What is the name of the Hebrew Bible? Gods in Judaism

According to statistics, the Bible is one of the most published and sold books in the world. It combines many written monuments from different regions and times. One of the most important sections of the Bible is In the tradition of Judaism, it is called the Tanakh. We will talk about what it is, what the composition and content of the Tanakh are, in this article.

Hebrew Bible

It is known that there are two Bibles - Christian and Jewish. The first, in addition to the Old Testament, includes a corpus of texts, which is called But the Hebrew Bible is limited only to the Old. Of course, the very definition of “old”, that is, outdated, is not recognized by the Jews and considers it somewhat offensive towards them. The Jews call their canon the word “Tanakh”. This is actually an abbreviation that comes from the words “Torah”, “Neviim”, “Ketuvim” - components of the Jewish Bible. We will talk about them in more detail, but for now let’s turn to history.

Origin of the Tanakh, language and historical development

As mentioned above, the Tanakh is a collection of texts that had different authors who lived at different times and in different places. The oldest layers of Scripture are approximately 3,000 years old. The youngest ones were written a little over two thousand years ago. One way or another, the age is quite impressive and respectable. According to the most common version, the formation of the Old Testament began in the 13th century BC. e. in the Middle East and ended by the 1st century BC. e. The language of scripture is Hebrew. Some parts are also written in later Aramaic. In the 3rd century BC. e. In Alexandria, a Greek translation was made for the Jews of the Diaspora, called the Septuagint. It was in vogue among Greek-speaking Jews until the new Christian religion entered the world stage, whose followers began to actively translate sacred texts into all languages ​​of the world, considering them all equally sacred. Supporters of Judaism, although they use translations, recognize only the authentic Jewish text as canonical.

The books of the Old Testament are very diverse in their content. But first of all, the Tanakh is a story about the history of the Israeli people and their relationship with God the Creator, who bears the name Yahweh. In addition, the Hebrew Bible contains religious instructions, hymnographic material and prophecies aimed at the future. Believers believe that the entire Tanakh is a divinely inspired complete text in which not a single letter can be changed.

Components of the Tanakh

There are 24 books in the Hebrew Scriptures. In essence, they are almost identical to the Christian canon, but differ in the nature of their classification. In addition, some books that are considered different texts by Christians are combined into one in the Tanakh. Therefore, the total number of books among Jews is 24 (sometimes they are even reduced to 22 in order to justify the correspondence of the books of the Tanakh to the letters of which, as is known, there are 22), while among Christians it is at least 39.

As already mentioned, all books of the Tanakh are divided into three classes: Torah, Neviim, Ketuvim. The first of them - the Torah - is the most important. This part is also called the Pentateuch because it consists of five books whose authorship is attributed to the prophet Moses. However, this is a religious attribution, which is dubious from a scientific point of view.

The word “Torah” means a law that must be known and followed exactly. These books tell about the creation of the world, people, their fall, the history of ancient humanity, the birth and election of the Jewish people by God, the conclusion of a covenant with them and the path to Israel.

The Nevi'im section literally means "prophets". But, in addition to the prophetic books, it includes some historical narratives. Within itself, Nevi'im is divided into two parts: the early prophets and the late prophets. The early category includes works attributed to Joshua, the Prophet Samuel, etc. In general, they are more historical in nature than prophetic. The later prophets include the books of three so-called great prophets - Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel - and twelve minor ones. Unlike the Christian tradition, the latter are combined into one book. In total, there are 8 books in Neviim.

Ketuvim is the section that concludes the Tanakh. In Russian it means "scriptures". It includes prayer and hymnographic texts, as well as wisdom literature - instructions of a religious and moral nature, the authorship of which is attributed to the sages of Israel, for example, King Solomon. There are a total of 11 books in this section.

Tanakh in Christianity

The entire Tanakh is accepted as Holy Scripture in Christendom, with the exception of some heterodox movements, such as the Gnostics. However, if the followers of Judaism included in the canon only texts that have a Hebrew original, then Christians recognize as sacred some other scriptures, the Hebrew original of which either has not been preserved or did not exist at all. All such texts go back to the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Tanakh. They are included in the Orthodox Bibles as sacred texts. In Catholicism they are recognized conditionally and are called deuterocanonical. And in Protestantism they are completely rejected. In this sense, the Protestant canon is more similar to the Jewish version than other Christian versions of the Tanakh. In fact, the Protestant version of the Old Testament is simply a translation of the later Jewish canon. All three Christian traditions have changed the classification of books. Thus, the three-part structure was replaced by a four-part one, borrowed from the same Septuagint. It includes the Pentateuch, historical, educational and prophetic books.

