The terms Hebrew scriptures and Hebrew Bible are synonyms here restricted to that received, definitive corpus of ancient literature, written in Hebrew except for some sections in Aramaic (Genesis 31:47, Jeremiah 10:11, and parts of Daniel and Ezra), that has been traditionally accepted by Jews and Christians alike as having been divinely inspired and, as such, authoritative in shaping their respective faiths and practices.

The word Bible is ultimately of Greek derivation and passed into many languages of the world through the medium of Latin. It meant simply "the Books" par excellence, the way in which the Jews of the Hellenistic world referred to their sacred scriptures, apparently in literal translation into Greek of the earliest known Hebrew designation current in Palestine. This latter is already reflected in Daniel 9:2.

Other names for the corpus that were current in ancient times are "Holy Books" and "Holy Writings." More specific...