Tanakh

Tanakh is a Hebrew word referring to the Old Testament books of the Bible. The word is actually an acronym referring to the three parts of the Old Testament:

• The Torah, which means "law," and refers to the first five books of the Bible - Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Sometimes these books also are called the five books of Moses or the Pentateuch.

• Nevi'im, which refers to the books that are named after the prophets, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the 12 minor prophets, including Zechariah and Micah.

• The Ketuvim, which refers to the other books, generally, as the "Writings," such as the histories of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles.


Return to the Glossary