Canon of the Old Testament, I
What Is a Canon?
The word "canon" comes from the Greek word meaning a reed or measuring rod, and by extension, a standard or rule. In its application to Scripture, it refers to the collection of books recognized as divinely inspired and therefore authoritative for faith and practice. The concept of canonical authority existed long before the term itself came into regular use. The church fathers of the fourth century — including the Council of Laodicea (363 AD), Athanasius in his Festal Epistle (367 AD), and Amphilochius of Iconium (395 AD) — were among the first to use "canon" as a technical term for the list of recognized Scripture.
The corresponding Hebrew concept was expressed through the phrase "books that defile the hands," a distinctive rabbinic expression indicating that certain writings were so sacred they required ritual hand-washing after handling. Jesus and the New Testament writers simply referred to these writings as "the Scriptures" (Matthew 21:42; John 5:39; Acts 18:24), a term that unmistakably conveyed their sacred authority.
The Threefold Division of the Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is traditionally divided into three sections: the Torah (Law), the Nevi'im (Prophets), and the Ketuvim (Writings). This threefold structure is reflected in Jesus' own words: "Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms" (Luke 24:44), where "Psalms" represents the Writings as a whole, since Psalms was the first and largest book in that section.
The Torah comprises the five books of Moses (Genesis through Deuteronomy) and was the first portion to be recognized as canonical. The Prophets include the Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings) and the Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor Prophets). The Writings contain a diverse collection including Psalms, Proverbs, Job, the five Megillot (Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther), Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles.
Key Witnesses to the Growing Canon
Several historical milestones illuminate how the canon took shape. The Samaritan Pentateuch, which preserves only the five books of Moses, reflects the split between Jews and Samaritans around 432 BC and confirms that the Torah was firmly established as Scripture by that date.
The prologue to the book of Ecclesiasticus (written around 132 BC) refers three times to "the Law and the Prophets and the other books," showing that by the second century BC, the threefold division was already recognized. The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures begun around 250 BC, further demonstrates which books the Jewish community considered authoritative, though it also included additional writings that would later be classified as Apocrypha.
The Jewish historian Josephus, writing around 100 AD in his work Against Apion, states that the Jews accepted 22 books (equivalent to the 39 of the Protestant Old Testament, with some books combined) and that no book had been added to the canon since the time of Artaxerxes (roughly the era of Ezra and Nehemiah). The apocalyptic work 4 Esdras (around 90 AD) similarly refers to 24 books made public — the same collection counted differently.
The Role of Jamnia and Rabbinic Discussion
The councils held at Jamnia (Yavneh) around 90 and 118 AD are often cited as the point where the Jewish canon was formally closed. However, modern scholarship has largely revised the older view that Jamnia "decided" which books were canonical. The discussions at Jamnia were more about confirming books already widely accepted than about establishing new standards. Debates continued for some time about certain books — particularly Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Esther — but these debates concerned books already in use, not books being considered for the first time.
The Talmud (200-500 AD) preserves echoes of these discussions, noting which books "defile the hands" and recording occasional objections to certain books. By the end of the second century AD, the canon was effectively settled in Jewish tradition.
The Canon in the Christian Church
The early Christian church inherited the Jewish Scriptures and regarded them as fully authoritative. Jesus and the apostles quoted from the Old Testament extensively, and the New Testament writers presupposed its authority. However, the status of the additional books found in the Septuagint but not in the Hebrew canon became a point of divergence.
The Eastern church generally followed the Hebrew canon more closely, though individual writers varied. Athanasius, Cyril of Jerusalem, and Gregory of Nazianzus all affirmed the Hebrew canon while acknowledging the usefulness of certain additional books for edification. The Western church, influenced by Augustine and the Vulgate translation of Jerome, tended to accept a broader collection. Jerome himself distinguished between canonical books and those he called "ecclesiastical" (useful but not authoritative for doctrine), a distinction that would later inform the Protestant position.
The Protestant Reformers returned to the Hebrew canon, placing the additional books in a separate section called the Apocrypha. The Roman Catholic Church, at the Council of Trent in 1546, formally declared the broader collection (including the deuterocanonical books) to be fully canonical.
Why the Canon Matters
The formation of the Old Testament canon is not merely an academic question. It addresses the fundamental issue of which writings carry divine authority. The remarkably consistent witness of Jewish and Christian tradition — spanning centuries and diverse communities — testifies to a recognition that these particular books bore the marks of divine origin. The canon was not imposed arbitrarily but emerged through a long process in which the community of faith recognized the inherent authority of writings that had proven themselves as vehicles of God's revelation.
Biblical Context
The concept of canonical Scripture is reflected throughout the Bible itself. Moses is commanded to write down the law (Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 31:24-26). Joshua is told to meditate on the Book of the Law (Joshua 1:8). Josiah's reforms are sparked by the discovery of a book of the law in the temple (2 Kings 22:8-13). Ezra reads the law to the returned exiles (Nehemiah 8:1-8). Jesus affirms the authority of the Scriptures (Matthew 5:17-18; Luke 24:44), and Paul declares that all Scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16). Peter places Paul's letters alongside "the other Scriptures" (2 Peter 3:16).
Theological Significance
The Old Testament canon is foundational to the Christian faith because it establishes the story of creation, fall, covenant, and promise that the New Testament fulfills. The recognition of these books as Scripture affirms that God has spoken through human authors in a way that is authoritative for all generations. The canonical process demonstrates that the community of faith did not create the authority of Scripture but recognized an authority already present. The threefold division of the Hebrew Bible — Law, Prophets, and Writings — reflects different modes of divine revelation while maintaining their unity as one coherent witness to God's purposes.
Historical Background
The formation of the Old Testament canon spans roughly a millennium, from the writing of the earliest texts to the final rabbinic discussions. The Samaritan Pentateuch (reflecting conditions around 432 BC) confirms the early authority of the Torah. The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered from 1947 onward, preserve manuscripts of every Old Testament book except Esther and provide evidence of which books the Qumran community considered authoritative. The Septuagint translation (begun around 250 BC) was the Bible of the early church. Josephus (around 100 AD) and 4 Esdras (around 90 AD) provide the clearest first-century statements about the scope of the canon. The Council of Trent (1546) and the Protestant Reformers defined the divergent Catholic and Protestant canons that persist today.