Constitution of the Canon of the Old Testament by Ezra
The five books of Moses, were, when finished, carefully deposited by the side of the ark of the Covenant, Ueut. xxxi. 24, 25, 26. And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this Law in a Iwok, until they were finished, that Moses commanded the Levites which bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, sayins, take this hook of the Law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.
No douljt, copies of the sacred volume were made out before it was deposited in the most holy place; for as it was there inaccessible to any but the priests, the people generally must have remained ignorant, had there been no copies of the Law. But we know that copies were written, for it was one of the laws respecting the duty of a king, when such an officer should be appointed, that he should write out a copy of the Law with his own hand. Deut. xvii. 18 — 20, And it shall be lohen he sit. teth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this taw in a book, out of that which is before the priests, the Levites. nd it shall he with him, and he shall read therein, all the days of his life; that he may lenrn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this laio and these statutes to do them,. That his heart be not lifted up above his breth’ ren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom,, he and his children in the midst of Israel. It is related by Josephus, that by the direction of Moses, a copy of the law was prepared for each of the triljes of Israel.
It seems that the book of Joshua was annexed to the volume of the Pentateuch; for we read, that Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God. And the matters contained in this book, were of public concern to the nation, as well as those recorded in the law. For, as in the latter were written statutes and ordinances, to direct them in all matters sacred and civil; so, in the former was recorded, the division of the land among the tribes. The possession of each tribe was here
See Josh. i. 8, xxiv. 26.
accurately flpfined; fo that this hook served as a National tlce-il of eonveyanco. When oilier books were added to the Canon, no doubt, the inspired men who were moved by the Holy Spirit to write them, would he c;ireful to deposit copies in the sanctuary, and to have other copies put into circulation. But on this subject we have nopreci>«e information. We know not with what deorree of care the sacred books were guarded, or to what extent copies were multiplied.
A sin’;le fact shows that the sacred auton;raph of Moses had well nigh perished, in the idolatrous reigns of Manasseh and Anion, but was found, during the reign of the pious Josiah, among the rubbish of the temple. It cannot, however, be reasonably supposed, that there were no other copies of the law scattered through the nation. It does indeed seem that the young king had never seen the book, and was ignorant of its contents, until it was now read to him; but while the copy in the temple had been misplaced, and buiied among the ruins, many pious men might have possessed private copies.
And although at the destruction of Jerusalem and of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar, this precious volume was, in all probability, destroyed with the ark and all the holy apparatus of the sanctuary j yet, we are not to credit the Jewish tradition, too readily received by t le Christian Fathers, thit on tJiis occasion all the copies of the iicriptures were c2 lost, and that Kzra restored the whole by miracle. This i>> a mere Jewish fable, depending on no higher authority than a passage in the fourth book of Esdras, and is utterly inconsistent with facts recorded in the sacred volume. Wc know, that Daniel had a copy of the Scriptures, for he quotes thern,and makes express mention of the Prophecies of Jeremiah. And Ezra is called, a ready scribe in the Law; and it is said, in the sixth chapter of Ezra, that when the temple was finished, the functions of the priests and Levites were regulated, as it is written in the book of Moses. And this was many years before Ezra came to Jerusalem. And in the eighth chapter of Nehemiah, it is said, that Ezra, at the request of the people, brought the law before the congregation, and he read therein from the morning until mid day. find Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people. It is evident, therefore, that all the copies of the Scpritures were not lost during the captivity. This story, no doubt, originated from two facts: the first, that the autographs, in the temple had been destroyed with that sacred edifice; and the second, that Ezra took great pains to have correct copies of the Scriptures prepared and circulated.
