Answer 1

Introduction

The Jewish holy book is the Tanakh (Jewish Bible), containing the Torah and the prophetic books. The Torah is the most holy book of Judaism. Torah, which means "teaching", is God's revealed instructions to the Jewish People.

The purpose of the rest of the prophets is, simply put, to uphold the Torah.

(It is important to note that while "Torah" is generally used to refer to the Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, it is sometimes used to refer to the basic texts of Judaism in general. In this sense, "Torah" includes the Torah itself, as well as Midrash, Mishnah, and Talmud, which are the Oral Torah. None of the Books of the Oral Torah are sacred and this will be discussed below in "Additional Non-Holy Supplements".)

Tanakh Composition:

The complete Jewish Bible is composed of 24 books called the Tanakh (תנ״ך). In Hebrew, Tanakh is an acronym of T, N, K which stands for the three parts of the Tanakh:

1. Torah (Teachings) (the T represents the letter 'taf' - ת),

2. Nevi'im (Prophets) (the N represents the letter 'nun' - נ ),

3. K'tuvim (Writings) (the K represents the letter 'chaf-sofit' - ך which can be transliterated as either 'ch' or 'kh' in English).

1) Torah (תורה) also called the "Teachings" or the Pentateuch and is the primary Jewish holy book. It is composed of the 5 Books of Moses (also called the Books of the Law). These books are: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Jews believe that the Torah was given by God to Moses (Exodus 24:12), who transmitted it to the people (Deuteronomy 31:24). Traditionally, it is read in front of a congregation three days a week and the scroll containing the Torah is considered holy. The word "Torah" derives from the Hebrew Word "yarah" which means "to aim" or "direct" and Jews believe that the words of the Torah aim and direct a Jew to proper action (orthopraxis) and proper belief (orthodoxos). The word Torah also has the same root as 'morah', meaning teacher.

The Torah laid down the fundamental laws of moral and physical conduct. The Torah begins with a description of the origin of the universe and ends on the word Israel, after the story of the death of Moses, just before the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites.

Traditionally, the document is viewed in two parts: the written and oral Torah. The written Torah is the Five Books of Moses. (Bereshit, "In the beginning," also called Genesis; Shemot, "Names," also called Exodus; Vayikra, "He called," also called Leviticus; Bamidbar, "In the desert," also called Numbers; and Devarim, "Words," also called Deuteronomy). The oral Torah is the discussions and interpretations of those scriptures applied into law and practice over time, collected in Talmud and Mishnah.

1-5: The Torah or Five Books of Moses:

1. (בראשית / Bereshit) - Genesis

2. (שמות / Shemot) - Exodus

3. (ויקרא / Vayikra) - Leviticus

4. (במדבר / Bamidbar) - Numbers

5. (דברים / Devarim) - Deuteronomy

2) Nevi'im (נביאים) which is usually translated as the "Prophets". The Jews see the book of Prophets as the 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:

6. (יהושע / Y'hoshua) - Joshua

7. (שופטים / Shophtim) - Judges

8. (שמואל / Sh'muel) - Samuel (I & II)

9. (מלכים / M'lakhim) - Kings (I & II)

10-13: The Nevi'im Acharonim, the Later Prophets

10. (ישעיה / Y'shayahu) - Isaiah

11. (ירמיה / Yir'mi'yahu) - Jeremiah

12. (יחזקאל / Y'khezqel) - Ezekiel

13. (תרי עשר / Trei Asar), or Minor Prophets (or "The Twelve Prophets") Books and Prophets within the Trei Asar

a. (הושע / Hoshea) - Hosea

b. (יואל / Yo'el) - Joel

c. (עמוס / Amos) - Amos

d. (עובדיה / Ovadyah) - Obadiah

e. (יונה / Yonah) - Jonah

f. (מיכה / Mikhah) - Micah

g. (נחום / Nakhum) - Nahum

h. (חבקוק /Havakuk) - Habakkuk

i. (צפניה / Ts'phanyah) - Zephaniah

j. (חגי / Khagai) - Haggai

k. (זכריה / Z'kharyah) - Zechariah

l. (מלאכי / Mal'akhi) - Malachi

3) Ketuvim (כתובים) which is usually translated as the "Writings" and which composes 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"