3. Jewish Bible.

It cannot be considered as a historical chronicle, since truth and fiction are intertwined in it. And all because it was formed over a long time on the basis of oral traditions. It is based on the legend of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, the indisputable authority of Moses, as well as the idea of ​​​​God's chosenness of the Jewish people. However, in the biblical story of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, where they lived peacefully for four hundred and thirty years, what is surprising is that the ideas of messianism and God's chosenness were completely alien to these people.

The Hebrew Bible includes 24 books, which in ancient times were in the form of scrolls. In modern Judaism, they composed the Tanakh, a huge body of writing that is divided into three groups: Torah, Neviim and Ketuvim. The first letters make up the common name - TaNaKh (“k” is pronounced like “x”).

The five books of the Torah (Testament, or Pentateuch in the Greek tradition): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy - contain the basis of divine revelation. They bear Hebrew names based on the first words of the text, for example, the book of Genesis is called Breishit (In the Beginning).

The book Nevi'im (Prophets) collects the historical books of the ancient prophets: Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings, three great prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel - and the "Twelve Prophets" (or minor prophets) in one book: Hosea, Joel, Amos , Obadiah, Jonah

The book Ketuvim (Lives, Scriptures of the Holy Fathers) contains a collection of diverse poetic and scholarly texts: the Psalter, the Proverbs of Solomon, the Book of Job, the Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes; historical works of Ezra and Nehemiah, Chronicles (Chronicles), Book of Ruth, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Books

These three sections constitute the canon of the Jewish Bible, i.e. official list of books revered by God. The rabbis included here only books compiled in Hebrew or Aramaic, excluding books and passages written in Greek, i.e. in a later era. The Jewish canon exists independently of the Greek canon, which developed in the 3rd century. BC. and called the Septuagint (because the text for it was developed by 70 or 72 interpreters) and intended for the Jewish Diaspora, who had forgotten their native language. The translation into Greek was carried out at the request of the rabbis themselves, and not by direct order of the Egyptian king Ptolemy. Subsequently, the Jews abandoned the Septuagint, believing that the meaning of the Holy Scriptures was thereby distorted. It is also worth mentioning that all canonical texts were written down only with consonants, without vowels. Subsequently, the Massoretic editors (from massorah, “interpretation”) added vowels in order to avoid arbitrary interpretations and distortions.

Mira. It was formed in the 1st century BC in ancient Judea. The history of belief is directly related to the Jewish people and their rich history, as well as the development of the nation’s statehood and the life of its representatives in the diaspora.

The essence

Those who profess this faith call themselves Jews. Some followers claim that their religion dates back to the time of Adam and Eve in Palestine. Others believe that Judaism is a faith founded by a small group of nomads. Among them was Abraham, who made a covenant with God that became the fundamental tenet of religion. In accordance with this document, which is known to us as the commandments, people were obliged to observe the rules of pious life. In return, they received the protection of the Almighty.

The main sources for the study of Judaism are the Old Testament and the Bible in general. Religion recognizes only three types of books: prophetic, historical and Torah - publications interpreting the law. And also the sacred Talmud, consisting of two books: the Mishnah and the Gemara. By the way, it regulates all aspects of life, including morality, ethics and even jurisprudence: civil and criminal law. Reading the Talmud is a sacred and responsible mission, which only Jews are allowed to engage in.

Differences

The main feature of the religion is that God in Judaism has no form. In other ancient Eastern religions, the Almighty was often depicted either in the form of a man or in the likeness of a beast. People tried to rationalize natural and spiritual matters, to make them as understandable as possible for mere mortals. But Jews who read the Bible call this idolatry, since the main book of the Jews strictly condemns servility before icons, statues or images.

As for Christianity, there are two main differences. First, God in Judaism did not have a son. Christ, in their opinion, was an ordinary mortal man, a preacher of morality and pious word, the last prophet. Secondly, it is national. That is, a citizen of the country automatically becomes a Jew, without having the right to subsequently adopt another religion. in our time - a relic. It was only in ancient times that this phenomenon flourished. Today, it is revered only by Jews, while preserving the identity and originality of the people.

