The Tanach (mistakenly known as the "Old Testament") is made up of the Torah Nevi'im, and Ketuvim. There have been many rabbis who have written commentaries on the Torah. Any complete study of the Torah needs to include some commentary from these sages. The Tanach is the basis of understanding the laws, philosophy, and history of Judaism. As such, studying the Tanach is the first step to understanding the whole of Judaism.

In the Jewish community, the classical approach is religious study of the Torah, where it is assumed that the Torah has a divine origin. Some classical rabbinic commentators, such as Abraham Ibn Ezra, Gersonides and Maimonides, used many elements of modern day biblical criticism, including their then-current knowledge of history, science and philology. Their use of historical and scientific analysis of the Torah was considered appropriate by historic Judaism due to the author's faith commitment to the idea that G-d revealed the Torah to Moses on Mount Sinai.[1]

According to the Talmud (Bava Batra 14b-15a, Rashi to Megillah 3a, 14a), much of the contents of the Tanach were compiled by the Men of the Great Assembly ("Anshei K'nesset HaGedolah") a task completed in 450 BCE, and have remained unchanged since that date. Formal closure of the canon has often been ascribed to Rabbinic Judaism in 70 CE. The twenty-four books are also mentioned in the Midrash Koheleth 12:12. A slightly different accounting can be found in the book Against Apion, by the 1st-century Jewish historian Josephus, who described 22 sacred books. Some scholars have suggested that he considered Ruth part of Judges and Lamentations part of Jeremiah…. Other scholars suggest that at the time Josephus wrote, such books as Esther and Ecclesiastes were not yet considered canonical.[1]

The Tanach is also called Mikra (meaning "reading" or "that which is read"). The three-part division reflected in the acronym "Tanach" is well attested to in documents from the Second Temple period. During that period, however, "Tanach" was not used as a word or term. Instead, the proper title was Mikra, because the biblical texts were read publicly. Mikra continues to be used in Hebrew to this day alongside Tanach to refer to the Hebrew scriptures. In modern spoken Hebrew both are used interchangeably.[1]

The Tanach was not originally broken into chapter and verses. The idea of chapter and verses - as well as the breaking apart of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles - is a leftover from Christians in the 13th century. The chapter divisions and verse numbers have no significance in the Jewish tradition. Nevertheless, they are noted in all modern editions of the Tanach so that verses may be located and cited. The division of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles into parts I and II is also indicated on each page of those books in order to prevent confusion about whether a chapter number is from part I or II, since the chapter numbering for these books follows their partition in the Christian textual tradition. The adoption of the Christian chapter divisions by Jews began in the late Middle Ages in Spain, partially in the context of forced clerical debates which took place against a background of harsh persecution and of the Spanish Inquisition (the debates required a common system for citing biblical texts).

From the standpoint of the Jewish textual tradition, the chapter divisions are not only a foreign feature with no basis in the mesorah (tradition) but are also open to severe criticism of three kinds:
-The chapter divisions often reflect Christian exegesis of the Bible.
-Even when they do not imply Christian exegesis, the chapters often divide the biblical text at numerous points that may be deemed inappropriate for literary or other reasons.
-They ignore the accepted closed and open space division which are based on the mesorah.

Nevertheless, because they proved useful for citations, they are often included in most Hebrew editions of the biblical books.[1]

The Torah (תורה) is made up of five books that were given to Moshe Rabbenu (Moses our Teacher) directly from G-d shortly after the Exodus from Mitzraim (Egypt) around 1230BCE. The Written and Oral Torahs (Mishnah) was handed down through the successive generations from the time of Moses.

The Torah covers the time from the creation of the earth and the first humans, the Great Flood and the covenant with the gentiles, the enslavement of and Exodus of the Hebrews from Mitzraim, giving of the Torah (Written and Oral), renewal of Covenant given to Abraham, festivals established, wandering through the desert, the Tabernacle Ark, and Priestly duties, and the death of Moshe Rabbenu. The Torah is broken down into parts (parsha). Each Parsha is usually named after one of the first words of that section of the Torah. The Torah is read every year according to a Torah reading schedule. The Babylonian Jewish community divided the Torah into 54 portions which allowed for the complete reading of the Torah in one year. The Egyptian and Palestinian Jewish communities divided the Torah into 154 divisions allowing for the complete reading of the Torah in three-year cycles (triennial cycle).

The Nevi'im (נביאים) covers the time period from the death of Moshe Rabbenu through the Babylonian exile (ca.1200BCE-587BCE) and contains 19 books. The Nevi'im covers the time from the Hebrews entering Eretz Yisrael, conquest of Jericho, conquest of Eretz Yisrael and division among the tribes, judicial system, Era of Saul and David, Solomon's wisdom and the construction of the First Temple, kings of Eretz Yisrael, prophecy, messianic prophecies, and the Babylonian exile.

The Ketuvim (כתובם) covers the period after the return from the Babylonian exile (6th century BCE) and contains 12 books. The Ketuvim is made up of various writings that do not have an overall theme. This section of the Tanach includes poems and songs, the stories of Job, Ruth, and Esther, the writings and prophecies of Daniel, and the history of the kings of Eretz Yisrael.