The Formation of the Old Testament

The story of the origin of the Old Testament is multi-layered and complex, and no known ancient sources actually tell it. The Protestant, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Ethiopian, and Syriac traditions all have slightly different Old Testaments. While they all agree on the books that comprise the Protestant Old Testament, the other groups also include books that Protestants call apocryphal or deuterocanonical books. The books agreed upon are the same as those in the Jewish canon, also known as the Hebrew Bible (or Tanakh), although Christians have them in a different order. Some Jewish religious books that were popular in the time of Jesus and the early church were read as sacred Scripture. They were considered good for teaching by both Jews and Christians, but were later not included in the Old Testament (e.g., 2 Pet 2:4–9; Jude 14–15; 2 Cor 12:1–4). Some of these other books help us piece together the story of the formation of the Christian Bible and provide insight into the context of early Christianity.

Today, the term “canon” is commonly used to identify those books that comprise the Bible. In antiquity, however, neither the Jews nor the early Christians used the term “canon” as an official catalog. Jews used the phrase “books that defile the hands” to describe their sacred books, and Christians simply used the term “Scripture” or various formulations such as “as it is written” or “as the Scripture says.” Paul initially used the term “canon” in the New Testament (2 Cor 10:13, 15–16) to speak of the limits of his ministry and the rule (or scope) of the Christian faith (Gal 6:16). “Canon” began to be used by Christians to refer to an official list of authoritative sacred writings in the late fourth century ad.

The basic properties of Scripture, both for ancient Judaism and Christianity, seem to include at least four essential elements: The text is a written document; it is believed to have a divine origin; it communicates the will and truth of God for the believing community; and it provides a source of regulations for the corporate and individual life of the community.

The Beginnings of the Idea of Scripture

Despite the importance of the Law in ancient Israel’s identity (e.g., Exod 20), very few authors of the earlier Old Testament Scriptures—such as Judges, 1–2 Samuel, and 1–2 Kings—actually appeal to Scripture directly. While there are references to sacred writings in this period, there are few references to the Law itself (compare 2 Kgs 22:3–13; 2 Chr 34:8–21). At this stage in Israel’s history, the Law itself—or the conviction that it is God’s Law—may have been largely ignored and thus had little influence in national life. The prophets repeatedly warned the nation to keep the commands of God, but apparently without a positive response.

However, during king Josiah of Judah’s reign in the late seventh century bc, his high priest found the “Book of the Law” (probably Deuteronomy; 2 Kgs 22). After this point, the divinely authoritative status of the sacred writings came to national prominence and several of them were elevated to the status of Scripture, even if they were not yet called “Scripture.” When the Jews returned to their homeland under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah after captivity in Babylon in the mid-sixth to mid-fifth century bc, many reforms were instituted. Regular reading and interpretation of the laws of Moses (Pentateuch or Torah) began at this time (Neh 8:1–8).

Early Old Testament Collections

Likely between 400–200 bc, some Jews began more widely to recognize the importance and divine origin of many other prophetic Old Testament Scriptures in addition to the law of Moses. For example, 2 Kings 17:13 references both the Law and some Prophets: “Yahweh warned Israel and Judah by the hand of his every prophet, with every seer … according to all the law which I commanded your ancestors, which I sent to you by the hand of my servants the prophets.” Although it is unclear which prophets 2 Kings 17:13 refers to, the verse indicates that some prophets were recognized by around 400 bc (compare 2 Kgs 17:37, where the admonition to keep the law of God is clear).

The deuterocanonical book of Sirach (also called Ecclesiasticus) identifies the prophets that were influential among the Jews between 200–180 bc. Sirach contains a reference to many of Israel’s heroes, including prophets such as Moses, Nathan, David, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Job, and Nehemiah (Sirach 49:10). Sirach also includes a reference to the book of the Twelve Minor Prophets and Nehemiah (Sirach 49:6, 8, 10, 13). It is unlikely that Sirach would have known of the heroes he listed without being familiar with the books that tell their stories, suggesting that the books that contain these stories were already accepted as authoritative by his lifetime. Thus, by the late third century or early second century bc, the Israelites recognized many (if not most) of the more familiar Old Testament books as Scripture.

The early first-century bc deuterocanonical text 2 Maccabees records Judas Maccabeus’ actions after the Greek king Antiochus IV Epiphanes’ destroyed many Jewish sacred books and committed other heinous acts, stating: “Judas also collected all the books that had been lost on account of the war that had come upon us, and they are in our possession. So if you have need of them, send people to get them for you” (2 Macc 2:14–15 nrsv). It is unclear which sacred books 2 Maccabees refers to, but 1 Maccabees 1:56 suggests the collection involved at least the Law: “The books of the law that they found they tore to pieces and burned with fire” (nrsv). It’s unknown, though, whether “books of the law” refers to the Pentateuch (Genesis—Deuteronomy) or to all of the Jewish sacred Scriptures.

It is certain that collections of the Jewish Scriptures were circulating in the land of Israel (Palestine) in the second and first centuries bc; however, it is unknown what writings were included in these collections. All of the books that compose the Hebrew Bible except Esther and Nehemiah were found at Qumran among the Dead Sea Scrolls (dating ca. 250 bc–ad 50). In the Dead Sea Scrolls’ document known as Miqsat Maase Hatorah, the Jewish sacred writings are described as the “book of Moses, the books of the prophets, and David” (likely a reference to the Psalms). Miqsat Maase Hatorah also references the “annals of each generation,” which may be a reference to the Historical Books of 1–2 Samuel, 1–2 Kings, and 1–2 Chronicles. Although the specific books of each of these categories are not identified, Miqsat Maase Hatorah shows that the Scriptures were grouped into specific, authoritative collections.

