The Development of the Old

Testament Canon, Part 1

Objectives:
1 To illustrate the process by which the Old
Testament became a uniform body of
literature
2. To stimulate deeper and more discriminating
study of the Bible
3. To affirm faith in God and His word
 First Form of the Biblical Material
Oral Form:
The contents of most of the books of the OT
existed in an oral form before they were
eventually written down, sometimes hundreds
of years later.
 Evidence of Oral Existence
The pattern the “Word of the Lord”
Most of the time this pattern had to do with
oral communication, not with written
communication:
• Mic 1:1; Zeph 1:Hag 1:1; Zech 1:1,7: The
word of the Lord came to Micah, etc.
• Jer 4:2: Hear the word of the Lord O house
of Israel
 Evidence of Oral Existence
• Psa 138:2-4 You have magnified your word …when
they heard the words of your mouth

• Deut 5:5, 22: I declare to you the words of the Lord

• The preaching of Jesus, Luke 5:1; 8:11; 11:28

• The word preached by the Apostles, Acts 4:29; 6:2

• Paul, the Gospel he preached, 1Cor 14:36; 2Cor 2:17

 Importance of Oral Communication
in Antiquity
• Plato’s Seventh Letter:
• Every serious man in dealing with really serious subjects
carefully avoids writing, least thereby he may possibly cast
them as prey to the envy and stupidity of the public. As
quoted in William Schniedewind, How the Bible Became a Book, 14

• Written words seem to talk to you as though they were

intelligent, but if you ask them anything about what they say,
from a desire to be instructed, they go on telling you just the
same thing forever, Schniedewind, 14
 Papius
• “If anyone came who had been a follower of the
presbyters, I inquired into the words of the
presbyters, what Andrew or Peter or Phillip or
Thomas or James or John or Matthew or any
other of the Lord’s disciples had said, and what
Aristion and the presbyter John, the Lord’s
disciples, were saying. For I did not think that
information from books would help me so much
as the utterances of a living and surviving voice ”
• Eusebius, The History of the Church, 3:39.
Importance of Oral Communication
in Antiquity
• 2 John12 : Though I have many things to write to you, I
do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to
come to you and speak face to face, so that your joy
may be made full. See also, 3 John 13,14

• Note: The Rabbis of the first century AD emphasized

that the oral tradition i.e., oral Torah was the final
authority above the written Torah, Schniedewind, 15.
 The Sources of the OT: JEDP
• J = Yahwistic
• E = Eloistic
• D = Deuteronomistic
• P = Priestly
 Sources
• YHWH (J): Used the name YHWH for God,
e.g., source of Gen 2; mostly Gen, Exo, Num
(Date: 10th Cen BC)

• Eloist (E): Employed name Elohim for God., e.g., Gen

1:1-2:4b (9th Cen BC)

• Deteronomistic (D): Source, concerned with

laws, e.g., the book of Deuteronomy

• Priestly (P): Writings concerned with the

priesthood, e.g., Leviticus; Gen 2:4b
 Evidence of Oral Existence in
Multiple Sources
Different accounts of the same events:
• Exo 33:7 - Tabernacle outside the camp
• Num 2:17 - Tabernacle in middle of the
camp
• Exo 19:1- Commandments given at Sinai
• Deut 1:6 - Commandments given at Horeb
 Evidence of Oral Existence: Multiple
Sources
Exo 19: 3,20; 24:2: Moses alone enters the
mountain to receive Ten Commandments

Exo 24:1, 9- Moses, Nadab, Abihu, plus 70 elders

enter mountain to receive Ten Commandments

Exo 24:11: They (including Moses) saw God,

eat and drink

Exo 34:28: Moses did not eat or drink
 Multiple Sources
Exo 24:12 God wrote the Ten Commandments
Exo 24:4;34:28 Moses wrote Ten Commandments

Note the emphasis on oral communication where the

Ten Commandments and other laws are concerned,
e.g., in Exo 20 the Ten Commandments are not
written but spoken; see also 31:12;13

