What are the primary text of Judaism?

Question

Wiki User · Answer

The Tanach (also commonly called the Hebrew Bible) is the major text of Judaism. The Tanach gets its name from the Hebrew letters of its three components: The Torah (the five books of Moses), the Nevi'im (the Prophets) and the Ketuvim (the Writings).

But it's also important to note that Jews believe there is a second Torah, revealed to Moses at Mt Sinai. It's called the Oral Law. It's purpose was to further expound on the written laws, how to apply and interpret them. It was passed down through generations orally (hence the name) until at some point in time it was finally written down. This document was called the Mishnah. As the centuries passed, commentaries on the Mishnah were added in by sages. These commentaries are known as the Gemara. The Gemara and the Mishnah together are called the Talmud, and it is also one of the foundation texts of Judaism.

So to simplify things:

The Tanakh and the Talmud are the two major texts of Judaism.

Wiki User · Answer

The writings of Judaism may be divided into several categories. These include: the Tanakh, the Talmud, the other works of our early sages, and the works of later Rabbis.
The Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) is also called "the Written Torah," in contrast to the Oral Torah, which is the body of tradition that was handed down orally for some 1500 years, and only after that put in writing, so as not to be forgotten in times of exile. The Oral Torah is contained in the Talmud, which is a multi-volume compendium of Jewish traditions, law, history, and sayings of the early Jewish Sages.
The other works of the early sages include the midrashim (expounding upon the Tanakh), and the Zohar (a mystical commentary on the Torah). The works of later Rabbis include books on Jewish outlook and belief, such as the Emunot VeDeot (8th century CE) and the Kuzari (11th century); books on halakhah (Jewish law), such as the Yad Hachazakah (12th century) and the Shulchan Arukh (16th century); books on piety, such as the Noam Elimelekh and the Mesillat Yesharim (18th century); books on ethics, such as the Maalot Hamidot and the Hafetz Chaim (19th century), and much more.
Contents of the Written Torah:
The Jewish holy book is the Tanakh (Jewish Bible), containing the Torah and the prophetic books.
Tanakh is a Hebrew acronym of T, N, K which stands for the three parts of the Tanakh: Torah, Nevi'im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings).

1) The Torah (תורה), also called the Pentateuch, is the primary Jewish holy book. It is comprised of the 5 Books of Moses (also called the Books of the Law). The Torah was given by God to Moses (Exodus 24:12), who transmitted it to the people and wrote it (Deuteronomy 31:24).

1-5: The Torah (the Five Books of Moses):
• Bereshit (Genesis)
• Shemot (Exodus)
• VaYikra (Leviticus)
• BaMidbar (Numbers)
• Devarim (Deuteronomy)

2) Nevi'im (נביאים), The Prophets. The Jews see the book of Prophets as the Divinely-inspired story of their past and the relationship between God and Israel. Jewish tradition (Talmud, Bava Batra 14b) states that the prophetic books were written by the authors whose names they bear: Joshua, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, etc. Judges is credited to Samuel, Kings was written by Jeremiah. The Prophets is comprised of a total of 8 books according to the Jewish count.

6-9: The Nevi'im Rishonim (the Early Prophets):
• Yehoshua (Joshua)
• Shoftim (Judges)
• Shmuel (Samuel I and II)
• Melachim (Kings I and II)

10-13: The Nevi'im Acharonim (the Later Prophets):
• Yeshayahu (Isaiah)
• Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah)
• Yechezkel (Ezekiel)
• Trei Asar ("The Twelve Prophets" or Minor Prophets)
Books and Prophets within Trei Asar:
• Hoshea (Hosea)

• Yoel (Joel)

• Amos

• Ovadiah (Obadiah)

• Yonah (Jonah)

• Michah (Micah)

• Nahum

• Havakkuk (Habakkuk)

• Zephaniah

• Haggai

• Zechariah

• Malachi 3) Ketuvim (כתובים), Writings. The Ketuvim contains the remaining History Books: Daniel, Lamentations, and others. Jewish tradition (Talmud, Bava Batra 14b) states that the prophetic books were written by the authors whose names they bear: Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, etc. Ruth was written by Samuel; Lamentations was written by Jeremiah; Psalms was set in writing by King David; Chronicles was written by Ezra; Proverbs, Song of Songs and Kohellet (Ecclesiastes) were written by King Solomon; and Esther was written by Mordecai and Esther. Concerning Job, the Talmud states more than one opinion as to when it was written. The Writings consists of 11 books by the Jewish count:

