THE CANON OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
THE word “canon” has come to mean (1)
“rule of faith” or the standard, authoritative teaching by which all doctrines
were measured; and (2) a list or index. The English word “canon” was derived
from the Hebrew qaneh, meaning “reed” or “stalk.” The Greek took over this
Semitic word, thus “kanon” in Greek. The root meaning of the word (“reed”)
denotes a rule, a measuring stick or an instrument with which to make straight
lines.
Because the word “canon” could
also means a list or index, the phrase “Canon of Scriptures” is the list of
books that belong to the Holy Scriptures or those said to be “canonical.”
How many books that belong to the canon of
the Old Testament or those said to be canonical? How many books that belong to
the canon of the contemporary Bible? How many books that belong to the Jewish
canon? Why limit the number of the canonical books to the number the Jewish
canon and the canon of the Septuagint gave?
The 39 Books
Canon
The canon of Old Testament is
consists of 39 books only. Thus, the canon of the Scriptures is a 39 books
canon. This is the list and arrangement that we can see in majority of the
contemporary Bible.
The following is the list and
arrangement of the 39 books canon:
1.
Genesis
2.
Exodus
3.
Leviticus
4.
Numbers
5.
Deuteronomy
|
6.
Joshua
7.
Judges
8.
Ruth
9.
I Samuel
10. II Samuel
11. I Kings
12. II Kings
13. I Chronicles
14. II Chronicles
15. Ezra
16. Nehemiah
17. Esther
|
18. Job
19. Psalms
20. Proverbs
21. Ecclesiastes
22. Song of Solomon
|
23. Isaiah
24. Jeremiah
25. Lamentations
26. Ezekiel
27. Daniel
28. Hosea
29. Joel
30. Amos
31. Obadiah
32. Jonah
33. Micah
34. Nahum
35. Habakkuk
36. Zephaniah
37. Haggai
38. Zechariah
39. Malachi
|
The Jewish
Canon
The Jewish canon, also called the
Hebrew canon, was only 24 books. However’ this is not different from the 39
books canon. The Jewish canon numbers 24 books because 1 and 2 Samuel were
treated as a single book, also the same case with 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2
Chronicles, and Ezra and Nehemiah. In addition, the twelve Minor Prophets were
treated as one book only.
The following is the list and
arrangement of the Jewish Canon:
The Book of
Law
|
Former
Prophets
|
Latter
Prophets
|
The Writings
|
(1) Genesis
(2) Exodus
(3) Leviticus
(4) Numbers
(5) Deuteronomy
|
(6) Joshua
(7) Judges
(8) Samuel (I and II)
(9) Kings (I and II)
|
(10) Isaiah
(11) Jeremiah
(12) Ezekiel
(13) Minor Prophets
|
(14) Psalms
(15) Job
(16) Proverbs
(17) Song of Solomon
(18) Ruth
(19) Lamentations
(20) Ecclesiastes
(21) Esther
(22) Daniel
(23) Ezra-Nehemiah
(24) Chronicles (I and II)
|
Thus, the Jewish canon of 24
books is equivalent to 39 books canon. Thus, when we speak of Jewish canon, we
are referring to the 39 books canon. Also, when we mention 24 books, it is also
equivalent to the 39 books canon, and vice versa.
Josephus’ 22
Books
Josephus, a first century Jewish
writer, mentioned that the Old Testament is consists of 22 books. His is not
two books short. The reason is that Josephus treated Jeremiah and Lamentations
as a single book, and also Judges and Ruth as one book only.
The following is the list and
arrangement of Josephus’ 22 Books canon:
The Book of
Law
|
Former
Prophets
|
Latter
Prophets
|
The Writings
|
(1) Genesis
(2) Exodus
(3) Leviticus
(4) Numbers
(5) Deuteronomy
|
(6) Joshua
(7) Judges-Ruth
(8) Samuel (I and II)
(9) Kings (I and II)
|
(10) Isaiah
(11) Jeremiah-Lamentations
(12) Ezekiel
(13) Minor Prophets
|
(14) Psalms
(15) Job
(16) Proverbs
(17) Song of Solomon
(18) Ecclesiastes
(19) Esther
(20) Daniel
(21) Ezra-Nehemiah
(22) Chronicles (I and II)
|
Canon of the
Septuagint
When the Old Testament was
translated in Greek (the Septuagint), the books were rearranged. Separating the
books treated by the Jews as one, like Samuel, Kings, Chronicles,
Ezra-Nehemiah, and the Minor Prophets, we now have a canon of 39 books arranged
from Genesis to Malachi, rather than Genesis to Chronicles.
