Hebrew Bible - wikipedia Hebrew Bible This article is about Hebrew and Aramaic texts that constitute Jewish scripture. For the Jewish canon, see Tanakh. For the major textual tradition, see Masoretic Text. For their use in the Christian Bible, see Old Testament. For the series of modern critical editions, see Biblia Hebraica ( Kittel ). 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Hebrew Bible or Hebrew Scriptures ( Latin : Biblia Hebraica ) is the term used by biblical scholars to refer to the Tanakh ( Hebrew : תנ `` ך ‎ ; Latin : Thanach ), the canonical collection of Jewish texts. They are composed mainly in Biblical Hebrew, with some passages in Biblical Aramaic ( in the books of Daniel, Ezra and a few others ). The Hebrew Bible is the common textual source of several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament. The content, to which the Protestant Old Testament closely corresponds, does not act as a source for the deuterocanonical portions of the Roman Catholic or to the Anagignoskomena portions of the Eastern Orthodox Old Testaments. The term does not comment upon the naming, numbering or ordering of books, which vary with later Christian biblical canons. The term Hebrew Bible is an attempt to provide specificity with respect to contents but avoid allusion to any particular interpretative tradition or theological school of thought. It is widely used in academic writing and interfaith discussion in relatively neutral contexts meant to include dialogue among all religious traditions, but not widely in the inner discourse of the religions that use its text. Contents 1 Usage 1.1 Additional difficulties 2 Origins of the Hebrew Bible and its components 3 Scholarly editions 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Usage Hebrew Bible refers to the Jewish biblical canon. In its Latin form, Biblia Hebraica, it traditionally serves as a title for printed editions of the Masoretic Text. Many biblical studies scholars advocate use of the term `` Hebrew Bible '' ( or `` Hebrew Scriptures '' ) as a substitute for less neutral terms with Jewish or Christian connotations ( e.g. Tanakh or Old Testament ). The Society of Biblical Literature 's Handbook of Style, which is the standard for major academic journals like the Harvard Theological Review and conservative Protestant journals like the Bibliotheca Sacra and the Westminster Theological Journal, suggests that authors `` be aware of the connotations of alternative expressions such as... Hebrew Bible ( and ) Old Testament '' without prescribing the use of either. McGrath points out that while the term emphasises that it is largely written in Hebrew and `` is sacred to the Hebrew people '', it `` fails to do justice to the way in which Christianity sees an essential continuity between the Old and New Testaments '', arguing that there is `` no generally accepted alternative to the traditional term `` Old Testament. '' However, he accepts that there is no reason why non-Christians should feel obliged to refer to these books as the Old Testament, `` apart from custom of use. '' Additional difficulties In terms of theology, Christianity has recognised the close relationship between the Old and New Testaments from its very beginnings, although there have sometimes been movements like Marcionism ( viewed as heretical by the early church ), that have struggled with it. Modern Christian formulations of this tension include Supersessionism, Covenant Theology, New Covenant Theology, Dispensationalism and Dual - covenant theology. All of these formulations, except some forms of Dual - covenant theology, are objectionable to mainstream Judaism and to many Jewish scholars and writers, for whom there is one eternal covenant between God and the Israelites, and who therefore reject the term `` Old Testament '' as a form of antinomianism. In terms of canon, Christian usage of `` Old Testament '' does not refer to a universally agreed upon set of books but, rather, varies depending on denomination. Lutheranism and Protestant denominations that follow the Westminster Confession of Faith accept the entire Jewish canon as the Old Testament without additions, although in translation they sometimes give preference to the Septuagint rather than the Masoretic Text ; for example, see Isaiah 7 : 14. In terms of language, `` Hebrew '' refers to the original language of the