Prophets

In Judaism, this is a person who brings the will of God to the masses. With its help, the Almighty teaches the people the commandments: people improve, improve their lives and future, develop morally and spiritually. Who will be a prophet is decided by God himself, says Judaism. Religion does not exclude that the choice may fall on a mortal who absolutely does not want to take on such an important mission. And he gives the example of Jonah, who even tried to flee to the ends of the world from the sacred duties entrusted to him.

In addition to morality and spirituality, the prophets also had the gift of clairvoyance. They predicted the future, gave valuable advice on behalf of the Almighty, treated for various diseases and even took part in the political life of the country. For example, Ahijah was the personal adviser to Jeroboam, the founder of the kingdom of Israel, Elisha contributed to the change of the dynasty, Daniel himself headed the state. The teachings of the early prophets are included in the books of the Tanakh, while the teachings of the later ones are published in separate copies. Interestingly, the preachers, unlike representatives of other ancient religions, believed in the advent of a “golden age”, when all peoples would live in peace and prosperity.

Currents in Judaism

Over the long centuries of its existence, religion has undergone many transformations and modifications. As a result, its representatives were divided into two camps: the reformists. The former religiously adhere to the traditions of their ancestors and do not introduce innovations into beliefs and its canons. The latter, on the contrary, welcome liberal trends. Reformists accept marriages between Jews and representatives of other religions, same-sex love and the work of women as rabbis. Orthodox Christians primarily live in most of modern Israel. Reformists - in the USA and Europe.

Conservative Judaism became an attempt at a compromise between the two warring camps. Religion, which resulted in two currents, found a middle ground precisely in this synthesis of innovation and tradition. Conservatives limited themselves to the introduction of organ music and sermons in the language of the country of residence. Instead, they left such important rituals as circumcision, keeping the Sabbath, and kash-rut intact. Wherever Judaism is practiced, in Russia, the United States or in European powers, all Jews observe a clear hierarchy, submitting to their elders in spiritual position.

Commandments

They are saints for Jews. Representatives of this people are confident that during times of numerous persecutions and bullying, the nation survived and preserved its identity only by observing the canons and rules. Therefore, even today one cannot go against them, even if one’s own life is at stake. Interestingly, the principle “the law of the land is the law” was formed back in the 3rd century BC. According to it, the rules of the state are binding on all citizens without exception. Jews are also obliged to be as loyal as possible to the highest echelons of power; dissatisfaction is only allowed to be expressed regarding religious and family life.

Keeping the Ten Commandments received by Moses on Mount Sinai is the essence of Judaism. And the main one among them is the observance of the Sabbath holiday (“Shabbat”). This day is special, it should definitely be devoted to rest and prayer. On Saturdays you cannot work or travel, even cooking is prohibited. And so that people do not sit hungry, they are ordered to do the first one on Friday evening - for several days in advance.

About the world and man

Judaism is a religion based on the legend of the creation of the planet by God. According to it, he created the earth from the water surface, spending six days on this important mission. Thus, the world and all creatures living in it are God's creations. As for a person, there are always two principles in his soul: good and evil, which are in constant opposition. The dark demon inclines him towards earthly pleasures, the light one - towards doing good deeds and spiritual development. The struggle began to manifest itself in the form of individual behavior.

As already mentioned, followers of Judaism believe not only in the beginning of the existence of the world, but also in its peculiar end - the “golden era”. Its founder will be King Moshiach, aka the Messiah, who will rule the people until the end of time and bring them prosperity and liberation. In every generation there is a potential contender, but only a true descendant of David, who steadfastly keeps the commandments and is pure in soul and heart, is destined to become a full-fledged Messiah.

About marriage and family

They were given the most importance. A person is obliged to start a family; not having one is considered blasphemy and even a sin. Judaism is a faith in which sterility is the worst punishment for a mortal. A man can divorce his wife if after 10 years of marriage she has not given birth to his first child. The legacy of religion is preserved in the family; even during periods of persecution, each unit of Jewish society must observe the rituals and traditions of its people.

The husband is obliged to provide his wife with everything necessary: ​​housing, food, clothing. His duty is to ransom her in case of capture, bury her with dignity, care for her during illness, and provide her with a means of subsistence if the woman remains a widow. The same applied to common children: they should not need anything. Sons - until they come of age, daughters - until they become engaged. Instead, the man, as the head of the family, has the right to the income of his other half, her property and valuables. He can inherit his wife's fortune and use the results of her labor for his own purposes. After his death, the husband's elder brother is obliged to marry the widow, but only if the marriage is childless.