The following is the list and
arrangement of the canon of the Septuagint:
The Book of Law
|
Historical Books
|
The Writings
|
The Prophets
|
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
|
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
I Samuel
II Samuel
I Kings
II Kings
I Chronicles
II Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
|
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
|
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
|
The 24 books of the Jewish canon
is indeed equivalent to the 39 books of the Septuagint canon. This arrangement
of the Septuagint was taken over by the Latin Vulgate and also by the English
Bible.
The so-called
“Alexandrian Canon”
Some contend that the presence of
the Apocryphal books (extra-canonical Jewish literature) in the Septuagint
indicates the existence of a so-called “Alexandrian canon.” For them,
Alexandrian canon is larger and different from the “Palestinian canon” of 24
books (equivalent to our 39 books).
However, the presence of the
Apocryphal books in the Septuagint did not necessarily means these books were
considered canonical.
“But it is by no means certain that
all the books in the LXX were considered canonical even by the Alexandrian Jews
themselves. Quite decisive against this is the evidence of the writings of
Philo of Alexandria (who lived in the first century A.D.). Although he quotes
frequently from the canonical books of the ‘Palestinian Canon,’ he never once
quotes from any of the Apocryphal books. This is impossible to reconcile with
the theory of a larger ‘Alexandrian Canon,’ while others did.”1
One of the decisive evidence
against the so-called “Alexandrian Canon” that includes the Apocryphal books as
canonical was the writings of Philo, a well-known Alexandrian Jew. Philo never
once quotes from any of the Apocryphal books. In fact, Philo completely ignored
the Apocrypha.
“Philo, who was an Alexandrian Jew
(died c. 50) adhered strictly to the Hebrew canon and ignored the Apocrypha
completely. It does not follow, however, that all Alexandrian Jews were equally
strict.”2
Another evidence against the
claim that Alexandrian Jews considered the Apocryphal books canonical is the
fact that Alexandrian Jews in the second century A.D. accepted Aquila’s Greek Version although it did not contain the
Apocrypha.
“Secondly, it is reliably reported
that Aquila’s Greek Version was accepted by
the Alexandrian Jews in the second century A.D., even though it did not contain
the Apocrypha.”3
Another fact should be considered
is that only “Christian” manuscripts of the Septuagint contain the Apocrypha:
e.g. Codex Vaticanus, Codex Sinaiticus, and Codex Alexandrinus. All of these
are from the fourth century A.D.
Witnesses to the Old
Testament
Canon of 39 Books
There are ancient witnesses to
the Old Testament canon of 39 books. Some of these literatures are early enough
to supply relevant evidence that the Old Testament canon of 39 books already
existed even before the Christian era and the so-called council of Jamnia (90
A.D.). Let us survey these literature that bear witness to the Old Testament
canon of 39 books.
The Hebrew Old
Testament
The Hebrew Old Testament itself
bears witness to the canon of 24 (or 39) books. The Received Text itself, the
Hebrew Text the Masoretes (a guild of professional scribes from 500 to 900 AD)
received from the Talmudist (scribes from 100 to 500 AD) and Sopherim (scribes
from the time of Ezra, fifth century B.C. to 200 A.D.) consists of 24 books,
identical with our list of 39 books.
The Septuagint
Another witness to the Old
Testament canon of 39 books was the translation of the Hebrew Scriptures in
Greek in Alexandria
about third century B.C. The Septuagint contains the 39 books of the Hebrew
Bible. The Alexandrian canon is the same as the Hebrew canon.
“Since the Septuagint manuscripts
contain books outside the Hebrew canon of the Old Testament…it has been
commonly supposed that the Jews in Alexandria
accepted a wider canon than that of the Jews in Palestine. Actually, there is no evidence for
an ‘Alexandrian canon,’ or for any other Jewish canon larger than the
traditional one. Philo, the most extensive literary representative of Alexandrian
Jewry, gives no indication of accepting as authoritative any of the books
included in the Apocrypha.”4
The inclusion of apocryphal books
in the Septuagint can only be found in Christian manuscripts of the Septuagint
dated fourth century A.D.
The Apocryphal
Ecclesiasticus
The Jews arranged these 39 books
and divide it in three: The Laws, the Prophets and the Writings. The tripartite
division of the Old Testament books by the Jews was already established not
only in the time of Jesus Christ (in the first century AD), but even earlier:
“The Prologue to Ecclesiasticus,
written c. 131 B.C. refers to the great things handed down – the writings of
the Law and the Prophets and of others who have followed in their steps. From
this we can gather that the tripartite division of the biblical books was by
then established.”5
The Dead Sea Scrolls
The Dead Sea
contain manuscripts as old as the late third century BC that throw important
light on the canon of the Old Testament. Sectarian text of the Dead Sea Scrolls
witness to the canon as they quote directly from the Old Testament books,
denoting authority of those books, in the manner of Philo, the New Testament
and the rabbinical literature.
