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Bible Encyclopedias
Hafṭarah

The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia

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That portion of the Prophets read immediately after the reading of the Torah in the morning services on Sabbaths, feast-days, and the Ninth of Ab, and in the afternoon services on fast-days. The passage chosen usually contains an explicit reference to some event described in the section previously read from the Torah; for instance, Isaiah 54, on account of verse 9, goes with Genesis 6:9-11:32; Hosea 12:13 with Genesis 28:10-32:2; Micah 5:6-6:8 with Num.- In all of these cases the direct relation of one passage to the other is limited to one verse. Often the two sections bear merely a general resemblance to each other in their content, as is the case with those for most feast-days, those for the four Sabbaths before the Feast of Passover, etc. For example, 2 Kings 4, on account of verse 16, goes with Genesis 18-; 1 Kings 1 with Genesis 23-25:18, on account of 24:1, with which the weekly lesson originally began; Judges 13 with Numbers 4:21-7:89, on account of 6:1 et seq. Sometimes, when nothing more appropriate could be found, a remote similarity of ideas determined the selection of the hafṭarah: thus, Isaiah 42:5 would be coupled with Genesis 1-6:8; Ezekiel 37:15 with Genesis 44:18-47:27; indeed, sometimes the connection consists only in one word, as between Hosea 2:2 and Numbers 1-4:20; Isaiah 27:6 and Exodus 1:5. The hafṭarot are definitely fixed; they consist of from ten to fifty-two verses, and are read by the last person called upon by the prayer-leader or the rabbi to read from the Torah. They are preceded by two exordiums on the subject of God's delight in His prophets and their utterances and in the Torah, and are concluded by four laudations—upon God's faithfulness to His promises in regard to the restoration of Zion, the coming of the Messiah, and the reestablishment of the throne of David, upon the revelation of the Torah, upon the Prophets, and upon the feast-day.

Stages of Development.

The hafṭarah has passed through several stages of development (see LITURGY). The Talmudic sources, which trace the custom of reading from the Torah back to Moses and Ezra, do not mention the originator of the hafṭarah, which would seem to point to a later origin. Abudarham, a Spanish teacher of the fourteenth century, traces the hafṭarah back to the time of the persecution under Antiochus IV., Epiphanes (168-165 B.C.), when, owing to the prohibition against reading from the Torah, the corresponding sections from the Prophets were read instead, this practise becoming established as a custom. Although all authority for this explanation is lacking, it is not improbable that the custom dates from the pre-Christian era, and that originally it was observed only on feast-days and on the four special Sabbaths, and was later extended to all Sabbaths. It appears that the Pharisees in their conflict with the Sadducees read in connection with the various sections from the Torah such selections from the prophetical books—principally from the so-called Earlier Prophets—as supported their own interpretation of the laws concerning the festivals. Talmudic statements, together with Luke 4:17, show that the reading of the hafṭarah on the Sabbath had already been instituted in the first century of the common era (Meg. 25b; Yer. Meg. 4:75c; Tosef., 4:34), although the selections at that time were by no means fixed (Meg. 4:9).

Triennial Cycle.

The portions to be read on feast-days were first determined in the middle of the second century (Tosef., Meg. 4:1); then followed those for the special Sabbaths; for ordinary Sabbaths only a few were fixed, which bore special relation to the sections from the Torah (Tosef., Meg. 4:18). In the second century the choice of the passage was still left to the scholar who was called upon to read from the Torah (Meg. 4:5). In Palestine the reading of the Prophets was completed in three years, in accordance with the three-year cycle of readings from the Torah, and consequently necessitated as many selections as there were weeks in the three years. A manuscript in the Bodleian Library contains an incomplete list of these, which manuscript came originally from a synagogue in Cairo, probably of the Palestinians, who in the twelfth century still observed the triennial cycle. These hafṭarot consisted often of two or three verses, as in the oldest times, and were repeated in Aramaic, the language of the people, by an official translator, sentence by sentence, as they were read (Meg. 4:4). Inappropriate passages remained untranslated. At times an address followed the reading from the Prophets (comp. Luke 4:17 et seq., and Pesiḳta), usually based upon the section from the Torah. In the course of time the hafṭarah grew (comp. Meg. 31a). When the triennial cycle was replaced in Babylonia by an annual cycle, and each three sections of the Torah were read as one, the hafṭarah to the first section was usually preserved, seldom that of the second or third, which is explained by the similarity of the rites in this respect. The Karaites almost always chose the hafṭarah to the middle section. The hafṭarot for the three Sabbaths of mourning before the Ninth of Ab and for the three Sabbaths of consolation after the Ninth of Ab, which have no connection with the section from the Torah, are later, though probably of Palestinian origin; for the former, admonitory speeches are chosen from Jeremiah 1- and Isaiah 1; for the latter, consolatory speeches from Isa. - The hafṭarot of consolation were later made to extend over the following Sabbaths to the New-Year, and attained such importance that the homilies of the preacher touched only upon the hafṭarah and not upon the Torah (Pesiḳta). However, the extension beyond the three hafṭarot of consolation did not at first find general recognition, and not until later did it become prevalent. The benedictions preceding and following the hafṭarah are first found in the Palestinian treatise Soferim (13:9-14), and, with some variations, in the prayer-book of the gaon Amram of Babylonia (900). For the accents of the hafṭarah see Jew. Encyc. 3:540-546, s. CANTILLATION, Nos. 3-8.