Children

The father also has many responsibilities to his heirs. He must initiate his son into the subtleties of faith that the holy book preaches. Judaism is based on the Torah, which is studied by a child under the guidance of a parent. With its help, the boy also masters his chosen craft, and the girl receives a good dowry. Little Jews respect their parents very much, follow their instructions and never contradict them.

Until the age of 5, the mother is involved in the religious education of children. She teaches kids basic prayers and commandments. Afterwards they are sent to school at the synagogue, where they master all the biblical wisdom. Training takes place after main lessons or on Sunday mornings. The so-called religious coming of age occurs for boys at 13 years old, for girls at 12. On this occasion, various family holidays are organized, which symbolize a person’s entry into adulthood. From now on, young creatures must constantly attend the synagogue and lead a pious lifestyle, as well as continue further deep study of the Torah.

Major holidays of Judaism

The main one is Passover, which Jews celebrate in the spring. The history of its origin is closely connected with the period of the Exodus from Egypt. In memory of those events, Jews eat bread made from water and flour - matzo. During the persecution, people did not have time to prepare full-fledged flatbreads, so they were content with their Lenten counterpart. They also have bitter greens on the table - a symbol of Egyptian enslavement.

During the period of the Exodus, they also began to celebrate the New Year - Rosh Hashanah. It is a September holiday that proclaims God's kingdom. It is on this day that the Lord judges humanity and lays the foundations for the events that will happen to the people in the coming year. Sukkot is another important autumn date. During the holiday, Jews, glorifying the Almighty, live for seven days in temporary sukkah buildings covered with branches.

Hanukkah is also a big event for Judaism. The holiday is a symbol of the victory of good over evil, light over darkness. It arose as a memory of the eight miracles that occurred during the rebellion against Greco-Syrian rule. In addition to these main memorial dates, Jews also celebrate Tu Bishvat, Yom Kippur, Shavuot and others.

Food restrictions

Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism - each religion has its own characteristic features, some of which extend to cooking. Thus, Jews are not allowed to eat “unclean” foods: the meat of pigs, horses, camels and hares. They also prohibit oysters, shrimp and other marine life. Proper food in Judaism is called kosher.

It is interesting that religion prohibits not only some products, but also their combination. For example, dairy and meat dishes are taboo. The rule is strictly observed in all restaurants, bars, cafes and canteens in Israel. To ensure that these dishes are as far away from each other as possible, they are served in these establishments through different windows and prepared in separate dishes.

Many Jews revere it not only because this rule is written in the Torah, but also for the sake of improving the health of their own body. After all, this nutritional plan has been approved by many nutritionists. But here we can argue: if pork is not so healthy, then what the seafood is guilty of is unknown.

Other Features

The culture of Judaism is rich in unusual traditions that are incomprehensible to representatives of other faiths. For example, this applies to circumcision of the foreskin. The ceremony is carried out already on the eighth day of a newborn boy’s life. Once fully grown, he is also required to grow a beard and sideburns, like a true Jew. Long clothes and a covered head are another unspoken rule of the Jewish community. Moreover, the cap does not come off even during sleep.

A believer is obliged to honor all religious holidays. He must not offend or insult his fellow men. Children at school learn the basics of their religion: its principles, traditions, history. This is one of the main differences between Judaism and other religions. We can say that babies absorb the love of religion with their mother’s milk; their piety is literally passed on through their genes. This is probably why the people not only survived the times of mass destruction, but also managed to become a full-fledged, free and independent nation that lives and thrives on its own fertile land.

The Tanakh describes the creation of the world and man, the Divine covenant and commandments, and the history of the Jewish people from its origins to the beginning of the Second Temple period. Jews consider these books sacred because they were given to people ruach hakodesh- the spirit of holiness.

The Tanakh, as well as the religious and philosophical ideas of Judaism, influenced the formation of Christianity and Islam.

Layers

Jewish commentators distinguish several layers.

