TANAKH

'Tanakh' () (also 'Tanach', or , or Tenak) is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. The acronym is based on the initial Hebrew letters of each of the text's three parts:
#Torah meaning "Instruction." It is also called the ''Chumash'' , meaning "the five" or "the five books of Moses." In Greek, it is called the Pentateuch. The Torah is often referred to as the law of the Jewish people.
#Nevi'im , meaning "Prophets." This term is associated with anything to do with the prophets.
#Ketuvim , meaning "Writings." The Greek word being "Hagiographa."
The writings are then separated into sections, for example; there are a group of history books namely, Ezra, Chronicles, and Nehemiah. Others include the wisdom books which are Job, Ecclesiastes, and Proverbs. Poetry books; Psalms, Lamentation and Song of Solomon. Lastly there are other books, Ruth, Esther and the book of Daniel.
The Tanakh is also called , 'Mikra' or 'Miqra', meaning "that which is read".

Terminology

Mikra

The three-part division reflected in the acronym Tanakh is well attested to in documents from the Second Temple period and in Rabbinic literature. During that period, however, "Tanakh" was not used as a word or term; rather, the proper title was ''Mikra'' ("Reading"), because the biblical books were read publicly. "Mikra" is thus analogous to the Latin term ''Scriptus'', meaning "that which is written" (as in "Scripture" or "The Holy Scriptures").
'Mikra' continues to be used in Hebrew to this day alongside ''Tanakh'' to refer to the Hebrew scriptures. In modern spoken Hebrew, ''Mikra'' has a more formal flavor than ''Tanakh'', where the former might refer to a university department, and the latter to a popular study group.

Number of books

According to the Jewish tradition, the Tanakh consists of 24 books:

★ 5 books of the ''Torah'' ("Instruction")

★ 8 books of the ''Nviim'' ("Prophets")

★ 11 books of the ''Ktuvim'' ("Writings" or "Scriptures")

Tanakh Codified by the Men of the Great Assembly in 450 BCE

Tanakhs are comprised of 24 books. The books are unchanged since the Tanakh was codified by the Men of the Great Assembly ("Anshei K'nesset HaGedolah") a task completed in 450 BCE. The twenty four books are mentioned in 4 Ezra 14:42-46 (Apocrypha). The 24 books are also mentioned in the Midrash Qoheleth 12:12.
It is also notable that the Jewish Council of Jamnia in 70 A.D. brought to agreement on the number of books in the Tanakh.
Confusion as to the completion of the Tanakh is created by those who read ''Against Apion'', by the 1st-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus who describes 22 sacred books, not 24. Some say that books were added or deleted from Josephus' time (extrapolating that the Tanakh was still fluid and changing) others argue they were simply counted differently.
There are four books (Judges, Ruth, Jeremiah and Lamentations) that are counted as separate books in the Tanakh that were only counted as two by Josephus. Josephus may have assigned the Book of Ruth to Judges and the Book of Lamentations to Jeremiah (similar to Athanasius).
The counting did not change the Tanakh's construction -- merely the way it was identified. Chapters and numbering are a later Christian invention and it is this that causes confusion as to the number and order of books.
Along with the four books being identified as two by Josephus, the Tanakh also counts as one book what are often counted as two in Christian Bibles (e.g. 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings and so forth), and where all the twelve "Books" of the "Trei Asar," the Twelve Prophets, are also considered as one.
The twenty-four "Books" in the Tanakh are as follows:
1-5: The Five Books of Moses Torah:
• Bereshit, or Genesis
• Shemot, or Exodus
• VaYikra, or Leviticus
• BaMidbar, or Numbers
• Devarim, or Deuteronomy.
6-9: The "Neviim Rishonim," the Early, or Former, Prophets:
• Yehoshua or Joshua
• "Shoftim" or Judges
• Shmuel or Samuel I and II
• "Melachim" or Kings I and II
10-13: The "Neviim Acharonim," the Later Prophets:
• Yeshayahu or Isaiah
• Yirmiyahu or Jeremiah
• Yechezkel or Ezekiel
• "Trei Asar" or Minor Prophets (or "The Twelve Prophets")
Books and Prophets within "Trei Asar":
Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
14-16: The "Sifrei Emet," "Books of Truth":
• "Tehilim" or Psalms
• "Mishlei" or Proverbs
• "Iyov" or Job
17-21: The "Five Megilot" or "Five Scrolls":
• "Shir HaShirim" or Song of Songs
• Rut or Ruth
• "Eichah" or Lamentations
• "Kohelet" or Ecclesiastes
• Esther
22-24: The "Other Writings":
• Daniel
• Ezra-Nehemiah
• "Divrei HaYamim" or Chronicles I and II

