The Hebrew Scriptures are a three-part collection of scrolls known as the Torah, Prophets, and Writings, or "TaNaK" for short
Did you know that the arrangement of the Old Testament in Christian Bibles is not original? Along with all ancient Jews, Jesus encountered the Scriptures as a three-part collection of scrolls known as the Torah, Prophets, and Writings, or "TaNaK" for short. In this video we;ll explore why this matters, and what happens when you read the Hebrew Scriptures in the traditional Jewish order.
TaNaK for short
The Hebrew canon, or Old Testament, refers to the collection of Hebrew (and some Aramaic) books that were recognized as Scripture in ancient Israel. The tradition order we're talking about is referred to as "TaNaK." The TaNaK is an acronym for the names of the three large subcollections of the Hebrew Bible: Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim. See how the whole order of the Old Testament is actually much different than you think, and is the same order Jesus would have read them in.
The Old Testament Overview Video:
The Pentateuch / The Torah
The Greek word Pentateuch (“five books”) makes reference to the first five books of the Holy bible;
Genesis,
Exodus,
Leviticus,
Numbers, and
Deuteronomy. To Jews, these five book collection are known as
Torah, or
The Torah. Traditionally, it is believed that Moses is the author of the Pentateuch, with the exception of the last chapter of the book of Deuteronomy; chapter 34, which describes Moses’ death and burial and also describes the handing over of leadership to Joshua.
What Is the Content of the Pentateuch?
The content is a Jewish background and also the beginning of the Christian
story. Today, when Jewish families gather together for a holiday, they often sit around the table or around the fire and retell—their
story. This is the case when a new member of the family—a new husband or wife, for example—is brought into the family for the first time. It is tradition that the new member hears and learns the family’s story, going back through generations.
The Historical Books
The final book of the Pentateuch; Deuteronomy, ends with the tribes of Israel camped in Moab. They are prepared to enter Canaan, the land God promised to give to them (Deut 1:1-8; 34:1-8). The final words of Deuteronomy outlines the death of Moses and the handing over of ruler-ship to Joshua as the next leader of Israel.
Christians call these 12 Old Testament books that proceed the Pentateuch, starting from Joshua to the book of Esther, the Historical Books. They describe Israel’s history as a people in the promised land of Canaan. The descriptions of the events in these books are more concerned with the religious teaching about God and his relationship with Israel than they are about the historical facts of the events themselves. Therefore, the Historical Books reads more like exciting stories than even historical accounts. In fact, two of the Historical books;, Ruth and Esther, are more like short stories than history books.
Together, these books can be thought of as telling one long journey that took place from around 1250 B.C. to 150 B.C. with several key events and main characters.
The Wisdom Books
Six books in the Christian Bible are often referred to as poetry books; Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Solomon), and Lamentations. They are almost entirely made up of poems, or songs, and wise sayings that the ancient Jews (and the Christians who followed) used to gain wisdom from God and Godly instruction.
However, only five of these books excluding Lamentations which is also known as one of the books of the Major Prophets, are known as the books of Wisdom, or the Wisdom books. These books follow a long run of books (The Historical books) that told the story of ancient Israel's exile from their promised land, and they are followed by the books of prophecy. (Lamentations is a little songbook next to Jeremiah in the prophecy section.)
The Major Prophets
The Major and the Minor Prophets
The Major Prophets and Minor Prophets are terms used in reference to the Old Testament portion of the Bible that distinguish the longer books of prophecy from the shorter ones. In the English versions of the bible, The Major Prophets come first and they include Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel, followed by the 12 books that comprise the Minor Prophets.
To describe the difference of size between these two Prophetic books in Old Testament Scripture, the five books of the Major Prophets has 183 chapters, while the 12 books of the Minor Prophets carries 67 chapters. The longest book of the Major Prophets, Isaiah, has 66 chapters, while the shortest book in the Minor Prophets, Obadiah, has just one chapter.
Historically, the Hebrew Bible (the Jewish version of the Old Testament) arranged these books differently. The book of Lamentations, for example, was included as part of Jeremiah, because it was written by the same author. The 12 Minor Prophets were included as one large book called "The Twelve" or
Trei Asar in Hebrew. In the Hebrew order, both the Major and Minor Prophets were considered part of the collection known as the Latter Prophets (Later Prophets) or the
Nevi'im.
The 5 books of the Major Prophets in the Old Testament, follows the 5 Wisdom Books, and is followed by the 12 books of the Minor Prophets.
The Minor Prophets
The Major Prophets and Minor Prophets are terms used in reference to the Old Testament portion of the Bible that distinguish the longer books of prophecy from the shorter ones. In the English versions of the bible, The 12 Minor Prophets, which are the shorter prophetic books compared to the longer books of the Major Prophets, is the final collection of books in the Old Testament, and include Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
To describe the difference of size between the two collections of Prophetic books in Old Testament Scripture, the five books of the Major Prophets has 183 chapters, while the 12 books of the Minor Prophets carries 67 chapters. The longest book of the Major Prophets, Isaiah, has 66 chapters, while the shortest book in the Minor Prophets, Obadiah, has just one chapter.
Historically, the Hebrew Bible (the Jewish version of the Old Testament) arranged these books differently. The book of Lamentations, for example, was included as part of Jeremiah, because it was written by the same author. The 12 Minor Prophets were included as one large book called "The Twelve" or
Trei Asar in Hebrew. In the Hebrew order, both the Major and Minor Prophets were considered part of the collection known as the Latter Prophets (Later Prophets) or the
Nevi'im.
