Editing Hebrew Bible (section)

== Terminology ==

=== Tanakh ===
{{Judaism |texts |width=22.0em}}
{{Further|Hebrew abbreviations|Abjad}}
''Tanakh'' is an [[acronym]], made from the first [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew letter]] of each of the Masoretic Text's three traditional divisions: [[Torah]] (literally 'Instruction' or 'Law'),<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Torah|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/torah|access-date=21 February 2021|dictionary=[[Online Etymology Dictionary]]|archive-date=27 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127015809/https://www.etymonline.com/word/torah|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Nevi'im]] (Prophets), and [[Ketuvim]] (Writings)—hence TaNaKh.

The three-part division reflected in the acronym {{tlit|he|Tanakh}} is well attested in the [[rabbinic literature]] dating from the medieval/Masoretic period.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://people.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/TalmudMap/MG.html|title=Mikra'ot Gedolot|website=people.ucalgary.ca|access-date=2022-09-09|archive-date=2022-08-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830130802/https://people.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/TalmudMap/MG.html|url-status=live}}</ref> During that period however, the term {{tlit|he|Tanakh}} was not used, rather the proper title was {{tlit|he|Mikra}} or {{tlit|he|Miqra}} ({{lang|he|מקרא}}), meaning 'reading' or 'that which is read', because the biblical texts were read publicly. The acronym {{tlit|he|Tanakh}} is first recorded in later Masoretic texts and commentary.<ref>It appears in the [[Masoretic Text|''masorah magna'']] of the Biblical text, and in the [[History of responsa in Judaism|responsa]] of the [[Shlomo ibn Aderet|Rashba]] (5:119); see [https://networks.h-net.org/node/28655/discussions/2030881/tanakh%D7%AA%D7%A0%D7%B4%D7%9A Research Query: Tanakh/תנ״ך] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190718172906/https://networks.h-net.org/node/28655/discussions/2030881/tanakh%25D7%25AA%25D7%25A0%25D7%25B4%25D7%259A |date=2019-07-18 }}</ref> ''Mikra'' continues to be used in Hebrew to this day, alongside Tanakh, to refer to the Hebrew scriptures. In modern spoken [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], they are interchangeable.<ref>Biblical Studies Mikra: Text, Translation, Reading, and Interpretation. Norton Irish Theological Quarterly. 2007; 72: 305–306</ref>

=== Hebrew Bible ===
{{Bible-related |CB}}
{{See also|Biblia Hebraica (disambiguation)}}
Many [[biblical studies]] scholars advocate use of the term ''Hebrew Bible'' (or ''Hebrew Scriptures'') as a substitute for less-neutral terms with Jewish or Christian connotations (e.g., ''Tanakh'' or ''[[Old Testament]]'').<ref>{{Cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/25/magazine/the-new-old-testament.html | title = The New Old Testament | first = William | last = Safire | newspaper = The New York Times | date = 1997-05-25 | access-date = 2019-12-06 | archive-date = 2019-12-06 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191206110054/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/25/magazine/the-new-old-testament.html | url-status = live }}.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/first/scriptures.html |title=From Hebrew Bible to Christian Bible: Jews, Christians and the Word of God |first=Mark |last=Hamilton |website=[[PBS]] |access-date=2007-11-19 |quote=Modern scholars often use the term 'Hebrew Bible' to avoid the confessional terms Old Testament and Tanakh. |archive-date=2018-06-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614021417/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/first/scriptures.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Society of Biblical Literature]]'s ''Handbook of Style'', which is the standard for major academic journals like the ''[[Harvard Theological Review]]'' and conservative Protestant journals like the ''[[Bibliotheca Sacra]]'' and the ''[[Westminster Theological Journal]]'', suggests that authors "be aware of the connotations of alternative expressions such as&nbsp;... Hebrew Bible [and] Old Testament" without prescribing the use of either.<ref>{{cite book |title=The SBL Handbook of Style |publisher=Hendrickson |location=Peabody, MA |year=1999 |editor1-first=Patrick H |editor1-last=Alexander |isbn=978-1-56563-487-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/sblhandbookofsty0000unse/page/17 17 (section 4.3)] |url=https://archive.org/details/sblhandbookofsty0000unse/page/17 |display-editors=etal }} See [https://www.sbl-site.org/assets/pdfs/pubs/SBLHS2_FAQ.pdf ''Society of Biblical Literature'': Questions Regarding Digital Editions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304190407/https://www.sbl-site.org/assets/pdfs/pubs/SBLHS2_FAQ.pdf |date=2016-03-04 }}</ref>

"Hebrew" refers to the original language of the books, but it may also be taken as referring to the Jews of the [[Second Temple period|Second Temple era]] and their descendants, who preserved the transmission of the Masoretic Text up to the present day.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |title=Scanning an Ancient Biblical Text That Humans Fear to Open |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/05/science/biblical-codes-morgan-library.html |date=January 5, 2018 |access-date=June 14, 2019 |archive-date=July 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190706070231/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/05/science/biblical-codes-morgan-library.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Hebrew Bible includes small portions in [[Biblical Aramaic|Aramaic]] (mostly in the books of [[Book of Daniel|Daniel]] and [[Book of Ezra|Ezra]]), written and printed in [[Aramaic alphabet|Aramaic square-script]], which was adopted as the [[Hebrew alphabet]] after the [[Babylonian captivity|Babylonian exile]].