Judaism 101: The Written Tradition: Epublicist - Ca
Judaism 101: The Written Tradition: Epublicist - Ca
Judaism 101: The Written Tradition: Epublicist - Ca
Published by ePublicist.ca
Rabbinic Judaism recognizes the twenty-four books of the Masoretic Text, commonly
called the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible. Evidence suggests that the process of
canonization occurred between 200 BCE and 200 CE. A popular position is that
the Torah was canonized circa 400 BCE, the Prophets circa 200 BCE, and the
Writings circa 100 CE perhaps at a hypothetical Council of Jamnia—this position,
however, is increasingly criticised by modern scholars.
The book of 2 Maccabees, itself not a part of the Jewish canon, describes Nehemiah
(around 400 BCE) as having "founded a library and collected books about the
kings and prophets, and the writings of David, and letters of kings about votive
offerings" (2:13-15). The Book of Nehemiah suggests that the priest-scribe Ezra
brought the Torah back from Babylon to Jerusalem and the Second Temple (8-9)
around the same time period.
The Masoretic Text (MT) is a Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible (Tanakh). It
defines not just the books of the Jewish canon, but also the precise
letter-text of the biblical books in Judaism, as well as their vocalization
and accentuation for both public reading and private study.
The MT was primarily copied, edited and distributed by a group of Jews
known as the Masoretes between the seventh and tenth centuries CE.
רץ. הא ֶ את ָ מים ,ו ְ ֵ ש ַאת הַ ׁ ָ היםֵ , רא אֱלֹ ִ שית בָ ָ רא ִ )א( בְ ֵ
ח
תהום; ְורו ַ ני ְ על-פ ְ ֵ ךַ , ש ְ ח ֶ בהו ,ו ְ ֹ תהו ו ָ ֹ תה ֹ רץ ,הָי ְ ָ הא ֶ )ב( ו ְ ָ
מים. ני הַ ָ על-פ ְ ֵ פת ַ ח ֶ הים ,מְר ַ ֶ ל ִ אֱ ֹ
הי-אור. הי אור; ו ַי ְ ִ הים ,י ְ ִ ל ִ מר אֱ ֹ )ג( ו ַֹיא ֶ
בין
היםֵ , ל ִ
דל אֱ ֹ כי-טוב; ו ַי ַבְ ֵ האורִ , אתָ - הים ֶ ל ִ )ד( ו ַי ַר ְא אֱ ֹ
ך.
ש ְ
ח ֶ בין הַ ֹ האור ו ֵ ָ
הי-
לה; ו ַי ְ ִ רא לָי ְ ָ ק ָ
שך ְ ָ ח ֶ לאור יום ,ו ְלַ ֹ הים ָ ל ִ רא אֱ ֹ ק ָ )ה( ו ַי ִ ְ
חד} .פ{ קר ,יום אֶ ָ ב ֶ היֹ - רב ו ַי ְ ִ ע ֶ ֶ