The Encyclopedia of World Religions

scriptures, Hebrew S 413

books in the Protestant Old Testament ( see P ROTES TANTISM ) They are simply divided and counted dif ferently. The Catholic and Orthodox churches have several other books in their Old Testaments ( see R OMAN C ATHOLICISM and E ASTERN O RTHODOX C HRISTI ANITY ). Protestants place these other books in the A POCRYPHA . Perhaps the best name for the Hebrew scriptures is Tanakh, an acronym derived from the three parts into which Jews divide the Bible: T ORAH (teach ing), N EVI ’ IM (prophets), and K ETUVIM (writings). For Jews this is the order of the importance of each part: Torah is most important; Ketuvim is least important. (For Christians all three parts have equal authority.) Torah, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim is also the order in which Jews accepted the books as authoritative. Most modern scholars believe that Torah com bines several sources. One source appeared in the southern kingdom, known as Judah, perhaps dur ing the ninth century B . C . E . It uses a proper name for God: YHWH, which out of respect is usually simply rendered in English as “the Lord.” A second source appeared in the northern kingdom around the eighth century B . C . E .; it refers to God generi cally as “Elohim” (God). The book of Deuteron omy constitutes a third source, discovered in the temple during the reign of King Josiah (640–609 B . C . E .), while priests during the Babylonian Exile (587–539 B . C . E .) or afterward systematized legal procedures to provide the last source. Torah as a whole seems certainly to have come into existence by the time of the priest E ZRA (late fifth or early fourth century B . C . E .). At the same time that Torah was being for mulated, various religious leaders in ancient Israel, known as prophets, were making their pronouncements. According to tradition, PROPH ECY continued in ancient Israel until around 400 B . C . E . The sayings of some of the prophets were collected into books. It seems certain that a col lection of books known as the Prophets existed by around 200 B . C . E . THE FORMULATION OF THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES

Like Mahayana Buddhists, Tibetan Buddhists recognize many texts as authoritative that are not in the Tipitaka of the Theravada. Their canon has two parts. The Kanjur or “Word of the Buddha” contains the vinaya, many sutras, and texts known as tantras. The Tenjur or “Teachings” contains a wide variety of texts, including tantras and com mentaries on the sutras and the abhidharma. Readers may wonder how Buddhists deal with such a large and varied set of sacred scriptures. It is impractical, perhaps impossible, for anyone to be familiar with all of the texts. Indeed, since the Mahayana canon is not closed, no one can ever know all of the Mahayana sacred scriptures. The Theravada claim to base their teachings solely on the Tipitaka. Different Mahayana schools tend to emphasize different scriptures. Sometimes the most important text will not even be a sacred scripture. A school of Zen Buddhism known as Soto pays most attention to the writings of its founder, D OGEN . Nichiren Buddhists consider the Lotus Sutra the perfect revelation of the Buddha, superior to all others. Their chief practice is not, however, to study the text, as Muslims might study the Qur’an. Instead, they simply recite its praises with the phrase “Namu Myoho-Renge-Kyo” (“Hail to the marvelous teaching of the Lotus Sutra ”). Further reading: Buddhist Scriptures, Donald S. Lopez, ed. (New York: Penguin Putnam, 2004); The Dhammapada, John Ross Carter and Mahinda Palihawadana, trans. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000); The Essential Lotus: Selections from the Lotus Sutra, Burton Watson, trans. (New York: Columbia University Press, 2002); Perfect Wisdom: The Short Prajña¯pa¯ramita¯ Texts, Edward Conze, trans. (Totnes, England: Buddhist Pub. Group, 1993); Songs of the Sons and Daughters of Buddha, Andrew Schelling and Anne Waldman, trans. (Boston: Shambhala, 1996).

scriptures, Hebrew The B IBLE used by the Jews, which Christians call the Old Testament. Jews use a Bible written in Hebrew that consists of 24 books. In content these books are identical with the 39