The Three Sections Of The Hebrew Bible

(1) Name and define the three sections of the Hebrew Bible and explain how each section separately and collectively influence the Jewish people. The Hebrew Bible or the Tanak is a collection of sacred literature that profoundly influences the Jewish people. Composed of numerous books, its origins span back to 90 CE, where the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem in 70 CE, forced the Jewish people to scribe the traditions of their temple-based religion. Much of what has been scribed was previously passed down orally through sermons and rituals within the temple, but with no temple, and no way practice their beliefs, a canon had to be agreed upon for Judaism to survive. The books of the canon have somewhat varied as the Jewish people

The Torah, meaning “teachings” in Hebrew, is possibly the oldest of the three sections and has had the most influence on the Jewish people. The Torah contains the myths of creation, the origin of humanity and its place in the universe, as well as the relationship that humanity has with God. The Torah also holds many of the “guidelines” that dictate a lifestyle devoted to God, which include dietary habits, clothing, and even matters of reproduction. The second section of the Hebrew Bible is the Nevi’im, meaning “Prophets”, and focuses on the history in the Middle East: This includes the many intermediaries who spoke on behalf of God, spoke with God, or have had contact with the divine. This section has greatly influenced the Jewish people by strengthening their relationship with God and cultural ties with each other and their biblical homeland. The third section of the Hebrew Bible is the Ketuvim “writings” and, like the other two sections, has greatly influenced the Jewish People. The Ketuvim contains many books whose focus is on morality, spirituality, philosophy, prayer, and the reinforcement of God’s relationship with humanity. This third section of the

In early Judaism, God was viewed as having a closer connection with humanity, but as time passed God’s divinity became emphasized. Creating order from chaos and everything from nothing, God’s power was unlimited and good and evil were his to decide: God demonstrated his compassion and his strength. In the beginning of the book of Genesis, it is alluded that God has a physical body and created the Garden of Eden for his enjoyment, then he created Adam in his image to tend to his garden. This notion that God had a physical body was less emphasized in later Judaism because in the majority of the book of Genesis, God’s presence is spoken of as being beyond the physical world. After God had created Adam, he told Adam his duty was to tend to the garden. He gave Adam freedom, the freedom to name the things he saw and the freedom to live off of the garden in harmony. When Adam became lonely God even made him a companion, Eve, from Adam’s own rib. These acts of generosity and compassion represented God as loving and powerful. God told Adam and Eve the garden was theirs to enjoy but stated they were not allowed to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s order not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil and were banished them from the Garden