Ketuvim

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2008)
Books of the Kethuvim
Three Poetic Books
1. Psalms
2. Proverbs
3. Job
Five Megillot
4. Song of Songs
5. Ruth
6. Lamentations
7. Ecclesiastes
8. Esther
Other Books
9. Daniel
10. Ezra-Nehemiah
11. Chronicles
Part of a series of articles on
Jews and Judaism
 
Who is a Jew? · Etymology · Culture

Ketuvim (Hebrew: כְּתוּבִים‎, "writings") is the third and final section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), after Torah (teachings) and Nevi'im (prophets). In English translations of the Hebrew Bible, this section is usually entitled "Writings" or "Hagiographa." The Ketuvim are believed to have been written under the Ruach HaKodesh, but with one level less authority than that of prophecy[1].

In the Jewish textual tradition, Chronicles is counted as one book. Ezra and Nehemiah are also counted together as a single book called "Ezra". (In citations by chapter and verse numbers, however, the Hebrew equivalents of "Nehemiah", "I Chronicles" and "II Chronicles" are used, as the system of chapter division was imported from Christian usage.) Thus, there is a total of eleven books in the section called Ketuvim (see the enumeration in the list of books below).

Special groups of books in Ketuvim

The poetic books

In masoretic manuscripts (and some printed editions), Psalms, Proverbs and Job are presented in a special two-column form emphasizing the parallel stichs in the verses, which are a function of their poetry. Collectively, these three books are known as Sifrei Emet (an acronym of the titles in Hebrew, איוב, משלי, תהלים yields Emet אמ"ת, which is also the Hebrew for "truth").

These three books are also the only ones in Tanakh with a special system of cantillation notes that are designed to emphasize parallel stichs within verses. However, the beginning and end of the book of Job are in the normal prose system.

The five scrolls (Hamesh Megillot)

The five relatively short books of Song of Songs, Book of Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Book of Esther are collectively known as the Hamesh Megillot (The Five Scrolls). These scrolls are traditionally read over the course of the year in many Jewish communities. The list below presents them in the order they are read in the synagogue on holidays, beginning with the Song of Solomon on Passover.