Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). "Holy Scripture" - biblical information and reference portal

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27.09.2019

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In the XXII century. BC e. to the southwestern part of Canaan on the east coast mediterranean sea the Philistines came. The place of their settlement is named in the Bible Peleshet; later the whole land of Canaan was called Palestine. Around 1800 BC e. Jews came to Canaan from the environs of Ur - West Semitic pastoral tribes. The homeland of their forefather Abraham, who lived about 4,200 years ago, is Ur of the Chaldees in the southern part of Babylonia, on the right bank of the lower reaches of the Euphrates. After 200 years, they moved to Egypt, and around 1320 BC. e. their exodus from Egypt took place, and south and southeast of Palestine they formed a tribal union with a common cult of the god Yahweh, who took the name Israel (“the god fights”). The union consisted of 11 tribes and one tribal group specially dedicated to the cult of Yahweh - the Levites ("twelve tribes of Israel"), in the XIII-XII centuries. before. n. e. these tribes waged wars with the city-states of other West Semitic inhabitants of Palestine - the Canaanites (the Phoenicians also belonged to them). Many Canaanite cities (such as Jericho) were destroyed. Later, in the course of the struggle against the Philistines, the kingdom of Israel is created. A strong statehood on a slaveholding basis was created by David and his son Solomon (end of the 11th - first half of the 10th century BC). Solomon first built the temple of Yahweh in Jerusalem (before that there was only a tent - "tabernacle" containing a special casket - "the ark of the covenant"). Under the successor of Solomon, the state broke up into two kingdoms - Israel in the north of Palestine and Judah in the south (the inhabitants of the second began to be called Jews, regardless of origin). In 722 BC. e. Assyria destroyed the State of Israel. In 586, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II conquered Judah and destroyed Jerusalem. In 537, the Persian king Cyrus, having conquered Babylon, allowed the Jews to return from Babylonian captivity to their homeland and restore the Jerusalem temple. After the capture of Judea by Rome, the rebellion against Roman rule (66-70 AD) led to the destruction of the second Jerusalem temple, built after the return of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity, and their final expulsion from Jerusalem.

Hebrew mythology was formed in communication with Canaanite, which is somewhat consonant with the biblical. The main motive of the latter is the struggle of the god of fertility Baal with his main enemy, the god of death Mot, who seeks to take away his royal power. It ends with the victory of the latter, although then Anat, the goddess of hunting and battle, who avenges Baal, kills him, and Baal himself is resurrected to continue the fight (here is a parallel with the myth of Osiris).

The main work of Jewish culture is the Hebrew Bible, which received the name of the Old Testament in Christianity. By IX-VIII centuries. BC e. the books “Genesis”, “Exodus”, “Leviticus” and “Numbers” ascend, outlining the mythological history of the world and the Israelite tribes in the spirit of the “covenant” concept and including basic moral standards, including the 10 commandments, which, however, with the exception of the first two, are present in the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Together with Deuteronomy, these books formed the so-called Pentateuch of Moses, or Torah, the most revered part of the Jewish Holy Scripture, the foundation of Judaism. The Old Testament also entered the Bible, becoming the first part of the Christian canon.

In the book of Genesis there is a stunning story about how God demanded from Abraham to sacrifice his own son Isaac, and Abraham, despite his love for his son, was ready to do this, but at the last moment God stopped him. Later, God himself will send his son to his death so that he takes upon himself the sins of the people. Although the God of the Old Testament creates the world, unlike many other gods, without using a sacrifice, he then sacrifices himself for the normal functioning of the world, atoning for the sins of people. Here the sacrifice is transferred in time, but it is not complete without it.

AT Old Testament moral norms are formulated, mainly reflecting the ideas of the ancient Jews about the rules of the community. Here we meet both “an eye for an eye” and “love your neighbor”, etc. The morality of the Old Testament is most fully expressed in the 10 commandments given by the Lord on Mount Sinai to Moses. They sound like this:

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.

You shall not make for yourselves idols, nor any image of what is in heaven above, and what is on the earth below, and what is in the water below the earth; do not worship them, for I am the Lord your God...

Do not pronounce the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave without punishment the one who pronounces His name in vain.

Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy; work for six days and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God: do not do any work on it ...

Honor your father and your mother, [that you may be well and] that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

Dont kill.

Don't commit adultery.

Don't steal.

Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Do not covet your neighbor's house; Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, [neither his field,] nor his servant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, [nor any of his livestock,] anything that is with your neighbor" (Bible. Exodus 20:2 -17).

By the 7th-6th centuries. BC e. include books describing the history of Palestine from the 13th to the beginning of the 6th century. The period of the kingdoms includes cult lyrics (Psalms of King David), to the Babylonian captivity - a collection of proverbs and aphorisms ("Proverbs of Solomon"), a moralizing poem ("The Book of Job"), an example of ancient philosophizing ("Ecclesiastes"), a collection of love and wedding lyrics "Song of Songs".

In the Old Testament we meet such a monument of human wisdom as the "Proverbs of Solomon", attributed to King Solomon, who became famous for his mind. They consist of praises of wisdom and moralizing aphorisms that have not lost their meaning to this day. For example: “Go to the ant, sloth, look at its actions, and be wise. He has no boss, no supervisor, no master; but he prepares his bread in the summer, gathers his food in the harvest... How long will you sleep, you lazybones? When will you get up from your sleep? You will sleep a little, you will slumber a little, you will lie down a little with your hands folded: and your poverty will come like a passerby, and your need like a robber” (6:6-11).

If the 10 commandments are the usual rules for the coexistence of monotheistic communities, then in the parables of Solomon we find a system of values ​​that contrasts sharply with those found in ancient India, ancient China and ancient world. These values, among which mercy and humility predominate, then became dominant in Christianity. The same humility, on a concrete example of a person's attitude to the torments sent to him by God for testing, is found in the book of Job and in the works of the Old Testament prophets Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel.

