Scriptures
Sacred scriptures of all religions, viewed as the word of God or inspired by God, have influenced the moral and ethical standards of countries, peoples, and religious groups. Their interpretation has long been a subject of discussion and, at times, controversy.
Scriptures Encyclopedia Articles
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Dead Sea Scrolls
Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient, mostly Hebrew, manuscripts (of leather, papyrus, and copper) first found in 1947 on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea. Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls is among the more...
Shruti
Shruti, in Hinduism, the most-revered body of sacred literature, considered to be the product of divine revelation. Shruti works are considered to have been heard and transmitted by earthly sages, as contrasted...
Talmud and Midrash
Talmud and Midrash, commentative and interpretative writings that hold a place in the Jewish religious tradition second only to the Bible (Old Testament). The Hebrew term Talmud (“study” or “learning”)...
biblical literature
Biblical literature, four bodies of written works: the Old Testament writings according to the Hebrew canon; intertestamental works, including the Old Testament Apocrypha; the New Testament writings; and...
patristic literature
Patristic literature, body of literature that comprises those works, excluding the New Testament, written by Christians before the 8th century. Patristic literature is generally identified today with the...
Yiddish literature
Yiddish literature, the body of written works produced in the Yiddish language of Ashkenazic Jewry (central and eastern European Jews and their descendants). Yiddish literature culminated in the period...
Torah
Torah, in Judaism, in the broadest sense, the substance of divine revelation to Israel, the Jewish people: God’s revealed teaching or guidance for humankind. The meaning of “Torah” is often restricted...
Bible
Bible, the sacred scriptures of Judaism and Christianity. The Christian Bible consists of the Old Testament and the New Testament, with the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox versions of the Old Testament...
Qurʾān
Qurʾān, the sacred scripture of Islam. According to conventional Islamic belief, the Qurʾān was revealed by the angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad in the West Arabian towns Mecca and Medina beginning...
Bhagavadgita
Bhagavadgita, an episode recorded in the great Sanskrit poem of the Hindus, the Mahabharata. It occupies chapters 23 to 40 of Book VI of the Mahabharata and is composed in the form of a dialogue between...
Synoptic Gospels
Synoptic Gospels, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke in the New Testament, which present similar narratives of the life and death of Jesus Christ. Since the 1780s the first three books of the New Testament...