the cente ...

were made at that time, and those without special rules; consequently no allusions to them are found in Soferim. The fact that no sources are given for a number of the regulations in the first part points to an early date of composition. Similarly, in the third part (chapters 10-21), which is later, no sources are assigned for a number of

halakhot ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

; so that care must be taken not to assign the compilation of this longest portion to too recent a date. Both the form and the content of those passages in which authorities are not mentioned point to a

origin; they may have been derived from the lost portions of Yerushalmi and various

midrashic ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

works, which, indeed, they may be regarded as in part replacing. Only certain interpolations, as well as the aggadic passage at the end of the tractate (or, in several manuscripts, at its beginning), may have been added much later. The division of the last part into sections ("perakim") seems to have been intended to secure a uniform size for the several sections; for 16:1 belongs to the end of chapter 15, and 19:1 to the end of 18, their separation being due to external reasons.

Notable laws

As the substance of the tractate has been incorporated in later works on orthography, the

, and the liturgy, only a few points peculiar to it need be mentioned here. In 1:13 occurs the maxim "He who cannot read is not allowed to write." Custodians seem to be mentioned in 2:12. The first notice in Jewish literature of the

codex 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, with ...

in contradistinction to the scroll occurs in 3:6, a passage which is to be translated as follows: "Only in a codex

Torah_ The_Torah_(;__hbo,___''Tōrā'',_"Instruction",_"Teaching"_or_"Law")_is_the_compilation_of_the_first_five_books_of_the_Hebrew_Bible,_namely_the_books_of_Genesis,_Exodus,__Leviticus,_Numbers_and__Deuteronomy._In_that_sense,_Torah_means_the_s_...

,_the_

,_the_Neviim">Prophets_ In_religion,_a_prophet_or_prophetess_is_an_individual_who_is_regarded_as_being_in_contact_with_a_divine_being_and_is_said_to_speak_on_behalf_of_that_being,_serving_as_an_intermediary_with_humanity_by_delivering_messages_or_teachings_from_the_su_...

,_and_the_Hagiographa.html" "title="Neviim.html" "title="ay the

, the Neviim">Prophets In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the su ...