Description

The Hebrew Bible (Jewish Bible)

The Hebrew Bible (also Hebrew Scriptures, Jewish Bible (JudaicaBible); Latin: Biblia Hebraica) is a term used by biblical scholarsto refer to the Tanakh (Hebrew: תנ"ך‎), the canonical collection ofJewish texts, which is the common textual source of the severalcanonical editions of the Christian Old Testament. These texts arecomposed mainly in Biblical Hebrew, with some passages in BiblicalAramaic (in the books of Daniel, Ezra and a few others).

The term Hebrew Bible is an attempt to provide specificity withrespect to contents, while avoiding allusion to any particularinterpretative tradition or theological school of thought. It iswidely used in academic writing and interfaith discussion inrelatively neutral contexts meant to include dialogue among allreligious traditions, but not widely in the inner discourse of thereligions which use its text.

Hebrew Bible is a term that refers to the Tanakh (Jewish canon)in relation to the many Christian biblical canons. In its Latinform, Biblia Hebraica, it traditionally serves as a title forprinted editions of the Masoretic Text.

Many biblical studies scholars advocate use of the term "HebrewBible" (or "Hebrew Scriptures") when discussing these books inacademic writing, as a neutral substitute to terms with religiousconnotations (e.g., the non-neutral term "Old Testament"). TheSociety of Biblical Literature's Handbook of Style, which is thestandard for major academic journals like the Harvard TheologicalReview and conservative Protestant journals like the BibliothecaSacra and the Westminster Theological Journal, suggests thatauthors "be aware of the connotations of alternative expressionssuch as... Hebrew Bible [and] Old Testament" without prescribingthe use of either.