Standing somewhat apart in the Old Testament is the Book of Ecclesiastes, which is reminiscent of both skeptics and the Bhagavad Gita. Here are two famous passages: “Vanity of vanities, said the Ecclesiastes, vanity of vanities, all is vanity! What is the use of a man from all his labors with which he toils under the sun? Generation passes, and generation comes, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises, and the sun sets, and hurries to its place where it rises. The wind goes to the south, and goes to the north, whirling, whirling in its course, and the wind returns to its circles. All rivers flow into the sea, but the sea does not overflow: to the place where the rivers flow, they return to flow again. All things are in labor: a person cannot retell everything; The eye is not satisfied with sight, the ear is not filled with hearing. What was, is what will be; and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun” (1:2-9). “There is a time for everything, and a time for every thing under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to destroy, and a time to build; a time to cry, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to scatter stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to hug, and a time to avoid hugging; time to seek, and time to lose; a time to save, and a time to throw; a time to tear apart, and a time to sew; a time to be silent, and a time to speak; a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace" (3:1-8).

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Illuminated page of the book of the prophet Isaiah from a manuscript Bible (presumably 12th century). Jewish Encyclopedia (1901–1912).

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Tanakh(תַּנַ"ךְ) - the name of the Hebrew Bible (in the Christian tradition - the Old Testament), which came into use in the Middle Ages and is accepted in modern Hebrew. The word is an acronym (initial letters) of the names of three sections of the Holy Scriptures:

  • Torah, Heb. תּוֹרָה ‎ - Pentateuch
  • Neviim, Heb. נְבִיאִים ‎ - Prophets
  • Ketuvim, Heb. כְּתוּבִים ‎ - Scriptures

The term "Tanakh" appeared for the first time in the writings of medieval Jewish theologians.

The dating of the earliest texts fluctuates between the 12th and 8th centuries. BC e., the latest books date back to the II-I centuries. BC e.

Title of Scripture

Jewish Holy Bible does not have a single name that would be common to the entire Jewish people and used in all periods of its history. The earliest and most common term is הַסְּפָרִים , ha-sfarim (`books`). The Jews of the Hellenistic world used the same name for Greek- hτα βιβλια - the Bible, and it entered mainly through its Latin form into European languages.

The term סִפְרֵי הַקֹּדֶשׁ sifrey ha-kodesh (`holy books`), although found only in Hebrew medieval literature, apparently, was sometimes used by Jews already in the pre-Christian period. However, this name is rare, since in rabbinical literature the word "sefer" (`book`) was used, with few exceptions, only to refer to biblical books, which made it superfluous to add any definitions to it.

The term "canon" as applied to the Bible clearly indicates the closed, unchangeable nature of the final edition of the Holy Scriptures, considered as the result of Divine revelation. For the first time the Greek word "canon" in relation to the sacred books was used by the first Christian theologians, the so-called church fathers in the 4th century. n. e.

There is no exact equivalent in Jewish sources for this term, but the concept of "canon" in relation to the Bible is clearly Jewish. The Jews became the “People of the Book”, and the Bible became the key to its life. The commandments of the Bible, teaching and worldview were imprinted in the thinking and in all the spiritual creativity of the Jewish people. The canonized Scripture was unconditionally accepted as the true testimony of the national past, the embodiment of the reality of hopes and dreams.

Over time, the Bible has become the main source of knowledge of Hebrew and the standard of literary creativity. The Oral Law, based on the interpretation of the Bible, revealed the full depth and power of the truths hidden in the Bible, embodied and put into practice the wisdom of the law and the purity of morality. In the Bible, for the first time in history, the spiritual creativity of the people was canonized, and this turned out to be a revolutionary step in the history of religion. Canonization was consciously adopted by Christianity and Islam.

Of course, the books included in the Bible could by no means reflect the entire literary heritage of Israel. There is evidence in Scripture itself of an extensive, later lost, literature; for example, the “Book of Wars of the Lord” (Numbers 21:14) and the “Book of the Righteous One” (“Sefer ha-yashar”; IbN. 10:13; II Sam. 1:18) mentioned in the Bible are undoubtedly very ancient. True, in a number of cases the same work may have been referred to under different titles, and the word sefer could mean only a section of the book, and not the book as a whole. There is reason to believe that there were numerous other works that the Bible does not mention.

The very concept of creating a canon of Scripture involves a long process of selecting the works on which it is based. Holiness was a necessary condition for the canonization of a particular book, although not everything that was considered sacred and the fruit of Divine revelation was canonized. Some works have survived only because of their literary merit. A very important role was probably played by the schools of scribes and clergy, who, with their inherent conservatism, sought to transmit from generation to generation the basic texts studied. Then the very fact of canonization forced to honor the book included in the canon and contributed to the fact that reverence for the Holy Scriptures was perpetuated.

The Tanakh describes the creation of the world and man, the Divine covenant and commandments, and the history of the Jewish people from its origin to the beginning of the Second Temple period. According to traditional ideas, these books were given to people through Ruach Hakodesh- the spirit of holiness.

The Tanakh, as well as the religious and philosophical ideas of Judaism, served as the basis for the formation of Christianity and Islam.

Tanakh language

Most of the books of the Tanakh are written in Biblical Hebrew, except for a few chapters in the books of Ezra (4:8 - 6:18, 7:12-26) and Daniel (2:4 - 7:28) and small passages in the books of Genesis (31: 47) and Jirmeyahu (10:11), written in Biblical Aramaic.

Composition of the Tanakh

The Tanakh contains 39 books.

In Talmudic times, it was believed that the TaNakh contained 24 books. This number is obtained by combining the books of Ezra (book) of Ezra and Nehemiah, counting the entire collection of Trey asar as one book, and also counting both parts of the books of Shemuel, Melachim and Divrey ha-yamim as one book.