books, but it may also be taken as referring to the Jews of the Second Temple era and Jewish diaspora, and their descendants, who preserved the transmission of the Masoretic Text up to the present day. The Hebrew Bible includes small portions in Aramaic ( mostly in the books of Daniel and Ezra ), written and printed in Aramaic square - script, which was adopted as the Hebrew alphabet after the Babylonian exile. Origins of the Hebrew Bible and its components Main articles : Dating the Bible and Development of the Hebrew Bible canon The books that constitute the Hebrew Bible developed over roughly a millennium. The oldest texts seem to come from the 11th or 10th centuries BCE, whilst most of the other texts are somewhat later. They are edited works, being collections of various sources intricately and carefully woven together. In the late 19th century, a classical consensus emerged that the Pentateuch ( the first five books of the Hebrew Scripture ) consisted of four sources which had been woven together, known as the J ( Yahwist ), D ( Deuteronomist ), E ( Elohist ) and P ( Priestly writer ) sources. The classic explanation of their relationship and dating was proposed by Julius Wellhausen. Scholars concluded that J and E were amalgamated after the fall of Samaria in 721 BC, D was dated to the time of Josiah. The Deuteronomist source, which was credited with the Pentateuch 's book of Deuteronomy, is also said to be the source of the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings ( the Deuteronomistic history, or DtrH ), and the book of Jeremiah. This theory, known as the documentary hypothesis, dominated scholarship into the 20th century, Although Wellhausen 's analysis has little support today, the theory has provided a springboard for other approaches. One reason for the eventual rejection of Welhausen 's scholarship was that his assumption that human society evolves from the primitive to the sophisticated has been undermined by the destruction and evil of the two world wars. Another reason is that discoveries, for example at Ugarit, have changed our understanding of the development of thought in the ancient world. Today, there is no consensus about the dates of the source documents ; some scholars reject the existence of the E source and others have suggested that four sources are inadequate. Scholarly editions Several editions, all titled Biblia Hebraica, have been produced by various German publishers since 1906. Between 1906 and 1955, Rudolf Kittel published nine editions of it. 1966, the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft published the renamed Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia in six editions until 1997. Since 2004 the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft has published the Biblia Hebraica Quinta, including all variants of the Qumran manuscripts as well as the Masorah Magna. Other projects include : Hebrew University Bible Project Hebrew Bible : A Critical Edition See also Judaism portal Biblical canon Books of the Bible Early editions of the Hebrew Bible Non-canonical books referenced in the Bible Torah References Jump up ^ Eliezer Segal, Introducing Judaism ( New York, NY : Routledge, 2009 ). Page : 12 Jump up ^ Safire, William ( 1997 - 05 - 25 ). `` The New Old Testament ''. The New York Times. Jump up ^ Hamilton, Mark. `` From Hebrew Bible to Christian Bible : Jews, Christians and the Word of God ''. Retrieved 2007 - 11 - 19. Modern scholars often use the term ' Hebrew Bible ' to avoid the confessional terms Old Testament and Tanakh. Jump up ^ Alexander, Patrick H ; et al., eds. ( 1999 ). The SBL Handbook of Style ( PDF ). Peabody, MA : Hendrickson. p. 17 ( section 4.3 ). ISBN 1 - 56563 - 487 - X. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 2008 - 04 - 14. See Society of Biblical Literature : Questions Regarding Digital Editions... ^ Jump up to : McGrath, Alister, Christian Theology, Oxford : Blackwell, 2011, p. 120, 123. ISBN 9781444335149. Jump up ^ `` Marcion '', Encyclopædia Britannica, 1911. Jump up ^ For the recorded teachings of Jesus on the subject see Antithesis of the Law # Antitheses, for the modern debate, see Christian views on the old covenant Jump up ^ McDermott, John J. ( 2002 ). Reading the Pentateuch : a historical introduction. New York : Paulist Press. ISBN 9780809140824. Jump up ^ Birch, Bruce C., Walter Brueggemann, Terence E. Fretheim and David L. Petersen. A Theological Introduction to the Old Testament, 2nd edition. Nashville : Abingdon, 2005, p. 31. Jump up ^ Childs, Brevard S. Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testament. Minneapolis : Fortress, 2011, p. 123 Jump up ^ Hamilton, Mark ( April 1998 ). `` From Hebrew Bible to Christian Bible : Jews, Christians and the Word of God ''. Frontline. From Jesus to Christ. WGBH Educational Foundation. Jump up ^ Drane, John. Introducing the Old Testament, 3rd edition. Oxford : Lion, 2011, pp. 175 - 176. Further reading Brueggemann, Walter ( 1997 ). An introduction to the Old Testament : the canon and Christian imagination. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 664 - 22412 - 7. Johnson, Paul ( 1987 ). A History of the Jews ( First, hardback ed. ). London : Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ISBN 0 - 297 - 79091 - 9. Kugel, James L. ( 1997 ). The Bible as It Was. Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press. ISBN 0 - 674 - 06940 - 4. Kuntz, John Kenneth. The People of Ancient Israel : an introduction to Old Testament Literature, History, and Thought, Harper and Row, 1974. ISBN 0 - 06 - 043822 - 3 Leiman, Sid. The Canonization of Hebrew Scripture. ( Hamden, CT : Archon, 1976 ). Levenson, Jon. Sinai and Zion : An Entry into the Jewish Bible. ( San Francisco : HarperSan Francisco, 1985 ). Minkoff, Harvey. `` Searching for the Better Text ''. Biblical Archaeology Review ( online ). Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2011. Pritchard, James B. ( 1973 ). The Ancient Near East, Volume I. Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691035016. An abridgement of Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament Noth, Martin. A History of Pentateuchal Traditions. ( 1948 ; trans. by Bernhard Anderson ; Atlanta : Scholars, 1981 ). Schniedewind, William M ( 2004 ). How the Bible Became a Book. Cambridge. ISBN 9780521536226. Schmid, Konrad. The Old Testament : A Literary History. ( Minneapolis : Fortress Press, 2012 ). External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hebrew Bibles. Hebrew - English Tanakh : the Jewish Bible Complete, fully vocalized, contilated, Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible ( Leningrad Codex ), together with the classic ( 1917 ) English translation by the Jewish Publication Society. 929 Chapters Links to Hebrew Bible manuscripts, ancient and modern translations, dictionaries, related literature ( e.g., Dead Sea Scrolls, Ancient Near East, Christian, Rabbinic ), and study tools such as maps and archaeological websites. English translation of the entire Tanach with Rashi 's commentary. Translation edited by translator and scholar, Rabbi A.J. Rosenberg. Works by or about Hebrew Bible at Internet Archive Works by Hebrew Bible at LibriVox ( public domain audiobooks ) ( in English ) ( in Hebrew ) Hebrew Bible from around 1300 CE ( in English ) ( in Hebrew ) Hebrew - English Bible Mechon - Mamre online edition, from 1917 Jewish Publication Society edition and the Masoretic Text. The Kennicott Bible ( Bodleian Library MS. Kennicott 1 ), a lavishly decorated Hebrew Bible produced in Spain in 1476 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hebrew_Bible&oldid=827987620 '' Categories : Hebrew Bible Hebrew - language literature Ancient Jewish literature Ancient Hebrew texts Hidden categories : Articles with inconsistent citation formats Articles containing Latin - language text Articles containing Hebrew - language text Commons category with local link different than on Wikidata Articles with Internet Archive links Articles with LibriVox links Articles with Hebrew - language external links Talk Contents About Wikipedia বাংলা Беларуская Čeština Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Galego 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Kiswahili Latina Magyar Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Português Română Русский Simple English Slovenčina کوردی தமிழ் ไทย Türkçe اردو Tiếng Việt Walon 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 27 February 2018, at 22 : 11. 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Question: why do we call it the hebrew bible
Answer: to provide specificity with respect to contents but avoid allusion to any particular interpretative tradition or theological school of thought