Page 12 - Yahwehs Book

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Jewish scholar Sixtus Senensis, who lived in the 16 century, emphasized the importance of this
matter.

As with the Hebrew there are twenty-two letters, in which all that can be said and written is
comprehended, so there are twenty-two books in which are contained all that can be known and
uttered of divine things.

It should be noted that modern copies of the Tanakh usually contain 24 books. This number has been
arrived at by separating Jeremiah and Lamentations into two books, and dividing Ruth and Judges
into separate books.

The Hebrews not only had a different number of books in their Scriptures, they also arranged their
books differently than the order found in a modern Bible. The Jews organized their sacred writings
as:

The Law - Torah
The Prophets - Neviim
The Writings - Kethuvim

The first letter of the words Torah, Neviim, and Kethuvim (TNK) are combined to form the word
Tanakh, which is the name employed by the Jews to refer to the Old Testament.

The Hebrew Tanakh begins the same way as the Christian Old Testament, placing the five books of
Moses at the front, and in chronological order. As we see in the anagram Tanakh, these five books
are referred to as the Torah. The word Torah is often translated as “Law,” but it may more accurately
be defined as “teaching,” or “instruction.” The word Torah is used inconsistently as a reference to
divine writings. At times just the Law of Moses is referred to as the Torah. Sometimes the entire
Hebrew Old Testament is referred to as the Torah. Its more specific application however, is when
it is used in reference to the five books of Moses.

Christian scholars often prefer the Greek word Pentateuch over the word Torah. Pentateuch means
“five books.” This term may have first been used in Alexandria, Egypt, among Hellenistic Jews
(Jews who had embraced the Greek culture and language).

Another difference between the Hebrew Scriptures, and their Christian counterparts is observed in
the names assigned to the books. The Jews do not refer to the books of Moses as Genesis, Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Instead, they are called Bereshith (Bereshit), Shemoth
(Shemot), Wayyiqra (Vayikra), Bemidbar, and Debarim (Devarim). Each of these book names in the
Hebrew Scriptures are derived from the opening statement of their corresponding writings.