Bibliography:
  • Rapoport, Erech Millin, pp. 167 et seq.;
  • Herzfeld, Gesch. des Volkes Jisrael, 3:215;
  • Büchler, in J. Q. R. 6:1 et seq.;
  • Müller, Tractat Soferim, pp. 181 et seq.

E. G. H.
A. Büch.

The following is a list of the sidrot and the corresponding hafṭarot for the various Sabbaths, together with the sections and hafṭarot for special Sabbaths and festivals:

Sabbaths.Sidrot.Hafṭarot.
BereshitGenesis 1:1-6:8Isaiah 42:5-43:10 (among Sephardim 42:5-21)
NoaḥGenesis 6:9-11:32Isaiah 54:1-55:5 (among Sephardim 54:1-10)
Lek LekaGenesis 12:1-17:27Isa. 27-41:16
WayeraGenesis 18:1-22:242 Kings 4:1-37 (among Sephardim 4:1-23)
Ḥayye SarahGenesis 23:1-25:181 Kings 1:1-31
ToledotGenesis 25:19-28:9Malachi 1:1-2:7
WayeẓeGenesis 28:10-32:3Hosea 12:13-14:10 (among Sephardim 11:7-12:12)
WayishlaḥGenesis 32:4-36:43Hosea 11:7-12:12, or Obadiah 1:1-21
WayeshebGenesis 37:1- 23Amos 2:6-3:8
MiḳḳeẓGenesis 41:1-44:171 Kings 3:15-4:1
WayiggashGenesis 44:18-47:27Ezekiel 37:15-28
WayeḥiGenesis 47:28- 261 Kings 2:1-12
ShemotExodus 1:1-6:1Isaiah 27:6-28:13 (among Sephardim Jeremiah 1:1-2:3)
Wa'eraExodus 6:2-9:35Ezekiel 28:25-29:21
BoExodus 10:1-13:16Jeremiah 46:13-28
BeshallaḥExodus 13:17-17:16Judges 4:4-5:31 (among Sephardim 5:1-31)
YitroExodus 18:1-20:26Isaiah 6:1-7:6 (among Sephardim 6:1-13)
MishpaṭimExodus 21:1-24:18Jeremiah 34:8-22; 33:25-26
TerumahExodus 25:1-27:191 Kings 5:26-6:13
TeẓawwehExodus 27:20-30:10Ezekiel 3:10-27
(Ki) TissaExodus 30:11-34:351 Kings 18:1-39 (among Sephardim 18:20-39)
WayaḳhelExodus 35:1-38:201 Kings 7:40-50 (among Sephardim 7:13-26)
PeḳudeExodus 38:21-11:381 Kings 7:51-8:21 (among Sephardim 7:40-50)
WayiḳraLeviticus 1:1-5:26Isaiah 43:21-44:23
ẒawLeviticus 6:1-8:36Jeremiah 7:21-8:3 and 9:22,23
SheminiLeviticus 9:1-11:472 Samuel 6:1-7:17 (among Sephardim 6:1-19)
Tazria'Leviticus 12:1-13:592 Kings 4:42-5:19
Meẓora'Leviticus 14:1-15:332 Kings 7:3-20
Aḥare MotLeviticus 16:1-18:30Ezekiel 22:1-16
ḲedoshimLeviticus 19:1-20:27Amos 9:7-15 (among Sephardim Ezekiel 20:2-20)
EmorLeviticus 21:1-24:23Ezekiel 44:15-31
BeharLeviticus 25:1-26:2Jer. xxxii 6-27
BeḥuḳḳotalLeviticus 26:3-27:34Jeremiah 16:19-17:14
BemidbarNumbers 1:1-4:20Hosea 2:1-22
NasoNumbers 4:21-7:89Judges 13:2-25
Beha'alotekaNumbers 8:1-12:16Zechariah 2:14-4:7
ShelaḥNumbers 13:1-15:41Joshua 2:1-24
ḲoraḥNumbers 16:1-18:321 Samuel 11:14-12:22
ḤuḳḳatNumbers 19:1-22:1Judges 11:1-33
BalaḳNumbers 22:2-25:9Micah 5:6-6:8
PineḥasNumbers 25:10-30:11 Kings 18:46-19:21
MaṭṭotNumbers 30:2-32:42Jeremiah 1:1-2:3
Masse'eNumbers 33:1-36:13Jeremiah 2:4-28 and 4:1,2
DebarimDeuteronomy 1:1-3:22Isaiah 1:1-27
Wa'etḥananDeuteronomy 3:23-7:11Isa. l-26
'EkebDeuteronomy 7:12-11:25Isaiah 49:14-51:4
Re'ehDeuteronomy 11:26-16:17Isaiah 54:11-55:6
ShofeṭimDeuteronomy 16:18-21:9Isaiah 51:12-52:13