It seems to be agreed by all, that the forming of the present Canon of the Old Testament, should be attributed to Ezra. To assist him in this work, the Jewish writers inform us, that there existed in his time, A UREAT SYNAGOGUE, consistirifij of one hundred and twenty men, including Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego; the prophets Hag;a;ai and Zechariah; and also Simon the Just. yjuf it is very absurd to suppose that all these lived at one time, and formed one synafoguc, as they are pleased to represent it: for, from the time of Daniel to that of Simon the Just, no less than two huiulred and fifty years must have intervened. It is, however, no how improbable, that Kzra was assisted in this great work by many learned and pious men, who were contemporary with him; and as prophets had always been the superintendents, as well as writers of the sacred volume, it is likely that the inspired men who lived at the same time as Ezra, would give attention to this work. But in regard to this great synagogue, the only thing probable is, that the men, who are said to have belonged to it, did not live in one age, but successively, until the time of Simon the Just, who was made high priest about twenty five years after the death of Alexander the Great. This opinion has its probability increased, by the consideration, that the Canon of the Old Testament appears not to have been fully completed, until about the time of Simon the Just. Malachi seems to hive lived after the time of Ezra, and therefore his prophecy could not have been added to the Canon by this eminent scribe; uidess we adopt the opinion of the Jews, who will have Malachi to be no other than Ezra himself; maintaining, that while Ezra was Ills proper name, he received that of Malachi, from the circu instance of his having been sent to superintend the religious concerns of the Jews; for the import of that name is, a viessenger, or one sent
But this is not all, in the book of Nehemiah, mention is made of the high priest Jaddua, and of Darius Codomannus, king of Persia, both of whom lived at least a hundred years after the time of Ezra. In the third chapter of the first book of Chronicles, the genealogy of the sons of Zerubbabel is carried down, at least to the time of Alexander the Great. This book, thereC^re, could not have been put itito the Canon by Ezra; nor much earlier than the time of Simon the Just. The book of Esther also was probably added during this interval.
The probable conclusion, therefore, is, that Ezra began this work, and collected and arranged all the sa.M-fd books which belonged to the Canon before his time, and that a succession of pious and learned men continued to pay attention to the Canon, until the whole was completed, about the time of Simon the Just. After which, nothing was ever added to the Canon of the Old Testament.
Most, however, are of opinion that nothing was added after the book of Malachi was written, ex-Neh. xii. 22.
cept a few names, and notes; and that all the books hflonjrino; to the Canon of theOl.i Testament, were collected and inserted in the sacred volume by Ezra himself. And this opinion seems to bo the safest, and is no how incre«lible in itself. It accords also with the uniform tradition of the Jews, that Ezra completed the Canon of the Old Testament; an(. that after Malachi there arose no prophet, who added any thine; to the sacred volume.
Whether the books were, now collected into a sino-le volume, or were bound up in several codicea is a question of no importance: if vve can ascertain what books were received as Canonical, it matters not in what form they were preserved. It seems probable, however, that the sacred books were at ihis time distributed into three volumes, the Law; the Prophkts; and the HAGif)GKAPHA. This division, we know to be as ancient as the time of our Saviour, for he says, These, are the words which I spake unto yon while I was yet with yoK, that all things /night be fulfilled, which are written in THE Law, and in the Phophets, and in the Psalms, concerninic me. Josephus, also, makes mention of this division, and it is by the Jews, wiih one consent, referred to Ezra, as its author.
In establishing the Canon of the Old Testament, we miujht Inhour under considerable uncfTtainty and embarrasment, in regard to several books,
Luke xxiv. 44.
were it not, that the whole of what were called THE ScKiPTURES, and which were included in the threefold division, mentioned above, received the explicit sanction of our Lord. He was not backward to reprove the Jews for disobeying, misinterpreting;, and adding their traditions, to the Scriptures, but he never drops a hint that they had been unfaithful or careless, in the preservation of the sacred books. So far from this, he refers to the ScKiPTUREs as an infallible rule, which must he fulfilled, and could not he broken. Search the scriptures, said he, for hi them ye think ye have eternal lif chut they are they which testify of me. The errors of the Sadducees are attributed to an ignorance of the Scriptures: and they are never mentioned but with the highest respect, and as the unerring word of God. The apostle Paul, also, referring, principally, if not wholly, to the Scriptures of the Old TestaiTient, says, nd that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation. Sll Scripture is giveti by inspiration of God. They are also called by this apostle the oracles OF God; the livi.ly oracles, the word op GOD; and when quotations are made from David, it is represented as the Holy Ghost speaking by
Mark xiv. 49. John x. 35.
John V. 39. 2 Tim. iii. 15, 16.
