Editing Christianity and Judaism (section)

==Sacred texts==
{{Main|Development of the Hebrew Bible canon|Development of the Christian Biblical canon}}
The [[Tanakh|Hebrew Bible]] is composed of three parts: the [[Torah]] ('instruction'; the [[Septuagint]] translated the Hebrew to ''nomos'' or ''Law''), the [[Nevi'im]] (Prophets) and the [[Ketuvim]] (Writings). Collectively, these are known as the [[Tanakh]]. According to [[Rabbinic Judaism]] the Torah was revealed by God to Moses; within it, Jews find [[613 mitzvot]] (commandments).

Rabbinic tradition asserts that God revealed two Torahs to Moses, one that was written down, and one that was transmitted orally. Whereas the written Torah has a fixed form, the [[Oral Torah]] is a living tradition that includes not only specific supplements to the written Torah (for instance, what is the proper manner of ''[[shechita]]'' and what is meant by "Frontlets" in the [[Shema]]), but also procedures for understanding and talking about the written Torah (thus, the Oral Torah revealed at Sinai includes debates among rabbis who lived long after Moses). The Oral Law elaborations of narratives in the Bible and stories about the rabbis are referred to as ''[[aggadah]]''. It also includes elaboration of the 613 commandments in the form of laws referred to as ''[[halakha]]''. Elements of the Oral Torah were committed to writing and edited by [[Judah HaNasi]] in the [[Mishnah]] in 200 CE; much more of the Oral Torah were committed to writing in the [[Babylonian Talmud|Babylonian]] and [[Jerusalem Talmud]]s, which were edited around 600 CE and 450 CE, respectively. The Talmuds are notable for the way they combine law and lore, for their explication of the [[midrash]]ic method of interpreting texts, and for their accounts of debates among rabbis, which preserve divergent and conflicting interpretations of the Bible and legal rulings.

Since the transcription of the Talmud, notable rabbis have compiled law codes that are generally held in high regard: the [[Mishneh Torah]], the [[Arba'ah Turim|Tur]], and the [[Shulchan Aruch]]. The latter, which was based on earlier codes and supplemented by the commentary by [[Moshe Isserles]] that notes other practices and customs practiced by Jews in different communities, especially among Ashkenazim, is generally held to be authoritative by Orthodox Jews. The [[Zohar]], which was written in the 13th century, is generally held as the most important esoteric treatise of the Jews.

All contemporary Jewish movements consider the Tanakh, and the Oral Torah in the form of the Mishnah and Talmuds as sacred, although movements are divided as to claims concerning their divine revelation, and also their authority. For Jews, the Torah—written and oral—is the primary guide to the relationship between God and man, a living document that has unfolded and will continue to unfold whole new insights over the generations and millennia. A saying that captures this goes, "Turn it [the Torah's words] over and over again, for everything is in it."

Christians accept the Written Torah and other books of the [[Hebrew Bible]] (alternatively called [[Old Testament]]) as [[Scripture]], although they generally give readings from the [[Koine Greek]] [[Septuagint]] translation instead of the [[Biblical Hebrew]]/[[Biblical Aramaic]] [[Masoretic Text]]. Two notable examples are:
* [[Isaiah 7:14]] – "virgin" instead of "young woman"
* [[They have pierced my hands and my feet|Psalm 22:16]] – "they have pierced my hands and feet" instead of "like a lion, (they are at) my hands and feet"

Instead of the traditional Jewish order and names for the books, Christians organize and name the books closer to that found in the Septuagint. Some Christian denominations (such as Anglican, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox), include a number of books that are not in the Hebrew Bible (the [[biblical apocrypha]] or [[deuterocanonical books]] or [[Anagignoskomena]], see [[Development of the Old Testament canon]]) in their [[biblical canon]] that are not in today's Jewish canon, although they were included in the Septuagint. Christians reject the Jewish Oral Torah, which was still in oral, and therefore unwritten, form in the time of Jesus.<ref>[http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=254&letter=J&search=Jesus Jewish Encyclopedia: Jesus] notes: "Jesus, however, does not appear to have taken into account the fact that the [[Halakah]] was at this period just becoming crystallized, and that much variation existed as to its definite form; the disputes of the [[Hillel the Elder|Bet Hillel]] and [[Shammai|Bet Shammai]] were occurring about the time of his maturity."</ref>

[[Image:Bloch-SermonOnTheMount.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Jesus depicted delivering the [[Sermon on the Mount]] which included [[Matthew 5#Antitheses|commentary on the Old Covenant]]. Some scholars consider this to be an [[Typology (theology)|antitype]] of the proclamation of the [[Ten Commandments]] or [[Mosaic Covenant]] by [[Moses]] from the [[Biblical Mount Sinai]].<ref name="ODCC self">"Sermon on the Mount." Cross, F. L., ed. ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church''. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005</ref>]]