14-16: The "Sifrei Emet"
• Tehilim (Psalms)
• Mishlei (Proverbs)
• Iyov (Job)

17-21: The "Five Megilot" (Five Scrolls)
• Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs)
• Ruth
• Eichah (Lamentations)
• Kohelet (Ecclesiastes)
• Esther

22-24: The rest of the Writings:
• Daniel
• Ezra-Nehemiah
• Divrei HaYamim (Chronicles I and II)

Further information:
The term "Torah" can refer loosely to the entire Jewish Bible.

Tradition places the sealing of the Tanakh's canon around 340 BCE.

This answer is:

Wiki User · Answer

The Torah.

Our tradition is that the Torah was given by God (Exodus 24:12), to provide knowledge, guidance, inspiration, awe and reverence, advice, law, comfort, history and more. It is the basis of Judaism.
The Torah is a source of national pride for us (see Deuteronomy 4:6-8).

It increases our reverence towards God; crystallizes, strengthens and codifies our beliefs; ensures our awareness and knowledge of our history; and provides powerful impetus to be ethical.
It makes us stand in awe of God, while also providing optimism and comfort through the prophecies of redemption. It inspires us to strive for holiness and informs us how to pray and to approach God's presence.
It gives us a great deal of general information, guidance and advice.
And it sets detailed laws, practices and traditions for us.

The laws themselves have various reasons. Some (such as the Passover) serve to reenact or remember events of our history.
Some (such as saying the Shema-prayer) serve to reiterate our belief in God.
Some of the laws (such as those of ritual purity and kosher food) serve to sanctify us.
Some (such as the laws of torts) serve to maintain an orderly society.
Some (such as the law against breaking a vow) serve to prevent bad character traits.
Some (such as the command to offer help) serve to engender good character traits.
And all of the commands serve to subjugate us to God's will (especially those commands for which no explanation is easily apparent).

Some examples of the commands:
Putting on Tefillin (a.k.a. phylacteries) in the morning
The sukkah-booth during Sukkot
Avoiding leavened products in Passover
Not eating on Yom Kippur
Not working on the Shabbat
Paying workers on time
Marital rights for one's wife
Counting the days of the Omer
Returning lost objects when feasible
Wearing the tzitzith-garment
Learning Torah
Marrying and having children
Educating one's children in Judaism
Giving tzedakah (charity)
Honoring one's parents
And many more.

Note that the Torah "as is" isn't exactly what Judaism observes. Rather, It's the Torah together with the details provided in the Talmud, which is the Oral Law that was handed down together with the laws of Moses. Otherwise, the verses of the Torah often lack enough detail to be fulfilled as is.

See also:

What are some facts about Torah-scrolls?

What are the key teachings of Judaism?

What is the history of the Hebrew Bible?

Wiki User · Answer

The Jewish Bible is the Tanakh, which contains the following (all in the original Hebrew):

The Torah (the Five Books of Moses):

According to tradition, the Torah was given by God to Moses (Exodus 24:12) in 1312 BCE. Moses taught it to the people (Exodus ch.34), and put it in writing before his death (Deuteronomy 31:24) in 1272 BCE.

Link: More about Moses

Nevi'im (the Prophets):

Link: Function of the Prophets

Jewish tradition (Talmud, Bava Batra 14b) states that the prophetic books were written by the authors whose names they bear: Joshua*, Samuel*, Isaiah*, Jeremiah*, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel*, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah*, etc. Judges was written by Samuel, and Kings was written by Jeremiah. The prophetic books were written in the time of the prophets, from the 1200s BCE (Joshua) to the mid-300s BCE (Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi).

(*See the Related Links.)

