THE CANON OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
There are several references in the Old Testament that indicate early collections of formal writings. In Deuteronomy 31:9-26, the laws of Moses were stored by the ark in the tabernacle, and later in the temple in 2 Kings 22:8. Joshua 24:25-26, and 1 Samuel 10:25 refer to the writing down of the law to preserve it for reading by the people. In 2 Kings 22 and 23 during the reign of Josiah, a book of the law was discovered in the sanctuary, the reading of which caused Josiah to repent (2 Kings 22:11-12). As a result of reading the scriptures to all the people (2 Kings 23:1-3), there was a great repentance and removal of idols. In Nehemiah 8, Ezra gathered all the people together for the reading of Law of Moses.
The writings of some of the prophets were also gathered together into a collection. Zechariah refers to what earlier prophets said (Zechariah 1:4-6, 7:7), and in Daniel 9:2, Daniel refers to the prophecy of Jeremiah regarding the desolation of the temple. In Psalm 137, the exiles had in their possession some collections of the Songs of Zion.
The Hebrew Old Testament consists of three groups of writings: the Law (Torah), Prophets (Nebiim), and Writings (Kethubim).
THE LANGUAGE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
The Old Testament is written in Hebrew and Aramaic. Nearly all of the Old Testament is written in Hebrew, a member of the Semitic languages which includes Aramaic, Syriac, Akkadian (Assyrian-Babylonian) and Arabic. The Hebrew alphabet is without vowels, although a vowel system was added to aid the reader. Modern Hebrew magazines are usually printed without vowels.
Aramaic is related to Hebrew and after the exile in 500 BC, Aramaic became the most common language in Palestine until the conquest of Palestine by Alexander the Great, and as a result, several sections of the Old Testament are in Aramaic rather than Hebrew. This includes six chapters in Daniel (2:4b-7:28) and several chapters in Ezra (4:8-6:18, and 7:12-26). Because Aramaic characters are the same as Hebrew, these sections appear the same as the rest of the Hebrew scriptures.
Aramaic lingered on for several centuries in Palestine, and the New Testament contains several Aramaic expressions spoken by the Lord including talitha koum (little girl, to you I say, Arise!) in Mark 5:41; ephphatha (be opened!); Eli, eli, lama sabachthani (My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?). The Lord also addressed the Father as Abba (Aramaic for Father). The New Testament believers also addressed the Father as Abba in Romans 8:15 and Galatians 4:6 and used the phrase Marana tha in 1 Corinthians 16:22, which means “The Lord comes.” These phrases indicate that the spoken language of the Lord and the early believers was Aramaic.
SEPTUAGINT
The word “Septuagint” is from the Latin “Septuaginta” or seventy, and is ascribed to the Jewish translation of the Old Testament into Greek. The Pentateuch, the earliest part of the Old Testament Canon, was translated first during the reign of Philadelphius (285-247 BC) by 70 (or, more precisely, 72) Jewish scholars; hence, it received the name “Septuagint” (LXX). Originally ascribed to only the Pentateuch, it was eventually applied to the entire Old Testament. It is the version most often cited by New testament writers and is the predominant source of new testament believers.
THE CANON OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
THE CANON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
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