16 Elsie Stern
Th is sociological reality has important implications for our understand-
ing of Jewish scripture. In theory, the entire contents of the Tanakh are in-
vested with scriptural status and wield the communal authority that this
status brings. However, most Jews would never have encountered texts that
were not recited in the synagogue. For example, many Jews would never
have encountered the books of Chronicles or Ezra-Nehemiah as well as
vast swathes of the prophetic literature. Th ey might have been entirely ig-
norant of the contents of these books and, in some cases, might not have
known the books even existed. While these texts had scriptural status and
authority, this status and authority remained theoretical because the books
were not deployed as authoritative texts in communal settings. If we are
interested in scripture as a category of text which helps to shape a commu-
nity’s self-understanding and worldview, then the short list of texts which
most Jews actually encountered in synagogue is particularly important. In
this chapter, I will outline the contours of this synagogue Bible.
Even though the synagogue Bible, or lectionary, is composed solely of
biblical texts, it diff ers in a variety of ways from the canonical Tanakh: its
scope is smaller, its contents are arranged diff erently, and, most impor-
tantly, it is a strikingly bicultural text. Th e contents of the lectionary are
all drawn from the canonical Tanakh and, as such, articulate the perspec-
tive of the ancient Israelite authors. At the same time, the rabbinic creators
of the lectionary cycle deployed strategies of selection and arrangement
to shape a synagogue scripture that articulates central rabbinic ideologies.
In what follows, I will focus on material from the rabbinic (third to sixth
centuries CE) and early medieval periods (seventh to tenth centuries CE)
since these were the foundational eras for the development of the lection-
ary and the rituals for its recitation. While contemporary synagogue rituals
for the reading of scripture vary widely from one another and, at times,
from the rituals described here, the ritual and lectionary developments of
the rabbinic period remain foundational for the ideological construction of
the synagogue Bible.
Th e Contents of the Lectionary
Since the rabbinic period, the recitation of scriptural texts has been a cen-
tral part of Jewish communal worship. Scripture readings are a core element
of Sabbath and festival services and are also included in the morning ser-
vices on Mondays and Th ursdays. On Sabbaths and festivals, the scripture