Establishing a Text of the Torah
The Primordial God is a refuge [me‘onah] (Deuteronomy 33:27). Three scrolls [of the Torah] were kept in the Courtyard [to ensure accurate versions of the text]. One transmitted [variant readings of] me‘onim. One spelled the pronoun “he” [hu’] as “she” [hy’], and one was called the “youngster scroll” [sefer za‘atutim].
In one scroll, there was…
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Ben Sira’s Tripartite Division of Scripture
Prologue to Ben Sira
Many great teachings have been given to us through the Law and the Prophets and the others that followed them, and for these we should praise Israel for instruction and wisdom.
Twenty-Four Prophets Spoke in Israel
Gospel of Thomas 52
His [Jesus’—Ed.] disciples said to him, “Twenty-four prophets spoke in Israel, and all of them spoke in you.” He said to them, “You have omitted the one living in your presence and have spoken [only]…
Jesus’ Tripartite Division of Scripture
Luke 24:44
Then [Jesus] said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.”
Scrolls That Defile the Hands
m. Yadayim 3:5
A scroll on which the writing has become erased and eighty-five letters remain, as many as are in the section beginning And it came to pass when the ark set forward (Numbers 10:35–36) defiles the…
The Debate over the Canonicity of Ecclesiastes
t. Yadayim 2:14
Rabbi Simeon ben Menasya says, “Song of Songs defiles the hands since it was written with divine inspiration. Ecclesiastes does not defile the hands since it is only the wisdom of Solomon.” They said…
On the Sanctity of Ecclesiastes and Esther
b. Shabbat 30b|b. Megillah 7a
R. Judah, son of R. Samuel bar Sheilat, said in the name of Rav: The sages sought to suppress the book of Ecclesiastes [and declare it apocryphal] because its…