14. (תהלים / Tehillim) - Psalms

15. (משלי / Mishlei) - Proverbs

16. (איוב / Iyov) - Job

17-21: The "Five Megilot" or "Five Scrolls"

17. (שיר השירים / Shir Hashirim) - Song of Songs

18. (רות / Rut) - Ruth

19. (איכה / Eikhah) - Lamentations

20. (קהלת / Kohelet) - Ecclesiastes

21. (אסתר / Esther) - Esther

22-24: The rest of the Writings:

22. (דניאל / Dani'el) - Daniel

23. (עזרא ונחמיה / Ezra v'Nechemia) - Ezra-Nehemiah

24. (דברי הימים / Divrei Hayamim) - Chronicles (I & II)

Further Discussion on the Tanakh

The Torah is also called "The Five Books of Moses".

The term Torah can refer loosely to the entire Jewish Bible.

There are those who would claim that the canon of the Tanakh was completed after the Second Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. However, all evidence disproves this claim with the codification being completed no later than the Hasmonean era (140-37 BCE). Tradition places the sealing of the Tanakh around 340 BCE.

The Tanakh is, essentially, what Christians mistakenly call the "Old Testament". They call it that because they think that is has been superseded by the "New Testament". But to Jews the Tanakh can not be superseded by anything.

Additional Non-Holy Supplements

There are other Jewish texts; however, they are not considered prophetic and are not within the above canon.

In addition to Tanakh, there is the Talmud (itself composed of Mishna & Gemara), which are additional writings containing oral laws and interpretations of the Tanakh handed down until about 500 C.E. (when it was sealed and put in writing).

The Mishna and the Talmud are of tremendous importance in Judaism. Some people believe that Jews regard the Talmud as a holy text. While it does contain rich commentaries on the holy texts of the Bible, The Talmud is not often referred to as holy text, but rather an important text.

Other books of major importance include the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law), the Mishneh Torah (Maimonides' codex), and the Zohar (a mystical Midrash). There are generally accepted prayer books, mainly 'Sidur' (meaning arrangement) and religious Jews would refer to various writings by Jewish Theologises of the past 2000 years, such as Talmud, Gama'ra, "Shulkhan aruch" etc.

Here is a partial list of additional non-holy Jewish books, in no particular order:

• Apocrypha: Additional books from the post-Biblical Era which did not make the Biblical Canon, such as Maccabees and Ben Sira.
• Pirkei Avot: (Sayings of the Fathers) is a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims of the Rabbis of the Mishnaic period.
• Midrashim: (Deeper Readings) A collection of stories that explain Torah verses and Jewish concepts.
• Haggadah: (The Retelling) The prayerbook used on the night of Passover that details the Exodus from Egypt and its religious significance.
• Moreh Ha-Nevukhim: (Maimonides' Guide to the Perplexed) A discussion of Jewish philosophy.
• Derekh Hashem: (Way of God) A book on Divine Providence, which explains Jewish philosophy.
• Ramban al Ha-Torah: (Nahmanides on the Torah) A book detailing Nahmanides' views expounding and commenting on Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki's (Rashi's) more famous commentary.

Dissenting Views

Jewish View on Talmud Holiness

The Talmud is a holy book. It is the Oral Torah. While in theory a Torah command supersedes a Rabbinic one, in reality what usually happens is that the earlier text is reinterpreted so that the later one is in agreement with it, rather than the other way around. "Torah le'Moshe miSinai" is a phrase commonly found in the Gemara where no Scriptural source can be found for a Halacha.

In some ways, yes, it is only some Jews who believe that the Talmud is either binding or holy, but those who do not are not considered Orthodox, and Orthodox practices are generally the ones that are most traditional.