In addition, sometimes pairs of books Shoftim and Ruth, Irmeyahu and Eich are conventionally combined, so that the total number of books of the Tanakh is equal to 22 according to the number of letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Various ancient manuscripts of the Tanakh also give a different order of the books in it. The order of the books of the TaNakh accepted in the Jewish world corresponds to the edition Mikraoth hedolot .

Catholic and Orthodox canons Old Testament include additional books missing in the Tanakh - Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha.

The division of the Tanakh into three parts is attested by many ancient authors. We find mention of "the law, the prophets and the rest of the books" (Sir. 1:2) in the book of Ben-Sira (The Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach), written around 190 BC. Three sections of the Tanakh are also mentioned by Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 BC - c. 50 AD) and Josephus Flavius ​​(37 AD -?). In the gospels, the wording " in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and Psalms" (OK.).

Compilers of the books of the Tanakh

Based on: Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Bava Batra, 14B-15A

Hebrew name Compiler
Torah Moshe (Moses)
Torah (last 8 phrases) Yeshua bin Nun (Jesus Nun)
Yeshua Yeshua bin Nun
Shoftim Shemuel (Samuel)
Shmuel Shemuel. Some fragments - the prophets Gad and Nathan
Melachim Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah)
Yeshayahu Hizkiyahu (Ezekiah) and his retinue
Yermiyahu Irmeyahu
Yechezkel Men of the great congregation: Chagai, Zechariah, Malachi, Zerubbabel, Mordechai, etc.
Twelve Minor Prophets Men of the great congregation
Tehilim David and the ten wise men: Adam, Malkitzedek, Avraham, Moses, Heman, Yedutun, Asaph and the three sons of Korach.

According to another version, Asaph was one of the sons of Korah, and the tenth was Shelomo (Solomon). According to the third version, one of the compilers was not Abraham, but Eitan.
Michley Hizkiyahu and his retinue
Job Moshe
Song of Songs Hizkiyahu and his retinue
Ruth Shemuel
Eicha Irmeyahu
Kohelet

The division into chapters and verse numbers has no meaning in the Jewish tradition. Nevertheless, they are present in all modern editions of the Tanakh, which makes it easier to find and quote verses. The division of the books of Shemuel, Melakhim and Divrey ha-yamim into parts I and II is done only for the convenience of handling large books. Jewish adoption of Christian chapters began in late medieval Spain, partly in the context of a forced religious debate that took place against the backdrop of harsh persecution and the Spanish Inquisition. The purpose of adopting such a division was to facilitate the search for biblical quotations. Until now, in the traditional yeshiva world, the chapters of the books of the Tanakh are not called perek, like the chapters of the Mishnah or Midrash, but in a borrowed word capital.

From the point of view of Jewish tradition, the division into chapters is not only unfounded, but also open to serious criticism of three kinds:

  • The division into chapters sometimes reflects Christian interpretation Bible.
  • Even if they are not intended to be of Christian interpretation, chapters often divide biblical texts in many places that may be seen as out of place for literary or other reasons.
  • They ignore the accepted division of closed and open spaces that exists in the Masoretic texts.

Chapter and verse numbers were very often prominently displayed in older editions, in addition to obscuring the traditional Jewish Masoretic division. However, in many Jewish editions of the Tanakh published over the past forty years, there has been a tendency to minimize the influence and importance of chapter and verse numbers on the page. Most publications have achieved this by removing them from the text itself and moving them to the edges of the pages. The main text in these editions is not interrupted at the beginning of chapters (which are marked only in the margins). The lack of chapter breaks in the text in these editions also serves to reinforce the visual impact created by spaces and paragraph beginnings on pages that allude to traditional Jewish divisions.

, : Tanakh translations

Our Father and Adon, Yeshua ha-Mashiach!

Here you can read Tanakh in Russian. Copy any part of the text, download . The section for reading is also presented to your attention, and (New Testament). Reading one section a week from the Torah, Neviim and Ketuvim, one can read the entire Tanakh in a year. What can be so pleasant and so useful as not reading the Tanakh, through the words of which the whole plan of the Almighty about humanity is revealed from the beginning of the creation of this world, to eternal life to Olam ha-Ba! For believers in Yeshua ha-Mashiach, to the three sections of the Tanakh, one should add the weekly sections of the Brit Hadash (edited Hebrew New Testament translated by David Stern).

Texts Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) on this site differ from the generally accepted texts. Since Orthodox and Messianic Jews, when translating the Tanakh, do not write the name of the Almighty in the holy book, and Christians do not have a correct idea about him, then in this version you will not find the generally accepted word Lord, which carries double standards. In this version of the Tanakh and Brit Hadash, the names of the Almighty - Yehovah are used. The names Adonai and Elshadai are also included. Although today it is generally accepted that the name of God is not Yehovah, but YHWH, this does not change the essence. God has a name, and it should be read in the texts of the Tanakh and Brit Hadash, correctly, and not use the word Lord, which legally does not have the right to be there, not to mention other, higher requirements. The material of the site will be equally useful both for representatives of Judaism and for representatives of Messianism and Christianity.

The Third Commandment of the Law says: “Do not pronounce the name of your Almighty in vain…” Does this mean that it cannot be pronounced at all? - Of course not. The name of the Almighty must be pronounced where it needs to be done. The sin is not in not pronouncing the name of the Almighty, but in the fact that under His name one does not pronounce His name. For the Jewish people, the ban on pronouncing the names of foreign gods (including Christian ones) is a command of the Torah:

13 And in everything that I have said to you, be careful not to mention the name of other elohim: let it not be heard from your mouth. (Shemot 23:13)

The Almighty revealed His name to people not so that they would not pronounce it, but so that they would know Who their God is and what His name is. There are many gods and each has its own unique name.

In 13 verses, the name of God is Yehovah', mentioned 11 times. And the words from the song, as they say, you can’t throw out, otherwise it will no longer be a song, but Tehelim, there will no longer be Tehelim. The poets composed Tehelim according to the will of Jehovah and sang them in the assembly of the saints, in the name of Jehovah.

common word Lord, which is nothing more than a human addition to the texts of the Tanakh, is absent in this edition. The reason is that the word Lord , is not the name of God. Word Lord was inserted into the Christian Bible solely for political reasons by the Leadership of the Christian Authority. If you open any Russian dictionary, then the word Lord has only one meaning - the God of Christians. In the texts of the Hebrew Scriptures, the word Lord is absent.

