General Introduction
to the Old Testament:
The Canon
William Henry Green
Digitized by Ted Hildebrandt, Gordon College, 2006
originally published by:
Charles Scribner's Sons
1898
PREFACE
ANY ONE who addresses himself to the study of the
Old Testament will desire first to know something of
its character. It comes to us as a collection of books
which have been and still are esteemed peculiarly sa-
cred. How did they come to be so regarded? Is it
due simply to a veneration for antiquity? Is this a col-
lection of the literature of ancient Israel, which later
generations prized as a relic of early ages? Is it a
body of Hebrew literature to which sanctity was at-
tributed because of its being written in the sacred
tongue? Is it a collection of the books containing
the best thoughts of the most enlightened men of the
Israelitish nation, embodying their religious faith and
their conceptions of human duty? Or is it more than
all this? Is it the record of a divine revelation, made
through duly authorized and accredited messengers
sent of God for this purpose?
The first topic which is considered in this volume
is accordingly that of the Canon of the Old Testament,
which is here treated not theologically but historically.
We meet at the outset two opposing views of the
growth of the canon: one contained in the statements
of the Old Testament itself, the other in the theories of
modern critics, based upon the conception that these
books gradually acquired a sacredness which did not
at first belong to them, and which did not enter into
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viii PREFACE
the purpose for which they were written. This is
tested on the one hand by the claims which the various
writers make for themselves, and on the other by the
regard shown for these books by those to whom they
were originally given. The various arguments urged
by critics in defence of their position that the canon
was not completed nor the collection made until sev-
eral centuries after the time traditionally fixed and
currently believed are considered; and reasons are
given to show that it might have been and probably
was collected by Ezra and Nehemiah or in their time.
The question then arises as to the books of which
the Old Testament properly consists. Can the books
of which it was originally composed be certainly iden-
tified? And are they the same that are now in the
Old Testament as we possess it, and neither more nor
less? This is answered by tracing in succession the
Old Testament as it was accepted by the Jews, as it
was sanctioned by our Lord and the inspired writers
of the New Testament, and as it has been received in
the Christian Church from the beginning. The Apoc-
rypha though declared to be canonical by the Council
of Trent, and accepted as such by the Roman Catholic
Church, are excluded from the canon by its history
traced in the manner just suggested as well as by the
character of their contents, which is incompatible with
the idea of their authors being divinely inspired.
PRINCETON, N. J.,
October 3, 1898.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
HISTORY OF INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTA-
MENT 1
Introduction, the term and the science modern; the early
Christians, Origen, Augustin, Jerome, 1; Adrian, Eucherius,
Cassiodorus; after the Reformation, Walther, Walton,
Hobbes, Spinoza, Richard Simon, Carpzov, 2; Eichhorn,
Jann, Herbst, Welte, DeWette, 3; Hengstenberg, Haver-
nick, Horne; Keil, Kurtz, Nosgen, Bleek, Stahelin, 4; Reuss,
Wellhausen, Kuenen; Strack, Konig; A. Zahn, Rupprecht,
Hoedemaker, Stosch; S. Davidson, Robertson Smith, Driv-
er; Douglas, Valpy French and his collaborators, 5.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTA-
MENT 7
Introduction defined and limited; general and special;
canon and text, 7, 8.
THE CANON OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.
I.
THE CANON 9
Derivation and meaning of the word canon, 9, 10.
II.
TESTIMONY OF THE BIBLE IN REGARD TO THE FORMATION
OF THE CANON 11
Directions by Moses respecting the law, 11; thenceforth
divinely authoritative, 12, 13; addition by Joshua, 13;
Samuel, 14; the law in the temple, other copies of the law,
15, 16; books of the prophets also canonical, recapitulation,
17, 18.
ix
CONTENTS
III.
PAGE
THE CRITICAL THEORY OF THE FORMATION OF THE CANON 19
Eichhorn admitted that the law was canonical from the
time of Moses; this denied by more recent critics, 19; Deu-
teronomy canonized under Josiah, the entire Pentateuch
under Ezra as the first canon, 20; a second canon of the
prophets much later, 21; the hagiographa, a third canon,
later still, 22; argued, 1, from late origin of certain books;
2, the threefold division of the canon, 23; 3, the Samari-
tan canon; 4, the Synagogue lessons, 24; 5, the law, or the
law and the prophets, used to denote the whole Old Testa-
ment; 6, order of books in 2d and 3d divisions; 7, books
disputed, 25.
IV.
TILE DETERMINING PRINCIPLE IN THE FORMATION OF THE
CANON 26
Prime error of the critics, Ewald, Dillmann, 26, 27;
Eichhorn, early national literature, 28; Hitzig, Hebrew lit-
erature, 29; religious character, Robertson Smith, 30, 31;
claim made by the books of the Old Testament, 32; the law
regarded from the first as a divine revelation, 33; so like-
wise the books of the prophets, 34; this not a theological
speculation, but a historical fact, 35, 36.
V.