In Deuteronomy 1:1 the laws are again spoken to the

people by Moses
 Thought Question
• If Moses was the original author of the
Pentateuch, how is it that he is saying so many
opposites about his own experience, and
• why is he always writing in the third person
throughout the Pentateuch and
• did he record his death in Deuteronomy 34 ?
 Multiple Sources
Languages:
Gen 10: 5,20,31 Many nations and many
languages
Gen 11:6 The whole earth, one language

Building of the Ark:

Deut. 10:1-5 Ark built before Moses ascended
Mt. Sinai
Exo. 40:20/Deut 37:1 Ark build after Moses
descended from the mountain

Different Order of Places:

Deut 10:6-7
Num 33:30,39
 Multiple Sources
Deut 10:6 Aaron died at Moserah
Num 22:1-29; 33, 38 Aaron died at Mt. Hor

Note: If he died at Moserah he could not have

arrived at Kadesh to which the Israelites
journeyed after leaving Moserah. In
addition, he played a prominent role in the
events of Kadesh then from there to Mt. Hor.
See also, Num 20:22-29; Deut 32:50
 Evidence of Multiple Sources
other Places in the OT
2 Sam 24:1-The Lord caused David to number
Israel
1Chro 21:1-The Devil caused David to number
Israel
Note the many differences in both stories
Some Evidences of Editorial work
•Two books of Jeremiah
•Two books of Isaiah
•The Isaiah and Kings sources
•The stories of the Chronicles, Kings and
Samuel
As it is written in the books of Gad and Asher
 Editorial Activity in Jeremiah
There are actually two books of Jeremiah
Book 1: Jer 25:13 - completed before 3rd Babylonian
deportation, 582 BC
• This is shorter version, now lost
• Basis for LXX
Book 2: Longer version edited during Babylonian
captivity
• Is 1/6 longer than version 1, i.e., the LXX version
• Basis for the Masoretic text, found in English Bible
 Editorial Activity in Jeremiah
• Verses present in the Masoretic Hebrew text
but missing in the Greek LXX include:
Jer 2:1; 7:1; 8:11-12; 10:6-8; 11:7; 17:1-4;
25:13b-14; 27:1,7,13, 17, 21; 29:6,16-20;
30:10-11,22; 33:14-26; 39:4-13 (// Jer 52:4-
16); 46:1; 49:6
 Differences in the Hebrew MT and the
Greek LXX of Jeremiah
• Hebrew (MT) • Greek (LXX)
• 1-25:13a • 1-25:13a
• 25:13b-38 • 32:13b-38
• 26-45 • 26
• 47 • 29
• 48 • 31
• 49:1-6 • 30:17-21/22
• 49:7-22 • 30:1-16
• 49:23-27 • 30:29-33
• 49:28-33 • 30:23-28
• 49:34-39 • 25:14-20
• 50-51Babylon • 27-28
• 52 • 52
 Edit
• Note: edited version of Jeremiah intended to
show that Johoiachin not Zedekiah legitimate
ruler of Judah and that the fate of Judah was a
result of the sins of Manesseh and the false
prophets.
 Two Books of Isaiah
• Book 1: Chap 1- 39
• Book 2: Isa 40:66
• Note the difference in tone and message of
both sections
 Evidences of Editorial Activities
Schniedewind, 186

2 Sam 5-24 reorganized in 1Chron 1:1-21

Note: negative aspects of David’s life

(Bathsheba/Uriah incident) edited out, so as to
present him worthy to “build” temple etc.

