Nevi'im: Books of

Nevi'im
Main article: Nevi'im
Books of Nevi'im

Former Prophets
 Joshua
 Judges
 Samuel
 Kings
Latter Prophets (major)

 Isaiah
 Jeremiah
 Ezekiel
Latter Prophets (Twelve minor)

 Hosea
 Joel
 Amos
 Obadiah
 Jonah
 Micah
 Nahum
 Habakkuk
 Zephaniah
 Haggai
 Zechariah
 Malachi
Hebrew Bible
 V
 T
 E
Nevi'im (Hebrew: ‫נְבִיאִ ים‬, romanized: Nəḇî'îm, "Prophets") is the second main division of the

Tanakh, between the Torah and Ketuvim. It contains two sub-groups, the Former
Prophets (Nevi'im Rishonim ‫נביאים ראשונים‬, the narrative books of Joshua, Judges,
Samuel and Kings) and the Latter Prophets (Nevi'im Aharonim ‫נביאים אחרונים‬, the books
of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel and the Twelve Minor Prophets).
The Nevi'im tell the story of the rise of the Hebrew monarchy and its division into two
kingdoms, ancient Israel and Judah, focusing on conflicts between the Israelites and
other nations, and conflicts among Israelites, specifically, struggles between believers in
"the LORD God"[31] (Yahweh) and believers in foreign gods,[32][33] and the criticism of
unethical and unjust behaviour of Israelite elites and rulers;[34][35][36] in which prophets
played a crucial and leading role. It ends with the conquest of the Kingdom of Israel by
the Assyrians followed by the conquest of the Kingdom of Judah by the Babylonians and
the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.
Former Prophets
The Former Prophets are the books Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings. They contain
narratives that begin immediately after the death of Moses with the divine appointment of
Joshua as his successor, who then leads the people of Israel into the Promised Land,
and end with the release from imprisonment of the last king of Judah. Treating Samuel
and Kings as single books, they cover:
 Joshua's conquest of the land of Canaan (in the Book of Joshua),

 the struggle of the people to possess the land (in the Book of Judges),
 the people's request to God to give them a king so that they can occupy the land
in the face of their enemies (in the Books of Samuel)
 the possession of the land under the divinely appointed kings of the House of
David, ending in conquest and foreign exile (Books of Kings)
Latter Prophets
The Latter Prophets are divided into two groups, the "major"
prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the Twelve Minor Prophets, collected
into a single book. The collection is broken up to form twelve individual books in the
Christian Old Testament, one for each of the prophets:
 Hosea, Hoshea (‫)הושע‬
 Joel, Yoel (‫)יואל‬
 Amos, Amos (‫)עמוס‬
 Obadiah, Ovadyah (‫)עבדיה‬
 Jonah, Yonah (‫)יונה‬
 Micah, Mikhah (‫)מיכה‬
 Nahum, Nahum (‫)נחום‬
 Habakkuk, Havakuk (‫)חבקוק‬
 Zephaniah, Tsefanya (‫)צפניה‬
 Haggai, Khagay (‫)חגי‬
 Zechariah, Zekharyah (‫)זכריה‬
 Malachi, Malakhi (‫)מלאכי‬
Ketuvim
Main article: Ketuvim
Books of the Ketuvim

Three poetic books

 Psalms
 Proverbs
 Job
Five Megillot (Scrolls)
 Song of Songs
 Ruth
 Lamentations
 Ecclesiastes
 Esther
Other books
 Daniel

o Ezra–Nehemiah (Ezra
o Nehemiah)
 Chronicles
Hebrew Bible
 V
 T
 E
Ketuvim or Kəṯûḇîm (in Biblical Hebrew: ‫" כְּתּובִים‬writings") is the third and final section of

