Editing Lectionary (section)

==History==
By the Medieval era the Jewish community had a [[Weekly Torah portion|standardized schedule of scripture readings]] from both the Torah and the prophets to be read in the [[synagogue]]. A sequential selection was read from the [[Torah]], followed by the "[[haftarah]]" – a selection from the prophetic books or historical narratives (e.g. "Judges", "Kings", etc.) closely linked to the selection from the Torah. Jesus may have read a providentially "random" reading when he read from [[Isaiah 61:1]]–[[Isaiah 61:2|2]], as recorded in Luke 4:16–21,<ref>{{bibleverse|Luke|4:16–21}}</ref> when he inaugurated his public ministry. The early Christians adopted the Jewish custom of reading extracts from the Old Testament on the Sabbath. They soon added extracts from the writings of the Apostles and gospels.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title =Lectionary | encyclopedia =Encyclopædia Britannica Online | url =http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9047577/lectionary | access-date =2007-07-06}}</ref>

Both Hebrew and Christian lectionaries developed over the centuries. Typically, a lectionary will go through the scriptures in a logical pattern, and also include selections which were chosen by the religious community for their appropriateness to particular occasions. The one-year Jewish lectionary reads the entirety of the Torah within the space of a year and may have begun in the Babylonian Jewish community; the three-year Jewish lectionary seems to trace its origin to the Jewish community in and around the Holy Land.<ref name="Elgoben lectionary development">Elbogen, Ismar. ''Jewish Liturgy: A Comprehensive History''. Original publication 1913. Trans Raymond P. Scheindlin for Jewish Publication Society edition 1993.</ref>

Within Christianity, the use of pre-assigned, scheduled readings from the scriptures can be traced back to the [[early church]], and seems to have developed out of the practices of the second temple period. The earliest documentary record of a special book of readings is a reference by [[Gennadius of Massilia]] to a work produced by [[Musaeus of Marseilles]] at the request of Bishop [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Marseille|Venerius of Marseille]], who died in 452, though there are 3rd-century references to liturgical readers as a special role in the clergy.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lectionary |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/lectionary |publisher=Britannica |access-date=12 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Palazzo|first=Eric|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EDYts-KZe2MC&pg=PA91|title=A History of Liturgical Books from the Beginning to the Thirteenth Century|date=1998|publisher=Liturgical Press|isbn=978-0-8146-6167-3|page=91}}</ref>