At the same time, many other religious books besides those that currently make up the Hebrew Bible were read and circulated among Jews (and later Christians) during the first centuries bc and ad. The Hebrew Bible writings among the Dead Sea Scrolls were found alongside many additional religious texts: Of the more than 900 manuscripts discovered, about 700 were nonbiblical works.

Early References to the Old Testament Collections and Canon

The Old Testament—and Jewish literature written between the Old Testament and New Testament—attests to the belief that God has delivered divine messages through prophetic figures (like Moses and Isaiah), as well as through the Psalms. The followers of Jesus inherited this notion of sacred Scripture and the Hebrew Scriptures themselves—although they often read them in Greek. Early Christ followers also inherited the commonly accepted designations for sections of the Scriptures, namely, the Law and the Prophets (e.g., Luke 24:27).

The New Testament generally only includes references to the Law and the Prophets (see Matt 5:17; 7:12; Luke 24:27; Acts 28:23), but in Luke 24:44, Jesus mentions that everything about Him in the “law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled.” The categories may suggest that a third grouping (“psalms”) was emerging at that time.

Both Jesus and His followers cited the Jewish Scriptures as an authoritative collection of sacred books (Luke 24:13–35). Those books influenced virtually the entire life and ministry of the community of Jesus’ followers. The central teachings of the Church were rooted in Scripture (see 1 Cor 15:3–8), and early Christians regularly incorporated Scripture as they told their story. All of the New Testament authors regularly cite the Jewish Scriptures; in particular, the book of Hebrews includes more Scripture citations than any other New Testament book. The books that are most frequently cited in the New Testament and early church writings are Deuteronomy, Isaiah, and the Psalms. Not all of the Old Testament books are cited in the New Testament and there are allusions to some nonbiblical books (e.g., 1 Enoch in 2 Pet 2:4 and Jude 14).

In the late first century ad, the historian Josephus is the first Jewish writer to limit the number of books that make up the Jewish Scriptures. He mentions a limited 22-book collection identified only by category, not specific titles. In Against Apion, he writes:

Our books, those which are justly accredited, are but two and twenty, and contain the record of all time. Of these, five are the books of Moses, comprising the laws and the traditional history from the birth of man down to the death of the lawgiver … The prophets subsequent to Moses wrote the history of the events of their own times in thirteen books. The remaining four books contain hymns to God and precepts for the conduct of human life.1

While it is not entirely clear which books were included in Josephus’ collection, he is likely referring to the books that later comprised the Hebrew Bible, though that is not clear in Josephus’ writings.

At about the same time as Josephus, the author of the Jewish apocalyptic work 4 Ezra referred to 24 books to be read by both the worthy and unworthy alike, but 70 others that were reserved for the “wise among your people. For in them is the spring of understanding, the fountain of wisdom, and the river of knowledge” (4 Ezra 14:45–7 nrsv). The 24 books are likely the same as those that Josephus had mentioned, only counted differently by combining books in different ways. The later tripartite Hebrew Bible (Law, Prophets, and Writings) appears for the first time in the middle to late second-century BC. Those books are also likely the same as those in the Protestant Old Testament, but not in the same order. In the late first-century ad we cannot be certain about all of the books that Josephus had in mind, but we can be sure that he wanted the number to be the same as the letters in the Hebrew alphabet (22) by combining the books to equal that number

The Jewish Tanakh and the Christian Old Testament

The Christian Old Testament is divided into four categories: Law (or Pentateuch), History, Poetry (includes Wisdom Literature), and Prophets. The Jewish Scriptures are divided into the three categories of Law, Prophets, and Writings.

After the second century ad, it appears that the story of the Christian Old Testament diverges from that of the Jewish Tanakh. This is likely because early Jewish Christians separated from synagogue and temple-based Judaism on two major occasions: when James the brother of Jesus was executed in ad 62, and during the last Jewish revolt against Rome in ad 132–35. In addition, many Jewish Christians welcomed Gentiles into the early church apart from the requirement of their keeping the Law, especially circumcision. Thus, early Christians, when departing from broader Judaism, accepted those Jewish Scriptures that were circulating in Israel in the first centuries bc and ad as authoritative.

The Scope of the Old Testament

There were no Jewish councils to determine the scope of the Jewish canon; rather, this process took several centuries. It also took several centuries for Christians to determine the scope of their Old Testament. Several Christian councils in the late fourth-century ad affirmed the scope of the Old Testament in use within wider Christianity. The decisions of these councils, and the lists of early church fathers, affirm what is currently the Protestant Old Testament and some of the deuterocanonical (or apocryphal) works; they also often list a variety of deuterocanonical works as valuable for instruction but not canonical. Among the writings of the early church fathers, usage and affirmation (or lack thereof) of the deuterocanonical books varies. However, the books of the Protestant Old Testament seem to have been affirmed by most Christian churches, though like the Jewish rabbis, some early church fathers questioned the inclusion of Esther, Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes.

Only the apocryphal or deuterocanonical works are disputed today. The precise collection and status of these books varies slightly depending on faith tradition. Prior to the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century ad, it seems that most Christians accepted most of the books embraced by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions because they were included in the Greek and Latin Bibles that were most commonly used in the early church. The ancient Christian Bibles Codex Vaticanus, Codex Sinaiticus, and Codex Alexandrinus (dating from the fourth—fifth centuries ad), all include some of these books. The earliest edition of the King James Bible also included the Apocrypha, as did several other Protestant Bibles well into the 17th century. Most Protestant Bibles had eliminated the Apocrypha by 1831; those that did include the apocryphal (or deuterocanonical) books placed them in an appendix to the Old Testament rather than inside the collection of the other Old Testament books. While all churches have not agreed on the full scope of their Old Testament books, all agree that the books in the Protestant Old Testament should be included.

Lee Martin McDonald

Further Reading

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