• Pshat (Hebrew: פְּשָׁט‎) is a literal interpretation of the meaning of a biblical or Talmudic text.
• Remez (Hebrew רֶמֶז, lit. hint) - “meaning extracted with the help of hints contained in the text; correlation of one fragment with others in similar places.”
• Drash (Hebrew דְּרָשׁ‎, also drush Hebrew דְּרוּשׁ‎) - interpretation of a biblical or Talmudic text by combining logical and sophistic constructions.
• Sod (Hebrew סוֹד, lit. mystery) is the Kabbalistic meaning of the text, accessible only to the elite who have learned all other meanings.

From the words pshat-remez-drash-sod the abbreviation PaRDeS (פַּרְדֵּ"ס) is obtained, which also means “citrus garden” in Hebrew.

Composition of the Tanakh

The Tanakh contains 24 books. The composition of the books is identical to the Old Testament, but differs in the order of the books. However, the Babylonian Talmud indicates an order different from the one established today. The Catholic and Orthodox canons of the Old Testament may include additional books of the Septuagint that are missing from the Tanakh.

The Jewish canon is divided into three parts in accordance with the genre and time of writing of certain books.

1. Law, or Torah, including the Pentateuch of Moses
2. Prophets, or Neviim, which includes, in addition to the prophetic, some books that today are considered to be historical chronicles. Nevi'im are divided, in turn, into two sections.
   • "Early Prophets": the books of Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel (1 and 2 Samuel) and 1 and 2 Kings (3 and 4 Kings)
   • "Late Prophets", including 3 books of the "major prophets" (Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel) and 12 "minor prophets". In the manuscripts, the “minor prophets” made up one scroll and were considered one book.
3. Scriptures, or Ketuvim, including the writings of the sages of Israel and prayer poetry. As part of Ketuvim, a collection of “five scrolls” stood out, including the books Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther, collected in accordance with the annual cycle of readings in the synagogue.

The division of the Tanakh into three parts is attested by many ancient authors at the turn of our era. Mention of “the law, the prophets and the rest of the books” Sir. ) we find in the book of Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach, written around 190 BC. e. The three sections of the Tanakh are also called by Philo of Alexandria (about 20 BC - about 50 AD) and Josephus (37 AD - ?).

Many ancient authors count 24 books in the Tanakh. The Jewish counting tradition combines the 12 minor prophets into one book, and also counts the pairs of Samuel 1, 2, Kings 1, 2, and Chronicles 1, 2 as one book. Ezra and Nehemiah are also combined into one book. In addition, sometimes pairs of the books of Judges and Ruth, Jeremiah and Eich are conditionally combined, so that the total number of books of the Tanakh is equal to 22 according to the number of letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Christian tradition, each of these books is considered as separate, thus talking about 39 books of the Old Testament.

Differences between the Tanakh and the Old Testament

Today there are three main forms of Tanakh/Old Testament Scripture, slightly different in composition and origin:

1. The Jewish canon (Tanakh), formed in Judaism;
2. Classical Christian canon, based on the Alexandrian version of the Jewish canon (Septuagint) and accepted in the Orthodox and Catholic Churches;
3. A Protestant canon that emerged in the 16th century and occupies an intermediate position between the first two.

Canon of Alexandria (Septuagint)

The Alexandrian Canon of the Old Testament (Septuagint) was adopted at the turn of our era by the Jews of Alexandria and formed the basis of the Christian canon of the Old Testament (this applies to both the text and the composition and rubrication of books). It differs markedly from the Tanakh both in the composition of the books and in their arrangement and individual texts. It must be borne in mind that textually the Alexandrian canon is based on a different, non-proto-Masoretic version of the original text.

These words express the essence of the interpretation of the Tanakh. It is based on the perception and recognition of the Tanakh, especially the Pentateuch, as a text that was originally complete and complete, a text outside of space and time, possessing absolute and inexhaustible wisdom and significance, which, however, cannot be comprehended by everyone and not always.

The task of the interpreter and the interpreter is to interpret the text of the Tanakh in accordance with the needs of the time, the audience and the interpreter himself, based on the text of the Tanakh itself as a complete and self-contained integrity. The study also seeks to understand and explain the Tanakh; the researcher also perceives the Tanakh as a whole, but not as the original one, but as one that emerged during the formation and development of the text of the Tanakh. The interpreter, in his quest to understand and explain the Tanakh, proceeds from the needs and interests of his time and his environment.