The Talmud is holy and is regarded as such by the Jewish community, along with all other works of halacha, hashkafa, and aggada; these are considered to be "sifrei kodesh" and must be regarded with a certain respect under Jewish law (for instance, not sitting down on a surface where such a book is lying), although this is true only up until a certain point, as there is an informal and formal hierarchy (more recent books are generally regarded with less reverence than, say, the Rambam; as are works that are not in Hebrew, with the exception of the Rambam.)

However, the reverence afforded these books is lesser to that afforded a Torah Scroll. While the Talmud is central to understanding Jewish Law and is certainly a treasured book, it is not holy to the same extent or in the same way that the Tanakh and specifically the Torah are.

Answer 2 (Islamic View)

From the Islamic perspective, the Jewish holy book is the Torah. Torah reflects real God words revelation to prophet Moses (peace be upon him). Other books are collections of other human writers and religious leaders texts. The God holy books; that revealed by God; the Creator; are Psalms (revealed by God to Abraham), Torah (revealed by God to Moses), in addition to the Bible that is revealed by God to Jesus and Qur'an; the last God holy book; that is revealed by God to Muhammad (peace be upon them all).

Answer 3

The books considered sacred by the Jewish people are the Tanakh and the Talmud. Even though the Talmud is not considered a holy book, it is (together with the Torah) what most Jews follow, except for the Karaites.
The most important Jewish Holy Book is the Torah.

The Book of Esther places Esther during the reign of Xerxes, who was king of Persia from 486 to 465 BCE. However, scholars say there are good reasons to believe that the story is fictional and that there never was a Queen Esther of Persia. There is no historical record of either Vashti or Esther, and Queen Amestris is accepted by historians as Xerxes' only wife for the first several years of his reign.

• Answer 2

(The Book of Esther makes it clear that this was not in the early part of Xerxes's reign.) *************** Esther was the heroine and central figure in the Biblical book of Esther. She was crowned about 60 years after the destruction of the First Temple, and ten years before the Second Temple was built. The Jews were in the Babylonian exile. A few of them, such as Nehemiah, Mordecai and Daniel, rose to positions of prominence under the Babylonian kings.

The last of the Prophets of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) were still living.

King Cyrus had recently made his famous proclamation (2 Chronicles 36:22-23) allowing the Jews to resettle Judea (Israel), and some had gone up with Zerubavel, but the enemies of the Jews had then slandered them (Ezra ch.4), causing the Babylonian king to put a stop to the rebuilding and resettlement of Judea. This last event was around the same time that Esther became Queen.

According to tradition, the book of Esther was written in the mid-4th century BCE, and was made part of the canon which was sealed a couple of decades after.

The name of Mordecai is the Judaised pronunciation of Marduka, which is attested in the Persepolis Texts as the name of officials in the Persian court during the period of Xerxes I. One of these officials was the biblical Mordecai.

The grave of Mordecai and Esther still stands in Hamadan; and the Jews of Iran, to this day, are referred to as "the children of Esther."

**********

How reliable is the Hebrew record?

"Although critics contended that the Hebrew Bible is unhistorical and untrustworthy, time and time again, the archaeological record supports places, times, and events mentioned in Scripture. We now have archaeological information about a number of patriarchal towns mention in Scripture, including Bethel, Shechem, Jerusalem, Mamre, Gerar, Beer-sheba, and Dothan" (Professor John Arthur Thompson, The Bible and Archaeology). The personal names Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are names of the time and area mentioned in the Bible (ibid).

"One city after another, one civilization after another, one culture after another, whose memories were enshrined only in the Bible, have been restored to their proper places in ancient history by the studies of archaeologists" (Prof. Gleason Archer, A Survey of Old Testament Introduction).

No parchment, scroll, or inscription has ever been found that would support the Bible-critics' JEPD (different sources) hypothesis, which remains a set of postulates. And those ancient writers who mention, describe, summarize or translate the Torah (Josephus, Samaritans, Targum, Septuagint etc.), describe it in its complete form.

