Preservation of the Old Testament

THE THREE STEPS

The principles operative in the historical process of canonization are three: (1) inspiration by God; (2) recognition by men of God; and (3) collection and preservation of the books by the people of God.

Inspiration by God: God took the first step in canonization when He inspired the books. Thus, the simple answer to the question as to why there are only thirty-nine books in the Old Testament canon is that those are all that God inspired. Obviously, if God did not inspire and thus give divine authority to a book, no council of men could ever do it.

Recognition by men of God: Once God gave a book its authority, men of God assented to that authority by their recognition of it as a prophetic utterance. There is every reason to believe that this recognition followed immediately upon the publication of the message. As Edward J. Young states, “There is no evidence that these particular books existed among the ancient Jews for many years before they were recognized as canonical. Indeed, if a book was actually revealed by God, is it conceivable that such a book would circulate for many years before anyone recognized its true nature?”1 The evidence, in fact, is to the contrary. Moses’ writings were received in his day (Ex. 24:3; Jos. 1:8). Joshua’s book was added to the canon immediately (Josh. 24:26). Daniel, a contemporary of Jeremiah, had received the latter’s book along with “the books” (Dan. 9:2).

Collection and preservation by the people of God: Moses’ books were collected and preserved beside the Ark (Deut. 31:26). “Samuel told the people the ordinances of the kingdom, and wrote them in the book and placed it before the Lord” (1 Sam. 10:25). Daniel had a collection of “the books,” and there is every indication throughout the Old Testament that prophetic writings were collected as soon as they were written. During Josiah’s day, the “law of Moses” was “found in the house of the Lord” (2 Kings 23:24–25), where it had been stored. Proverbs 25:1 notes that “these … are the proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, transcribed.” Ezra the priest had preserved a copy of “the law of Moses” that he brought with him out of Babylon after the captivity (Ezra 7:6). Therefore, inspiration produced the canonical books, and subsequent recognition and collection preserved them for posterity.

1 Edward J. Young, “The Canon of the Old Testament,” in Carl F. H. Henry, ed., Revelation and the Bible, p. 163.

Geisler, Norman L., and William E. Nix. 1986. A General Introduction to the Bible. Rev. and expanded. Chicago: Moody Press.