THE COMPLETION OF THE CANON 37
Testimony of Josephus, 37; not merely his private opin-
ion, 38; his mistake regarding the Persian kings, 39; he
ascribes prophetic power to John Hyrcanus; critical allega-
tions, presumption against them from the common belief
of the Jewish nation, 40; Chronicles, no proof of late date
from its genealogies, 41; Ezra and Nehemiah, the title
King of Persia, 42-44; Jaddua, Darius the Persian, 45-48;
the days of Nehemiah; Ezra iv. 6-23, 49, 50; Ezra vii.
1-10, 51, 52; long periods passed over in silence, 52; Ec-
clesiastes, governmental abuses, 53; its language and ideas,
54, 55; Esther, 55, 56; Daniel, statement of Delitzsch, 56;
historical objections, a, put in the hagiographa, 57; b, not
CONTENTS xi
PAGE
mentioned by the son of Sirach, 58; c, third year of Je-
hoiakim, i. 1; d, Chaldeans, a caste of wise men, 59; e,
Belshazzar, king and son of Nebuchadnezzar, 60-65; f,
Darius the Mede, 66; g, the books, ix. 2; h, other indica-
tions of late date, 67; language of the book, 68-70; pre-
dictions of the remote future, 71, 72; specific predictions
do not end with Antiochus Epiphanes, 73; blends with
Messiah's reign as usual in prophecy, 74; the compromise
attempted is futile, 75; genuine predictions admitted and
traditional basis assumed, 76; Maccabean Psalms, 77; the
statement of Josephus and the belief of the Jews not dis-
proved, 78.
VI.
THE THREEFOLD DIVISION OF THE CANON 79
The prologue to Ecclesiasticus, 79; fourfold division of
the Septuagint; the Hebrew division based, not on the
character of the books, nor various grades of inspiration,
but the official status of the writers, 80, 81; Dillmann's
objection; Moses Stuart, 82, 83; Ezra, Nehemiah, Chroni-
cles, Daniel, 84-86; Lamentations, 87; Strack's objections,
88; origin of the number 22, views of critics, 89, 90; con-
clusion, 91, 92.
VII.
WHEN AND BY WHOM COLLECTED 93
Authority of the books not dependent on their collec-
tion; Elias Levitt ascribed the collection to Ezra and the
Great Synagogue, 93; the passage from Baba Bathra, 94,
95; theory of modern critics, 96 ; its mistakes corrected, 97;
critics urge, 1, Ezra only bound the people to obey the law,
98; 2, Samaritans only acknowledge the Pentateuch, 99;
3, Scriptures read in the Synagogue, 100; 4, usage of terms
"the law" and "the law and the prophets," 101, 102; 5,
arguments based on certain critical conclusions: (1) dis-
crepancies between Chronicles and Samuel or Kings; (2)
composite character of Isaiah, 103, 104 ; (3) Zech. ix.–xiv.;
(4) Daniel, 105; (5) books of prophets not canonical until
prophecy had ceased, 106; it is alleged (1) that none of the
k’thubhim were admitted until the second division was
xii CONTENTS
PAGE
closed, 107; (2) late date of some books; (3) Chronicles pre-
ceded by Ezra and Nehemiah, 108; (4) additions to Esther
and Daniel; canonization not to be confounded with col-
lection, Bellarmin, 109, 110; prologue to Ecclesiasticus,
111; attempts to weaken its force, 112; 2 Esdras xiv. 21
ff., 113; 2 Mace. ii. 13, 114; 1, Ezra the scribe, 115; 2, needs
of the period following the exile, 116; 3, private collections
already existed ; 4, all the sacred books then written; 5, the
cessation of prophecy, 117, 118.
VIII.
THE EXTENT OF THE CANON-THE CANON OF THE JEWS 119
Division of the subject; the Talmud, 119; Josephus,
120-122; the canon of the Samaritans, 122; the Sadducees,
123; Essenes, Therapeute, 124; Alexandrian Jews, 124-
126; the Septuagint, 127, 128; the notion that there was no
defined canon in Alexandria, 129; Movers argues for an en-
larged canon in Palestine, 130; disputations in the Talmud,
131-136; Baruch and Ecclesiasticus have no sanction in the
Talmud, 137; critical perplexity respecting the admission
of Daniel and rejection of Ecclesiasticus, 138; passages
from the Talmud, 138-140.
IX.
THE CANON OF CHRIST AND HIS APOSTLES 141
They sanction the Jewish canon negatively; and positive-
ly, 1, by express statements, 141; 2, general references, 142;
3, direct citation, 143; this the highest possible proof of its
correctness, 144; use of Septuagint, 1, not sanction its in-
accuracies; 2, not liable to be misunderstood; 3, not quote
the Apocrypha, 145; alleged traces of acquaintance with
the Apocrypha, 146, 147; Jude vs. 14, 15 from Book of
Enoch; Jude ver. 9, 148; James iv. 6; 1 Cor. ii. 9, 149;
Eph. v. 14; John vii. 38, 150; Luke xi. 49; 2 Tim. iii. 8,
151; Mat. xxvii. 9; Wildeboer's extravagant conclusion,
152; sacred books of the Jews distinguished from all others,
153; allegation that some books were still disputed, 154; at-
titude of the New Testament to the Old, 155, 156.
