The collection of Jewish scripture is known as the TeNaK which derives from the three parts to the Jewish scriptures the Torah, the Nevi'im and the Ketuvim. These scriptures are also found in the first section of the Christian Bible but it would be incorrect to refer to these writings as an 'Old' testament or covenant. It may be referred to as the Hebrew Bible as all the writings contained in it were originally written in Hebrew except for the book of Daniel, which was written in Aramaic. Also the order in which the books appear in the TeNaK is different to how they appear in the first part of the Christian Bible.

The Torah (or teachings) contains the five books revealed to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. Another word often applied to the Torah is the Pentateuch which derives from the Greek translation of the Torah. These five books include the stories of the creation of the world; the lives of the early patriarchs (Genesis), the history of the Hebrew people in Egypt, their escape and wanderings in the desert (Exodus), the establishment of the system of priesthood (Numbers), regulations concerning sacrifices and ethical ideals (Leviticus), and how the Hebrew people responded to their covenant with God (Deuteronomy).

The Nevi'im or Prophets is divided into two sections; the early prophets (Joshua, Judges, I & II Samuel and I & II Kings) and the later prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi). These books continue the history of the Hebrew people from the time of Joshua and are the prophecies and teaching of particularly gifted and holy men who gave powerful insights and guidance as to the way people should live as part of God's covenant.

The Ketuvim (or Teachings) is the final part of the TeNaK and include Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah and I & II Chronicles. The whole range of human experience is contained within the writings which address the timeless issues as to the purpose of human life itself, but the theme running through them is that life may be mysterious but it is not pointless and human beings should reflect upon their place within the whole of creation. The Five Megillot is the name give to the books of Esther, Ruth, Song of Songs, Lamentations and Ecclesiastes.

The Jewish scriptures are central to worship with a section of the Torah being read during each Sabbath service so that throughout a year the whole of the Torah will have been read.

The respect with which the Torah is treated reflects the belief that it contains God's words. Traditionally it should be hand written by specially trained scribes on parchment using special ink. Within synagogue worship the scriptures are kept in the Ark, a special cupboard that faces Jerusalem, and are wrapped in velvet or silk and adorned with silver crowns or rimmonium and a breastplate with the Hebrew words of the commandment all to emphasise their majesty. When they are taken from the Ark they are carried aloft and to prevent them being unnecessarily touched a Yad or pointer is used to follow the words.

The scriptures influence every aspect of Jewish life. They will be read at all rites of passage, major and minor festivals and Sabbath day observations. A section of the Torah with the words of the Shema, a command to love God, is found in the mezuzah on each doorpost and also in the tephillin, as well as in daily prayers.

Even when the scriptures are no longer usable they are either carefully stored or given a burial as a human would.