The Old Testament Canon

 1. The Bible Canon

In Greek, "canon" means "list," "rule," or "standard." When one refers to the "canon of Scripture," this means the biblical books which one deems as authoritative. Various groups consider different books authoritative:

Evangelicals: Sixty-six books (the Old and New Testaments).

Catholics: Accept seven others books in addition to those

that Evangelicals accept (Tobit, Judith, 1 Maccabees, 

2 Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus,

Baruch) as well as additions to Esther and Daniel. They 

refer to these books as Deuterocanonical, but Evangelicals refer to them as the Apocrypha.

Orthodox Christians: In addition to all of the books that the Catholic church accepts, various Orthodox Christians also accept others, such as 3 Maccabees,1 Esdras, Odes, Psalms of Solomon, the Prayer of Manasseh, and an additional psalm.

2. The Canon of the Old Testament

a. The Development of the Canon

     Since the time of the Reformation, Protestants have 

     subscribed to an Old Testament canon that contains 

     thirty-nine books rather than holding the Apocrypha 

     as authoritative as well. There are many compelling 

     reasons for holding to this position:

            •Latter rabbinic literature (A.D. 2^nd-5^th cent.) 

             claims that prophecy originating from God ceased 

             after the time of Ezra, Nehemiah, and the

              Minor Prophets.

            •Josephus, the well-known A.D. first century 

             historian, made the same assertion.

            •The New Testament authors never quote directly 

              from the Apocrypha as they do the Old Testament.

            •There is no evidence, as some scholars would 

              suggest, that the Old Testament canon was 

              determined at the Council of Jamnia (ca. A.D. 90).

b. The Order of the Canon

     The Old Testament often is referred to as the "Tanakh," 

     an acronym for the names of the three parts to the Old 

     Testament:

     1) The Law (Torah)

     2) The Prophets (Nevi'im)

     3) The Writings (Ketuvim)

     The order of the Old Testament books, however, has 

     varied over time.

     •Ancient Jewish Tradition:  Law, Prophets, Writings

     •Modern Hebrew Bibles: Law, Prophets, Writings

     •Septuagint: Law, Prophets and Writings interspersed

     •Modern English Bibles: Law, Prophets and Writings 

       interspersed