“Akin in many ways to the latter
class of Pseudepigrapha, several of which represented among the Dead Sea finds are the sectarian texts included in the
same discoveries. These texts date from between the second century BC and the
first century AD, and are legal, exegetical, apocalyptic or hymnodic in
character. An important part of their witness to the canon is that they quote
directly from the Old Testament books, introducing the quotations with formula
denoting the authority of those books, in the manner of Philo, the New
Testament and the rabbinical literature.”6
The Apocryphal
2 Esdras
Another witness to a twenty-four
book canon (as arranged by the Hebrew Bible) was the apocryphal book of II
Esdras written in the first century AD:
“In the apocryphal book of 4 Ezra
(also called 2 Esdras) there is a fictional account of the work of Ezra (chap.
14). In Ezra’s time the Law had been lost, and Ezra was called to restore it.
For forty days and forty nights he dictated nonstop to five men, producing
ninety-four books. Then the Most High said to him: ‘Make public the twenty-four
books that you wrote first and let the worthy and unworthy read them; but keep
the seventy that were written last, in order to give them to the wise among
your people” (14:44-46). Fourth Ezra was written in the first century A.D. and
clearly witnesses to a twenty-four book canon.”7
Philo
Philo, a well-known Alexandrian
Jew, was a witness regarding the complete collection of 39 books of the Hebrew
canon. Philo accepted the Hebrew canon and gives no indication of accepting as
authoritative any of the books included in the Apocrypha.
“Philo, the learned Jew of
Alexandria, whose life overlapped the life of Christ by about twenty years at
either end, seems to have known and accepted the Hebrew canon. The Law to him
is preeminently inspired, but he also acknowledges the authority of other books
of the Hebrew canon (although, as an Alexandrian, he used only the Greek
version). He does not regard the apocryphal books as authoritative, and this
suggests that, although these books were in circulation among them, they were
not really accorded canonical status by the Alexandrian Jews.”8
Josephus
Another witness to a complete
collection of 39 books (in present arrangement) or 24 books (in the arrangement
of the Hebrew Bible) was Josephus, the well-known Jewish historian, writing
about 100 A.D.
“Josephus, writing about A.D. 100,
says that the Jews, unlike the Greeks who have vast numbers of conflicting and
mutually contradictory books, have only twenty-two books (he combined Ruth and
Judges, Jeremiah and Lamentations). After listing the sacred books he adds:
‘For although so great an interval of time (since they were written) has now
passed, not a soul has ventured either to add or to remove or to alter a
syllable; and it is the instinct of every Jew from the day of his birth to
consider these books as the teaching of God, to abide by them, and, if need be,
cheerfully to lay down his like for them.”9
Josephus, Jewish historian of the
first century A.D., stated that the Hebrew canon has 22 books (equivalent of
the Jewish 24 books ad our 39 books).
All witnesses mentioned above are
all non-Christians. Some dated before the Christian era. Therefore, centuries
before the Christians, the 39 canon already existed and continued up to the
Christian era.
Melito, bishop
of Sardis
Melito, bishop of Sardis drawn the earliest
dateable Christian list of Old Testament books (about 170 AD).
“The earliest dateable Christian
list of Old Testament books was drawn up by Melito, bishop of Sardis,
about A.D. 170; he said he had obtained it by accurate enquiry while traveling
in Syria.
It has been preserved by Eusebius in the fourth book of his Ecclesiastical
History. ‘Their names are these’ write Melito in a letter to his friend,
Onesimus: ‘five books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus,
Deuteronomy. Jesus Naue, Judges, Ruth. Four books of Kingdoms, two of
Chronicles. The Psalms of David, Solomon’s Proverbs (also called Wisdom),
Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Job. Of the Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, the Twelve
in a single book, Daniel, Ezekiel, Ezra.’ It is likely that Melito included
Lamentations with Jeremiah and Nehemiah with Ezra (though it is curious to find
Ezra counted among the prophets). In that case, his list contains all the books
of the Hebrew canon (arranged according to the Septuagint order), with the
exception of Esther. Esther may not have been included in the list he received
from his informants in Syria.”10
These witnesses to the canon of
the Old Testament simply point to the fact that collection of the 39 canonical
books was already existed in the pre-Christian era.