Orthodox Judaism and Messianic communities, living according to the European style, also began to use in their translations instead of the name Jehovah, the word Lord. So the name has been changed. And yes, the word Lord in no way is and cannot be the name of the God of Israel. The word Lord is used in the Bible for the purpose of indicating that supposedly the God of Israel is the Greek God-man Jesus Christ.

Word: Lord, in this edition Jehovah (He Who gives life to all, remaining forever) יְהֹוָה (yeh-ho-vaw’).

Word: Lord, replaced according to transliteration, with the original - Adonai אֲדֹנָי (ad-o-noy’).

The words: Almighty, Omnipotent replaced according to transliteration, with the original - Elshadai שַדַי (shad-dah'ee)– (God) Almighty.

Word: God, replaced according to transliteration, with the original - Elohim אֱ֝לֹהִים (el-o-heem’).

If a Synodal translation Old Testament based on Christian dogmas, has a predisposition to polytheism, then this version of the editorial board completely excludes this understanding. Similarly, in the texts of Brit Hadash (New Testament of David Stern) - everything is called by its name and there are no double standards. Word God changed to Elohim, word Lord changed to Jehovah. Word Lord in relation to Yeshua ha-Mashiach (Jesus Christ), abolished, since it is not appropriate there at all and replaced by a Hebrew word adon, according to the Greek meaning of the word κυρίου (mister). The iconic Greek word, Christos, has been replaced by the Hebrew word, Mashiach מָשִׁיחַ (maw-shee’-akh).

A brief introduction to the Tanakh.

Tanakh- main holy book Judaism (the Hebrew Bible), which the Almighty gave over the centuries through his servants the prophets, in the form of separate commands and revelations. The final revision is supposed to have been carried out during the Second Temple period, i.e. around 400 BC Tanakh consists of three parts:

Based on three capital letters These sections are called the collection of sacred books: T(ora) H(evim) X(etuvim) Thus, it turns out to be abbreviated: Tanakh.

The site also contains books of Maccabees (Maccabi) for reading. They are not an integral part of the Tanakh, but they are a historical document that tells about the period of silence - the interval between the last book of the Tanakh and Brit Hadash. These are the only books on this site that briefly tell about the reign of the third beast - the Kingdom of Alexander the Great and the beginning of the reign of the fourth, last beast - the Roman Empire.

The word "Tanakh" is an acronym (initial letters) of the names of three sections of the Jewish Holy Scripture:

  • Torah, Heb. תּוֹרָה‎ - Pentateuch
  • Neviim, Heb. נְבִיאִים‎ - Prophets
  • Ktuvim, Heb. כְּתוּבִים‎ - Scriptures (Hagiographs)

The term "Tanakh" appeared for the first time in the writings of medieval Jewish theologians.

The Tanakh describes the creation of the world and man, the Divine covenant and commandments, as well as the history of the Jewish people from its origin to the beginning of the Second Temple period.

Jews consider these books sacred because they were given to people by the Ruach Hakodesh, the spirit of holiness.

The Tanakh, as well as the religious and philosophical ideas of Judaism, influenced the formation of Christianity and Islam.

Pshat and drash

Pshat (Hebrew פְּשָׁט‎) is a literal interpretation of the meaning of a biblical or Talmudic text.

Drash (Hebrew דְּרָשׁ‎, also Heb. drush דְּרוּשׁ‎) is the interpretation of a biblical or Talmudic text by combining logical and sophistical constructions.

Jewish commentators are divided into several layers.

  • The first and outermost is called pshat (lit. simple) - that is, a simple, direct meaning.
  • The second is remez (lit. hint) - “the meaning extracted with the help of hints contained in the text; correlation of one fragment with others in similar places.
  • Deeper - drash (lit. meaning) is the meaning.
  • The most intimate - sod (lit. secret) - the Kabbalistic meaning of the text, accessible only to the elect, who have known all other meanings.

From the words pshat-remez-drash-sod, the abbreviation ParDeS is obtained, which also means “citrus garden”, “orchard” in Hebrew, and in Arabic and English"paradise".

Composition of the Tanakh

The Tanakh contains 24 books. The composition of the books is identical to the Protestant Old Testament, but differs in the order of the books. However, the Babylonian Talmud indicates an order different from the current one. Catholic and Orthodox canons The Old Testament may include additional books of the Septuagint not found in the Tanakh.

The Jewish canon is divided into three parts according to the genre and time of writing of certain books.

1. Law, or Torah, including the Pentateuch of Moses
2. Prophets, or Nevi'im, including, in addition to prophetic, some books that today are considered to be historical chronicles.
The Nevi'im are further subdivided into two sections.

  • "Early Prophets": Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel (1 and 2 Samuel) and 1 and 2 Kings (3 and 2 Samuel)
  • "Later Prophets", including 3 books of "great prophets" (Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel) and 12 "minor prophets". In the manuscripts, the "minor prophets" made up one scroll and were considered one book.

3. Scriptures, or Ketuvim, including the works of the wise men of Israel and prayer poetry.

As part of Ketuvim, a collection of “five scrolls” stood out, including the books Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Ecclesiastes and Esther, collected in accordance with the annual cycle of readings in the synagogue.

The division of the Tanakh into three parts is attested by many ancient authors at the turn of our era. The mention of “the law, the prophets and other books” Sir.1:2) we find in the book of the Wisdom of Jesus, the son of Sirach, written about 190 BC. e. The three sections of the Tanakh are also named by Philo of Alexandria (circa 20 BC - c. 50 AD) and Josephus Flavius ​​(37 AD - ?).

