The Hebrew Bible, Jewish Bible, or Tanakh (,"Tanach" . Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. or ; ; ; or ), also known in Hebrew as (; ), is the canonical collection of Hebrew scriptures, comprising the Torah (; the five books of Moses), the (), and the (). Different branches of Judaism and Samaritanism have maintained different versions of the canon, including the 3rd-century BCE Septuagint text used in Second Temple Judaism, the Syriac Peshitta, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and most recently the 10th-century medieval Masoretic Text compiled by the Masoretes, currently used in Rabbinic Judaism.
The terms "Hebrew Bible" or "Hebrew Canon" are frequently confused with the Masoretic Text; however, the Masoretic Text is a medieval version, and one of several texts considered authoritative by different types of Judaism throughout history. The current edition of the Masoretic Text is mostly in Biblical Hebrew, with a few passages in Biblical Aramaic (in the books of Daniel and Ezra, and the verse Jeremiah 10:11). The modern form of the Hebrew Bible that is authoritative in Rabbinic Judaism is the Masoretic Text (7th to 10th centuries CE), which consists of 24 books, divided into parashot (paragraphs or sections) and pesuqim (verses). The Hebrew Bible developed during the Second Temple Period, as the Jews decided which religious texts were of divine origin. The Masoretic Text, compiled by the Jewish scribes and scholars of the early Middle Ages, comprises the books that they considered authoritative. The Hellenized Greek-speaking Jews of Alexandria produced a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible called "the Septuagint", that included books later identified as apocryphal, while the Samaritans produced their own version of the Torah, the Samaritan Pentateuch. Both of these ancient editions of the Hebrew Bible differ significantly from the medieval Masoretic Text.
In addition to the Masoretic Text, modern biblical scholars seeking to understand the history of the Hebrew Bible use a range of sources. These include the Septuagint, the Syriac language Peshitta translation, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Dead Sea Scrolls collection, the Targum Onkelos, and quotations from rabbinic manuscripts. These sources may be older than the Masoretic Text in some cases and often differ from it. Such differences have given rise to the theory that yet another text, an Urtext of the Hebrew Bible, once existed and is the source of the versions extant today.Isaac Leo Seeligmann, Robert Hanhart, Hermann Spieckermann: The Septuagint Version of Isaiah and Cognate Studies, Tübingen 2004, pp. 33–34. 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. There are many similarities between the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. The Protestant Old Testament includes the same books as the Hebrew Bible, but the books are arranged in different orders. The Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Assyrian churches include the deuterocanonical books, which are not included in Jewish or Protestant versions of the Hebrew Bible.
In Islam, the Tawrat () is often identified not only with the Pentateuch, but also with the other books of the Hebrew Bible.Isabel Lang Intertextualität als hermeneutischer Zugang zur Auslegung des Korans: Eine Betrachtung am Beispiel der Verwendung von Israiliyyat in der Rezeption der Davidserzählung in Sure 38: 21-25 Logos Verlag Berlin GmbH, 31.12.2015 p. 98 (German)
Scholars increasingly view the Hebrew Bible as a mix of folklore and history, with some narratives after the 9th century BCE partly supported by archaeology but many traditional accounts debated or questioned.
Terminology
Tanakh
Tanakh is an acronym derived from the first Hebrew letter of each of the Masoretic Text's three traditional divisions: the Torah (, ), the (), and the ().
The three-part division reflected in the acronym is well attested in the Rabbinic literature dating from the Masoretic period. During that period, however, the term was not used; rather, the proper title was or (), meaning "reading" or "that which is read", because the biblical texts were read publicly. The acronym is first recorded in the () of the Hebrew Bible, and it later entered broader Jewish use via the responsa of Rabbi Shlomo ben Avraham ibn Aderet (1235–1310) compiled in . continues to be used in Hebrew, alongside , to refer to the Hebrew scriptures. In spoken Modern Hebrew, they are interchangeable.Biblical Studies Mikra: Text, Translation, Reading, and Interpretation. Norton Irish Theological Quarterly. 2007; 72: 305–306
Hebrew Bible
Many biblical studies scholars advocate use of the term Hebrew Bible (or Hebrew Scriptures) as a substitute for less-neutral terms with Jewish or Christian connotations like Tanakh or Old Testament, respectively.. The Society of Biblical Literature's Handbook of Style, which is the standard for major academic journals like the Harvard Theological Review and conservative Protestant journals like the Bibliotheca Sacra and the Westminster Theological Journal, suggests that authors "be aware of the connotations of alternative expressions such as ... Hebrew Bible [and] Old Testament" without prescribing the use of either. See Society of Biblical Literature: Questions Regarding Digital Editions
"Hebrew" refers to the original language of the books, but it may also be taken as referring to the Jews of the Second Temple period and their descendants, who preserved the transmission of the Masoretic Text up to the present day. The Hebrew Bible includes small portions in Biblical Aramaic (mostly in the books of Daniel and Ezra), written and printed in Aramaic square-script, which was adopted as the Hebrew alphabet after the Babylonian captivity.