the Tanakh. The Ketuvim are believed to have been written under the Ruach
HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) but with one level less authority than that of prophecy.[37]
The poetic books
Hebrew text of Psalm 1:1–2
In Masoretic manuscripts (and some printed editions), Psalms, Proverbs and Job are
presented in a special two-column form emphasizing the parallel stichs in the verses,
which are a function of their poetry. Collectively, these three books are known as Sifrei
Emet (an acronym of the titles in Hebrew, ‫ תהלים‬,‫ משלי‬,‫ איוב‬yields Emet ‫אמ"ת‬, which is
also the Hebrew for "truth").
These three books are also the only ones in Tanakh with a special system
of cantillation notes that are designed to emphasize parallel stichs within verses.
However, the beginning and end of the book of Job are in the normal prose system.
The five scrolls (Hamesh Megillot)
The five relatively short books of Song of Songs, Book of Ruth, the Book of
Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Book of Esther are collectively known as the Hamesh
Megillot (Five Megillot). These are the latest books collected and designated as
"authoritative" in the Jewish canon even though they were not complete until the 2nd
century CE.[38]
Other books
Besides the three poetic books and the five scrolls, the remaining books in Ketuvim
are Daniel, Ezra–Nehemiah and Chronicles. Although there is no formal grouping for
these books in the Jewish tradition, they nevertheless share a number of distinguishing
characteristics:
 Their narratives all openly describe relatively late events (i.e., the Babylonian
captivity and the subsequent restoration of Zion).
 The Talmudic tradition ascribes late authorship to all of them.
 Two of them (Daniel and Ezra) are the only books in the Tanakh with significant
portions in Aramaic.
Order of the books
The following list presents the books of Ketuvim in the order they appear in most printed
editions. It also divides them into three subgroups based on the distinctiveness of Sifrei
Emet and Hamesh Megillot.
The Three Poetic Books (Sifrei Emet)
 Tehillim (Psalms) ‫תְ הִ לִּים‬

 Mishlei (Book of Proverbs) ‫מִ שְ לֵי‬
 Iyyôbh (Book of Job) ‫אִ ּיֹוב‬
The Five Megillot (Hamesh Megillot)
 Shīr Hashshīrīm (Song of Songs) or (Song of Solomon) ‫ירים‬ ִ ִׁ‫( שִׁ יר הַ ש‬Passover)

 Rūth (Book of Ruth) ‫( רּות‬Shābhû‘ôth)
 Eikhah (Lamentations) ‫( איכה‬Ninth of Av) [Also called Kinnot in Hebrew.]
 Qōheleth (Ecclesiastes) ‫( קהלת‬Sukkôth)
 Estēr (Book of Esther) ‫( אֶ סְ תֵ ר‬Pûrîm)
Other books
 Dānî’ēl (Book of Daniel) ‫דָּ נִיֵּאל‬

 ‘Ezrā (Book of Ezra–Book of Nehemiah) ‫עזרא‬
 Divrei ha-Yamim (Chronicles) ‫דברי הימים‬
The Jewish textual tradition never finalized the order of the books in Ketuvim.
The Babylonian Talmud (Bava Batra 14b–15a) gives their order as Ruth, Psalms, Job,
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Daniel, Scroll of
Esther, Ezra, Chronicles.[39]
In Tiberian Masoretic codices, including the Aleppo Codex and the Leningrad Codex, and
often in old Spanish manuscripts as well, the order is Chronicles, Psalms, Job, Proverbs,
Ruth, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Esther, Daniel, Ezra.[40]
Canonization
The Ketuvim is the last of the three portions of the Tanakh to have been accepted
as biblical canon. While the Torah may have been considered canon by Israel as early as
the 5th century BCE and the Former and Latter Prophets were canonized by the 2nd
century BCE, the Ketuvim was not a fixed canon until the 2nd century of the Common
Era.[38]
Evidence suggests, however, that the people of Israel were adding what would become
the Ketuvim to their holy literature shortly after the canonization of the prophets. As early
as 132 BCE references suggest that the Ketuvim was starting to take shape, although it
lacked a formal title.[41] References in the four Gospels as well as other books of the New
Testament indicate that many of these texts were both commonly known and counted as
having some degree of religious authority early in the 1st century CE.
Many scholars believe that the limits of the Ketuvim as canonized scripture were
determined by the Council of Jamnia c. 90 CE. Against Apion, the writing of Josephus in
95 CE, treated the text of the Hebrew Bible as a closed canon to which "... no one has
ventured either to add, or to remove, or to alter a syllable..."[42] For a long time following
this date the divine inspiration of Esther, the Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes was often
under scrutiny.[43]
Original languages
The Tanakh was mainly written in biblical Hebrew, with some small portions (Ezra 4:8–
6:18 and 7:12–26, Jeremiah 10:11, Daniel 2:4–7:28) written in biblical Aramaic, a sister
language which became the lingua franca for much of the Semitic world.[44]
Samaritan Pentateuch
Main article: Samaritan Pentateuch
Samaritans include only the Pentateuch in their biblical canon.[45] They do not
recognize divine authorship or inspiration in any other book in the Jewish Tanakh.
[46] A Samaritan Book of Joshua partly based upon the Tanakh's Book of Joshua exists,
but Samaritans regard it as a non-canonical secular historical chronicle.[47]
Septuagint
Main article: Septuagint
Fragment of a Septuagint: A column of uncial book from 1 Esdras in the Codex Vaticanus c. 325–

