The Growth of the Old Testament Cannon
We are currently looking at the concept of the canon of Scripture. Last week we looked at the beginning of the Old Testament canon with the writings of Moses. Today, we will look at the growth of the Old Testament canon with the inclusion of the prophets and the writings.
The writings of Moses were added to as soon as the time of Joshua. In Joshua 24:25-26 we read “On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he drew up for them decrees and laws. 26 And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God.” Note that Joshua wrote down the covenant and that it was recorded in the Book of the Law of God. This has clear reference to the Torah, the books of Moses. Thus, by the end of Joshua’s life, the canon was already growing.
We may also see how it grew with the addition of the prophetic writings. This may be seen in many places. For example, in Jeremiah 30:1–2, we read “This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 ‘This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: “Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you.”’” God specifically commands that His words through Jeremiah were not only spoken verbally but were to be written down. Nor was this just a specific prophecy; on the contrary, it was to be “all the words I have spoken to you.” Similarly, God commanded Habakkuk “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. 3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” (Habakkuk 2:2-4). Once again, the prophet must write down the revelation. Furthermore, the written revelation is mainly for future generations for it “awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end.”
In addition to the writings of Moses (Law) and those of the prophets (Prophets), the Hebrew canon also included a third section – the writings. These were included because they too were understood to be the word of God. For example, in 2 Samuel 23:1-2 we read “These are the last words of David: ‘The oracle of David son of Jesse, the oracle of the man exalted by the Most High, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, Israel’s singer of songs: “The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me; his word was on my tongue.’” Here in the book of Samuel, which was actually part of the prophetic books in the Hebrew canon, the words of David are recognized as coming from the Spirit. Thus, as the Word of God, they are worthy of being in the canon.
Thus we see that the canon, which initially contained the books of Moses (Moses-Deuteronomy) grew over time to contain other writings. Next week we will look at how the Old Testament canon was divided into these three major portions – the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings.
In Christ,
Bret