Chronicles borrows heavily from Samuel and

Kings
Approximate Date of OT Writings
• Most of the OT was written between the 8 th -
6th Cen. BC, Schniedwind, 17
• Ezra is credited for being the scribe who
pulled all the different books into one
collection 5th – 4th Cen. BC
• Prior to that, it existed in oral/written form as
the previous evidences show
• Note: writing was not popular among the Jews
until the 8th Cen. BC
 The Septuagint - 285-247 BC
• Jews of post-Babylonian captivity forgot
Hebrew language
• Greek became the international language
• Jews in Alexandria translated Hebrew OT into
Greek
 The Septuagint
• Nature: An interpretive text, does not
always agree with the extant Hebrews
texts
• Origin: From mss earlier than the
Masoritics mss
• Usage: 80 % of time by NT writers
• Contents: The Apocryphal books, e.g.,
1-3 Macabbees, Judith,Tobit, Bel and the
Dragon, Ecclesiasticus
 Arrangement of Books in the Septuagint
Law • 4 Reigns = 2 Kings
Genesis • 1 Chronicles
Exodus • 2 Chronicles
Leviticus • 1 Edras
Numbers • 2 Edras = Ezra-Nehemiah
Deuteronomy • Esther
History • Judith
Joshua • Tobit
Judges • 1Maccabees
Ruth • 2 Maccabees
1 Reign = 1 Samuel • 3 Maccabees
2 Reigns = 2 Samuel • 4 Maccabees
3 Reigns = 1 Kings
 Arrangement of Books in the Septuagint
• Poetry Obadiah
Psalms Jonah
Proverbs Nahum
Odes Habakkuk
Ecclesiastes Zephaniah
Song of Songs Haggai
Job Zephaniah
Wisdom Haggai
Ecclesiasticus Zachariah
Psalms of Solomon Malachi
• Prophecy • Isaiah
The Twelve • Jeremiah
Hosea • Baruch
Amos • Lamentations
Micah • Epistle of Jeremy
Joel
 Arrangement of Books in the Septuagint
x
• Ezekiel
• Susanna
• Daniel
• Bel and the Dragon
Relation of the LXX to the Masoretic Hebrew Text

BC 285/247 Jesus/NT 200AD

Heb (Lost) LXX Masoretic (Heb)

Greek OT Heb OT -English

 Multiple Sources: Difference Between the
LXX and the Masoretic Text
1. 1Sam 17-18: Story of David and Goliath- two versions
from different sources

a). Not included in the LXX [or addition to

Masoretic]
17:12-31, 41, 50, 55-58
18:1-6; 9-11; 17:19; 30-19:1

b) addition to 1Sam 17:43- And the Philistine

said to David, am I a dog that thou comest against me
with a staff and stones? And David answered, Nay
but worse than a Dog
 The Bibles of Jesus’ day
• There was no fixed canon in the time of Jesus, there
were:

• The canon of the Pharisees

• The canon of the Sadducees

• The Canon of the Essenes

• The Canon of the Samaritans

 Canon of the Pharisees

• Written Torah (OT) + Oral Tradition

• Written Torah: The Law, the Prophets and the
Psalms, essentially the LXX
Moses received the Law from Sinai and committed it to
Joshua, and Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the
Prophets; and the Prophets committed it to the men of
the Great Synagogue. Mishnah, Aboth 1:1
 Canon of the Pharisees

Oral Tradition: Two dimensions

a) halakah = rules
b) haggadah = lore, stories,
theology
 Canon of the Sadducees
• Only the five books of Moses
• Evidence: Matt 22:23-33 & Mk 12:18-27
– note Jesus’ response from Exo 3:6
instead of from prophetic books where the
resurrection is more clearly mentioned (see
also, Acts 23:6-10)
 Canon of the Sadducees

• The Sadducees teach that the soul dies along

with the body and they observe no tradition apart
from the [written] laws. Whenever they assume
office however they submit to the formula of the
Pharisees, because the masses would not
tolerate them otherwise. Ant 18.16.
 Canon of the Essenes
1. All Old Testament (except the book of Esther)
with Apocryphal books

2. The Manual of discipline

 The Canon of the Essenes

• “Essenes would alter the text of scripture e.g.,

add the refrain “praise be the Lord and praise be
his name forever and ever” after each verse of
Psa 145. Also changed the script spelling and
grammar and content of Isaiah…. Therefore
different attitude from later rabbinic Judaism that
copied every word faithfully.” McDonald, Formation, 73
 Canon of the Samaritans

The Samaritan Pentateuch: Only Moses was inspired

Differs From Hebrew Scriptures:
1.Mt. Gerizim, not Jerusalem is the chosen
place of worship
2. Had different numbering for the Ten
Commandments
3. Tenth Commandment = a passage based on
Deut 27:2-8 &11:30
4. Inserted singular verb with the plural Elohim,
Gen 20:13; 31:53; 35:7
Note: More strict than the Jews in applying the letter of the
Torah, had no commentary on the Torah.
 x

