The Canon of the Old Testament

The Foundation of Christianity By David M. Battle

What is a canon?
It is not a cannon. It is not a copier

What is a canon?
Canon is a rule or measure by which other things are judged. Greek: K
Roman Church
Church Laws are called Canons. Beatification of a Saint is Canonization

A Canon of Scripture is an anthology of sacred texts that are authoritative for belief and practice.

The Three Western Canons

The TANAK (Jewish Canon) Protestant Canon The Roman Canon

The Roman Canon

The Roman Church accepts 46 (45) books as authoritative.
Roman Canon comprises two types of material.
Original Hebrew Canon Later Greek Additions:
7 Deuterocanonical Books Plus additions to Esther and Daniel

The Catholic Catechism affirms these as one canon of equal authority.

The Roman Canon

Pentateuch
Five Books of Moses*

Wisdom and Poetic Books

Job to Song of Solomon. Deuterocanonical Additions:
Wisdom & Sirach

Historical Books
Joshua* to 2 Maccabees. Prophetic Books Deuterocanonical Additions: Isaiah to Malachi 1 & 2 Maccabees Deuterocanonical Additions:
Tobit Judith Letter of Baruch to Jeremiah Greek additions to Daniel

Greek additions to Esther

* For some reason the New American Catholic Bible included Joshua, Judges, and Ruth as part of the Pentateuch.

Church Tradition
Septuagint (250 B.C.- 200 A.D.) Eusebius (263-339) Council of Catharage III (397 A.D.) Jerome (347- 420 A.D.) Augustine (354-430 A.D.) Council of Trent (1546 A.D.) Sixtus of Siena (1566 A.D.)

Orthodox Church Greek Orthodox

Synod of Jerusalem (1672)

Russian Orthodox
Gennady Bible (1499) Russian Synodal Bible (1876)

The Protestant Canon

Pentateuch
Five Books of Moses

Wisdom and Poetic Books

Job to Song of Solomon

Historical Books
Joshua to Esther

Prophetic Books
Major Prophets
Isaiah to Daniel

Minor Prophets
Hosea to Malachi

Clarification of Canon
Protestants set Scripture as the canonical standard for all religious teaching and practice. Therefore, Protestants needed a clearly defined collection of Scripture. They questioned the inclusion of the NonHebrew writings to the Old Testament Canon.

Clarification of Canon
Luther (1534) England
Wycliffite Bible (1382) Tyndale/Coverdale Bible (1530-1538) Thirty-nine Articles: Article VI (1562) King James Bible (1611) Westminster Confession (1648) Protestant Bible Societies (1820)

Clarification of Canon
Affirmed the Hebrew Canon. Relegated the additions of the Septuagint as apocryphal.
May be consulted for academic studies. Was not to be preached from the pulpit. Was not to be used to discover doctrine or to determine practice.

Clarification of Canon
The Protestant Canon
is essentially the same as the Jewish Tanak, except for the order.

The Jewish Canon Tanak

Torah (Pentateuch) Neviim (Prophets) Kethuvim (Writings)

The Jewish Canon The Torah

Genesis Exodus

Leviticus
Numbers Deuteronomy

The Jewish Canon The Nevim

Former Prophets
Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings

Latter Prophets
Isaiah, Jeremiah (Lamentations), Ezekiel The Book of the Twelve:
Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

The Jewish Canon The Kethuvim Lyrical & Narrative Books Daniel Wisdom
Psalms (Ruth suffix) Job Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Songs Lamentations

Esther Ezra & Nehemiah 1 & 2 Chronicles

The Jewish Canon Megilott

The Five Scrolls Song of Solomon Ruth Lamentations Ecclesiastes Esther

Formation of Canon
Josephus (c. 90) Academy of Jamnia (c. 90) Jesus (30 A.D.) Ben Sirach (c. 190 B.C.)

Ezra (450 B.C.)