THE BIBLE, as we know, was viewed as sacred by Jews of all persuasions, Rabbanite and Karaite. Yet while the Karaites held that the Bible should be interpreted strictly with reference to the text rather than external sources, Rabbanite Jews transmitted alongside the Bible, which they called the Written Law, a no less authoritative tradition referred to as the Oral Law. This tradition was crucial in determining the correct and binding interpretation of the Bible when it appeared to contradict the overt meaning of the text.

The Bible retained its unique status during the geonic era (and after) as manifested first and foremost in the regular order of synagogue readings from the Pentateuch and selected portions of the Prophets and the Writings that formed a vital part of the prayer service. It also played a central role in such forms of creative endeavour as piyut and midrash, more prevalent in Palestinian tradition than in that of Babylonia. There is no indication that the Babylonian sages before Sa'adyah's day engaged in systematic biblical exegesis as part of their higher education, although it is reasonable to assume that their primary education—as in traditional Judaism everywhere—consisted largely of learning to read the Torah and other parts of Scripture. All Jewishmales were expected to be able to ‘go up to the Torah’ in the synagogue and read the passages that fell to their lot (at this time the ancient custom according to which the man who went up to the Torah read the passage himself was still observed, as opposed to the later practice of employing an expert reader or ba'al kore to read the Torah for everyone). As far as we know, the sages of the Babylonian academies concerned them selves almost exclusively with the Oral Law and halakhah, and the overwhelming majority of questions sent to the geonic academies from Jewish communities in the diaspora were likewise narrowly focused on these areas. It was relatively rare to address questions of biblical exegesis to the geonic academies.

At least two leaders of the Karaite movement that evolved in the ninth century, Benjamin al-Nihawandi and Daniel al-Qumisi, wrote Hebrew commentaries on portions of the Bible. Moreover, according to recent discoveries, certain parts of the Bible had been translated into Judaeo-Arabic before Sa'adyah's day.