Miqra
/miːˈkrɑː/noun
A Hebrew term for the Jewish Bible, especially viewed as a text intended to be read or recited.
Did you know?Miqra comes from a Semitic root connected with calling out and reciting, reflecting the ancient world’s emphasis on scripture as performed speech rather than silent reading.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*q-r-ʔ
“A root associated with calling out, proclaiming, or reciting.”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
מִקְרָא (miqrāʾ)
“A calling, public reading, or recitation; also an appointed convocation in biblical usage.”
Second Temple period
Hebrew
מִקְרָא (miqrāʾ)
“A written or proclaimed sacred text, increasingly associated with scriptural reading.”
Medieval Hebrew
Hebrew
Miqra
“The Hebrew Scriptures, distinguished from later rabbinic interpretation and oral law.”
19th–20th Century
English
Miqra
“A scholarly English transliteration for the Hebrew Bible or its scriptural corpus.”
Modern English
English
Miqra
“A term used in Jewish studies and comparative scriptural scholarship for the Hebrew Bible.”