The Hebrew Bible
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The Hebrew Bible is a major component of the Jewish religion, Judaism. Although in modern times the Hebrew Bible is published as a single volume, it is made up of individual "books", which were once separate scrolls. The word Bible, comes from the Greek bible, which means "books". The individual books were originally passed down orally, but as early as 900 BCE. Although most Jewish people of this faith believe the first five books (the Torah of the Bible were written down by Moses, scholars now believe the Torah as composed of four stands of material by different biblical authors. In addition, the historical accuracy of the Hebrew Bible is not always certain, due to the fact that not all biblical accounts can be verified by archaeological finds or references in other historical records. Although it can be assumed that many of the accounts are based on historical fact, it can also be recognized that they were record by Jews themselves, who naturally viewed these events from their perspective. Moreover, the Hebrew Bible which is written in Hebrew, known as Hebrew scriptures, is divided into 3 sections:
Molloy, Michael (2013). Experiencing World Religions: Tradition, Challenge, and Change. 6th Edition..
- The Torah/Pentateuch: (the teachings) The Torah is the sacred core of the Hebrew Bible, with it's stories of the creation, Adam & Eve, Noah, and the hebrew patriarchs and matriarchs-the early ancestors of the Hebrew people. It introduces Moses, the great liberator, and his brother Aaron, the founder of the priesthood. It includes laws about daily conduct and religious ritual-which would be of great importance to the later development of Judaism.
- The Nev'im: (the prophets) The second part of the Hebrew Bible is named for those individuals who spoke in God's name to the Jewish people. Within this section it includes individuals who spoke in God's name to the Jewish people. The books concentrate on the history of the Israelite Kingdom (the Former Prophets), and the (Latter Prophets) include the books with a more visionary and moral tone.
- The Ketuvim: (the writings) This section includes the writings of the Hebrew Bible, such as short stories, hymns, poetry, reflections of life, and some historical books.
Molloy, Michael (2013). Experiencing World Religions: Tradition, Challenge, and Change. 6th Edition..
The Hebrew Bible vs. The Old Testament
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When referring to the Hebrew Bible, one issue that is raised is whether or not we can reference it to the Old Testament? In fact, Jews do not refer to the Hebrew Scriptures as the Old Testament, as do Christians, because the title implies that the Jewish books have meaning only in relation to the Christian books collectively called the New Testament. Also, the order of the books in the Hebrew Bible, in the format that is assumed by the end of the tenth century CE, differs somewhat from the general order that is found in christian Bibles.
Molloy, Michael (2013). Experiencing World Religions: Tradition, Challenge, and Change. 6th Edition..
Molloy, Michael (2013). Experiencing World Religions: Tradition, Challenge, and Change. 6th Edition..