The Jewish Tanakh
Have you ever wondered why Jesus used the phrase from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah (Mt. 23:35) when He excoriated the scribes and Pharisees for their sin?
He was telling them that, from the beginning of the Tanakh to the end of it, they were as guilty of shedding blood as their forefathers. The Jewish Bible is arranged differently from the Old Testament Christians use. Genesis is the first book; and Chronicles, not Malachi, is the last. Jesus was referring to Abel’s murder in Genesis and the priest Zechariah’s murder in 2 Chronicles 24:20–22.
The word Tanakh stands for Torah (Law), Nevi’im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings). The term Sefer Torah refers to the handwritten Torah in scroll form, used in synagogue worship; and Chumash refers to the book form of the Torah. The Torah (the Five Books of Moses) is also called the Law and the Pentateuch. Here are the divisions of the Jewish Bible:
TORAH
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
NEVI’IM
Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, The Twelve: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
KETUVIM
Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs (Song of Solomon), Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Chronicles
