Article 1: Classification of the Books of the Old Testament according to the Jewish Tanakh

By Adrian Mathew

What is the Jewish Tanakh?

The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, also known in Hebrew as Miqra, is the canonical collection of Hebrew scriptures. Tanakh, an acronym derived from the names of the three divisions of the Hebrew Bible. The meaning of TANAKH is the Jewish Scriptures comprising the books of law, the prophets, and collected writings. (Taken from the internet)

Classification of the Old Testament based of the Jewish Tanakh

The phrase “the law and the prophets” is common in the New Testament as a way to refer to the Hebrew Tanakh and its basic division into 2 parts, Torah and Prophets. In Luke 24:44 Luke has Jesus refer to “the law of Moses, the prophets and the psalms” which reflects the three- part division of Torah, Prophets and Writing of the Tanakh. The total number of books in the Jewish Tanakh is 24.

1) Pentateuch/Torah/Law – The Torah is the foundation document of Judaism and the heart of the Hebrew Bible. The Torah consists of 5 individual books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The books of the Torah tell a story that begins before the creation of the world and ends with the death of Moses. The Torah has a remarkable wholeness and narrative unity in a number of ways. It lays out a series of covenants between YHWH and the Jewish people. Each covenant was accompanied by a distinctive indicator or sign as evidence that it was in force. In addition to the covenants the Torah has a Promissory structure whereby it views Israel’s experience as the fulfilment of divine promises. The promises are specifically concerned with posterity/heirs eventually leading to nationhood, a homeland and a perpetual divine presence.

 

2) The Prophets – The account of the monarchy and the documents of prophecy are grouped together in one major collection called the Prophets and it follows the Torah in serial order. There are 8 books in the Prophets. The Prophets collection is further subdivided into two parts: The narrative historical books came to be called the Former Prophets and the books associated with prophetic figures were called the Latter Prophets. In the Jewish canon Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings come under Former Prophets. The Latter Prophets are classified as Major Prophets and Minor Prophets. The Major Prophets being Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The Twelve or Minor Prophets is an individual book consisting of Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.

3) The Writings – The third major division of the Hebrew Tanakh is called the Writings. The Writings represent an important stage in the history of Israel and the development of its religion and society. It enables us to understand the theological process – that is how a faithful community saw itself in relationship to God as it wrestled with its changing circumstances and changing identity. There are 11 books in The Writings. The Writings are divided into 5 categories:

• Devotional and Liturgical Literature – Psalms;
• Wisdom Literature – Job, Proverbs;
• The Five Scrolls (Books read during one of Israel’s major festival or fast days) – Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther;
• Apocalyptic Literature – Daniel;
• Chronicler’s History: Ezra/Nehemia, Chronicles.

Comparison Table of Jewish, Protestant and Catholic Canons

(The above content is referenced from the book: A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament by John Bergsma and Brant Pitre)