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From Stories to Scrolls to One Sacred Book

The Bible is not a single book. Rather, it is a library, a collection of literature written by different authors in different contexts over a span of centuries. Some books, such as the Genesis, originated orally and were later written down; others, such as the letters of Paul, were written first.

By the time of Jesus, many scrolls of ancient writings were circulating. Some of these were accepted as Scripture. Most important was the Torah, the first five books of the Bible.

The most authoritative writings later became part of the Jewish canon. A canon is a list of books considered authoritative as Scripture by a particular religious community.

The Tanakh

The Jewish canon is called the TaNaKh, an acronym for the three parts of the their Bible:

• Torah (tor-AH) -- The Law, also called the Pentateuch (Greek for "five books")
• Nebiim ( neh-veh-EEM) -- The Prophets
• Ketubim (keh-tu-VEEM) -- The Writings

Look at a list of the Books of the Tanakh and its three divisions.

The canonization of of the Jewish Bible happened after the crucifixion of Jesus and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by Rome in 70 A.D. Before 70 A.D., Judaism was centered on the Temple and its rituals; after the Temple was gone, a new central focus had to be found-- the TaNaKh. Neither the Scriptural focus nor the exact form and order of the Jewish Bible were decided over night; "canonization" of TaNaKh was an ongoing process that extended until about 1000 A.D.

Biblical Reflection

In the Gospels, Jesus refers to two parts of the TaNaKh by name -- the Law and the Prophets.

• Do you know which books of the Bible the expression "the Law and the Prophets" refers to?
• Where does Jesus refer to the Law and the Prophets in the Bible? What kind of attitude did he display toward the Law and the Prophets? How did he apply these to everyday life?
• What were the status of the Writings, the third part of the Jewish Bible, in Jesus day?

Find the biblical references and some answers to this questions by by clicking here.

Take the Highway

Biblical Canons explores the difference between inside and outside books of the Bible

Choose a Byway

Compare these canons... Do you know why Protestants, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox churches have different Old Testament canons?

• Protestant Old Testament and Hebrew Bible
• Protestant and Roman Catholic Old Testaments
• Roman Catholic and Ethiopian Orthodox Old Testaments

The Judaism 101 web site has an explanation of Written Torah (TaNaKh). Read about Torah from a Jewish perspective. Included also is a canonical list with the Jewish words for Written Torah.

Biblical Canons

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