Hebrew Bible and Jewish Writings

The Hebrew Bible and Jewish Religious Writings

This illustration provides an overview of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), its three principal divisions, and the development of Jewish religious writings and traditions. It explains the distinctions and relationships between the Written Torah, Oral Torah, Mishnah, Gemara, Talmud, Midrash, and other rabbinic literature, including their historical development and organization. By distinguishing the Hebrew Scriptures from the later writings and interpretations of Jewish religious scholars, it provides valuable historical and religious context for understanding Judaism, the Old Testament, and the Jewish world in which Jesus and His apostles lived.

What Did the Pharisees Study and Teach?

Understanding the distinction between the Written Torah and the Oral Torah is particularly important when reading the New Testament, especially the encounters between Jesus and the Pharisees. The Pharisees were a Jewish religious movement that studied and upheld the Written Law of Moses, but they also placed considerable importance on the interpretations, explanations, and traditions handed down by earlier religious teachers. These traditions, sometimes described in the New Testament as the tradition of the elders (Matthew 15:2; Mark 7:3–5), sought to explain how the commandments of the Written Law should be understood and applied in everyday life.

In some respects, these oral traditions functioned much like a commentary on Scripture, but they went considerably further. They included religious regulations, interpretations of biblical commandments, and practical instructions governing matters such as ceremonial washing, Sabbath observance, purity, and other aspects of Jewish life. The Pharisees regarded these traditions as important to the proper observance of God’s Law, although the extent and application of particular traditions were subjects of debate among Jewish teachers.

This distinction helps explain some of the confrontations between Jesus and the Pharisees. Jesus did not condemn the careful study of Scripture or obedience to God’s commandments. Rather, He challenged religious traditions whenever they contradicted, obscured, or displaced what God had actually commanded. In Mark 7:8–9, Jesus declared, “For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men” and “Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition” (KJV).

It is also important to recognize that the Mishnah and Talmuds illustrated below were compiled after the earthly ministry of Jesus. Although they preserve and discuss traditions with earlier roots, we should not assume that every teaching found in these later collections was already practiced or accepted by the Pharisees of Jesus’ day.