Bibliography
| Title: Josephus and the Twenty-Two Book Canon of Sacred Scripture Secondary Title: JETS Volume: 29 Pages: 37-46 Type: Journal Article Year: 1986 Abstract: "The twenty-two-book OT canon described by Josephus in Against Apion 1:8 was essentially that of the Masoretic tradition with one important modification. The festal scrolls, or at least an earlier form of them that did not include Esther, constituted a single canonical category within a collection of twenty-two books. By choosing the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet as a structuring principle, the early scribes also effectively closed their canon. The only way for later works to enter the collection was for them to be incorporated within existing canonical categories or to transform the very structure of the canon. This transformation was apparently accomplished first with the inclusion of Esther to form the talmudic canon of twenty-four books and again within the Christian community by the addition of the NT". - D.J.H. "In short, the canon of Josephus is essentially that of the Masoretic tradition with one important modification. The festal scrolls, or at least an earlier form of them that did not include Esther, constituted a single canonical category within a collection of twenty-two books. By choosing the number of letters of the Hebrew alphabet as a structuring principle, those early scribes also effectively closed their canon. The only way for later works to make it into the collection was for them to be incorporated within existing canonical categories or to transform the very structure of the canon itself. This transformation apparently was accomplished first with the inclusion of Ester to form the Talmudic canon of twenty-four boos,, and again within the Christian community by the addition of the NT". Keywords: Relation of Josephus to Hebrew Bible, Septuagint, and Rabbinic Literature |