What is the relationship between the Hebrew Bible and Christianity?

Answer 1

First, it should be noted that "The Bible" in Judaism refers to the Hebrew Bible only.

The Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) sets detailed laws, practices and traditions for us forever. Its importance to us cannot be overstated.

In addition, it tells the history of the ancient Israelites, as well as giving us the teachings of such prophets as Moses, Isaiah and Jeremiah, the stories of kings like David and Saul, and the development of the 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.

Answer 2

The 'Hebrew Bible' generally refers to the Old Testament books (originally 22 now broken out to 39). 'Christianity' enters the picture on the 1st Pentecost in 31 AD (see Acts 2:38-39) and the start of the Church of God as it is called a dozen times in the New Testament. The New Testament has 27 books.

The big point here is to realize that we are to 'live by every word of God' and both Testaments or Parts 1 & 2 are for all mankind today. The Old Testament - the Law, Prophets, Writings which include the Psalms are called the 'oracles of God in Acts and Romans - being preserved for all mankind. God had placed the tribe of Judah responsible for preserving these writings for us today so they are important and should be read and studied for our benefit. In fact, when Christ appeared to the 2 men on the road to Emmaus shortly after His Resurrection, He showed them how the O.T. from Moses to the Prophets had spoken of His coming and death/resurrection.

Depending upon the 'expert or scholar' you inquire of, there are over 3,000 direct or indirect quotes from the O.T. in the New Testament. The Apostle Paul to the Gentiles was the most prolific writer using the O.T. as his Authority to present the New Testament - said Authority is the 'Word of God.'

Answer 3

The Torah is the first of the three parts of the Hebrew Bible. See below for more detail.

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 "Teachings" or 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, or Five Books of Moses:

• Bereshit (Genesis)

• Shemot (Exodus)

• VaYikra (Leviticus)

• BaMidbar (Numbers)

• Devarim (Deuteronomy)

2) Nevi'im (×?ביאים), 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 around 340 BCE.