Pre Christian Traditions

These twenty-four books are the same books found in the Protestant Old Testament, but the order of the books is different. The enumeration differs as well: Christians count these books as thirty-nine, not twenty-four. This is because Jews often count as a single book what Christians count as several. However, the term 'Old Testament', while common, is often considered pejorative by Jews as it can be interpreted as being inferior or outdated relative to the 'New Testament', though traditional churches such as the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church insist on a continuity and coequal relationship between the Old and New Testaments.
The term 'Old Testament' was never intended to be considered a prejoritive term. It came from the Christian theologian Tertullian who used the Latin word, ''testamentum''. This was a Latin translation of the Greek word ''diatheke''. In the LXX, diatheke is the word used in Jeremiah 31:33-34 to refer to YHWH's Covenant.
As such, one may draw a technical distinction between the Jewish Tanakh and the similar, but not identical, corpus which Protestant Christians call the Old Testament. But, this technical distinction perhaps might seem a distinction of terminology instead of substance. Thus, some scholars prefer ''Hebrew Bible'' as a term that covers the commonality of Tanakh and the Old Testament while avoiding sectarian bias. Messianic Jews use 'First Testament' which they believe retains its integrity while implying it requires the 'New' or 'Second Testament' for completion. Another Messianic view would be to not distinguish the two at all, but to regard them all as inspired by God.
The Catholic and Orthodox Old Testaments contain seven books not included in the Tanakh. They are called deuterocanonical books (literally "canonized secondly" meaning canonized later).
In Catholic and Orthodox Bibles, Daniel and the Book of Esther sometimes include extra deuterocanonical material that is not included in either the Jewish or most Protestant canons.

Books of the Tanakh

The Hebrew text originally consisted only of consonants, together with some inconsistently applied letters used as vowels (''matres lectionis''). During the early Middle Ages Masoretes codified the oral tradition for reading the Tanakh by adding two special kinds of symbols to the text: ''niqud'' (vowel points) and cantillation signs. The latter indicate syntax, stress (accentuation), and the melody for reading. According to tradition, this codification was made by Ezra, in the fourth century BCE.

Page of 11th century Tanakh with Targum

The Book of Isaiah

The books of the Torah have generally-used names which are based on the first prominent word in each book. The English names are not translations of the Hebrew; they are based on the Greek names created for the Septuagint which in turn were based on Rabbinic names describing the thematic content of each of the Books.
The ''Torah'' ("Teaching") [also known as the Pentateuch/Humash] consists of:
: 1. Genesis [ / B'reshit]
: 2. Exodus [ / Sh'mot]
: 3. Leviticus [ / Vayiqra]
: 4. Numbers [ / B'midbar]
: 5. Deuteronomy [ / D'varim]
The books of ''Nevi'im'' ("Prophets") are:
: 6. Joshua [ / Y'hoshua]
: 7. Judges [ / Shophtim]
: 8. Samuel (I & II) [ / Sh'muel]
: 9. Kings (I & II) [ / M'lakhim]
: 10. Isaiah [ / Y'shayahu]
: 11. Jeremiah [ / Yir'mi'yahu]
: 12. Ezekiel [ / Y'khezqel]
: 13. The Twelve Minor Prophets []
:: I. Hosea [ / Hoshea]
:: II. Joel [ / Yo'el]
:: III. Amos [ / Amos]
:: IV. Obadiah [ / Ovadyah]
:: V. Jonah [ / Yonah]
:: VI. Micah [ / Mikhah]
:: VII. Nahum [ / Nakhum]
:: VIII. Habakkuk [ /Khavaquq]
:: IX. Zephaniah [ / Ts'phanyah]
:: X. Haggai [ / Khagai]
:: XI. Zechariah [ / Z'kharyah]
:: XII. Malachi [ / Mal'akhi]
The ''Ketuvim'' ("Writings") are:
: 14. Psalms [ / T'hilim]
: 15. Proverbs [ / Mishlei]
: 16. Job [ / Iyov]
: 17. Song of Songs [ / Shir Hashirim]
: 18. Ruth [ / Rut]
: 19. Lamentations [ / Eikhah]
: 20. Ecclesiastes [ / Qohelet]
: 21. Esther [ / Est(h)er]
: 22. Daniel [ / Dani'el]
: 23. Ezra-Nehemiah [ / Ezra wuNekhem'ya]
: 24. Chronicles (I & II) [ / Divrey Hayamim]

Chapters and verse numbers, book divisions

The chapter divisions and verse numbers have no significance in the Jewish tradition. Nevertheless, they are noted in all modern editions of the Tanakh so that verses may be located and cited. The division of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles into parts I and II is also indicated on each page of those books in order to prevent confusion about whether a chapter number is from part I or II, since the chapter numbering for these books follows their partition in the Christian textual tradition.
The adoption of the Christian chapter divisions by Jews began in the late Middle Ages in Spain, partially in the context of forced clerical debates which took place against a background of harsh persecution and of the Spanish Inquisition (the debates required a common system for citing biblical texts). From the standpoint of the Jewish textual tradition, the chapter divisions are not only a foreign feature with no basis in the mesorah, but also open to severe criticism of two kinds:

★ The chapter divisions often reflect Christian exegesis of the Bible.