Ezra and Nehemiah are also combined into one book. In addition, sometimes pairs of books of Judges and Ruth, Jeremiah and Eich are conditionally combined, so that the total number of books of the Tanakh is equal to 22 according to the number of letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Christian tradition, each of these books is treated as separate, thus talking about 39 books of the Old Testament.

Differences between the Tanakh and the Old Testament

There are three main forms of Tanakh/Old Testament Scripture today, slightly different in composition and origin:

  1. Jewish canon (Tanakh), formed in Judaism;
  2. Classical Christian canon, based on the Alexandrian version of the Jewish canon (Septuagint) and accepted in the Orthodox and Catholic Churches;
  3. The Protestant canon, which arose in the 16th century and occupies an intermediate position between the first two.

Canon of Alexandria (Septuagint)

The Alexandrian canon of the Old Testament (Septuagint) was adopted at the turn of our era among the Jews of Alexandria and formed the basis of the Christian canon of the Old Testament (this applies to both the text and the composition and rubrication of books).

It differs markedly from the Tanakh both in the composition of the books, and in their arrangement and individual texts. It must be borne in mind that textually the Alexandrian canon is based on a different, non-proto-Masoretic version of the original text.

After the destruction of the Second Temple, the Alexandrian canon was not accepted by Judaism and survived only in lists of Christian origin.

Structurally, the Alexandrian canon differs in that the books of Neviim and Ketuvim are redistributed between sections in accordance with a different idea of ​​genres than in the Tanakh. These are 39 books, which are the following sections:

  1. Pentateuch (Torah) (Gen-Deut)
  2. Historical books (Nav-Esf)
  3. Teaching (poetic) books (Job-Songs)
  4. Prophetic books (Is-Mal)

In addition, a number of books have been added to the canon entirely or substantially textually supplemented. Thus, 2 Chronicles includes the prayer of Manasseh (2 Chronicles 36:24 ff), which is often used in Eastern Christian worship, and the books of Esther and the prophet Daniel are significantly supplemented.

The books of Tobit and Judith, the Wisdom of Solomon and the Wisdom of Jesus, the son of Sirach, the prophet Baruch and the Epistle of Jeremiah, as well as 2 books of Ezra are completely absent from the Hebrew Bible. Some lists of the Septuagint also include Maccabees 1 and 2.

Protestant canon

In the era of the Reformation, the prevailing view in the West of the canonicity and authority of biblical books is undergoing a radical revision. Jacob van Liesveldt in 1526 and Martin Luther in 1534 publish Bibles in which only the books of the Jewish canon are included in the Old Testament.

Books not included in the Jewish canon receive in the Protestant tradition the name Apocrypha - a term fixed in the Eastern Christian tradition for late (II century BC - I century AD) literature, which was never included in the Alexandrian and Christian canons.

Tanakh books

The word "Tanakh" is an acronym (initial letters) of the names of three sections of the Jewish Holy Scripture: Torah, Neviim and Ketuvim. According to Jewish tradition, the Tanakh consists of 24 books.

In the Tanakh, what is sometimes divided into two in christian bible, and Trei Asar ("twelve") is considered a separate book.

Torah (Pentateuch)

(תּוֹרָה, literally "learning") consists of five books, commonly referred to as the Five Books of Moses. Printed versions of the Torah are often referred to as Chamishei Chumshei Torah (חמישי חומשי תורה, literally "five-fifths of the Torah"), and informally as "Chumash".

In Hebrew, the books of the Torah do not have names. They are identified by the first word in each book. The English names are derived from the Greek given to the books in the Septuagint, which are based on the theme of each book's content.

Nevi'im

Nevi'im (נְבִיאִים, "Prophets") consists of eight books. This section includes books that generally cover the chronological era from the entry of the Israelites into the Promised Land to the Babylonian captivity of Judah (the "period of prophecy"). However, they exclude chronicles that cover the same period.

The Nevi'im are usually divided into the Early Prophets (נביאים ראשונים), which tend to be historical in nature, and the Later Prophets (נביאים אחרונים), which contain more preachy prophecies.

Although most versions of the Old Testament number 21 books, counting each of the books Samuel and Kings as two books and the Twelve Prophets (or Minor Prophets) as 12 books, things are different in the Jewish tradition.

HebrewHebrew nameRussian synodal
title		Latin
Early prophets
6. Hebrew יְהוֹשֻׁע‎Ye h oshuaJoshuaiosue
7. Hebrew שׁוֹפְטִים‎ShoftimJudges of IsraelIudicum
8a.Hebrew שְׁמוּאֵל א‎Shmuel A (I Samuel)1st Kings1 Samuelis
8b.Hebrew שְׁמוּאֵל ב‎Shmuel B (II Samuel)2nd Kings2 Samuelis
9a.Hebrew מְלָכִים א‎Melachim A (I of Kings)3rd Kings1 Regum
9b.Hebrew מְלָכִים ב‎Melachim B (II Kings)4th Kings2 Regum
later prophets
10. Hebrew יְשַׁעְיָהוּ‎Yeshaya h atEtc. Isaiahisaias
11. Hebrew יִרְמְיָהוּ‎Irmia h atEtc. JeremiahIeremias
12. Hebrew יְחֶזְקֵאל‎YechezkelEtc. EzekielEzechielis
13. Hebrew תרי עשר‎Minor Prophets
IHebrew הוֹשֵׁע‎h osheaEtc. HoseaOsee
IIHebrew יוֹאֵל‎YoelEtc. JoelIoel
IIIHebrew עָמוֹס‎AmosEtc. AmosAmos
IVHebrew עֹבַדְיָה‎OvadiaEtc. ObadiahAbdias
VHebrew יוֹנָה‎YonaEtc. ionsIonas
VIHebrew מִיכָה‎MichaEtc. Micahmichaeas
VIIHebrew נַחוּם‎NachumEtc. naumaNahum
VIIIHebrew חֲבַקּוּק‎HavakukEtc. HabakkukHabacuc
IXHebrew צְפַנְיָה‎ZefaniaEtc. ZephaniahSophonias
XHebrew חַגַּי‎hagaiEtc. HaggaiAggaeus
XIHebrew זְכַרְיָה‎ZecharyaEtc. ZechariahZacharias
XIIHebrew מַלְאָכִי‎Mal'akhiEtc. MalachiMalachias

Ketuvim

Ketuvim (כְּתוּבִים, "Records") or "writings", also known by the Greek name "Hagiographa" and consists of 11 books. They cover all other books, and include the Five Scrolls (Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Ruth, Eicha, Esther).

