en referred to as the "TaNaK" or "Tanakh" (from the Hebrew names of its three main sections: Torah + Nevi'im + Khetuvim). It is closely related, but not identical, to what Christians call the "Old Testament" (see below). Most of the books in the HB were composed between the 10th and 6th centuries BCE, although they also contain some older source materials. Most were originally written in Hebrew, but a few books (or parts of them) were composed in Aramaic, a closely related ancient language. Throughout history, Jews have used these books as their "scriptures," although many ancient Jews (esp. Greek-speaking Jews living outside of Palestine) had even larger collections of scriptures (some from more recent times, some composed in Greek; see the LXX below). The official "canon" of the HB was not determined until around 90 AD, when the leading Jewish rabbis of the time limited their biblical collection to the 24 Hebrew (or partly Aramaic) writings that came from the 6th century BCE or earlier. The HB is divided into the following three categories (with the second category frequently sub-divided in two):
Torah - often translated "Law," but more accurately meaning "Teaching" or "Instruction" in Hebrew. Strictly speaking, "Torah" refers to the first five books of the HB (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), considered the "core" of the Bible by all Jews; they are sometimes also called the "Five Books of Moses" (due to the traditional opinion that Moses himself wrote all of them). More broadly, the word "Torah" is sometimes used to refer to the entire "Tanak." Many Jews also distinguish between the "Written Torah" (in the Bible) and the "Oral Torah" (other instructions given to Moses on Mount Sinai, but not written down until much later, in the "rabbinic literature" of the 3rd to 7th centuries).
Nevi'im - meaning "Prophets"; subdivided in Jewish Bibles into the "Former Prophets" (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings - which also contain stories of early "prophets" like Elijah, Elisha, Samuel, Nathan, etc.), and the "Latter Prophets" (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and "The Twelve" Minor Prophets; note that Jews do not include the Book of Daniel among the "Prophets," but in the following category).
Ketuvim (or Khetuvim) - meaning "Writings"; this "miscellaneous" group includes the books of Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes (called "Wisdom Literature" by Christians), the books of Ruth, Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles (considered "Historical Books" in Christian Bibles), and the books of Daniel and Lamentations (placed among the "Prophets" in Christian Bibles).
Septuagint (LXX) - A collection of up to 53 books of ancient Jewish Scriptures written in Greek, including translations of all 24 books of the HB (Daniel, Esther, and Jeremiah are longer in the Greek versions than in the original Hebrew), as well as seven or more additional books (the "Deuterocanonical Books") that are not found in the HB. Several versions of the LXX have been preserved, some of which are slightly larger than others. The LXX was first translated and compiled around 250 BCE, probably in or near Alexandria, Egypt. The name "Septuagint" (meaning "seventy") comes from an ancient Jewish legend that tells how 70 (or 72) scholars translated the whole collection (or at least the Torah) in 70 days. All the books of the LXX were considered "scriptures" by most Greek-speaking Jews and early Christians; thus it became the basis of the Christian "Old Testament" (see below). In contrast to the three divisions and 24 books of the HB, the LXX rearranges, renames, subdivides, and/or expands some of the books, and adds several more books, thus resulting in up to 53 books in four main divisions:
Pentateuch (Greek, lit. "five scrolls") - the same five foundational books as in the "Torah" of the HB: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.
Historical Books - includes not only the four "Former Prophets" of the HB (although two are subdivided and renamed: Joshua, Judges, 1 Kingdoms, 2 Kingdoms, 3 Kingdoms, 4 Kingdoms), but also several of th