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The Tanakh is the Hebrew Bible, consisting of three subdivisions: the Torah, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim. The Torah is the most important sacred scripture of Judaism, made up of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. The Nevi’im consists of eight books, and the Ketuvim consists of 11 books. Jewish tradition does not use chapters and verse numbers like the Christian Bible.
The Torah and Tanakh, also written Tanach, are two extremely important texts in the Jewish faith. To be more precise, the Torah is a part of the Tanakh. The Tanakh, also called Mikra, is the canon of the Hebrew Bible, consisting of three traditional subdivisions: the Torah, the Nevi’im and the Ketuvim. The word Tanakh is an acronym of the initials of its three subdivisions, while Mikra is Hebrew for “to read.”
Each subdivision of the Tanakh consists of several books. The body of texts is similar to the Christian Old Testament, although not all Old Testament books are included in the Jewish biblical canon, and Jewish tradition divides the books differently. Jewish tradition also does not employ the chapters and verse numbers used in the Christian Bible. However, modern editions of the Tanakh typically include the traditional Christian divisions for ease of reference. Christian chapters and verse numbers were introduced into the Jewish biblical canon in late medieval Spain, and there is a modern tendency to downplay their presence in the text, often relegating them to the margins or footnotes.
The Torah, meaning “teaching,” is made up of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, traditionally believed to be authored by Moses. The Torah is considered the most important sacred scripture of Judaism. The five books are called Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy in English. Their Hebrew titles, taken from the first word of each book, are Bereshith, Shemot, Vayikra, Bamidbar and Devarim. The Torah begins with the story of the creation of the world and mankind, and ends with the arrival of the Jewish people in the Promised Land, or Canaan.
The Nevi’im, or “prophets,” consist of eight books: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve prophets. The Nevi’im are traditionally divided into Nevi’im Rishonim, or “Former Prophets”, consisting of the first four books, and Nevi’im Aharonim, or “Last Prophets”. The Nevi’im Rishonim consists primarily of a narrative concerning Jewish history from the time of Moses’ death to the subjugation of the Kingdom of Judah by the Babylonians, while the Nevi’im Aharonim consists largely of prophecies.
The Ketuvim, or “writings,” consist of 11 books: Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles. The first three books of the Ketuvim are sometimes called poetic books. While the entire Tanakh is marked with cantillation notes which guide the chant of the text, the system of signs used in the Psalms, Proverbs and Job differs from that used in the rest of the Tanakh. The Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther are collectively known as the Five Scrolls and are traditionally read throughout the year on important Jewish holidays.
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