350 CE, the basis of Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton's Greek edition and English translation.
The Septuagint, or the LXX, is a translation of the Hebrew Scriptures and some related
texts into Koine Greek, begun in the late 3rd century BCE and completed by 132 BCE,[48]
[49][50] initially in Alexandria, but in time it was completed elsewhere as well.[51] It is not
altogether clear which was translated when, or where; some may even have been
translated twice, into different versions, and then revised.[52]
As the work of translation progressed, the canon of the Septuagint expanded. The Torah
always maintained its pre-eminence as the basis of the canon but the collection of
prophetic writings, based on the Nevi'im, had various hagiographical works incorporated
into it. In addition, some newer books were included in the Septuagint, among these are
the Maccabees and the Wisdom of Sirach. However, the book of Sirach, is now known to
have existed in a Hebrew version, since ancient Hebrew manuscripts of it were
rediscovered in modern times. The Septuagint version of some Biblical books,
like Daniel and Esther, are longer than those in the Jewish canon.[53] Some of
these deuterocanonical books (e.g. the Wisdom of Solomon, and the second book of
Maccabees) were not translated, but composed directly in Greek.[citation needed]
Since Late Antiquity, once attributed to a hypothetical late 1st-century Council of Jamnia,
mainstream Rabbinic Judaism rejected the Septuagint as valid Jewish scriptural texts.
Several reasons have been given for this. First, some mistranslations were claimed.
Second, the Hebrew source texts used for the Septuagint differed from the Masoretic
tradition of Hebrew texts, which was chosen as canonical by the Jewish rabbis.[54] Third,
the rabbis wanted to distinguish their tradition from the newly emerging tradition of
Christianity.[50][55] Finally, the rabbis claimed a divine authority for the Hebrew language,
in contrast to Aramaic or Greek – even though these languages were the lingua franca of
Jews during this period (and Aramaic would eventually be given a holy language status
comparable to Hebrew).[56]
The Septuagint is the basis for the Old Latin, Slavonic, Syriac, Old Armenian,
Old Georgian and Coptic versions of the Christian Old Testament.[57] The Roman
Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches use most of the books of the Septuagint,
while Protestant churches usually do not. After the Protestant Reformation,
many Protestant Bibles began to follow the Jewish canon and exclude the additional
texts, which came to be called biblical apocrypha. The Apocrypha are included under a
separate heading in the King James Version of the Bible, the basis for the Revised
Standard Version.[58]

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What are the main divisions of the Tanakh?

What books are included in the Former Prophets?

Nevi'im

Latter Prophets (major)

Latter Prophets (Twelve minor)

Nevi'im (Hebrew: ‫נְבִיאִ ים‬, romanized: Nəḇî'îm, "Prophets") is the second main division of the

 Joshua's conquest of the land of Canaan (in the Book of Joshua),

Three poetic books

Ketuvim or Kəṯûḇîm (in Biblical Hebrew: ‫" כְּתּובִים‬writings") is the third and final section of

Hebrew text of Psalm 1:1–2

 Tehillim (Psalms) ‫תְ הִ לִּים‬

 Shīr Hashshīrīm (Song of Songs) or (Song of Solomon) ‫ירים‬ ִ ִׁ‫( שִׁ יר הַ ש‬Passover)

 Dānî’ēl (Book of Daniel) ‫דָּ נִיֵּאל‬

Fragment of a Septuagint: A column of uncial book from 1 Esdras in the Codex Vaticanus c. 325–

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