End - Part 1
 The Use of the Apocrypha in the NT
Ascension of Isaiah11:34 1Cor 2:9
Romans 1:19-23 Wisdom of Sol 13-15
Jude 4 1Enoch 48:10,
Jude 6 1Enoch 10:6
Jude 14 1Enoch 1:9
2Peter 1Enoch 2:4; 3:6
Heb 1:3 Wisdom 7:25-26
• James 4:5
Unknown source
 NT Use of the OT
• Judges, Ruth & Esther not mentioned by NT
writers
• Jesus does not quote from Judges, Ruth and
Esther (p. 98)
• Luke 24:44 - Only clear reference to the third
division of the OT in NT.
• Therefore OT canon in time of Jesus appears
to be the Law, Prophets and an undefined
section, the Psalm
 Josephus 22 book Canon
• Against Apion 1:37-43
“Our books those which are justly accredited,
are but two and twenty and contain the
records of all time.”

4 Ezra14:22-48- written 100ce Mentioned 24

books in the Hebrew scriptures -does not say
which 24
 Criteria for Canon Among 2nd
Century Jews
1. Prophecy ceased by time of Artaxerxes,
465- 424BC,Therefore books written
thereafter suspect
2. A book originally written in Hebrew
3. A book used by Christians suspect, e.g.
the Apocrypha
4. Conformity to the Torah
5. Practical value among Jews
 Criteria for Canon Among 2nd
Century Jews
6. Reject the LXX because Christians used it
• Replaced with Aquila’s translations from
the Hebrew
 Criteria for Canon Among 2nd
Century Jews
• Note: Early Judaism of Jesus’ day had a
wider canon than later Judaism of second
century onwards. By second century OT
canon “decided” among Jews, at the same
time the quest for OT Canon began
among Christians. Gowan, Bridges, p.127
OT Canon Among Christians
2nd Onwards
Whereas for the Jews the OT canon was
fixed by the end of the 2nd Century for the
Christians the same period marked the
process that began the fixing of the OT canon
 Disputed Books Among
Christians/Jews From 3rd – 6th Cen
• Ester: Never mentioned the name God

Song of Songs: There seems not be nothing

about God therein, other than what is
derived from interpretation

• Ezekiel: It appears to be in conflict with

the Torah

• Ecclesiastices: Its authorship by Jeremiah was

in doubt
 Canon Lists of the of the Early
Church
When the early church began to compile lists of
OT books none of the various lists were identical
e.g.,
1. Cyril of Jerusalem (350AD): 22 canon
2. Jerome (342-420AD): 24 book canon
3. Augustine (354-430AD): 44 book canon,
(includes Wisdom,
Sirach,Tobias,Judith,
1-2 Maccabees, Baruch,Jeremiah etc).
 Canon Lists of the of the Early
Church
Note: Melito bishop of Sardis was the first
to offer a list of books that make up the OT
canon of scriptures, his list contains 22
books including Wisdom of Solomon but
exclude Ester
 Melito (180AD)
Genesis • Proverbs
Exodus • Ecclesiastes
Numbers
• Song of Song
Leveticus
Josh • Job
Judges • Isaiah
Ruth • Jeremiah
1-4 kingdoms • The Twelve
1-2 Chron
• Daniel
Psalms
• Ezekiel
• Ezra
 Origen (185-256AD)
• Gen • Psa
• Exo • Prov
• Lev • Eccl
• Num • Song of Sol
• Deut • Isa
• Josh • Jer
• Judg • Lam
• Ruth • Epistle of Jeremiah
• 1-2 Kings • Dan
• 3-4 Kings • Ezk
• 1-2 Chron • Job
1-2 Esd • Esth
 Origen
• A Christian diet should include OT
apocrypha, Ester, Judith Tobit, Wisdom
the Psalms and the Gospels
 Council of Hippo
• Gen • Ps
• Exo • 1-5 Sol
• Lev • Twelve
• Num • Isa
• Deut • Jer
• Josh • Ezk
• Judg • Dan
• Ruth • Tobith
• 1-4 Kings • Judith
• 1-2 Chron • Ester
• Job • 1-2 Esd
• 1-2 Macc
 Codex Vaticanus (B) 350AD
29 Books
• Gen
• Exo • Song of Songs
• Lev • Job
• Num • Wisdom
• Deut • Sir
• Josh • Ester
• Judg • Judith
• Ruth • Tobith
• 1-4 Kings • Twelve
• 1-2 Chron • Isa
• 1-2 Esd • Jer
• Ps • Bar
• Prov • Lam
• Eccl • Epistle of Jeremiah
• Ezek
• Dan
 Canon of the Reformation and
Beyond
• The Protestant Canon is derived from
Luther’s choice of books. He rejected the
books that supported the Catholic
doctrines which he rejected e.g. (2Macc
12:45f prayer for the dead)

