Do Jews Believe in the Old Testament?

Jews receive the Tanakh: Torah, Prophets, and Writings. Chabad numbers that collection as twenty-four books and says the rest of the world sometimes calls it the Hebrew Bible. They do not receive the New Testament as one of those books. Christians read the same Hebrew writings as the Old Testament and confess that Jesus is God.

Key Points

• Chabad, “What Is the Torah?” (2), says the Five Books of Moses are one section of a collection “also called Torah, but otherwise known as Tanach,” an acronym of Torah, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim.
• The same page says, “Although all the books of Tanach are revered as divine works, the Chumash holds a unique place,” and it points to “a short description of each of its 24 books.”
• “The Structure of Tanach” (1) numbers Genesis through Chronicles as books 1 through 24. Samuel I and II are one number. Kings I and II are one number. The twelve prophets are one number. Ezra and Nehemiah are one number.
• A reply on that page from Eliezer Zalmanov for Chabad.org says, “The Tanach was ‘sealed’ by the Men of the Great Assembly.”
• Deuteronomy 6:4Deuteronomy 6:4 · King James VersionHear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:Deuteronomy 6:4 · King James VersionOpen source (4) is the Shema. John 1:1John 1:1 · King James VersionIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:1 · King James VersionOpen source (5) says the Word was God. What Do Jews Believe? quotes Maimonides on the Messiah still to come.

What Is the Tanakh?

The Five Books of Moses are actually one section of a collection of works which is also called Torah, but otherwise known as Tanach (תנ״ך).

Chabad spells the acronym Tanach and glosses it Torah, Prophets, and Writings. “Tanach is sometimes referred to by the rest of the world as ‘The Hebrew Bible.’” “Jews wrote many other books of history, wisdom and prophecy, but none of these were considered to be divine and eternal so as to be included in Tanach.”

“Although all the books of Tanach are revered as divine works, the Chumash holds a unique place.” The reason given is Sinai: the nation witnessed God communicating with Moses. Other prophecies “were the testimony of a single individual.”

Do They Call It the Old Testament?

The Chabad pages use Tanach, Torah, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim, and “the Hebrew Bible.” They do not title the collection the Old Testament. “Old Testament” is the Christian name for those writings read before the New Testament. The books are the argument. The label is the churches’ label.

Catechism 121 (3) says, “The Old Testament is an indispensable part of Sacred Scripture.” That sentence is the Catholic Church naming the books. It is not a sentence from Chabad.

Which Books?

The structure page counts twenty-four:

• Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (1–5).
• Prophets: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve (6–13).
• Writings: Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah, Chronicles (14–24).

A Protestant Old Testament counts Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, and Ezra and Nehemiah as separate books, and counts the twelve prophets one by one, and the total is thirty-nine. The Chabad chart is why a Jewish count and a Protestant count are not the same number. What Is the Apocrypha? is the further list Catholic and Orthodox Bibles add, which this Tanakh chart does not number.

On wording, Chabad says that when early Protestants translated the Hebrew Bible “they were forced to rely on the Jewish tradition of punctuation and vowels as well as on classic Jewish commentators for the simple meaning of the text.” The King James text on this site is that English tradition. The Hebrew wording and the vowel tradition are what the Chabad sentence names.

Do Jews Receive the New Testament?

The twenty-four books end at Chronicles. Matthew, John, and the other New Testament books are not in the list. Zalmanov’s reply says the Tanach was sealed by the Men of the Great Assembly. Why Don’t Jews Believe Jesus Is the Messiah? quotes Maimonides’ test of the Messiah. What Is the Difference Between Judaism and Christianity? sets the two confessions side by side.

What About the Ten Commandments?

Exodus and Deuteronomy are books 2 and 5 on the chart. The commandments are in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. They sit inside the Torah, which Chabad calls the unique center of Tanach. The chart does not add a separate list called “the three biggest sins.” This page does not invent one.

The Christian Reading

Catechism 122 says the books of the Old Testament “bear witness to the whole divine pedagogy of God’s saving love.” Paragraph 123: “Christians venerate the Old Testament as true Word of God.” Christians then read John 1:1John 1:1 · King James VersionIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:1 · King James VersionOpen source (5), “the Word was God,” and John 20:28John 20:28 · King James VersionAnd Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.John 20:28 · King James VersionOpen source, Thomas answering “My LORD and my God.” The Trinity is that confession. Jewish sources on the shelf do not confess it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Jews Believe the New Testament?

It is not one of the twenty-four books on the Chabad chart. Christians receive it as Scripture. When Were the Gospels Written? is that collection.

Do Jews Believe the Tanakh Is Literally True?

Chabad says all the books of Tanach are revered as divine works, and that the Five Books of Moses hold a unique place because of Sinai. This page does not add a theory of “literal” beyond that sentence.

Do Jews Believe in the Ten Commandments?

The commandments are in Exodus and Deuteronomy, which the chart counts inside the Torah.

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