They are sometimes also divided into categories such as Sifrey Emet (ספרי אמת, literally "Books of Truth") Psalms, Proverbs and the Book of Job (in Hebrew the names of these three books form the Hebrew word for "truth" like an acrostic), "Books of Wisdom" Book Job, Ecclesiastes and Proverbs, "Books of Poetry" Psalter, Lamentations of Jeremiah and Song of Songs of Solomon, and "Historical Books" of Ezra, Nehemiah and Chronicles.

In the Hebrew version, Ketuvim consists of 11 books, counting Ezra and Nehemiah as one book, and Chronicles I and II as one book.

HebrewHebrew nameRussian synodal
title		Latin
14. Hebrew תְּהִלִים‎Those h orimPsalterPsalmorum
15. Hebrew מִשְׁלֵי‎MichleyProverbs of SolomonProverbia
16. Hebrew אִיּוֹב‎JobJobiob
17. Hebrew שִׁיר הַשִּׁירִים‎Shire h ashirimSong of SongsCanticum Canticorum
18. Hebrew רוּת‎RuthRuthRuth
19. Hebrew אֵיכָה‎EichaLamentationsLamentations
20. Hebrew קֹהֶלֶת‎Co. h flyingEcclesiastesEcclesiasticus
21. Hebrew אֶסְתֵּר‎EstherEstherEsther
22. Hebrew דָּנִיֵּאל‎DanielEtc. DanielDaniel
23. Hebrew עֶזְרָא‎EzraEsdrasEsdrae
23. Hebrew נְחֶמְיָה‎NehemiahNehemiahNehemiae
24a.Hebrew דִּבְרֵי הַיָּמִים א‎Divray h a-yamim A (I Chronicle)1st Chronicles1 Paralipomenon
24b.Hebrew דִּבְרֵי הַיָּמִים ב‎Divray h a-yamim B (II Chronicle)2nd Chronicles2 Paralipomenon

Numbers of chapters and verses, division of books

Division into chapters and verse numbers have no meaning in the Jewish tradition. However, they are present in all modern editions of the Tanakh, making it easier to find and quote verses. The division of the books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles into parts I and II is also indicated on each page of these books in order to avoid confusion with determining whether a chapter belongs to part I or II, since the numbering of the chapters of these books corresponds to their division in the Christian tradition.

The adoption of Christian chapters by Jews began in late medieval Spain in part in the context of forced religious debates that took place against the background of severe persecution and the Spanish Inquisition (the purpose of the debate was to establish a generally accepted system for citing biblical texts). From the point of view of Jewish tradition, the division into chapters is not only unfounded, but also open to serious criticism of three kinds:

The division into chapters often reflects Christian interpretation of the Bible.

Even if no Christian interpretation is intended, chapters often divide biblical texts in many places that may be regarded as out of place for literary or other reasons.

This division ignores the closed and open gap divisions, which are based on Masoretic texts.

However, because they have proven useful for citation, they are often included in most editions of Jewish Bible books. For more information on the origin of these divisions, see chapters and verses from the Bible. Jews do not have to refer to specific verses in a chapter (in older editions of the Talmud, one could only quote by chapter number), and some works are referred to on the basis of sections in the Torah.

Chapter and verse numbers were very often prominently displayed in older editions, in addition to obscuring the traditional Jewish Masoretic division. However, in many Jewish editions of the Tanakh published over the past forty years, there has been a tendency to minimize the influence and importance of chapter and verse numbers on the page. Most publications have achieved this by removing them from the text itself and moving them to the edges of the pages.

The main text in these editions is not interrupted at the beginning of chapters (which are marked only in the margins). The lack of chapter breaks in the text in these editions also serves to reinforce the visual impact created by spaces and paragraph beginnings on pages that allude to traditional Jewish divisions. Some versions even introduce new system chapters

These modern Hebrew editions present the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicle (as well as Ezra) as one book on their title pages, and make no indication within the main text that they are divided into two parts (although this is noted in the top and side margins). .

In such editions, the second books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles are continuations of the first books on the same pages where the first ones end, without any breaks in the text. In the case of the Book of Kings, which does not have the traditional division at this point in the text, the text of the second part of the book begins on the same line as the text of the first part ends.

In the Jewish editions, the fifth and sixth chapters of the Chronicles (I part) are presented differently. In Chronicle I (in Christian sources) chapter 5 ends at verse 41. Chronicle (Hebrew edition) 5:27-41 is equivalent to the first Chronicle 6:1-15 in most English translations.

In Hebrew editions, 6:1 is equivalent to 6:16, and so the chapter ends at Chronicle 6:66, as opposed to I Chronicle 6:81 ( English translation) and 7:1 in Hebrew and English. This difference overrides other, more contextual differences. The Jewish Tanakh is based on the generally accepted traditional understanding of the text. For example, Christians translate the word Almah (עלמה) as "Virgin", while in the Tanakh the translation is "young girl".

Jewish and Christian interpretations of the Tanakh

The essence and originality of the interpretation of the Tanakh is clearly expressed by the term parshanut, formed from the verb "prsh", which in the Tanakh has the following meanings:

« define, clarify, interpret».

In the latter sense, it was applied to the Tanakh or part of it, for example, in the prescription:

« And they will put him [the guilty one] in custody until it is accurately determined by him from the mouth of Yahweh» Lev.24:12).

