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How many words are there in Tanach? already asks about several statistics about Sifrei Tanach, but there's one that was left out:

How many Parshios are in each Sefer of Tanach?

A Parsha is defined as all the text between one gap in a Sefer Torah and the next, whether that gap is a 9-letter space ("setumah"), continues until the end of the line ("pesuchah"), or is the end of the Sefer.

I'm aware that there are different Minhagim on the matter; I'd be curious to see all of the major ones.

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    I'd say there's three major practices: Pinfer's list, the Berdetchiv lists, and the Keter's.
    – Double AA ♦
    Mar 1, 2019 at 3:14
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    @DoubleAA None of those names mean anything to me. Which are typically followed by which communities?
    – DonielF
    Mar 1, 2019 at 3:15
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    Berdetchiv approximate the breaks used by the Talmidei Hagra when they started writing neviim at their rebbe's behest. It's based on a Amsterdam printed Tanakh IIRC and is riddled with errors. Still used by some die hard Yerushalmim who think the Gra had some secret Mesorah. Pinfer (sp?) did a survey of many many editions and followed the majority in every instance. It's notably the basis for the well established Koren Tanakh. Don't know that anyone uses it for Safrut. A majority is only useful after all if all the components are independently valuable.
    – Double AA ♦
    Mar 1, 2019 at 3:23
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    And the Keter is the same source we use for the breaks in the Torah, so it's about as reliable as you can get. Widely used in Safrut unless you're a Yerushalmi or you're scared of things they didn't have in Europe. (Many Acharonim in Europe wrote as obvious that they had no Mesorah for breaks in Nakh.)
    – Double AA ♦
    Mar 1, 2019 at 3:24
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    Are you asking to include breaks within a section (e.g. in a shira) or only between sections?
    – Loewian
    Mar 1, 2019 at 3:52

1 Answer 1

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According to the Aleppo Codex the number of breaks are:

  • Genesis - 92
  • Exodus - 165
  • Leviticus - 99
  • Numbers - 159
  • Deuteronomy - 159

(based on Rambam's testimony in Hilkhot Sefer Torah chapter 8)

  • Joshua - 106
  • Judges - 88
  • Samuel - 369
  • Kings - 205
  • Isaiah - 242
  • Jeremiah - 281
  • Ezekiel - 185
  • Hosea - 18
  • Joel - 7
  • Amos - 28
  • Obadiah - 1
  • Jonah - 4
  • Micah - 17
  • Nahum - 4
  • Habakkuk - 9
  • Zephania - 7
  • Haggai - 8
  • Zachariah - 36
  • Malakhi - 8
  • Chronicles - 519
  • Ruth - 2
  • Canticles - 20
  • Ecclesiastes - 2
  • Lamentations - 134
  • Esther - 23
  • Daniel - 28
  • Ezra - 319

(based on Mechon Mamre's text with variations, based on testimony of the Codex's contents, in places where the Codex is currently missing and MM used another source)

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  • What about the sifrei emet?
    – Joel K
    Mar 1, 2019 at 13:38
  • It's not always clear how to count those @joelk
    – Double AA ♦
    Mar 1, 2019 at 13:46
  • @DoubleAA Why? I took a quick look and in Tehillim and Mishlei at least the blank lines look pretty clear to me. Iyov I agree has some non obvious features.
    – Heshy
    Mar 1, 2019 at 14:15
  • @Heshy Does anyone argue that Tehillim isn’t 150?
    – DonielF
    Mar 1, 2019 at 14:23
  • I assume that, similar to how you combine all the other books that the Christians split into two, your number next to Ezra is intended to encompass both Ezra and Nechemiah?
    – DonielF
    Mar 1, 2019 at 14:24

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