Composition of the Tanach

Question

Is the “Old Testament” of the Bible called the Tanach?

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Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    First of all, in Judaism there is only one “Testament” – the Torah.

    In the Jewish Scriptures there are twenty four Books split into three sections.

    The first section are the Five Books of Moses, also known as the Torah: Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy. These were dictated by God and written down by Moses.

    The second section are The Prophets:
    Joshua
    Judges
    Samuel
    Kings
    Isaiah
    Jeremiah
    Ezekiel
    The Twelve Prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micha, Nachum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zecharia and Melachi)

    The Prophecies were not received originally to be written down. They were received from God by the prophet in order for the prophet to tell the Jewish People. The fact that they were written down is because they contained an eternal message that was needed throughout the generations.

    The third section are The Writings:
    Psalms was written by King David
    Proverbs was written by King Solomon
    Job was written Moses
    The Song of Songs was written by King Solomon
    Ruth was written by the prophet Samuel
    Lamentations was written by the prophet Jeremiah
    Ecclesiastes was written by King Solomon
    Esther was written by the Men of the Great Assembly
    Daniel was written by the Men of the Great Assembly
    Ezra-Nechemia was written by the prophet Ezra
    Chronicles was written by the prophet Ezra

    The Writings were inspired by Divine Inspiration and were meant to be written down from their inception. As the era of prophecy drew to a
    close the Torah was “signed and sealed.”

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team