• Note: he also rejected James and

Revelation, and Ester
 Canon of the Reformation and
Beyond
• I hate Ester and 2 Maccabees so much
that I wish they did not exist, they contain
too much Judaism and no little heathen
vice. Bruce,Canon,101

• Separated the Apocrypha from the OT,

place in appendix of his Bible
 Protestant Canon
• The contracted conservative Jewish canon
of the 2nd century eventually became the
Protestant canon, not the more elaborate
canon of Jesus’ day. Gowan, Bridges,128

• “This is confirmed by the more than 150 references or

allusion to the Apocrypha and pseudepigraphal literature
in the New Testament.” Gowan,128
 Counter Reformation
• The Counsel of Trent: April 8,1546

• Affirmed Jerome’s Latin Volgate as official

Bible of the Catholic Church, but

• The Protocanonical and Deuterocanonical

books should not be distinguished.
 Lessons
In light of the fact that the scriptures of Jesus day contains
the Apocrypha, what are we to understand by Paul’s
statement in 2 Tim 3:16, “all scripture is inspired by God.”
The scripture is a combination of the human and the divine
We need to constantly be hearing the voice of God
Note: Rabbinic tradition contends that those who labor in the
study of Torah can produce learning that was not revealed
to Moses at Sinai. Revelation for the Rabbis continues to
produce new echoes after Moses’ time Benjamin
D.Sommer, Revelation at Sinai in the Hebrew Bible and in
Jewish Theology, 447
 x

• If scripture contains tradition, or

interpretation of past events or of God’s
spoken word, How should we approach
different traditions today, eg Adventist
tradition, Catholic tradition, Baptist
tradition etc. What is the value of tradition
today
• The END
• NOTES
 The Essenes 200/150 BC-
70AD
Scrolls from about 600 works, came from 11
caves
Some works:Sirach
John Baptist an Essene: Preach Isa 40:3
popular among the Essenes, message of
repentance and purity Mk 1:4-5
• Wisdom of Solomon, Wisdom of Sirach,
Ester, Judith, Tobit, the Didache and
Hermas are good for instructions (quoted
in Schniedewind,111)
• The list of 22 varies in different sources:
• Council of Laodicea 360-364 adds Baruch
and Epistle of Jeremiah to the list that
Melito of Sardis found at Jerusalem 170-
180 AD see Eusebius H.E. 4:26 p63
• Origin indicates 22 books includes Epistle
of Jeremiah, p63
• Cyril of Jerusalem (350AD) indicates 22
adds Epistle of Jeremiah
• Gregory of Nazianzus 570 ad – 22 bks
separates Ruth from Judges and omits
Ester p63/64
 Criteria
• The final canon was determined not by a
council, but by widespread use in the
community of faith, p64 McDonald
Councils confirmed what was wide spread
practice.
• Criteria
• Origin in Against Celcus 1.49 Jerome –
commentary on Matt 22.23ff agreed that
the Sadducees accepted only the law of
Moses as scripture (p 69)
 Canon of the Pharisees
• Gen • Prov
• Exo • Eccl
• Lev • Song Sol
• Num • Job
• Deut • Twelve
• Josh • Isa
• Judges • Jeremiah
• Ruth • Baruach
• 1-2Kings • Lam
• 3-4kings • Epistle of Jeremiah
• 1-2Chron • Ezekiel
• 1-2Esd • Dan
• Ps
• Two books of Jeremiah:
• Two books of Isaiah
• The Isaiah and kings sources
• The stories of the Chronicles and Kings and
Samuel
• Three different version of the ten
commandments
• As it is written in the books of the Gad, Asher
• The voice of Moses in the third person
• The death of Moses recorded in Deuteronomy