The researcher, of course, cannot (and should not) isolate himself from the demands and interests of his time and his environment, but he strives to understand and explain the Tanakh within the framework of the time and environment of the Tanakh itself. It is possible, apparently, to identify other features of interpretation and research, but a comparison of those listed here already shows the fundamental, essential difference between the two approaches. The difference between interpretation and research of the Tanakh is by no means axiological, that is, one of them cannot be considered better, more advanced than the other, etc., they are simply of different quality and in some ways even complementary.

“...the Levites made the teaching clear (mevinim) to the people...And they read in the book the teachings of Elohim, interpreting (mephorash) and with understanding, and [the people] understood what they read" (Neh. 8:7-9).

This desire to “understand,” “understand,” and, most importantly, “interpret” the Pentateuch was further developed among the Qumranite Essenes, who created a special genre of verbal creativity, Pesharim.

This method of interpretation, called by the famous Qumran scholar I. D. Amusin the method of presentation, “modernization” of the text of the Tanakh, also contains elements of allegorical interpretation, which received the most complete disclosure in the works of the greatest Jewish thinker of the Hellenistic-Roman era, Philo of Alexandria (1st century AD). e). Philo, who sought a synthesis of Yahwism with Greek philosophical thought, especially the teachings of Plato, considered Moshe the greatest of all thinkers and legislators, and Moshe's teachings as the absolute and highest wisdom, the truth addressed to all people at all times. But the word in the Tanakh has two meanings - external, concrete, understandable to everyone, and internal, abstract, which is revealed only through allegorical interpretation, that is, by recognizing that the external, concrete is only a sign, a symbol of the internal, abstract and true meaning. Accordingly, according to Philo, Adam and Khavva, of course, are the first humans, but mainly they are incarnations: Adam - of reason, and Khavva - of sensuality; The four rivers in the Garden of Eden represent the four cardinal virtues - wisdom, balance, courage and justice, etc.

The methods of allegorical interpretation of Philo found supporters and successors over the centuries, but they did not satisfy the creators of the Oral Torah - the Mishnah and the Talmud. These thinkers needed not only and not so much to reveal the secret, hidden meaning of the Tanakh and the Pentateuch, but to preserve them as the basis of the life, behavior and faith of Jews in a world that had changed significantly and continued to change. The allegorical interpretation of Philo did not meet these requirements, and they looked for a different way of interpretation, especially clearly expressed by the largest early medieval Jewish thinker and interpreter of the Tanakh, Saadia Gaon (late 9th - first half of the 10th century). He, like all interpreters before and after him, recognized the Tanakh as the embodiment of the highest, absolute truth, but not hidden, disguised, but revealed in words, in a text that must be correctly understood. This understanding is possible on two levels - at the level of peshat (“direct meaning”) and at the level of drash (“interpretation”). According to Saadia Gaon, first of all, the Tanakh should be understood at the level of the direct meaning of the words contained therein. Direct sensation, mental perception and logical inference lead to such understanding. (However, Saadia Gaon allowed the possibility of a purely allegorical interpretation if a direct interpretation contradicts logic, etc.)

This method of interpretation, which can be called rationalizing, was further developed in the famous commentary of Rashi, Rabbi Shelomo Yitzchaki (11th century), who paid special attention to the etymology (that is, the origin) and semantics (that is, the meaning) of words in the Tanakh, to grammar Hebrew language. This brought interpretation closer to the border separating it from research, since the search for the roots of words and their changing meaning conceals an underlying recognition of the formation and change of the Tanakh. Thus, Rashi’s commentary marked a departure from the fundamentals of interpretation: the perception and recognition of the Tanakh as a text that was initially complete, closed, and always equal to itself. The great Maimonides, Rabbi Moshe, son of Maimon (12th century), came even closer to the border that separated the interpretation of the Tanakh from its research. In his desire to unite into one whole the religious teachings of Judaism and philosophical thought (mainly Aristotle), he recognized its interpretation at the peshat level as fundamental to understanding the Tanakh, paid special attention to geographical terms and the need for their explanation, etc. Sometimes, if philosophy and Scripture came into conflict, Maimonides resorted to allegorical interpretation.

