Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- 1 Political, social, and economic life in the Land of Israel, 66–c. 235
- 2 The Diaspora from 66 to c. 235 ce
- 3 The uprisings in the Jewish Diaspora, 116–117
- 4 The Bar Kochba Revolt, 132–135
- 5 The legal status of the Jews in the Roman Empire
- 6 Jewish art and architecture in the Land of Israel, 70–C. 235
- 7 The destruction of the Jerusalem Temple: its meaning and its consequences
- 8 The origins and development of the rabbinic movement in the Land of Israel
- 9 The canonical process
- 10 The beginnings of Christian anti-Judaism, 70–C. 235
- 11 The rabbinic response to Christianity
- 12 The Mishnah
- 13 The Tosefta
- 14 Midrash Halachah
- 15 Mishnaic Hebrew: an introductory survey
- 16 The political and social history of the Jewish community in the Land of Israel, C. 235–638
- 17 The material realities of Jewish life in the Land of Israel, C. 235–638
- 18 Aramaic in late antiquity
- 19 The Diaspora, C. 235–638
- 20 Jewish archaeology in late antiquity: art, architecture, and inscriptions
- 21 Jewish festivals in late antiquity
- 22 Rabbinic prayer in late antiquity
- 23 Rabbinic views on marriage, sexuality, and the family
- 24 Women in Jewish life and law
- 25 Gentiles in rabbinic thought
- 26 The formation and character of the Jerusalem Talmud
- 27 The late midrashic, paytanic, and targumic literature
- 28 Jewish magic in late antiquity
- 29 Jewish folk literature in late antiquity
- 30 Early forms of Jewish mysticism
- 31 The Political, Social, and Economic History of Babylonian Jewry, 224–638 CE
- 32 The history of the Babylonian academies
- 33 The formation and character of the Babylonian Talmud
- 34 Talmudic law: a jurisprudential perspective
- 35 Torah in rabbinic thought: the theology of learning
- 36 Man, sin, and redemption in Rabbinic Judaism
- 37 The rabbinic theology of the physical: blessings, body and soul, resurrection, and covenant and election
- 38 Christian anti-Judaism: polemics and policies
- 39 Jews in Byzantium
- 40 Messianism and apocalypticism in rabbinic texts
- Appendix Justinian and the revision of Jewish legal status
- Index
- Map A The Roman world in the time of Marcus Aurelius
- References
9 - The canonical process
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 March 2008
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Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- 1 Political, social, and economic life in the Land of Israel, 66–c. 235
- 2 The Diaspora from 66 to c. 235 ce
- 3 The uprisings in the Jewish Diaspora, 116–117
- 4 The Bar Kochba Revolt, 132–135
- 5 The legal status of the Jews in the Roman Empire
- 6 Jewish art and architecture in the Land of Israel, 70–C. 235
- 7 The destruction of the Jerusalem Temple: its meaning and its consequences
- 8 The origins and development of the rabbinic movement in the Land of Israel
- 9 The canonical process
- 10 The beginnings of Christian anti-Judaism, 70–C. 235
- 11 The rabbinic response to Christianity
- 12 The Mishnah
- 13 The Tosefta
- 14 Midrash Halachah
- 15 Mishnaic Hebrew: an introductory survey
- 16 The political and social history of the Jewish community in the Land of Israel, C. 235–638
- 17 The material realities of Jewish life in the Land of Israel, C. 235–638
- 18 Aramaic in late antiquity
- 19 The Diaspora, C. 235–638
- 20 Jewish archaeology in late antiquity: art, architecture, and inscriptions
- 21 Jewish festivals in late antiquity
- 22 Rabbinic prayer in late antiquity
- 23 Rabbinic views on marriage, sexuality, and the family
- 24 Women in Jewish life and law
- 25 Gentiles in rabbinic thought
- 26 The formation and character of the Jerusalem Talmud
- 27 The late midrashic, paytanic, and targumic literature
- 28 Jewish magic in late antiquity
- 29 Jewish folk literature in late antiquity
- 30 Early forms of Jewish mysticism
- 31 The Political, Social, and Economic History of Babylonian Jewry, 224–638 CE
- 32 The history of the Babylonian academies
- 33 The formation and character of the Babylonian Talmud
- 34 Talmudic law: a jurisprudential perspective
- 35 Torah in rabbinic thought: the theology of learning
- 36 Man, sin, and redemption in Rabbinic Judaism
- 37 The rabbinic theology of the physical: blessings, body and soul, resurrection, and covenant and election
- 38 Christian anti-Judaism: polemics and policies
- 39 Jews in Byzantium
- 40 Messianism and apocalypticism in rabbinic texts
- Appendix Justinian and the revision of Jewish legal status
- Index
- Map A The Roman world in the time of Marcus Aurelius
- References
Summary
THE IDEA OF CANONIZATION
At some point during the early history of rabbinic Judaism there emerged a tripartite Hebrew Bible known by the Hebrew acronym TaNak, which stands for Torah, Neviim, Ketuvim, that is, Pentateuch, Prophets, Writings. This was similar to but different from the first testament of the double-testament Greek Bibles being used at the same time in Christian communities throughout the Graeco-Roman world. The exact date is difficult to determine; however, thanks to the recovery of the Judaean Desert Scrolls since the mid-twentieth century, the process that led to the stabilization of the tripartite Jewish canon into a certain number of books in a certain order is now clearer.
Before a study of the Scrolls began to have an effect on the understanding of the history of the formation of the TaNak, general agreement prevailed from the beginning of the twentieth century until its fourth quarter, stemming from work completed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries showing that the Torah was “canonized” by approximately 400 bce and the Prophets by approximately 200 bce, and that the Writings were canonized by a council of rabbis meeting in the Palestinian coastal town of Yavneh (Jamnia) toward the end of the first century ce. This view emerged because of the perspectives demanded in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by the developing critical methods of studying the history of the Bible’s formation in the West. That history, whether seen as beginning with ancient documents or with oral traditions, had to have an end; with “the Bible” in hand, it would help explain why this and not other literature was included in “the canon,” which only the final product could be called.
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- The Cambridge History of Judaism , pp. 230 - 243Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006
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