OT - Survey 26 - Formation of the Old Testament Scriptures

All content is derived from A Survey of the Old Testament by Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, with additional insights from R.C. Sproul's Dust to Glory. Further sources referenced are listed in the reference section below.

Composition and Authorship

— Timeframe and Divine Inspiration The Old Testament corpus emerged over roughly a millennium, from the mid–second millennium BC to the mid–first millennium BC. While human authors penned its books, the New Testament attests that God is the ultimate Author by the Spirit’s inspiration (2 Timothy 3:16). — Human Writers and Languages At least forty distinct human authors contributed, including prominent figures like Moses, David, and Solomon, as well as lesser–known individuals such as the judge Deborah (Judges 5:1), the prophetess Miriam (Exodus 15:20–21), and non-Hebrews like Agur and Lemuel (Proverbs 30:1; 31:1). The original texts appear in biblical Hebrew and Imperial Aramaic.

Literary Genres of the Old Testament

— Law Foundational legal codes (e.g., the Decalogue in Exodus 20; 32:15–16) that structured Israel’s covenant life. — Historical Narrative Accounts of Israel’s origins, monarchy, exile, and return (e.g., Joshua 8:32; 2 Samuel 18:19–23). — Poetry and Wisdom Collections such as Psalms and Proverbs that explore praise, lament, and practical instruction. — Prophetic Utterance Oracles and visions delivered by figures like Isaiah (Isaiah 19:18) and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 36:2).

Writing and Transmission in the Ancient Near East

— Evolution of Writing Systems Early pictograms (pre–3000 BC in Egypt and Mesopotamia) gave way to ideograms and then to syllabic scripts. Ultimately, the alphabetic system emerged, with Hebrew classified as a Northwest Semitic alphabet (distinct from Mesopotamian syllabaries) alongside Phoenician, Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, and Ugaritic dialects. — Writing Materials Monumental texts appear on stone (e.g., the Behistun Inscription; the Rosetta Stone), while the Old Testament narrative itself notes stone tablets for the Law (Exodus 32:15–16; Joshua 8:32). Other surfaces included clay tablets, wooden tablets, papyrus scrolls (e.g., Jeremiah 36:2), parchment, and even beaten metal for special documents such as the Copper Scroll of the Qumran community. — Instruments and Practices Although ink is unmentioned, writing implements are cited: iron styluses (Job 19:24), reed pens (Jeremiah 8:8), pen knives (Jeremiah 36:23), and the roles of scribes, heralds, and message runners (2 Samuel 18:19–23). Oral memorization and public reading were central to preserving accuracy.

Texts, Manuscripts, and Versions

— Masoretic Text and Scribal Tradition By the 9th–10th centuries AD, Masoretes standardized the Hebrew consonantal text, added vowel points, punctuation, and verse divisions, producing what we call the Masoretic Text. Margin notes (masora) recorded variant readings. Chapter divisions originated in the Latin Bible (c. 1150–1228), were applied to Hebrew in 1518 (Bomberg edition), and chapter numbering standardized by Arius Montanus (c. 1571). — Ancient Versions Translations and paraphrases expanded the Hebrew text’s reach: — The Samaritan Pentateuch (4th–5th century BC) preserves a parallel Hebrew tradition. — Aramaic Targums provided pre-Christian paraphrase (e.g., Nehemiah 8:8). — The Septuagint (c. 250 BC) rendered Hebrew into Greek under Hellenistic influence. — Jerome’s Latin Vulgate (382–405 AD) and the Syriac Peshitta (c. 400 AD) further transmitted the text.

Textual Criticism

— Errors and Variants Centuries of hand-copying inevitably introduced mistakes of sight, hearing, memory, and judgment, yielding variant readings across thousands of manuscripts. — Methodology Textual criticism (lower criticism) gathers and evaluates these variants to approximate the original text. Scholars assess external evidence (manuscript age and reliability) and internal considerations (consistency of style and context). For example, modern English margins note restored numbers of years in 1 Samuel 13:1.

Definition and Formation of Canon

— Meaning of “Canon” Derived from the Hebrew קנה (qaneh, “reed” or “measuring rod”), theological usage appears by AD 367 in Athanasius’s Easter letter to designate the list of divinely inspired Scriptures. Canon signifies both the measure of divine authority inherent in each book and the corpus recognized as authoritative by the community. — Stages of Canon Formation

Authoritative Utterances – God’s spoken revelation transmitted orally (e.g., “Thus says the Lord…” in Isaiah 1:10; Ezekiel 5:5).

Formal Written Documents – Divine oracles recorded (Exodus 24:3; Joshua 1:8; Jeremiah 36:2).

Collection of Writings – Scrolls and books were gathered over centuries, including works cited but now lost (e.g., Book of the Wars of the Lord, Numbers 21:14; Book of Jasher, Joshua 10:13).

