Introduction to the Tanakh
Though the word "Bible" is commonly used by
non-Jews -- as are the terms "Old Testament" and "New
Testament" -- the appropriate term to use for the Hebrew scriptures
("scripture" is a synonym used by both Jews and non-Jews) is Tanakh.
This word is derived from the Hebrew letters of its three components:
Torah: The Books of Genesis (Bereshit), Exodus
(Shemot), Leviticus (Vayikrah), Numbers (Bamidbar) and
Deuteronomy (Devarim).
Nevi'im (Prophets): The Books of Joshua, Judges, I
Samuel, II Samuel, I Kings, II Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel,
Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habukkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and
Malachi. (The last twelve are sometimes grouped together as "Trei Asar"
["Twelve"].)
Ketuvim (Writings): The Books of Psalms, Proverbs,
Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel (although
not all that is included in the Christian Canon), Ezra and Nehemiah, I
Chronicles, and II Chronicles.
It should be noted that the breaking of Samuel (Shmuel),
Kings (Melachim) and Chronicles (Divrei hayamim) into two parts is
strictly an artifact of the Christian printers who first issued the books. They
were too big to be issued as single volumes. Because every one followed these de
facto standards, the titles of Volume 1 and Volume 2 were attached to the names.
The division of the Tanakh into chapters was also done by medieval Christians,
and only later adopted by Jews.
Also, many Christian Bibles have expanded versions of several
of these books (Ester, Ezra, Daniel, Jeremiah and Chronicles) including extra
material that is not accepted as canonical in Judaism. This extra material was
part of the ancient Greek translation of the Tanakh, but was never a part of the
official Hebrew Tanakh. Jews regard the additional material as apocryphal. Among
Christians, there is a difference of opinion. Catholics regard this material as
canonical, while many Protestant sects regard this material as Apocrypha. What
is and is not regarded as Apocrypha varies among the many Christian sects.
Listed below are the books of the Tanakh.
Three main "headers" show the three divisions of the book spoken of
above. Additionally the Prophets section is subdivided into the Former Prophets
and the Latter Prophets. The Latter Prophets also include "The Twelve"
(Minor Prophets).
The Torah
- Genesis
- Exodus
- Leviticus
- Numbers
- Deuteronomy
The Prophets
The Former Prophets- Joshua
- Judges
- Samuel
- Kings
The Latter Prophets
- Isaiah
- Jeremiah
- Ezekial
- Hosea
- Joel
- Amos
- Obadiah
- Jonah
- Micah
- Nahum
- Habakkuk
- Zephaniah
- Haggai
- Zecariah
- Malachi
The Writings
- Psalms
- Proverbs
- Job
- Song of Solomon
- Ruth
- Lamentations
- Ecclesiastes
- Esther
- Daniel
- Ezra-Nehemiah
- Chronicles
The Hebrew Bible and Protestant Old Testament have the same books arranged in a different order. Additionally, books that Christians divide into two parts (Kings, Chronicles, Samuel, and Ezra-Nehemiah) are only one book in the Hebrew Bible.
|
TaNaKh
|
Old Testament
|
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
