What is the significance of the Hebrew Bible?

Answer 1

The Tanach (Jewish Bible) was summed up by one of Judaism's greatest sages with the following:

"That which is hateful to you, do not do to others. The rest is just commentary, now go read the commentary."

The significance of the Torah is to provide the guidelines for how Jews are to live their lives. Within the Torah, we are told what HaShem (The Creator) did when creating the world. There are two versions of this story that appear to contradict each other, however, when in read in context, what we see is the same story being told from two different perspectives. The first being HaShem's perspective, the second being man's perspective. We see the same technique used in the telling of other events.

The Nevi'im (Prophets) section tells us about the Prophets' leadership over 920 years of Jewish history. Within the Nevi'im texts, there are short term prophecies that were fulfilled within the lifetimes of the various prophets plus prophecies recorded for future generations.

The K'tuvim (Writings) section contain writings that were deemed to be of significant value to future generations. Within the K'tuvim section is the book of Esther, one of the most religiously significant books in the Tanach as it teaches us the greatest way to approach HaShem, through love as opposed to fear.

Throughout the Tanach, we are shown that our ancestors repeatedly slid backward in their worship of HaShem and this is of great importance to remember. It is through reading how our ancestors lost their way then reclaimed their path, and this includes some of our greatest prophets, that we learn that there is always a way to return to HaShem that we can always work to elevate ourselves.

Answer 2

The Hebrew Bible is the commonly called the Old Testament among Christians. It is the basis on which the Christian Church is built because it tells the story of the redemption of God's people.

Jewish answer:

The Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) is important because 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 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 us forever.
The Hebrew Bible has also heavily influenced Western society.

Answer 3

In a sentence, the Hebrew Bible is about the origins of the Jewish nation. It includes the myths, legends traditions and some history of the forebears of the ancient Jews, showing how they overcame all difficulties with the help of their God, but always seemed ungrateful and backsliding.
It includes two different creation stories, two quite similar versions of the ancient flood story, a legendary explanation for the divergence of languages and the origins of the Hebrew people, their enslavement in Egypt and subsequent escape to conquer the land of the Canaanites, where they developed a great and prosperous nation. The Book of Esther is entirely non-religious, but shows how great the Hebrew people are compared to others. The Book of Daniel, believed to be the last book of the Hebrew Bible to be written, dated to approximately 147 BCE.

Answer 4

The Hebrew Bible contains chapters that increase our reverence towards God; chapters that crystallize, strengthen and codify our beliefs; and insure our awareness and knowledge of our history; and provide 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 books of the Hebrew Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the Twelve Minor Prophets (Hosea, Joel, etc.), Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra & Nehemiah, and Chronicles (all only in the original Hebrew).

Our tradition is that the Hebrew Bible was given by God (Exodus 24:12) and His prophets, to provide knowledge, guidance, inspiration, awe and reverence, advice, law, comfort, history and more. It is the basis of Judaism.

Its laws 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?

Answer 5

The Hebrew Bible consists of: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel (1 and 2 combined), Kings (1 and 2 combined), Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the Twelve Minor Prophets (Hosea, Joel, etc., combined), Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra & Nehemiah (combined), and Chronicles (1 and 2 combined).All of these are only in the original Hebrew.

See also:

Is the O.T. the same as the Tanakh

More about the Hebrew Bible

Answer 6

It is divided into 3 section. It includes Psalms.

It has the 10 commandments.

Death of Moses.

Hebrew covenants with God.

Answer 7

The Bible's message is a literary history, guide and support of the people and the relationship with God.