SOR1 - Sacred Texts of Judaism
TaNaKh
- Consists of 21 books
- Some sources originate from nearly 2000 years ago
- Three Major Books:
- Torah (Teachings)
- Neviim (Prophets)
- Ketuvim (Writings)
- Originally written in Hebrew
- Themes: crisis and exile, alienation and reconciliation
Torah (Teachings)
- First five books of the TaNaKh
- Genesis
- Exodus
- Leviticus
- Numbers
- Deuteronomy
- Received by Moses on Mount Sinai
- Sometimes referred to as The Law
- Contains the Covenant between G-d and man
Nevi’im (Prophets)
- 8 books
- Joshua
- Judges
- Samuel
- Kings
- Isaiah
- Jeremiah
- Ezekiel
- 12 Minor Prophets
Ketuvim (Writings)
- 11 Books
- Psalms
- Job
- Proverbs
- Ruth
- Song of Songs
- Ecclesiastes
- Lamentations
- Esther
- Daniel
- Ezra-Nehemiah
- Chronicles
- Believed to have been written under Divine Inspiration
Talmud
- A legal commentary on the TaNaKh, explaining how its commandments are to be lived out
- Consists of two books
- Mishnah
- Gemara
- The Mishnah is the Oral Law. It includes lessons and quotations from sages, scholars and rabbis.
- The Mishnah is organised as a legal book, while the Torah is arranged like a narrative
- The Gemara contains the Halachah (Jewish Law)
- The Mishnah is the Core Text of the Talmud, while the Gemara serves as an expansion, “completing” the Talmud
- Both texts explore the reasoning behind the principles of the Torah, as well as situations where an action might not be considered a violation of Mitzvot.
- They also serve as a final legal ruling on contradictions in the Torah, providing a definitive answer to issues of conflict.
[Definitions for this Topic](/posts/definitions/#science-genetics)
