Development of the Hebrew Bible canon

There is no scholarly consensus as to when the canon of the Hebrew Bible (or Tanakh) was fixed. Rabbinic Judaism recognizes the twenty-four books of the Masoretic Text (five books of the Torah, eight books of the Nevi'im, and eleven books of the Ketuvim) as the authoritative version of the Tanakh.^[1] Of these books, the Book of Daniel has the most recent final date of composition (chapters 10-12 were written sometime between 168 and 164 BCE).^[2]^[3]^[4] The canon was therefore fixed at some time after this date. Some scholars argue that it was fixed during the Hasmonean dynasty (140–40 BCE),^[5] while others argue it was not fixed until the second century CE or even later.^[6]

The book of 2 Maccabees, itself not a part of the Jewish canon, describes Nehemiah (around 400 BCE) as having "founded a library and collected books about the kings and prophets, and the writings of David, and letters of kings about votive offerings" (2:13–15). The Book of Nehemiah suggests that the priest-scribe Ezra brought the Torah back from Babylon to the Second Temple of Jerusalem (8–9) around the same time period. Both 1 and 2 Maccabees suggest that Judas Maccabeus (around 167 BCE) also collected sacred books (3:42–50, 2:13–15, 15:6–9).

^ Darshan, Guy (2012). "The Twenty-Four Books of the Hebrew Bible and Alexandrian Scribal Methods". In Niehoff, Maren R. (ed.). Homer and the Bible in the Eyes of Ancient Interpreters: Between Literary and Religious Concerns (JSRC 16). Leiden, Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill. pp. 221–244. ISBN 978-9004221345.
^ Collins, John J. (1984). Daniel: With an Introduction to Apocalyptic Literature. The Forms of the Old Testament Literature. Vol. XX. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 36. ISBN 978-0802800206.
^ Grabbe, Lester L. (2001). "A Dan(iel) For All Seasons: For Whom Was Daniel Important?". In Collins, John J.; Flint, Peter W. (eds.). The Book of Daniel: Composition and Reception. Supplements to Vetus Testamentum. Vol. 1. Leiden, Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill. p. 229. ISBN 90-04-11675-3.
^ Grabbe, Lester L. (1991). "Maccabean Chronology: 167-164 or 168-165 BCE?". Journal of Biblical Literature. 110 (1): 59–74. doi:10.2307/3267150. JSTOR 3267150.
^ Philip R. Davies in McDonald & Sanders 2002, p. 50: "With many other scholars, I conclude that the fixing of a canonical list was almost certainly the achievement of the Hasmonean dynasty."
^ Cite error: The named reference Neusner was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Darshan2012-1] Darshan, Guy (2012). "The Twenty-Four Books of the Hebrew Bible and Alexandrian Scribal Methods". In Niehoff, Maren R. (ed.). Homer and the Bible in the Eyes of Ancient Interpreters: Between Literary and Religious Concerns (JSRC 16). Leiden, Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill. pp. 221–244. ISBN 978-9004221345.

[Collins1984-2] Collins, John J. (1984). Daniel: With an Introduction to Apocalyptic Literature. The Forms of the Old Testament Literature. Vol. XX. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 36. ISBN 978-0802800206.

[Grabbe2001-3] Grabbe, Lester L. (2001). "A Dan(iel) For All Seasons: For Whom Was Daniel Important?". In Collins, John J.; Flint, Peter W. (eds.). The Book of Daniel: Composition and Reception. Supplements to Vetus Testamentum. Vol. 1. Leiden, Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill. p. 229. ISBN 90-04-11675-3.

[Grabbe1991-4] Grabbe, Lester L. (1991). "Maccabean Chronology: 167-164 or 168-165 BCE?". Journal of Biblical Literature. 110 (1): 59–74. doi:10.2307/3267150. JSTOR 3267150.

[Philip_R_page_50-5] Philip R. Davies in McDonald & Sanders 2002, p. 50: "With many other scholars, I conclude that the fixing of a canonical list was almost certainly the achievement of the Hasmonean dynasty."

[Neusner-6] Cite error: The named reference Neusner was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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