Sorting and Fixing – Leaders evaluated documents by criteria such as apostolic or prophetic authorship, consistency with covenant theology, and widespread use in the community.

Historical Development and Order of the Hebrew Canon

— Tripartite Division (Tanakh) Jewish tradition divides Scripture into Torah (Law), Nevi’im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings)—a threefold structure attested by Luke 24:44 and early rabbinic sources. — Book Enumeration and Order The Hebrew Bible lists 24 books (the Twelve Minor Prophets counted as one; Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, and Nehemiah each count as one), whereas the Protestant Old Testament arranges 39 books. Early manuscripts show no fixed order; modern English follows Jerome’s Vulgate sequencing. — Disputed Books Certain writings raised canonical questions (e.g., Esther’s omission of God’s name; Ecclesiastes’ pessimism; Song of Songs’ erotic imagery; Ezekiel’s strange visions). Their status, however, was debated over interpretation rather than outright exclusion.

Apocrypha and Deuterocanonical Books

— Definition and Content “Apocrypha” (hidden writings) refers to 14–15 works written between 200 BC and 100 AD in Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic. Genres include didactic, historical, prophetic, and legendary literature. — Septuagint and Early Usage These books were appended to the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. Early church fathers (Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement) cited them freely

— The Synod of Hippo (AD 393) authorized the use of the Apocrypha as cannon

— Yet others (Eusebius, Athanasius) distinguished them from canonical Scripture.

The debate over the apocrypha’s place in the Old Testament canon intensified with Jerome’s Latin Vulgate (AD 405), commissioned by Pope Damasus as the definitive Bible for the Holy Roman Church. Jerome explicitly resisted including the apocryphal books in the canon and noted as much in his Vulgate. Yet subsequent editions dropped his distinctions, and most Latin readers came to view the apocrypha and the Old Testament as a single corpus.

During the Reformation, Protestant scholars translating the Bible into vernacular languages discovered that the Hebrew Scriptures contained no apocryphal books. Consequently, they either excluded these works altogether or appended them as a secondary collection. John Wycliffe’s 1382 English translation anticipated this stance, and by the time of the Puritans, the apocrypha had been removed entirely from Protestant English Bibles—a practice that persists in most Protestant denominations today.

The Roman Catholic Church reaffirmed its position at the Council of Trent (1545–1564), declaring the apocrypha—Tobit; Sirach; Wisdom; Judith; 1–2 Maccabees; Baruch; and the additions to Esther and Daniel—as deuterocanonical Scripture. This deuterocanon was further ratified by the First Vatican Council in 1870. Catholic doctrine continues to draw on these books for teachings such as purgatory, the efficacy of good works, and prayers for the dead (e.g., Tobit 12:9; 2 Maccabees 12:43–45; Sirach 3:30).

By contrast, the Westminster Confession of 1647 rejected the apocrypha’s authority and excluded it from the canon. Although most Protestant churches uphold this distinction, observance varies. Martin Luther himself maintained that, while the apocryphal books are not on par with inspired Scripture, they are nevertheless “profitable and good to read.”

— Reformation and Counter-Reformation Reformers excluded Apocrypha from the canon or treated them as secondary; the Council of Trent (1545–64) declared them deuterocanonical, affirming their use for doctrine (e.g., prayers for the dead in 2 Maccabees 12:43–45).

Old Testament Pseudepigrapha

— Nature and Circulation A distinct corpus of 18 extracanonical books, composed 200 BC–AD 200 under assumed names (e.g., 1 Enoch). Preserved in languages such as Greek, Syriac, Ethiopic, and Armenian, they were read in early Christian circles (Jude 14–15). — Canonical Status Never recognized as Scripture by Judaism or most of Christianity, yet they reflect the diverse religious thought of the intertestamental period.

Brief Summary

This section traces the Old Testament’s formation from its multi-century composition under divine inspiration through the evolution of writing systems and materials in the ancient Near East. It details literary genres, scribal practices, and the transition from oral tradition to written text. The Masoretic Text’s development, alongside key ancient translations (e.g., Septuagint, Vulgate, Peshitta), laid the groundwork for modern versions. Textual criticism emerged to correct transmission errors, while the theological concept of canon—rooted in the Greek term for “measuring rod”—guided the collection, sorting, and affirmation of authoritative books. The Hebrew Bible’s tripartite division (Tanakh) and the later Christian Old Testament order reflect distinct traditions. Debated writings gave rise to the apocryphal and pseudepigraphal corpora, illustrating the dynamic interplay between community usage, theological criteria, and historical context in recognizing sacred Scripture.

References

Hill, A. E., & Walton, J. H. (2009), A survey of the Old Testament (3rd ed.). Zondervan Academic.

MacArthur, J. (Ed.). (2021). The MacArthur study Bible (2nd ed.). Thomas Nelson. (New American Standard Bible).