Heb. ui. 7. James i. 21 — 23.
the mouth of David. The testimony of Peter is not less explicit, for he says: The prophecy; came not in old time l)y the. will of m.uii, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. And the apostle James speaks of the Scriptures, with pqual confidence and respect; Jind receive with meekness, says he, the ingrafted word tohich is able to save your souls. Jind the scripture was fulfilled which saith, &c. Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain? &c.
We have, therefore, an important point established with the utmost certainty, that the volume of Scripture which existed in the time of Christ and his apostles, was unconupted, and was esteemed by them an inspired and infallible rule. Now, if we can asccrlain what books were then included in the Sacred Volume, we shall be able to settle the Canon of the Old Testament without uncertainty.
But here lies the difficulty. Neither Christ,, nor any of his apostles has given us a catalogue of the books, which composed the Scriptures of the Old Testament. They have distinctly quoted a number of these books, and so far the evidence is complete. We know, that the Law and the Pkopiiets and the Psalis were included in their Canon. But this does not ascertain, particu-
2 Pet. i. 21. James iv. 5.
laHy, whether the very same hooks which we now find in the Old Testament were then found in it, and no others. It is necessary then, to resort to oihersources of information. And happily, the Jewish historian Josephus furnishes us with the very information which we want; not indeed as explicitly, as we could wish, but sufficiently so to lead us to a very satisfactory conclusion. He docs not name the books of the Old Testament, but he numbers them, and so describes them, that there is scarcely room for any mistake. The important passaje to which we refer, is in his first book at ai ist Apion, “We have” says he “only two and twenty books, which are to be believed as of divine authority; of which five are the books of Moses. From the death of Moses, to the reign of Artaxerxes the son of Xerxes,king of Persia, the Prophets who were the successors of Moses have written in thirteen books. The remaining four books contain hymns to God, and documents of life, for the use of men.” Now the five books of Moses are universally agreed to be, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The thirteen books, written by the prophets, will include Joshua, Judges with Ruth, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah with Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, the Twelve minor Prophets, Job, Ezra, Esther, and Chronicles. The four remaining books will be, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon, which make the whole number twentt/-iwo; the Canon then existing iS proved to be the same, as that which we now possess. It would appear, indeed, that these books might more conveniently be reckoned ticenty-J)ur; and this is the present method of numberinjc them, by the modern Jews; but formerly, the number was regulated by that of the Hebrew alphabet, which consists of twenty two letters, therefore, they annexed the small book of Ruth to Judges; and probably it is a continuation of this book by the same author. They added, also, the Lamentations of Jeremiah to his prophecy, and this was natural enough. As to the Minor Prophets, which form twelve separate books in our Bibles, they were anciently, always reckoned one book, so they are considered in every ancient catalogue, and in all quotations from them.
It will not be supposed that any change could have occurred in the Canon from the time of our Saviour and his a|)ostles, to that in which Josephus wrote. Indeed, he may be considered the c -nleniporary of the apostles, as he was born about the time of Paul’s conversion to Christianity; and was therefore grown up to man’s age, long before the death of this apostle; and the apostle John probably survived him. And it must be remtmbored, that Josephus is here giving his testimony to a public fact: he is declaring what books were received as divine by his nation j and he does it without hesitation, or inconsistency. “We have” says he “only twenty two books, which are believed to be of divine authority.”
We are able also to adduce other testimony, to prove the same thing. Some of the early Christian Fathers, who had been brought up in Paganism, when they embraced Christianity, were curious in their inquiries into the Canon of the Old Testament; and the result of the researches of some of them, still remain. Melito bishop of Sardis travelled into Judea, for the very purpose of satisfying himself on this point. And although, his own writings are lost, Eusebius has preserved his catalogue of the books of the Old Testament; from which it appears, that the very same books were, in his day, received into the Canon, as are now found in our Hebrew Bibles. And the interval between Melito and Josephus is not a hundred years, so that no alteration in the Canon can De reasonably supposed to have taken place in this period. Very soon after Melito, Okigen furnishes us with a catalogue of the books of the Old Testament, which perfectly?- accords with our Canon, except that he omits the Minor Prophets; which omihsion muat have been a mere slip of the pen, in him or his copyist, as it is certain, that he received this, as a book of Holy Scripture r and the number of the books of the Old Testament, given by him in this very place, cannot be completed,
without reckoning the Twelve Minor Prophets as one.
