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Sacred Writings in Judaism
The Tanakh is the sacred book of the Jews. This book is not really a single volume
but actually is a collection of various writings that have been gathered together
over hundreds of years and grouped into three divisions: the Torah (Law), Nevi'im
(Prophets), and Kethuvim (Writings), thus the acronym Tanakh.
The Tanakh was written by various prophets, poets, and holy men during a
fifteen hundred year period. Many scholars believe that the earliest book is the
book of Job possibly written about 2,000 B.C. during the time of Abraham. The
last book to be written is Ezra-Nehemiah which was written about 450 B.C.
Torah or the Law of Moses is the Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Torah was given to Moses on Mount Sinai after he
led the nation of Israel out of slavery in Egypt. Some scholars do not believe that
the Torah was written by Moses. They believed that these books are a patchwork
of shorter writings that were edited several times until the final edition. This
theory has little evidence, denies the divine inspiration of the Scriptures, and goes
against the testimony of other Hebrew leaders who believed that the Torah is
inspired by God and was written by Moses.
Nevi'im (Prophets) include those books that were written from the time after
the Exodus (until the return from the Babylonian captivity except for the book of
Chronicles which is part of the Kethuvim.
The Nevi'im are made up of the Earlier or Former Prophets: Joshua, Judges,
Samuel (1 & 2), Kings (1 & 2). These books give much of the early history of
Israel after they resettled in the land. Many prophets were present during this time
but these early prophets did not write. The next group in the Nevi'im are the Later
or Latter Prophets. The Latter Prophets are those books which were written by the
so-called “writing prophets”.
The Latter Prophets are further divided into Major and Minor Prophets. The
Major Prophets include: Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. The Minor Prophets were
considered one book—the Twelve Prophets. The Book of Twelve Prophets are:
Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah,
Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.
Kethuvim or the Writings have eleven books. These Writings include
Psalms, Proverbs, and Job; the Five Scrolls: Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations,
Ecclesiastes, Esther; and the last of the writings: Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, and
Chronicles (1 & 2).
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The books of Isaiah and Daniel have very specific prophecies concerning the
defeat of the Babylonians by the Persians and the rise of King Cyrus, the defeat of
the Persians by the Greeks under Alexander the Great, the persecutions of Jews by
Antiochus IV, and the defeat of the Greeks by the Romans. Those scholars who do
not believe in divine inspiration say that Isaiah and Daniel were written after the
events prophesied. Scholars who believe in divine inspiration say that God
revealed these future events to the prophets and give an early date to the writings.
From these Hebrew Scriptures believers have compiled various summaries
to help them remember and teach the essentials of the faith. One of the most
important summaries is the Shema. The Shema is: "Hear O Israel! The Lord is
God, the Lord is one."
Another important summary is the Ten Commandments. The Ten
Commandments are considered to be the most basic statement of God’s will for
mankind. These commandments are:
1. I am the Lord your God, 1who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the
house of slavery.
2. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make unto you a graven
image, nor any manner of likeness, of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in
the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; You shall not bow down
unto them, nor serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of
them that hate Me; And showing mercy unto the thousandth generation of them
that love Me and keep My commandments.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; for the Lord will not
hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shall you labor, and do all
your work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath in honor of the Lord your God; on it
you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your
manservant nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger that is within
your gates; For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and
all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the
Sabbath day, and hallowed it.
5. Honor your father and your mother; in order that your days may be prolonged
upon the land which the Lord your God gives you.
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6. You shall not kill.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s
wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing
that is your neighbor’s.