These words express the essence of the interpretation of the Tanakh. It is based on the perception and recognition of the Tanakh, especially the Pentateuch, as a text originally complete and complete, a text outside of space and time, possessing absolute and inexhaustible wisdom and significance, which, however, not everyone and not always can comprehend.

The task of the interpretation and the interpreter is to interpret the text of the Tanakh in accordance with the needs of the time, the audience and the interpreter himself, proceeding from the very text of the Tanakh as a complete and self-contained whole. The study also seeks to understand and explain the Tanakh, the researcher also perceives the Tanakh as an integrity, but not as the original, but as formed in the course of the formation and development of the text of the Tanakh. The interpreter, in his desire to understand and explain the Tanakh, proceeds from the demands and interests of his time and his environment.

The researcher, of course, cannot (and should not) fence himself off from the demands and interests of his time and his environment, but he strives to understand and explain the Tanakh within the framework of the time and environment of the Tanakh itself. It is possible, apparently, to identify other features of interpretation and research, but a comparison of those listed here already shows the fundamental, essential difference between the two approaches. The difference between the interpretation and study of the Tanakh is by no means axiological, that is, one of them cannot be considered better, more advanced than the other, etc., they are simply of different quality and in some ways even complementary.

The Pentateuch became the subject of study even during the formation of the Tanakh, and the best proof of this is the public reading of Ezra in 445/4 BC. e. in Jerusalem Sefer Torat Moshe ("books of the teachings of Moses"), apparently the Pentateuch. Ezra and his listeners were not limited to reading and listening to the text, but, as it says in the book of Nehemiah,

“... the Levites make the teaching understandable (mevinim) to the people ... And they read the teachings of Elohim in the book, interpreting (mephorash) and with understanding, and [the people] understood in what they read” (Nech.8: 7-9).

This desire to “understand”, “understand” and, most importantly, “interpret” the Pentateuch received further development among the Essenes-Qumranites, who created a special genre of verbal creativity, Pesharim.

The Rule of the Qumranites prescribes:

« And in the place where there will be ten people, let there be with them a man who expounds the Doctrine day and night(Const. VI:6).

The Qumranites were convinced that what was said in the Tanakh, especially in the sayings of the prophets and in the psalms, has absolute truth, it is beyond space and time and therefore has a decisive meaning for them. The tasks and purpose of the interpretation are, without explaining anything in the text of the Tanakh, to correlate it with the views and expectations of the Qumranites themselves, to apply the text of the Tanakh to the events and phenomena of their reality. For example, the Assyrian city of Nineveh, mentioned in a certain context in the Tanakh, was perceived by the Qumranite interpreters as Jerusalem, the Egyptian city of No-Amon (Thebes) as the tribe of Menashe, etc.

This technique of interpretation, called by the famous Qumran scholar I. D. Amusin the method of presenting, “modernizing” the text of the Tanakh, also contains elements of allegorical interpretation, which was most fully disclosed in the works of the greatest Jewish thinker of the Hellenistic-Roman era, Philo of Alexandria (1st century AD). e). Philo, who strove for a synthesis of Yahwism with Greek philosophical thought, especially with the teachings of Plato, considered Moses the greatest of all thinkers and legislators, and the teachings of Moses - the absolute and highest wisdom, the truth addressed to all people at all times. But the word in the Tanakh has two meanings - external, concrete, understandable to everyone, and internal, abstract, which is revealed only through allegorical interpretation, that is, by recognizing that the external, concrete is only a sign, a symbol of the internal, abstract and true meaning. Accordingly, according to Philo, Adam and Havva, of course, are the first people, but mainly they are incarnations: Adam is of reason, and Havva is of sensuality; the four rivers in the garden of Eden embody the four basic virtues - wisdom, poise, courage and justice, etc.

The methods of allegorical interpretation of Philo for centuries found supporters and successors, but they did not satisfy the creators of the Oral Torah - the Mishnah and the Talmud. These thinkers needed not only and not so much to reveal the secret, hidden meaning of the Tanakh, the Pentateuch, but to preserve them as the basis of the life, behavior and faith of the Jews in a significantly changed and continuing to change world. The allegorical interpretation of Philo did not meet these requirements, and they were looking for a different way of interpretation, especially pronounced by the largest early medieval Jewish thinker and interpreter of the Tanakh, Saadia Gaon (late 9th - first half of the 10th century). He, like all interpreters before and after him, recognized the Tanakh as the embodiment of the highest, absolute truth, but not hidden, disguised, but revealed in words, in a text that must be correctly understood. This understanding is possible at two levels - at the level of peshat ("direct meaning") and at the level of drash ("interpretation"). According to Saadia Gaon, first of all, the Tanakh should be understood at the level of the direct meaning of the words contained therein. Direct sensation, mental perception and logical conclusion lead to such an understanding. (However, Saadia Gaon admitted the possibility of a purely allegorical interpretation, if a direct interpretation is contrary to logic, etc.)

This method of interpretation, which can be called rationalizing, was further developed in the famous commentary of Rashi, Rabbi Shelomo Yitzchaki (XI century), who converted Special attention on the etymology (that is, the origin) and semantics (that is, the meaning) of words in the Tanakh, on the grammar of the Hebrew language. This brought interpretation closer to the boundary separating it from research, since the search for the roots of words, their changing meaning conceals an implicit recognition of the formation and change of the Tanakh. Thus, Rashi's commentary marked a departure from the foundations of interpretation: the perception and recognition of the Tanakh as a text that was originally complete, closed, always equal to itself. Even closer to the border that separated the interpretation of the Tanakh from its study, came the great Maimonides, Rabbi Moshe, the son of Maimon (XII century). In his desire to combine the religious teachings of Judaism and philosophical thought (mainly Aristotle) ​​into one whole, he recognized its interpretation at the Peshat level as fundamental for understanding the Tanakh, paid special attention to geographical terms and the need to explain them, etc. Sometimes, if philosophy and Scripture conflicted, Maimonides resorted to allegorical interpretation.

