Hebrew Bible

The Hebrew Bible is the sacred and holy scripture for Judaism. Much of the Christian Bible is based upon the Hebrew Bible’s teachings, and scholars argue that the Christian Bible can’t be understood without referring to these teachings. The Hebrew Bible is also known as the Hebrew Scriptures, Old Testament, or the Tanakh. For discussion of the Christian Bible, see the SuperSummary Study Guide, Bible: Old Testament: English Standard Version.

The Hebrew Bible explains that God selected the Jews, Jerusalem, and Israel as his chosen people, capital city, and holy land. The authors of the individual books comprising the Hebrew Bible are unknown. Although it is impossible to know for sure when the books were written, scholars date the Hebrew Bible to between the tenth and twelfth centuries BCE (Before the Common Era).

The Hebrew Bible comprises twenty-four books in total. The first six books describe God’s creation of the world and humanity, and the settlement of the Promised Land by the Jewish people. The next seven books provide a history of the Promised Land and what happens when the Jewish people forget God. The remaining books offer additional context, theological explanations, and poetry. Each book stands for a scroll containing the individual works. In total, the Hebrew Bible covers a period of around 3,500 years.

The first portion of the Hebrew Bible is known as the Torah. Although there are six books in the first section, only five are traditionally associated with Moses, who received God’s revelations. The Torah explains the story of Adam and Eve, the first humans, and how they rejected God, or Yahweh.

It is not until Abraham, an early Hebrew, or inhabitant of Israel, comes along that a human proves devoutly faithful to Yahweh. Yahweh promises Abraham that, thanks to Abraham’s devotion, the people of Israel are blessed. Israel will flourish into a great and prosperous place. Abraham puts his faith in Yahweh, believing that the Hebrews are the chosen ones.

Abraham has a grandson, Jacob, who sires twelve sons. These twelve boys go on to form the twelve main tribes in Israel. However, when many Hebrews are enslaved to a tyrannical Egyptian king, their faith in Yahweh wavers. Moses is chosen to bring great tragedies to Egypt to show them that Yahweh will always protect the Hebrews.

The Hebrews, fleeing Egypt as it collapses around them, search for a new home. They find Mount Sinai and settle there. At Mount Sinai, Moses turns to Yahweh for further guidance. Yahweh speaks directly to him and Moses writes his commandments down—and, so, the Torah is born. The Hebrews have faith that Yahweh will provide for them, and he does. They soon find the Promised Land.

In the next seven books (or eight books, depending on how the reader divides the first section), otherwise known as the Nevi’im, covers the stories of the prophets. The major prophets are Joshua, the Judges, Samuel, and kings. The books of these prophets tell the history of the Jewish people. They cover the Hebrews conquering of an area of land which they distribute between the twelve tribes, and what happened when leadership problems arose between the different tribes.

The land is in dire need of a king, but Yahweh doesn’t yet provide one. The people remain faithful that Yahweh will provide when the time is right. In the meantime, elected figures, known as judges, rule the land the best they can. Finally, Israel receives its monarchy. The first three kings are better known as Saul, David, and Solomon. Most importantly, David, the second king, establishes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city.

Once David establishes Jerusalem, Solomon later constructs a temple for worshipping Yahweh. This becomes the Jewish heartland, the most important place in Jerusalem. However, when Israel later falls, it is split into two distinct places—Assyria and Babylon. Each place has its own idea of how to worship Yahweh, and so the seeds of division are sown once more. The remaining books in the Nevi’im recount Yahweh’s messages of hope and His calls for unity. The major premise of the Nevi’im is that the people have forgotten their one true King, and Israel can only be restored by remembering Yahweh.

The remaining books in the Hebrew Bible, known as the Ketuvim, are of mixed content. For example, the final books, the Chronicles, provide additional historical detail. They recount the attempts to restore Jerusalem and what happens when Hebrew society flourishes once more. On the other hand, the Lamentations are poetic writings lamenting Jerusalem’s downfall, and the Psalms celebrate Yahweh and ancient Israel through song and poetry. The tone of the Lamentations compared to the Psalms is very different—one is somber, the other less so.

Other books in the Ketuvim include general theological commentary and moral philosophy. The Proverbs, the Ecclesiastes, and the Book of Job are known as wisdom books, meaning they aim to educate readers, making them consider how to become better people. Books such as the Book of Ruth are short stories with hero narratives. These short stories entertain as much as educate.