The Law, the Prophets, and the Writings
We are currently looking at the concept of the canon of Scripture. Last week we looked at how the Hebrew canon was broken into three parts – the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. Today we will see which Old Testament books are included in each section.
Most English Bibles follow the same order of books for the Old Testament. However, the Hebrew versions of the Old Testament follow a different order. This is because the books are placed in either the Torah (Law), the Prophets, or the Writings.
Like English Bibles, the Hebrew order begins with the five books of Moses – Genesis to Deuteronomy. These are referred to as the Torah (a Hebrew word that means law or instruction).
The second section of the Hebrew canon is the Prophets. This section is divided into two sections: the Former Prophets and the Latter Prophets. The Former Prophets include the Books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings (and both Samuel and Kings are a single book as opposed to 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings as in English Bibles). This is then followed by the Latter Prophets. This subsection includes Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the Twelve. Note that the twelve minor prophets are counted as one book (The Twelve). Furthermore, note that Lamentations and Daniel are NOT put in with the Prophets – they are part of the writings!
The final section of the Hebrew canon is the Writings. This includes Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ruth, The Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles. Note that this section includes books we would normally include with the prophets (Daniel and Lamentations). Also, note that Ezra-Nehemiah is one book and that the order of books is very different than in English Bibles (Ruth follows Proverbs for example). Finally, note that the last book of the writings, and thus the last book of the Hebrew canon, is Chronicles – which is one book rather than two!
It should be noted that there is no divinely sanctioned breakdown as to how the books of the Old Testament should be arranged and subdivided. There are good reasons for the way the English Bible arranges material (more by type of literature), and also good reasons for the way the Hebrew canon is arranged (more by function within the canon). In fact, sometimes we can get a fresh perspective by considering the Hebrew order which is less familiar. As an example, it is interesting to note that in the Hebrew canon the “woman of noble character” described in Proverbs 31 is immediately followed by Ruth – the only woman who is specifically called the “woman of noble character”! Perhaps the writer of Proverbs 31 was thinking about the stories of Solomon’s virtuous great, great grandmother!
Next time we will take a brief look at books that were almost NOT included in the Old Testament canon.
In Christ,
Bret