THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT CANON
Objectives:
1. To illustrate the process by which the Old Testament became a uniform body of literature
2. To stimulate deeper and more discriminating study of the Bible
3. To affirm faith in God and His word
1. To illustrate the process by which the Old Testament became a uniform body of literature
2. To stimulate deeper and more discriminating study of the Bible
3. To affirm faith in God and His word
First Form of the Biblical Material
Oral Form: The contents of most of the books of the Old Testament existed in an oral form before they were eventually written down, sometimes hundreds of years later.
Evidence of Oral Existence
The pattern the “Word of the Lord”.
Most of the time this pattern had to do with oral communication, not with written communication.
Micah 1:1..."The word of the LORD which came {to} Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz {and} Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem." (NASB)
Zephaniah 1:1..."The word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah..." (NASB)
Haggai 1:1..."In the second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying..." (NASB)
Zechariah 1:1..."In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo saying..." (NASB)
Zechariah 1:7..."On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, as follows..." (NASB)
Jeremiah 4:2..."And you will swear, 'As the LORD lives,' In truth, in justice and in righteousness; Then the nations will bless themselves in Him, And in Him they
will glory." (NASB)
Psalm 138:2 – 4..."I will bow down toward Your holy temple And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name. On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul. All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O LORD, When they have heard the words of Your mouth." (NASB)
Deuteronomy 5:5..."...{while} I was standing between the LORD and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the LORD; for you were afraid because of the fire and did not go up the mountain. He said..." (NASB)
Deuteronomy 5:22..."These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly at the mountain from the midst of the fire, {of} the cloud and {of} the thick gloom, with a great voice, and He added no more. He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me." (NASB)
The preaching of Jesus:
Luke 5:1..."Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret..." (NASB)
Luke 8:11..."Soon afterwards, He {began} going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him..." (NASB)
Luke 11:28..."But He said, "On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it." (NASB)
The word preached by the Apostles:
Act 4:29..."And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence..." (NASB)
Act 6:2..."So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables." (NASB)
Paul, the Gospel he preached:
1st Corinthians 14:36..."Was it from you that the word of God {first} went forth? Or has it come to you only?" (NASB)
2nd Corinthians 2:17..."For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God." (NASB)
Most of the time this pattern had to do with oral communication, not with written communication.
Micah 1:1..."The word of the LORD which came {to} Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz {and} Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem." (NASB)
Zephaniah 1:1..."The word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah..." (NASB)
Haggai 1:1..."In the second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying..." (NASB)
Zechariah 1:1..."In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo saying..." (NASB)
Zechariah 1:7..."On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, as follows..." (NASB)
Jeremiah 4:2..."And you will swear, 'As the LORD lives,' In truth, in justice and in righteousness; Then the nations will bless themselves in Him, And in Him they
will glory." (NASB)
Psalm 138:2 – 4..."I will bow down toward Your holy temple And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name. On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul. All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O LORD, When they have heard the words of Your mouth." (NASB)
Deuteronomy 5:5..."...{while} I was standing between the LORD and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the LORD; for you were afraid because of the fire and did not go up the mountain. He said..." (NASB)
Deuteronomy 5:22..."These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly at the mountain from the midst of the fire, {of} the cloud and {of} the thick gloom, with a great voice, and He added no more. He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me." (NASB)
The preaching of Jesus:
Luke 5:1..."Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret..." (NASB)
Luke 8:11..."Soon afterwards, He {began} going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him..." (NASB)
Luke 11:28..."But He said, "On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it." (NASB)
The word preached by the Apostles:
Act 4:29..."And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence..." (NASB)
Act 6:2..."So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables." (NASB)
Paul, the Gospel he preached:
1st Corinthians 14:36..."Was it from you that the word of God {first} went forth? Or has it come to you only?" (NASB)
2nd Corinthians 2:17..."For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God." (NASB)
Importance of Oral Communication in Antiquity
Plato’s Seventh Letter:
Every serious man in dealing with really serious subjects carefully avoids writing, least thereby he may possibly cast them as prey to the envy and stupidity of the public. Written words seem to talk to you as though they were intelligent, but if you ask them anything about what they say, from a desire to be instructed, they go on telling you just the same thing forever.
Papius:
“If anyone came who had been a follower of the presbyters, I inquired into the words of the presbyters, what Andrew or Peter or Phillip or Thomas or James or John or Matthew or any other of the Lord’s disciples had said, and what Aristion and the presbyter John, the Lord’s disciples, were saying. For I did not think that information from books would help me so much as the utterances of a living and surviving voice” Eusebius, The History of the Church, 3:39.