Archaeological finds, such as the Ugarit documents and those of Nuzu, Mari, Susa, Ebla, and Tel el-Amarna, have repeatedly caused the critics to retract specific claims. The entire social milieu portrayed in the Torah, once criticized as anachronistic, has been shown to be historically accurate, including customs of marriage, adoption, contracts, inheritance, purchases, utensils, modes of travel, people's names and titles, etc. Professor Gleason Archer states: "In case after case where historical inaccuracy was alleged as proof of late and spurious authorship of the biblical documents, the Hebrew record has been vindicated by the results of excavations, and the condemnatory judgment of the Documentary theorists have been proved to be without foundation."

The people wanted a king just as their enemies , and other tribes had one. But the prophet Samuel was very much against this idea. He told the people why do you need a king when god is there to help us. But the people refused to hear him. Then with a heavy heart he anointed Saul as their first king.Please note he failed God.

Answer:

The Israelites at that time were coming to the end of an era which was unique in world history. They had undertaken a grand experiment: whether a nation could govern themselves for centuries without a king or organized government.

Instead, there were the officers of tens, fifties, hundreds and thousands (Exodus ch.18), and the court of Elders, who were Torah-scholars that provided Torah-rulings and guidance. Each of the leading Judges (Gideon, Deborah etc.) was a private citizen (not a head of government) who led the nation only during a brief episode of battle.

During that era (of the Judges, about 350 years), when someone raised the possibility of having a king, the answer was: God will rule over you, not a king (Judges 8:23). The events of the Exodus and the Giving of the Torah were so fresh in the nation's memory that they didn't need a king; God was their King. (The missteps which did take place in that era, is a subject beyond the scope of the present question.)

In Samuel's old age, nearly four centuries after the Exodus, the people (including their Torah-scholars) felt that the time had come to take a regular government. The Torah itself permitted this (Deuteronomy ch.17); and they saw that Samuel's sons didn't seem to have reached his spiritual level (1 Samuel 8:2-3).

Their usage of the expression "like the other nations around us" was not a problem, since they were deliberately quoting the Torah (Deuteronomy 17:14).

What then was their mistake?

According to the Malbim commentary (on 1 Samuel), they should have waited at least until Samuel was too old to function.

According to the K'li Yakar commentary (on Deuteronomy), their precise choice of language ("for us," instead of the "over us" which the Torah had said), hinted that they wanted a king who might be affected by public pressure (which later happened with Rehoboam). See Talmud, Yoma 22b.

According to Samuel himself (1 Samuel 8:10-18), they were taking a regrettable risk because later kings might be overbearing.

One more point: in Judaism we have a general rule which is called "the descent of the generations." This means that according to our tradition, the earlier a generation lived, the higher was their spiritual level (Talmud, Shabbat 112b). No Talmud-sage would dare to negate a verse of the Prophets; and no later Rabbi would dare to belittle a Talmud-sage.

For this reason, we must not judge that generation. And concerning Saul, our tradition explicitly states that he was a righteous man (Talmud, Moed Katan 16b; and Midrash Breishit Rabah 54:4); and he unified the Israelites and defeated their enemies round about (1 Samuel 14:47).

Jewish tradition states that the basic laws of the Oral Torah were given by God to Moses together with the written Torah. These orally-transmitted traditions were put in writing 1500 years ago. (See: Jewish history timeline)Some facts:

• The Talmud serves to clarify the brief verses of the Torah and Tanakh (Hebrew Bible).
  
• The Talmud, after the Torah, is considered the primary text of Jewish learning.
  
• The Talmud contains, in addition to Torah-matters, some mathematics, geometry and trigonometry, medicine, astronomy, and advice on a large range of problems and situations.
  
• The Talmud includes information on the lives and personalities of the Sages, from Abraham down to the writing of the Talmud.
• The Talmud contains the Mishna (relatively brief paragraphs of law, in Hebrew) and Gemara (explanations of the Mishna, in Aramaic and Hebrew).
  
• The Talmud has thousands of published commentaries.
  
• The Talmud contains 63 tractates (volumes) in 2711 leaves (double pages). New printed editions maintain the same pagination as earlier ones.
  
• The Talmud has been banned, censored and burned many times by enemies of the Jews.
  