CONTENTS xiii
PAGE
THE CANON OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 157
Question between Roman Catholics and Protestants, 157;
decision of Christ the supreme authority; meaning of ca-
nonical, 158; and apocryphal, 159, 160; catalogue of Melito,
160, 161; Justin Martyr, Syriac version, 162; Origen, Ter-
tullian, 163; Council of Laodicea, 164; fourth century
catalogues, 165, 166; Augustin, Councils of Hippo and
Carthage, 167-174; testimony of the first four centuries,
175; the Greek Church; the Western Church, 176; Cardi-
nals Ximenes and Cajetan, 177; Innocent L, Gelasius,
178; Council at Florence; Council of Trent, 179; Apoc-
rypha in popular usage, 180; included in early versions,
181, 182; read in the churches, 183-185; quoted by the
fathers, 185, 186; under the same titles as the canonical
books, 187-189; attributed to prophets or inspired men, 189,
190 ; proto-canonical, and deutero-canonical; doctrine of
the Roman Catholic. Church; the Greek Church, 191; Prot-
estant Churches, 192; the apocryphal controversy, 193, 194.
XI.
THE APOCRYPHA CONDEMNED BY INTERNAL EVIDENCE 195
Value of internal evidence; Tobit, Judith, 195,196; Wis-
dom, Ecclesiasticus, 197, 198; Maccabees, 199; Additions
to Esther and Daniel, 200.
XII.
ORDER AND NUMBER OF THE CANONICAL BOOKS 201
Inferences from Eccles. xii. 12-14; Matt. xxiii. 35, 201;
and Luke xxiv. 44, 202; Talmudic order of the prophets,
202-205; of the hagiographa; greater and lesser k'thubhim,
206; Massoretic arrangement; German manuscripts; Je-
rome, 207; the Septuagint; varied enumeration, 208, 209.
TREATISES CONSULTED ON THE
CANON
THESE treatises are arranged in the order of their
publication, that their position in the discussion may be
seen at a glance.
BISHOP Costri: A. Scholastical History of the Canon, 1672.
J. D. MICHAELIS: Review of Oeder's Freye Untersuchung uber
einige Bucher des Alten Testaments, in the Orientalische und
Exegetische Bibliothek, No. 2, 1772.
J. D. MICHAELIS: Review of Semler's Abhandlung von freyer Unter-
suchung des Canon, in the same, No. 3, 1772.
J. D. MICHAELIS: Review of Hornemann's Observationes ad illus-
trationem doctrines de Canone Veteris Testamenti ex Philone, in
the same, No. 9, 1775.
J. G. EICHHORN: Historische Untersuchung uber den Kanon des
Alten Testaments, in the Repertorium fur Biblische und Morgen-
landische Litteratur, No. 5, 1779.
J. G. EICHHORN: Review of Corrodi's Versuch einer Beleuchtung
der Geschichte des Jfidischen und Christlichen Bibel-Kanons, in
the Allgemeine Bibliothek der Biblischen Litteratur, Vol. 4,
1792.
J. G. EICHHORN: Einleitung in das Alte Testament, 3d Ed., 1803;
4th Ed., 1823.
G. L. BAUER: Einleitung in die Schriften des Alten Testaments, 3d
Ed., 1806.
L. BERTHOLDT: Einleitung in das Alte und Neue Testament, 1812.
E. W. HENGSTENBERG: Die Authentie des Daniel, 1831.
H. A. C. HAVERNICK: Einleitung in das Alte Testament, 1836.
J. G. HERBST: Einleitung in das Alte Testament, edited by B.
Welte, 1840.
F. C. MOVERS: Loci quidam Historix Canonis Veteris Testamenti
illustrati, 1842.
MOSES STUART: Critical History and Defence of the Old Testament
Canon, 1845.
xv
xvi TREATISES CONSULTED ON THE CANON
W. M. L. DE WETTE: Einleitung in das Alte Testament, 6th Ed.,
1845; 8th Ed. by E. Schrader, 1869.
L. HERZFELD: Geschichte des Volkes Israel, Vol. I., 1847 ; Vol. III.,
1863.
A. MCCLELLAND: Canon and Interpretation of the Holy Scriptures,
1850.
A. ALEXANDER: The Canon of the Old and New Testaments, 1851.
P. F. KEERL: Die Apokryphen des Alten Testaments, 1852.
K. F. KEIL: Einleitung in das Alte Testament, 1853; 2d Ed. trans-
lated into English by G. C. M. Douglas, 1869.
H. EWALD: Ueber das suchen und finden sogenannter Makka-
baischer Psalmen, in the Jahrbucher der Biblischen Wissen-
schaf t, 1854.
H. EWALD: Ueber die Heiligkeit der Bibel, in the same, 1855.
B. WELTE: Bemerkungen uber die Entstehung des alttest. Canons,
in the Theologische Quartalschrift, 1855.
P. DE JONG: Disquisitio de Psalmis Maccabaicis, 1857.