After Driven, we have catalogues, in succession, not only by men of the first authority in the church, bill by councils, consisting of numerous bishops, all which are perfectly the same as our own. It will be sufficient merely to refer to these sources of informotion. Catalogues of the books of the Old Testament ha e been given by Athanasius; by Ctkil; by Augustine; by Jebomk; by Rupin; by THE COUNCIL OF Laodicea, in their LX. Canon: and by i he council of Cakthage. And when it is considered, that all these catalogues exactly correspond with our present Canon of the Hebrew Bible, the evidence, I think, must appear complete to every impartial mind, that the Canon of the Old Testament is settled upon the clearest historical grounds. There seems to be nothing to be wished for further, in the confirmation of this point
But if all this testimony had been wanting, there is still a source of evidence, to which we might refer with the utmost confidence, as perfectly conclusive on this point; 1 mean the fact that these books have been, ever since the time of Christ and his apostes,in the keeping of both Jews
and Chrislians,who have been constantly arrayed in opposition to each other; so that it was impossible, that any change should have been made in the
Canon, by either party, without being immediately detected by the other. And the conclusive cridenee that no alteration in the Canon has occurred, is, the perfect agreement of these hostile parties, in regard to the books of the Old Testament, at this time. On this point, the Jew and Christian are harmonious. There is no complaint of addition or diminution of the sacred books, on either sifle. The Hebrew Bible of the Jew, is the Bible of the Christian. There is here no diffei’ence. A learned Jew and Christian have even been united, in publishing an excellent edition of the Hebrew Bible.* Now, if any alteration in the Canon has occurred, it must have been by the concert, or collusion of both parties, but how absurd this idea is, must be manifest to all.
I acknowledge what is here said of the agreement of Christians and Jews, can Only be said in relation to Protestant Christians. For as to those of the Romanist and Greek Communions, they have admitted other books into the Canon, which Jews and Protestants hold to be Apocryphal; but these books will form the subject of a particular discussion, in the sequel of this work.
The fact is important, that a short time after the Canon of the Old Testament was closed, a translation was made of the whole of the books into the Greek language. This translation was made, at Alexandria, in Egypt, at the request, it is said, of
* See the Biblia Hebraica, edited by LeusdenaJid Athiar
Ptolemy Philadelpbus, kinw of Eaypt. that he niis;ht have a copy of these saciod books in the famous library which he was enaed in collecting. It is called the Septuagint, from its beinpf made accordino; to the accounts which have been handed down, by seventy, or rather seventy two, men; six from each of the tribes of Israel. So many fabulous thinsjs have been reported concernina; tliig version that it is very difficult to ascertain the precise truth. But it is manifest from internal evidence, that it was not the work of one hand, nor, probably, of one set of translators: for, while some books are rendered with great accuracy, and in a very literal manner, others are translated with little care, and the meaning of the original is very imperfectly given.
The probability is, that the Pentateuch was first translated, and the other books were added from time to time, by different hands; but when the’ work was once begun, it is not likely that it would be long before the whole was completed.
Now this Greek version contains all the books which are found in our Canonical Hebrew Bibles. It is a good witness therefore to prove, that all these books were in the Canon, when this version was made. The Apocryphal books which have long been connected with this version, will furnish a subject for consideration herafter.
There is, moreover, a distinct and remarkable testimony to the antiquity of the four books of Mo-D 2 ses in the Samaritan Pentateuch, which hs existed in a form entirely separate from the Jewish capies, and in a character totally different from that, in which the Hehrevv Bible has been for many aes written. It has also been preserved and handed down to us, by a people, who have ever been hostile to the Jews. This Pentateuch hasy without doubt, been transmitted through a separate channel, ever’since the ten tribes of Israel were carried captive. It furnishes authentic testimony to the gtpat antiquity of the books of Mo ses, and shows how little they have been corrupted, during the lapse of nearly three thousand years.