Ki TeẓeDeuteronomy 21:10-25:19Isaiah 54:1-10
Ki TaboDeuteronomy 26:1-29:8Isaiah 60:1-22
NiẓẓabimDeuteronomy 29:9-30:20Isaiah 61:10-63:9
WayelekDeuteronomy 31:1-30Isaiah 55:6-56:8 (among Sephardim Hosea 14:2-10; Micah 7:18-20)
Ha'azinuDeuteronomy 32:1-52Hosea 14:2-10 (among Sephardim 2 Samuel 22:1-51)
Wezot ha-BerakahDeuteronomy 33:1-34:12Joshua 1:1-18
Special Sabbaths and Holy Days.
Rosh Ḥodesh on SabbathWeekly portion and Numbers 28:9-15Isaiah 66:1-24
Rosh Ḥodesh on day following SabbathWeekly portion1 Samuel 20:18-42
SheḳalimExodus 30:11-162 Kings 12:1-17 (among Sephardim 11:17-12:17)
ZakorDeuteronomy 25:17-191 Samuel 15:2-34 (among Sephardim 15:1-34)
ParahNumbers 19:1-22Ezekiel 36:16-36
Ha-ḤodeshExodus 12:1-20Ezekiel 45:16-46:18 (among Sephardim 45:18-46:15)
Ḥanukkah on SabbathPart of Numbers 7Zechariah 2:14-4:7
Sabbath ha-GadolWeekly lessonMalachi 3:4-24
Passover, 1st DayExodus 12:21-51; Numbers 28:16-25Joshua 3:5-4:1 (among Sephardim 5:2-6:1)
Passover, 2d DayLeviticus 22:26-23:44; Numbers 28:16-252 Kings 23:1-10,21-25
Passover and SabbathExodus 33:12-34:26; Num. xxxiii . 19-25Ezekiel 37:1-15
Passover, 7th DayExodus 13:17-15:26; Numbers 28:19-252 Samuel 22:1-51
Passover, 8th DayDeuteronomy 15:19-16:17; Numbers 28:19-25Isaiah 10:32-12:6
Shebu'ot, 1st DayExodus 19:1-20:23; Numbers 28:26-31Ezekiel 1:1-28 and 3:1-12
Shebu'ot, 2d DayDeuteronomy 15:19-16:17; Numbers 28:26-31Habakkuk 3:1-19 (among Sephardim 2:20-3:19)
Tish'ah be-Ab, MorningDeuteronomy 4:25-40Jeremiah 8:13-9:23
Tish'ah be-Ab, AfternoonExodus 32:11-14, 34:1-10Isaiah 4:6-56:8
Rosh ha-Shanah, 1st DayGenesis 21:1-34; Numbers 29:1-61 Samuel 1:1-2:10
Rosh ha-Shanah, 2d DayGenesis 22:1-19; Numbers 29:1-6Jeremiah 31:2-20
Yom Kippur, MorningLeviticus 16:1-34; Numbers 19:7-11Isaiah 57:14-58:14
Yom Kippur, AfternoonLeviticus 18:1Jonah 1:1-iv II (Sephardim add Micah 7:18-20)
Sukkot, 1st DayLeviticus 22:26-23:44; Numbers 29:12-16Zechariah 14:1-21
Sukkot, 2d DayLeviticus 22:26-23:44; Numbers 29:12-161 Kings 8:2-21
Sukkot, on SabbathExodus 33:12-34:26; Numbers 29:26-31Ezekiel 38:18-39:16
Shemini 'AẓeretDeuteronomy 14:22-16:17; Numbers 29:35-30:11 Kings 8:54-66
Simḥat TorahDeuteronomy 33,; Genesis 1-2:3; Numbers 29:35-30:1Joshua 1 (among Sephardim 1:1-10)
Fast of GedaliahExodus 32:11-14, 34:1-10Isaiah 4:6-8
Fast of 10th of ṭebet
Fast of Esther
Fast of 15th of Tammuz
Bibliography:
  • Hebrew Bible, ed. Hahn;
  • American and English Jewish Year Books;
  • Gaster, The Book of Prayer, London, 1901.
J.
I. G. D.
Bibliography Information
Singer, Isidore, Ph.D, Projector and Managing Editor. Entry for 'Hafṭarah'. 1901 The Jewish Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/​encyclopedias/​eng/​tje/​h/hafarah.html. 1901.
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