Some of its books are:
A tractate (volume) about the daily blessings (Berakhot)
A tractate about Shabbat
A tractate about Passover (Pesachim)
A tractate about Rosh Hashanah
A tractate about Yom Kippur (Yoma)
A tractate about Purim (Megillah)
A tractate about marriage (Ketubot)
A tractate about vows (Nedarim)
A tractate about divorce (Gittin)
Three tractates containing laws of torts, damages, property etc. (the three Bavot)
A tractate about Jewish courts (Sanhedrin)
A tractate about the prohibition of idolatry (Avodah Zarah)
A tractate about the offerings (Zevachim)
A tractate about the laws of keeping kosher (Chullin).

No, he spoke through symbolistic representations, such as the burning bush, and spoke to him on mount sinai.

• Answer:

Possibly, though most of the Israelites were in Goshen, which was a four-day journey (150 km) to the east-northeast. See also:

Location of Goshen

Evidence of the Exodus

Impossible to answer, since they took a convoluted route, which is detailed in Numbers ch.33. Several hundred kilometers is a good estimate. See also:

Evidence of the Exodus

Archaeology and the Hebrew Bible

• The Talmud is the Oral Torah of the Jewish people.
  
• The Talmud serves to clarify the brief verses of the Torah and Tanakh (Hebrew Bible).
  
• The Talmud, after the Torah, is considered the primary text of Jewish learning.
  
• The Talmud contains, in addition to Torah-matters, some mathematics, geometry and trigonometry, medicine, astronomy, and advice on a large range of problems and situations.
  
• The Talmud includes information on the lives and personalities of the Sages, from Abraham down to the writing of the Talmud.
  
• The Talmud was kept entirely orally, and learned by heart, from the time of Moses until it was written 1800 years later (1500 years ago). (See: Jewish history timeline)
  
• The Talmud contains the Mishna (relatively brief paragraphs of law, in Hebrew) and Gemara (explanations of the Mishna, in Aramaic and Hebrew).
  
• The Talmud has thousands of published commentaries.
  
• The Talmud contains 63 tractates (volumes) in 2711 leaves (double pages). New printed editions maintain the same pagination as earlier ones.
  
• The Talmud has been banned, censored and burned many times by enemies of the Jews.
  

Some of its books are:
A tractate (volume) about the daily blessings (Berakhot)
A tractate about Shabbat
A tractate about Passover (Pesachim)
A tractate about Rosh Hashanah
A tractate about Yom Kippur (Yoma)
A tractate about Purim (Megillah)
A tractate about marriage (Ketubot)
A tractate about vows (Nedarim)
A tractate about divorce (Gittin)
Three tractates containing laws of torts, damages, property etc. (the three Bavot)
A tractate about Jewish courts (Sanhedrin)
A tractate about the prohibition of idolatry (Avodah Zarah)
A tractate about the offerings (Zevachim)
A tractate about the laws of keeping kosher (Chullin).

Amos never claimed to be writing about Jesus, and never mentioned him, either directly by name, or even indirectly. In fact he made it clear that he was writing about events of his own time (Amos 1:1): "The words of Amos, who was among the herdman of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake."

Neverthelss, the author of Acts of the Apostles found it useful to quote material from Amos in Acts 15:16-17:

"After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things."

The text was adapted from Amos 9:11-12:

"In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this."

Here we see that Acts is certainly referring to Jesus, but Amos was referring to Israel. There is no reason to place Jesus back into the Book of Amos.

The same as the represent nowadays - wealth and opulence

Additional Answer:

In Exodus 28 and 39, a diamond is among the jewels on the breastplate of Judgement which had 4 rows each of 3 stones of which in the second row was the diamond. The stones represented the 12 tribes of Israel.

Diamonds were also used as writing tips as in Jeremiah 17:11

Lucifer's crown/covering had a diamond in it as well:

13 You were in Eden, the garden of God;

Every precious stone was your covering:

The sardius, topaz, and diamond,

Beryl, onyx, and jasper,

Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.

The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes

Was prepared for you on the day you were created