Ketuvim (the Writings):

Jewish tradition (Talmud, Bava Batra 14b) states that the Writings were written by the authors whose names they bear: Daniel*, Ezra* and Nehemiah*. Ruth* was written by Samuel; Lamentations was written by Jeremiah; Psalms was set in writing by King David*; Chronicles was written by Ezra; Proverbs, Song of Songs* and Kohellet (Ecclesiastes) were written by King Solomon*; and Esther was written by Mordecai and Esther*. The Writings were written between 900 BCE (Ruth) to the mid-300s BCE (Esther, Daniel, Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah).
Concerning Job*, the Talmud states more than one opinion as to when it was written.

(*See the Related Links.)

Hebrew Bible Canon:

The earliest Hebrew Bible manuscripts were the prophetic books that were written by the prophets themselves. At the death of each of the prophets, the original manuscript was deposited with the Sanhedrin, which was the high court of Torah-sages in the Temple premises. This is why the first Torah-scroll, which had been written by Moses himself (Deuteronomy 31:24), was found in the Temple (2 Chronicles 34:14). These originals were used to proofread later copies, to ensure no mistakes would creep in (Talmud, Soferim 6:4).

After the time of the First Destruction, God's presence was no longer felt as clearly as before (see Deuteronomy 31:17-18); and nor is exile is not conducive to prophecy (Mechilta, parshat Bo). At that time, the last of the prophets realized that prophecy would soon cease; and that the dispersal of the Jewish people, plus the almost continuous tribulations from the First Destruction onward, made it imperative to seal the canon of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). The Sages of the time, including the last living prophets, convened a special synod for a couple of decades, which was called the Men of the Great Assembly (Mishna, Avot ch.1). This group, who functioned around 340 BCE, composed the blessings and the basic prayers of the siddur (prayerbook) and the early portions of the Passover Haggadah, made many of the Rabbinical decrees, and (most importantly) sealed the canon of the Tanakh. It was they, for example, who set the twelve Minor Prophets as (halakhically) a single book, and who set the books of the Tanakh in their traditional order (see Talmud, Bava Batra 14b). It was the Men of the Great Assembly whom Esther had to approach when she felt that the Divinely inspired Scroll of Esther should be included in the canon (see Talmud, Megilla 7a).
Since the sealing of the Tanakh, no Jewish sage has ever claimed prophecy.

Order of the Tanakh's books:

The Hebrew Bible is in chronological order: first the five books of the Torah, since they were given before any of the other prophetic books. Then Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings in that order, since that is chronological. Ruth (and others) could be before Kings, but we keep the Prophets and Writings separate.
After Kings, we have Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, which is in chronological order. All three of them lived well after the kings had already started.
The Twelve Minor Prophets, who also lived during the latter part of the era of the Kings, are gathered together in a single book of their own.
Then we have the Writings. Psalms, Proverbs and Job are together since they (and none of the other books) are a specific type of poetry ("Taamei Emet", with special trope).
The Five Megillot (Song of Songs, Ruth, Eichah, Kohellet, Esther) are together, in the order in which they're read in the synagogue.
Finally, the books of Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles were written in the end of the prophetic period.

Link: How is the Hebrew Bible presented?

Importance of the Tanakh:

The Tanakh is important because it tells the history of the ancient Israelites, as well as giving us the teachings of the Israelite prophets and kings, and the laws, ethics and beliefs of the Jewish religion.Our tradition is that the Hebrew Bible is from God (Exodus 24:12), given to us to provide knowledge, guidance, inspiration, awe and reverence, advice, law, comfort, history and more. It is the basis of Judaism. It crystallized, strengthened and codified our beliefs; insured our awareness and knowledge of our identity and history; and provided powerful impetus to be ethical.
It made us stand in awe of God, while also providing optimism and comfort through the prophecies of redemption. It inspired us to strive for holiness and informed us how to pray and to approach God's presence.
And it set detailed laws, practices and traditions for the Jewish people forever.

(Note that the Hebrew Bible "as is" isn't exactly what Judaism observes. Rather, it's the Hebrew Bible together with the details provided in the Talmud, which is the Oral Law that was handed down since the beginning. Otherwise, many brief verses lack enough detail to be fulfilled as is.)

Link: Jewish history timeline

Link: How was the Torah written?

Link: Refuting the Bible-critics

Link: More about Joshua

Link: More about Samuel

Link: How many Isaiahs?

Link: More about Jeremiah

Link: More about Joel

Link: More about Jonah

Link: More about Daniel

Link: More about Ruth

Link: More about King David