Christianity & Judaism

The Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and Jesus

The Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh (Torah, Prophets, and Writings), is Judaism's Scripture and also the Christian Old Testament, the same books Jesus read and quoted. Christians read certain passages as pointing toward Jesus; Jews read them within their own context and tradition. Understanding both readings honestly, without pretending the Hebrew obviously means what Christians later saw in it, is where a real conversation begins.

One shared library

The Tanakh is an acronym for Torah (the five books of Moses), Nevi’im (the Prophets), and Ketuvim (the Writings). These are the same books Christians call the Old Testament (with some differences of order and, in some traditions, of canon). Jesus and his followers quoted them constantly; there is no Christianity without the Scriptures of Israel.

Where the readings differ, honestly

Christians read some passages as pointing to Jesus. It is only honest to place the Jewish reading right beside the Christian one. Consider the most famous example:

The Hebrew word here is almah, which means a young woman (of marriageable age); it does not by itself specify virginity (the specific word for virgin is betulah). The pre-Christian Jewish Greek translation, the Septuagint, rendered almah as parthenos, ‘virgin’, and the Gospel of Matthew, writing in Greek, follows that reading. Jewish tradition understands the verse as a sign given to King Ahaz in his own day. So the honest picture is: the Hebrew says ‘young woman’, an ancient Jewish translation said ‘virgin’, and Christians read it of the virgin birth. We do not hide that.

Other passages Christians read messianically, Micah 5:2 (a ruler from Bethlehem), Psalm 22 (a sufferer whose hands and feet are ‘pierced’, though the Hebrew text here is itself disputed), Isaiah 53, have their own Jewish readings too. On each, the honest path is the same: read the passage, learn both traditions, and weigh it yourself.

Hebrew Bible quotations: King James Version; for the Jewish rendering, compare the JPS Tanakh at sefaria.org. Jewish interpretive positions (Rashi, Maimonides) are summarized from recognized Jewish sources. Every reference on this page was checked against its primary source.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Old Testament the same as the Tanakh?

They contain the same books, the Torah, Prophets, and Writings, though with differences of order and, in some Christian traditions, additional books. The Tanakh is Judaism's Scripture and the Christian Old Testament.

Does Isaiah 7:14 say 'virgin' or 'young woman'?

The Hebrew word almah means 'young woman' and does not by itself specify virginity. The pre-Christian Greek Septuagint translated it 'virgin' (parthenos), and the Gospel of Matthew follows that. Jewish tradition reads it as a sign to King Ahaz in his day. Both readings are real.

Did Jesus read the Hebrew Bible?

Yes. Jesus read and quoted the Hebrew Scriptures constantly, taught from them in synagogues, and understood his mission in their light. The Tanakh is foundational to his life and to Christianity.