★ Even when they do not imply Christian exegesis, the chapters often divide the biblical text at numerous points that may be deemed inappropriate for literary or other reasons.
Nevertheless, because they proved useful — and eventually indispensable — for citations, they continued to be included by Jews in most Hebrew editions of the biblical books. For more information on the origin of these divisions, see chapters and verses of the Bible.
The chapter and verse numbers were often indicated very prominently in older editions, to the extent that they overshadowed the traditional Jewish masoretic divisions. However, in many Jewish editions of the Tanakh published over the past forty years, there has been a major historical trend towards minimizing the impact and prominence of the chapter and verse numbers on the printed page. Most editions accomplish this by removing them from the text itself and relegating them to the margins of the page. The main text in these editions is unbroken and uninterrupted at the beginning of chapters (which are noted only in the margin). The lack of chapter breaks within the text in these editions also serves to reinforce the visual impact created by the spaces and "paragraph" breaks on the page, which indicate the traditional Jewish parashah divisions. Some versions have even introduced a new chapter system.
These modern Jewish editions present Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles (as well as Ezra) as single books in their title pages, and make no indication inside the main text of their division into two parts (though it is noted in the upper and side margins). In such editions, the second books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles follow the respective first books on the very same page, with no special break at all in the flow of the text. In the case of Kings, in which no parashah division appears at this point, the text of II Kings continues that of I Kings on the very same line of text.
Jewish (Hebrew) editions have a different pattern regarding Chronicles (I Chronicles) chapters 5 and 6, in the fact that Chronicles (First) chapter 5 ends at verse 41. Chronicles (Jewish editions of Chronicles) 5:27-41 is equivalent to First Chronicles 6: 1-15 in most English translations. In Jewish (Hebrew) editions 6:1 is equivalent to 6:16 and therefore the chapter ends at Chronicles 6:66 instead of the First Chronicles 6:81 (English translations). Basically the text is the same (Masoretic), only the numbering and chapter division is changed. At 7:1 both Hebrew and English versions set off from the same starting point once more.

Oral Torah

Main articles: Oral Torah

Rabbinical Judaism believes that the Torah was transmitted side by side with an oral tradition. Other groups, such as Karaite Judaism and the majority of Christians, exceptions being certain Hebrew Roots and Messianic groups, do not accept this claim. Many terms and definitions used in the written law are undefined within the Torah itself, and the reader is assumed to be familiar with the context and details. This fact is presented as evidence to the antiquity of the oral tradition. An opposing argument is that only a small portion of the vast rabbinic works on the oral tradition can be described as mere clarifications and context. These rabbinic works, collectively known as "the oral law" , include the Mishnah, the Tosefta, the two Talmuds (Babylonian and Jerusalem), and the early Midrash compilations.

Available texts

★ ''Tanakh'', English translation, Jewish Publication Society, 1985, ISBN 0-8276-0252-9

★ ''Jewish Study Bible'', using NJPS (1985) translation, Oxford U Press, 2003, ISBN 0-19-529754-7

★ ''Tanach: The Stone Edition'', Hebrew with English translation, Mesorah Publications, 1996, ISBN 0-89906-269-5

External links

★ Online Bible

★ iTanakh.org An extensive list of links and resources pertaining to the study of the Tanakh

Online texts

★ Download the complete Tanakh in Hebrew with translation and transliteration Lev Software

★ Mikraot Gedolot (Rabbinic Bible) at '' in and

★ TanakhML (Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and King James Version)

★ Unicode/XML Westminster Leningrad Codex - A transcription of the electronic source maintained by the Westminster Hebrew Institute. (Leningrad Codex)

★ Holy Tanakh - English version of the Holy Tanakh

★ Mechon Mamre - The Hebrew text of the Tanakh based on the Aleppo codex, edited according to the system of Rabbi Mordechai Breuer. Hebrew text comes in four convenient versions (including one with cantillation marks) and may be downloaded. The JPS 1917 English translation is included as well (including a parallel translation).
The link to the parallel Hebrew and English version is http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0.htm

★ This is a site where you can copy and paste Hebrew words from the above site and get short definitions. It’s a modern Hebrew dictionary, but many of the biblical words are still translatable. http://milon.morfix.co.il/Default.aspx

★ Tanach on Demand - Custom PDF versions of any section of the Bible in Hebrew.

Reading guides

★ 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 chapter divisions). The outlines include a daily study-cycle, and the explanatory material is in English.

★ A detailed chart of the major figures and events in the Tanakh

★ Judaica Press Translation (online translation of Tanakh and Rashi's entire commentary)

★ An online encyclopedia of everybody in Tanakh (in Hebrew and English)

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