For centuries, the interpretation of the Tanakh was mainly done by Jewish thought, the Jews. But they were by no means the only ones in the area. For Christianity and Christians, the question of the relationship of their religion to Yahwism-Judaism, their New Testament to the Tanakh was one of the central and most difficult problems. The proposed solutions ranged from recognizing Yahwism-Judaism as the forerunner of Christianity and the Tanakh as the forerunner of the New Testament, to completely denying any connection between them. But with one approach or another, the Tanakh remained the subject of intense reflection by Christian theologians, who realized the need to interpret it, of course, in accordance with the teachings of Christianity.

Christian theologians, as well as Jewish interpreters, were convinced of the original and unchanging completeness and completeness, the "closed system" of the text of the Tanakh. So, Thomas Aquinas (XIII century) believed that, as an integrity, he has two creators - the divine, who manifests himself in actions, deeds, and the human, who manifests himself in words. The task of interpretation is to approach the understanding of divine deeds through the understanding of the human word. To solve this problem, some Christian theologians, for example, the Church Fathers - Clement, Origen and others, turned to allegorical interpretation, while others - John Chrysostom, Theodore of Mopsuestia, etc., preferred a rationalistic interpretation, and Pope Gregory the Great (VI century) turned to synthesis of both methods as follows, described in one later poem:

The word teaches deeds, the allegory - what you believe in,

Morality - what you do, and what you strive for,

Agagogy teaches.

(“Agagogia” in ancient Greek means “exaltation”, this was the name of the Christian way of interpretation.)

The Jewish and Christian interpretations of the Tanakh developed in parallel, but not without interaction and mutual influence. If the influence of the Judaic interpretation on the Christian one was mainly due to the attention to the word in the Tanakh, to the etymology and semantics of the Hebrew word, then the Christian interpretation influenced the Judaic one by the structure of the commentary developed by it, the desire to integrate different methods of interpretation. At the end of the Middle Ages, on the eve of the new time, the commonality of the spiritual atmosphere in both channels of interpretation of the Tanakh contributed to its approaching the border that separated interpretation from research, even the transition from interpretation to research, but without a categorical rejection of interpretation (especially in the Jewish mainstream).

Tanakh and Literature

Tanakh and European Literature

In the era of classicism - an aesthetic trend in European literature and art of the 17th - early 19th centuries - creative energy was aimed at creating such works that would draw the reader's and viewer's attention to eternal problems, eternal conflicts, eternal personality traits, stories, nature and the human race. Therefore, in the era of classicism, it was characteristic to turn to works already known from antiquity in order to rewrite them in a new way.

At the same time, it was important to comply with clear genre requirements (as required by ancient tragedy, epic, ode) and emphasize new, vital aspects in already known material, be it philosophy, personality psychology, conflict between society and the individual, and the like.

Obviously, the Tanakh could offer and in fact supplied the authors with the material they were looking for. Examples of such works are the tragedies of Jean Racine (1639-1699) - "Esther" and "Athaliah", the books of George Noel Gordon Byron (1788-1824) "Jewish Melodies" and "Cain".

Tanakh and Russian literature

Three books were published in Moscow in the 1990s: "The Old Testament in Russian Poetry" (1996), "The Psalter" in Russian Poetry" (1995), as well as a book not directly related to the topic "The branch of Palestine.

Poems by Russian poets about Jerusalem and Palestine" (1993). They show how often and from different angles Russian poets read the Tanakh.

If we turn to the Psalter, then most of all, as it seems, Psalm 137 (or 136 in the Christian canon) attracted Russian poets.

The Bible is of great importance to the Jewish people. In addition to being considered a sacred book, it also contains traces of historical events Israel, occurring over almost two thousand years, from the birth of the Jews as a nation, starting from the forefather Abraham, and ending with the conquest of Judea by Alexander the Great. When it comes to the Jewish Bible, it usually refers to the Tanakh, which is the liturgical book of the Jews. The word "Tanakh" is an abbreviation made up of three words: Torah, Neviim, Ketuvim. The Tanakh is completely the Old Testament of the Bible, and differs only in the sequence of books included in its composition. Of particular importance for the Jews is the Torah - the Pentateuch of Moses, which contains all the laws by which the Jews are still trying to live. Neviim is the name of the books of the prophets, and Ketuvim is the writings of the saints. The Hebrew Bible provided big influence on the formation of Christianity and Islam and on the birth of the written heritage of these two religions.

Structure of the Hebrew Bible

The Bible of the Jews consists of 39 books, like the Christian Old Testament. The Tanakh was divided into three parts approximately in the 2nd century BC. e., and, as in the Old Testament, there is a division into chapters and verses. An interesting difference between the Jewish Bible and the Christian Bible is the presence of not only the Written, but also the so-called Oral Torah. The value of the Oral Torah for the Jews is no less than the Written one: in particular, many representatives of Judaism believe that the Oral Torah was received by Moses on Mount Zion along with the Tablets of the Covenant. At one time, the Jews had a ban on writing down the Oral Torah, but at present, the severity of this ban has been significantly reduced. The oral version of one of the books of the Hebrew Bible is rejected by a number of Jewish sects, such as the Sadducees, Samaritans and Karaites.

No New Testament in the Hebrew Bible

The radical difference between the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible is that it has not changed over the past millennia. The Christian Bible was replenished with the New Testament - the doctrine of the incarnation of God in human form, His crucifixion and Resurrection. In addition, the New Testament includes the books of the apostles and the Revelation of John the Theologian. This happened because at the beginning of the 1st century AD. e. among the Jews there was a split into those who recognized in Jesus Christ the Savior promised by God, and those who rejected Him. Thus, the followers of Judaism are still waiting for the fulfillment of the prophecies recorded in the Hebrew Bible and waiting for the Messiah. Therefore, the holy prophets, who, according to traditional religious tradition, wrote the book of the Bible of the Jews, are recognized and revered in both Judaism and Christianity.