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Canon

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Several passages indicate Moses wrote down events and direct speech from the ... and proceeds with an extreme hermeneutic of suspicion, the evidence points to ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Canon


1
Canon
  • Means standard or rule
  • To be included in the canon means that the book
    has binding authority over the community of
    faith.
  • Canonical books are God-given documents his
    people feel constrained to obey.

2
The Hebrew Canon
  • Three Sections
  • The Law
  • The Prophets
  • The Writings
  • Comparison Chart
  • Divisions first mentioned in the apocryphal book
    Sirach (c. 132 B.C.)

3
The Law
  • Several passages indicate Moses wrote down events
    and direct speech from the LORD and that the
    written text was regarded as authoritative.
  • Ex. 243-4. This passage indicates, for example,
    Moses wrote down everything from 20-243.
  • Leviticus 11, 41, 514 61
  • Deut. 319, 13

4
The Prophets
  • References to authority of Pentateuch Josh.
    11-18 834-5)
  • Cf. 2 Ki. 221-2325
  • Former prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings)
    were also regarded as authoritative. (e.g. Thus
    Says the Lord
  • Isaiah 816, 20 Is. 361-388 is repeated in 2
    Ki. 1817-2011.
  • Prophets regard each other as authorities.
    Jeremiah reflects on Hoseas influence (Jer.
    21-37)

5
The Writings
  • Moses again regarded as authority (Ezra 32,
    618 Neh. 81
  • Proverbs 11
  • Ps. 7270

6
Other Matters
  • NT canon (Mt. 517 Lk. 2444 2 Tim. 316)
  • Apocrypha (Jeromes memo, 4th cent.)
  • The Dead Sea Scrolls Tell us that our
    manuscripts closely approximate ancient copies of
    OT books, but since Essenes were a sectarian
    group, they may have only selected a small slice
    of canon.

7
Canonical Process
  • Difficulty in Reconstruction
  • Pentateuch first (622 - 550 B.C.)
  • Prophets (written by 400 B.C., considered
    canonical by 200 B.C.)
  • Writings, completed by 1st century as per Jesus,
    Philo, and Josephus claims.
  • Maccabean Revolt may have accelerated process.

8
Historical Reliability of OT
  • Difficulties for modern observers
  • Ancient past not neatly accessible to empirical
    scrutiny.
  • Archeology an inexact science.
  • Cultural Barriers (uses of language, horizons,
    etc.
  • Enlightenment presuppositions.

9
Historical Criticism
  • Naturalism and rise of social sciences approach
    to history
  • Julius Wellhausens (1844-1918) Prolegomena to
    the Historical of Israel
  • Propounded the documentary hypothesis which
    held that the Pentateuch took shape over a vast
    period of time through 4 distinct sources J, E,
    D, P.

10
Documentary Hypothesis
  • J - uses Yahweh as personal name for God (early
    monarchy)
  • E - uses Elohim as name for God (later northern
    document)
  • D - Deuteronomistic writer, Law
  • P - Post-exile writer draws Pentateuch together
    with reflection on Israel

11
Difficulties with JEDP
  • Differences between sections more illusory than
    real.
  • Forces modern literary conventions as normative
    on ancient ones (paralellism, repetition)
  • The whole hypothesis is based upon the different
    uses of the divine names which are employed for
    literary and theological reasons, rather than
    indicating radically different sources.

12
Archeological Discoveries
  • Discovery of Ur, Nineveh
  • 16th cent. B.C. Akkadian tablets employing the
    name Abram
  • The Mari tablets (18th cent. B.C.) confirm city
    of Nakhur (Gen. 2410) and speak of the Habiru or
    Hebrews, a term meaning wanderers which
    describes Abraham in Genesis.
  • Recently Robert Ballards Black Sea exploration.

13
Conclusion
  • Unless one begins with anti-supernatural
    presuppositions and proceeds with an extreme
    hermeneutic of suspicion, the evidence points to
    the fact that given our present albeit limited
    understanding of ancient history, the Old
    Testament emerges as a faithful witness to actual
    historical events and people.
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