Content
Genres and themes The Tanakh includes a variety of genres, including narratives of events set in the past. The Torah, which is composed of the books of Genesis (), Exodus (), Leviticus (), Numbers (), and Deuteronomy (), contains the foundational narrative of the Israelites and the Law of Moses.
The book of Psalms () is a collection of hymns, but songs are included elsewhere in the Tanakh, such as Exodus 15, 1 Samuel 2, and Jonah 2. Books such as Proverbs () and Ecclesiastes () are examples of wisdom literature.
Other books are examples of prophecy. In the prophetic books, a prophet denounces evil or predicts what God will do in the future. A prophet might also describe and interpret visions. The book of Daniel () is the only book in the Tanakh usually described as apocalyptic literature. However, other books or parts of books have been called proto‑apocalyptic, such as Isaiah 24–27, the book of Joel (), and Zechariah 9–14. The book of Ezekiel () has been mentioned as a proto‑apocalyptic text as well, but it has been considered controversial.
A central theme throughout the Tanakh is monotheism, worshiping one God. The Tanakh was created by the Israelites, a people who lived within the cultural and religious context of the ancient Near East. The religions of the ancient Near East were polytheistic, but the Israelites rejected polytheism in favor of monotheism. Biblical scholar Christine Hayes writes that the Hebrew Bible was "the record of [the Israelites'] religious and cultural revolution".
According to biblical scholar John Barton, "YHWH is consistently presented throughout the [Hebrew Scriptures] as the God who created the world, and as the only God with whom Israel is to be concerned". This special relationship between God and Israel is described in terms of covenant. As part of the covenant, God gives his people the Promised Land as an eternal possession. The God of the covenant is also a God of redemption. God liberates his people from Egypt and continually intervenes to save them from their enemies.
The Tanakh imposes ethical requirements, including social justice and ritual purity. The Tanakh forbids the exploitation of widows, orphans, and other vulnerable groups by the Israelites, including any non-Israelites dwelling among them. In addition, the Tanakh condemns murder, theft, bribery, corruption, deceitful trading, adultery, incest, bestiality, and homosexual acts. Another theme of the Tanakh is theodicy; the narrative presents God as fundamentally just even though evil and suffering are present in the world.
Narrative The Tanakh begins with the Genesis creation narrative. Genesis 12–50 traces Israelite origins to the patriarchs: Abraham, his son Isaac, and his grandson Jacob (who is later renamed Israel). God promises Abraham and his descendants blessings and land. God establishes a covenant with Abraham that is embodied via Abraham's act of self‑circumcision and God's commandment () that all Israelite males be circumcised eight days postpartum in a ritual known as (), which continues to be observed within the Jewish community. The children of Jacob become the ancestors of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Jacob's son Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers, but he becomes a powerful man in Egypt. During a famine, Jacob and his family settle in Egypt.
Jacob's descendants live in Egypt for 430 years. After the Exodus, the Israelites wander in the wilderness for 40 years. God gives the Israelites the Law of Moses to guide their behavior. The Law includes rules for both religious ritual and ethics, and it requires justice and care for the poor, widows, and orphans. The biblical story affirms God's unconditional love for his people, but he still punishes them when they fail to live by the covenant.
God leads Israel into the Promised Land of Canaan, which they conquer after five years. For the next 470 years, the Israelites are led by judges. In time, a new enemy emerges called the Philistines. They continue to trouble Israel throughout the prophethood and leader of Samuel (1 Samuel 4:1–7:1). When Samuel grows old, the people request that he choose a king; Samuel's sons are corrupt, and they want to live like their non-Israelite neighbors (1 Samuel 8). The Tanakh presents this negatively as a rejection of God's kingship; nevertheless, God permits it, and Saul of the tribe of Benjamin is anointed king. This inaugurates the united monarchy of the Kingdom of Israel.
An officer in Saul's army named David achieves great military success. Saul tries to kill him out of jealousy, but David successfully escapes (1 Samuel 16–29). After Saul dies fighting the Philistines (1 Samuel 31 and 2 Chronicles 10), the kingdom is divided between his son Ish-bosheth (also known as Eshbaal) and David: David rules the lands of the tribe of Judah, of which he is a member, and Ish-bosheth rules the rest. After Ish-bosheth's assassination, David is anointed king over all of Israel (2 Samuel 2–5).
David captures the Jebusite city of Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:6–7) and makes it his capital. Jerusalem's position between Judah in the southern hills and the northern Israelite tribes makes it an ideal site from which to rule all the tribes. He further increases Jerusalem's importance by bringing the Ark of the Covenant there from Shiloh (2 Samuel 6). David's son Solomon later builds the First Temple in Jerusalem.