For centuries, the interpretation of the Tanakh was primarily carried out by Jewish thought, by Jews. But they were by no means the only ones in this area. For Christianity and Christians, the question of the relationship of their religion to Yahwism-Judaism, their New Testament to the Tanakh was one of the central and most difficult problems. Proposed solutions ranged from recognizing Yahwism-Judaism as the forerunner of Christianity and the Tanakh as the forerunner of the New Testament to completely denying any connections between them. But with one approach or another, the Tanakh remained the subject of intense reflection by Christian theologians, who were aware of the need to interpret it, of course, in accordance with the teachings of Christianity. Christian theologians, as well as Jewish commentators, were convinced of the original and unchangeable completeness and completeness, the “closed system” of the text of the Tanakh. Thus, Thomas Aquinas (XIII century) believed that as a whole he has two creators - the divine, who manifests himself in actions, deeds, and the human, who manifests himself in words. The task of interpretation is to approach the understanding of divine acts through the understanding of human words. To solve this problem, some Christian theologians, for example the Church Fathers - Clement, Origen and others, turned to an allegorical interpretation, while others - John Chrysostom, Theodore of Mopsuestia, etc., preferred a rationalistic interpretation, and Pope Gregory the Great (VI century) turned to a synthesis of both methods as follows, described in one later poem:

The word teaches deeds, allegory teaches what you believe in,

Morality is about what you do and what you strive for,

Agagogy teaches.

(“Agagogy” in ancient Greek means “exaltation”; this was the name of the Christian way of interpretation.)

Judaic and Christian interpretations of the Tanakh developed in parallel, but not without interaction and mutual influence. If the influence of the Judaic interpretation on the Christian one was reflected mainly in the attention to the word in the Tanakh, to the etymology and semantics of the Hebrew word, then the Christian interpretation influenced the Judaic interpretation by the structure of the commentary it developed and the desire to integrate different methods of interpretation. At the end of the Middle Ages, on the eve of modern times, the common spiritual atmosphere in both channels of interpretation of the Tanakh contributed to its approach to the border that separated interpretation from research, even the transition from interpretation to research, but without a categorical rejection of interpretation (especially in the Jewish channel).

Tanakh and literature

Tanakh and European Literature

In the era of classicism - an aesthetic movement in European literature and art of the 17th - early 19th centuries - creative energy was aimed at creating works that would draw the attention of the reader and viewer to eternal problems, eternal conflicts, eternal personality traits, history, nature and the human race. Therefore, in the era of classicism, it was typical to turn to works already known from antiquity with the goal of rewriting them in a new way. At the same time, it was important to comply with clear genre requirements (as required by ancient tragedy, epic, ode) and to emphasize new, vital aspects in the already known material, be it philosophy, personal psychology, conflict between society and the individual, and the like. Obviously, the Tanakh could and did provide the authors with the material they were looking for. Examples of such works are the tragedies of Jean Racine (1639-1699) - “Esther” and “Athaliah”, the books of George Noel Gordon Byron (1788-1824) “Jewish Melodies” and “Cain”.

Tanakh and Russian literature

In Moscow in the 90s of the twentieth century, three books were published: “The Old Testament in Russian Poetry” (1996), “The Psalter” in Russian Poetry” (1995), as well as a book not directly related to the topic “Branch of Palestine. Poems of Russian poets about Jerusalem and Palestine" (1993) They show how often and from different angles Russian poets read the Tanakh. If we turn to the Psalms, then most of all, it seems, Psalm 137 (or 136 in Christian) attracted Russian poets. canon).

Editions

• The first printed Chumash in Hebrew was simply a biblical text with Rashi on the cover, and many other editions have appeared since then.
• The first Masoretic Mikraot Gdolot was printed in Venice in 1524-1525, edited by Daniel Bomberg.
• Soncino's edition was printed in 1527 in Venice.
• Many editions of Mikraot Gdolot have been released since then.
• Rudolf Kittel's Biblia Hebraica appeared in 1906 and was reprinted in 1913.
• The Leningrad Codex was edited under Pavel E. Kale as the Biblia Hebraica (BHK), published in Stuttgart, in 1937. The codex was also used for the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) in 1977, and will be used for the Biblia Hebraica Quinta (BHQ). The Leningrad Codex presents a different order for the books of Ketuvim.
• Mesorah Publications מקראות גדלות, (Jerusalem, 1996)
• The JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh (Philadelphia, 1999)
• Aleppo Codex edited by Mordecai Breuer 1977-1982
• The Crown of Jerusalem: The Bible of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2000. Edited according to the method of Mordechai Breuer under the direction of Yosef Ofer, with additional corrections and clarifications compared to the Horev edition.
.
• Text of the Tanakh translated by D. Josephon. ed. "Mossad Rav Kook"