"The Bible" is a collection of literature, not a single work unto itself. It's contents were written over thousands of years by many different authors in many different languages. The word "bible" itself derives from the Koine Greek words τὰ βιβλία, which means "the books". Koine Greek was the language which the Christian "new" testament was written, so the term "bible" most properly refers to the Christian corpus of literature as opposed to any other religion's corpus. Most Christian collections have at least 66 books, with most Christian bibles including far more than 66 books.Quote:
Originally Posted by prendrelemick
The "Jewish Bible" or "Hebrew Bible" as it is commonly referred to by Gentiles is more commonly refered to as "Tanakh" by Jewish people. The Tanakh has 24 books, many of which are not included in virtually any Christian collections.
Another difference between Jewish literature and Christian literature is the acceptance of the Oral Torah, or "Torah she-be-`al peh". The major works of the Oral Torah are the Mishnah and Gemara, which are collected in the Talmud. The Talmud is the preeminent text in all of Judaism. All Jews believe that the Talmud was given directly to Moses from their god while he was on top of Mount Sinai.
Sources: https://books.google.com/books?id=60...brAF0Q6AEIIjAA http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/ar...11750-oral-law http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=bible
