• Torah - The Five Books
of Moses - Pentateuch
- Genesis -- Breisheet
(b'ray SHEET)
- Exodus -- Shemot
(sh'MOHT)
- Leviticus -- Vayikra
(va yee KRAH)
- Numbers -- Bamidbar
(bah mid BAR)
- Deuteronomy -- Devarim
(d'var EEM)
This is G-d's
revelation to humanity. The essential Torah is written by hand in one scroll. This is the Torah that Jews read from in their congregations. For study, each of the Five Books of Moses is often printed as five separate study volumes.
The next two parts of the Bible
are amplifications of these first five books. The
authors of these next books did not ever contradict anything
in the Torah.
• Nevi'im (n'vee EEM) -
Prophets
- Joshua
- Judges
- Samuel
- Kings
- Jeremiah
- Ezekiel
- Isaiah
- The Twelve -
the later prophets
(one book)
- Hosea
- Joel
- Amos
- Obadiah
- Jonah
- Micah
- Nahum
- Habakkuk
- Zephaniah
- Haggai
- Zechariah
- Malachi
- Authors:
- Joshua
- Samuel
- Samuel
- Jeremiah
- Jeremiah
- Men of the Great Assembly
- King Hezekiah
- Men of the Great Assembly
• Ketuvim (k'too
VEEM) - Literature - Writings
- Ruth
- Psalms
- Job
- Proverbs
- Ecclesiastes
- Song of Songs
- Lamentations
- Daniel
- Esther
- Ezra-Nehemiah
- Chronicles
- Authors:
- Samuel
- David
- Moses
- King Hezekiah
- King Hezekiah
- King Hezekiah
- Jeremiah
- Men of the Great Assembly
- Men of the Great Assembly
- Ezra and Nehemiah
- Ezra
The number of each book refers to levels of diminished holiness. Books of lesser holiness may not be placed on top of a book of greater holiness. When the Pentateuch – the Five Books of Moses – are published as separate volumes, they all have the same level of holiness. On the other hand, a Torah Scroll has the greatest holiness. Even a printed copy of the Torah may not be placed on top of a Torah Scroll.
Books Outside the Hebrew
Canon
- First and Second Maccabees
- Some historians use information from
these books for recreating the history of the period.
- Assuming
that these books were written in Hebrew, they may have
been translated into the Greek language for public
consumption among assimilated Jews and Greek-speaking
non-Jews. If so, these books were then
retranslated into Hebrew for traditional Jews.
- The New Testament text is in Greek.
- Tobit
- Judith
- Wisdom
- Sirach - Ecclesiasticus
- The Jewish tradition respected a book
of wisdom composed by Ben Sirach (son of Sirach). He
wrote it shortly after the end of the period of
prophecy. Ben Sirach was a disciple of the Prophet
Jeremiah.
- The
grandson of the first Ben Sirach, also bearing this name
Ben Sirach, also wrote a book. The Christian canon
contains either the text of the younger Ben Sirach or a
fusion of both books. Regardless, the book was
translated into Greek for the New Testament.
- The Jewish
Sages did not consider the grandson's book to be holy. This Ben
Sirach lived at a remove from the age of prophecy.
At that time heretics among the Jewish people were establishing
themselves. From the standpoint of the Sages, the
younger Ben Sirach may have begun embracing heretical
ideas.
- Sages of the Talmud quote lessons
from the authentic Ben Sirach. Otherwise, Rabbis
have not endorsed a text that is external to the Talmud's
quotes of the authentic Ben Sirach.
- Baruch