2nd John 12: Though I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that your joy may be made full. See also, 3rd John 13,14
Note: The Rabbis of the first century AD emphasized that the oral tradition i.e., oral Torah was the final authority above the written Torah.
Every serious man in dealing with really serious subjects carefully avoids writing, least thereby he may possibly cast them as prey to the envy and stupidity of the public. Written words seem to talk to you as though they were intelligent, but if you ask them anything about what they say, from a desire to be instructed, they go on telling you just the same thing forever.
Papius:
“If anyone came who had been a follower of the presbyters, I inquired into the words of the presbyters, what Andrew or Peter or Phillip or Thomas or James or John or Matthew or any other of the Lord’s disciples had said, and what Aristion and the presbyter John, the Lord’s disciples, were saying. For I did not think that information from books would help me so much as the utterances of a living and surviving voice” Eusebius, The History of the Church, 3:39.
2nd John 12: Though I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that your joy may be made full. See also, 3rd John 13,14
Note: The Rabbis of the first century AD emphasized that the oral tradition i.e., oral Torah was the final authority above the written Torah.
Evidence of Oral Existence in Multiple Sources
Different accounts of the same events: Exodus 33:7 - Tabernacle outside the camp, Numbers 2:17 - Tabernacle in middle of the camp, Exodus 19:1- Commmandments given at Sinai, Deuteronomy 1:6 - Commandments given at Horeb, Exodus 19: 3,20; 24:2: Moses alone enters the mountain to receive Ten Commandments, Exodus 24:1, 9- Moses, Nadab, Abihu, plus 70 elders enter mountain to receive Ten Commandments, Exodus 24:11: They (including Moses) saw God, eat and drink, Exodus 34:28: Moses did not eat or drink, Exodus 24:12 God wrote the Ten Commandments, Exodus 24:4;34:28 Moses wrote Ten Commandments.
Note the emphasis on oral communication where the Ten Commandments and other laws are concerned, e.g., in Exodus 20 the Ten Commandments are not written but spoken. see also 31:12;13...In Deuteronomy 1:1 the laws are again spoken to the people by Moses.
Languages: Genesis 10: 5,20,31...Many nations and many languages
Genesis 11:6...The whole earth, one language
Building of the Ark: Deuteronomy 10:1-5...Ark built before Moses ascended Mt. Sinai
Exodus 40:20 / Deuteronomy 37:1...Ark build after Moses descended from the mountain
Different Order of Places: Deuteronomy 10:6-7
Numbers 33:30,39
Deuteronomy 10:6...Aaron died at Moserah
Numbers 22:1 – 29; 33, 38...Aaron died at Mt. Hor
Note: If he died at Moserah he could not have arrived at Kadesh to which the Israelites journeyed after leaving Moserah. In addition, he played a prominent role in the events of Kadesh then from there to Mt. Hor. See also, Numbers 20:22 – 29; Deuteronomy 32:50.
Note the emphasis on oral communication where the Ten Commandments and other laws are concerned, e.g., in Exodus 20 the Ten Commandments are not written but spoken. see also 31:12;13...In Deuteronomy 1:1 the laws are again spoken to the people by Moses.
Languages: Genesis 10: 5,20,31...Many nations and many languages
Genesis 11:6...The whole earth, one language
Building of the Ark: Deuteronomy 10:1-5...Ark built before Moses ascended Mt. Sinai
Exodus 40:20 / Deuteronomy 37:1...Ark build after Moses descended from the mountain
Different Order of Places: Deuteronomy 10:6-7
Numbers 33:30,39
Deuteronomy 10:6...Aaron died at Moserah
Numbers 22:1 – 29; 33, 38...Aaron died at Mt. Hor
Note: If he died at Moserah he could not have arrived at Kadesh to which the Israelites journeyed after leaving Moserah. In addition, he played a prominent role in the events of Kadesh then from there to Mt. Hor. See also, Numbers 20:22 – 29; Deuteronomy 32:50.
Evidence of Multiple Sources other Places in the Old Testament
2nd Samuel 24:1-The Lord caused David to number Israel
1st Chronicles 21:1-The Devil caused David to number Israel
*Note the many differences in both stories*
1st Chronicles 21:1-The Devil caused David to number Israel
*Note the many differences in both stories*
Thought Questions
If Moses was the original author of the Pentateuch, how is it that he is saying so many opposites about his own experience?
Why is he always writing in the third person throughout the Pentateuch?
Did he record his death in Deuteronomy 34?
Why is he always writing in the third person throughout the Pentateuch?
Did he record his death in Deuteronomy 34?