THE NEW
TESTAMENT WITNESS
Our Lord Jesus Christ mentioned
the tripartite division of the Old Testament in Luke 24:44. His words in Luke
11:51 also witnesses to the 39 books canon of the Old Testament.
“From the blood of Abel to the blood
of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell
you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.” (Luke 11:51, NIV)
Jesus’ words “from the blood of
Abel” (written in Genesis) “to the blood of Zechariah” (written in Chronicles,
the last book according to Jewish arrangement) is like saying “from Genesis to
Chronicles,” or according to our arrangement, “from Genesis to Malachi.”
Therefore, Jesus’ words “from the
blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah” is a testimony witnessing the Jewish
canon of 24 books which is equivalent of 39 books canon.
The Roman
Catholic Canon
The Roman Catholic canon differs
from the Jewish canon not only in arrangement, but also in number. Aside from
the 39 canonical books of the Old Testament, the Roman Catholic Church included
the so-called 11 apocryphal books, and declared them as also canonical.
The Book of
Law
|
Historical
Books
|
The Writings
|
The Prophets
|
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
|
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
I Samuel
II Samuel
I Kings
II Kings
I Chronicles
II Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Tobit
Judith
Esther
|
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Wisdom
Ecclesiasticus
|
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Baruch
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
I Maccabees
II Macabees
|
It
seems that the Roman catholic Church added only seven books, because
one was added to the canonical book of Esther and the other three were
added to the canonical book of Daniel.
The Old Testament Was Compiled By The Jews
Not By The Roman Catholic Canon
Not By The Roman Catholic Canon
The books of the Old Testament
as they are known today had been collected or compiled by Israel or the
Jewiah peppleand theHebrew Canon is consists of 39 books only. It is a fact that the Hebrew canon (the 39 books Old Testament) already existed centuries before the advent of the Catholic Church. Did the Jews have the authority to form the canon of the Old
Testament? In Romans 3:2:
“Much in every way! First of all,
they have been entrusted with the very words of God.” (Romans 3:2, NIV)
The “words of God” (the Sacred
books of the Old Testament) have been entrusted with the Jews, not with the Roman
Catholic Church. The Jewish canon of 24 books, as we have seen, is equivalent
of our 39 books. Thus, the Roman catholic Church indeed added to the Old
Testament 39 books the 11 “apocryphal” books. The Bible said:
“I warn everyone who hears the words
of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to
him the plagues described in this book.
And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take
away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are
described in this book.” (Revelation 22:18-19 NIV)
The so-called
“Protestant Canon”
The Protestant Bibles of the
sixteenth up to eighteenth centuries were published with Apocryphal books, but
placed them after Malachi and included a special introduction declaring the
less authoritative character as what Zurich, Geneva and other
Protestant Bibles did.
Only in the nineteenth century
that Protestant Bibles were published without the Apocryphal books.
Is there such thing as
“Protestant canon”? Perhaps in the sense that this is the list or index of
canonical books they accepted, but not in the sense that the 39 books canon of
the Old Testament is Protestant or created by them.
The 39 books canon of the Old
Testament is not Protestant, nor created by them. This canon of the Scriptures
existed long before Protestantism emerged in the sixteenth century A.D. The
arrangement of books from Genesis to Malachi, the four-fold groupings of the Sacred
books, and the number of the books (39 canonical books) are the Greek form of
the Old Testament. What the Protestants did was rejecting the Roman Catholic
broader canon, and accepted the long been existing arrangement, number and
groupings of the Old Testament.
End Note:
Chapter 2
1 Archer, Gleasson. Survey of Old Testament Introduction. 2nd
Ed. Chicago: Moody Press, 1974. p. 66
2 Ewert, David. A General
Introduction to the Bible. Grand
Rapids, Michigan:
Zondervan Publishing House, 1990. p. 77
3 Archer, p. 66
4 Fergusson, Everett. Backgrounds
of Early Christianity. 2nd Ed. Grand Rapids, Michigan:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1993. p. 12
5 Ewert, p. 70
6 Beckwith, Roger. The Old
Testament Canon of the New Testament
Church. Grand Rapids, Michigan:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1985. p. 19
7 Ewert, p. 70
8 Bruce, p. 69
9 Ewert, pp. 70-71, quoting
Contra Apion, 18
10 Bruce, p. 91
SOURCE: Lopez, E. M. The Bible: Our Sacred Scripture, A General Introduction To The Bible. Quezon City, Philippines: 2010.
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