Hebrew Bible
Also known as: Tanakh, Hebrew Scriptures, Old Testament
The Hebrew Bible is the foundational Jewish scriptural corpus, encompassing narrative, law, prophecy, poetry, and wisdom literature preserved in Hebrew (with some Aramaic) and canonized in the Second Temple era.
Description
The Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) comprises Torah, Prophets, and Writings, transmitting Israel’s origins, covenantal law, prophetic admonition, liturgical poetry, and wisdom reflection. Its narratives span creation and flood, patriarchal journeys, exodus and Sinai, monarchic rise and collapse, exile and return. Legal and ritual material structures communal life, while psalms and wisdom texts voice prayer, lament, praise, and moral discernment. Redacted over centuries, the corpus crystallized in the Second Temple period and endures as the central text of Judaism and a foundational wellspring for later Jewish and Christian traditions and global literature.
Historiography
The corpus survives primarily in the Masoretic tradition, stabilized by medieval Tiberian Masoretes (e.g., Aleppo and Leningrad codices). Earlier witnesses include the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Greek Septuagint, which preserve variant readings and orders. Samaritan Pentateuch reflects an independent Pentateuchal textual line. Modern critical editions (e.g., BHS, BHQ) collate these witnesses. Canon formation occurred in stages, with Torah recognized earliest, followed by Prophets and Writings during the Second Temple era.
Date Notes
Composite corpus; texts composed and redacted across Iron Age to Persian-Hellenistic periods; canon formation in Second Temple era.
Major Characters
- Yahweh
- Moses
- Abraham
- David
- Jacob
- Joseph
- Isaiah
- Samuel
- Saul
- Solomon
- Elijah
- Adam
- Eve
- Noah
- Joshua
- Jeremiah
- Sarah
- Rebecca
- Rachel
- Aaron
Myths
- Creation of the World
- The Flood of Noah
- The Exodus from Egypt
- The Covenant at Sinai
- David and the United Monarchy
- Exile and Return
Facts
- The canonical Jewish arrangement is Torah, Prophets, Writings (Tanakh).
- Primary textual base is the Masoretic Text with Tiberian vocalization.
- Dead Sea Scrolls preserve earlier Hebrew and Aramaic witnesses with variants.
- The Septuagint is an ancient Greek translation with differing order and readings.
- Samaritan Pentateuch witnesses an independent textual tradition of the Torah.
- Some passages are in Aramaic (e.g., parts of Daniel and Ezra).
- Standard medieval codices include the Aleppo and Leningrad codices.
- Modern critical editions include Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and Biblia Hebraica Quinta.
- Jewish canon counts 24 books; Christian Old Testament divisions differ in number and order.
- Chapter-verse systems are medieval/early modern and not original to the texts.