The meaning of the three divisions of the Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is split into three main sections:
1. Torah (Law) – five books
Jews regard this as the holiest part of the Tenakh (the Jewish Bible). The word ‘torah’ means ‘instruction’ in Hebrew (the oldest Jewish language). The Jewish Bible is mainly written in Hebrew. The Torah is known as the Five Books of The man chosen by God to save the Jews from slavery and take them to the promised land. In the Qur'an he is a messenger chosen by God to give the revelation of the Torah to the Israelites. and it is within this that the The list of rules, revealed by God to Moses, found in the Old Testament books of Exodus and Deuteronomy. Also known as the Decalogue. are found.
The Five Books of Moses are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. They tell the Jews about their history, the laws they should follow and how to live according to God’s will.
2. Nevi’im (Prophets) – eight books
These books describe the history of Judaism after the death of Moses. They tell of the Jews’ relationship with From the four Hebrew consonants YHWH, a form of the Hebrew name for God. and their history. They show the An agreement or promise. relationship with God in action and how the Jewish people worked through this. The three longer Foretelling events. books are those of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
3. Ketuvim (Writings) – 11 books
The purpose of this collection, as with the Nevi’im, is to record the history of the Jews and their actions within the covenant relationship with God. The books are very varied and deal with different events and themes. For example, the story of The central character of the book of Job, portrayed as a family man who is tested by God. is about a righteous man who is seriously tested by God. One of the main teachings here is that we may not necessarily suffer due to sin. This section also contains the book of Psalms which is a collection of writings in praise of God.