THE GALILEAN CANON OF THE TALMIDI MIQRA (BIBLE)

Background

In the late Second Temple Period (the 1st century CE), the various Jewish sects that existed at the time, differed in the books which they considered worthy to be part of the Hebrew canon of scripture. For example, the Sadducees (the aristocratic, priestly sect) only considered the five books of the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) to be their bible. On the other extreme, various Essene sects had literally tens of dozens of books which they considered scripture, in addition to the ones we have today.

However, for most ordinary Jews, there was a basic core of books which they considered sacred canon. Yet even within this core, the order seemed to differ according to where you lived. For example, rabbis in Babylon differed in their book order from those living in Egypt.

For a very long time, probably since the return of Jews to Judea after the Babylonian Exile, the first 13 books (up to the one which breaks down into the 12 books of the minor prophets) were held as canonical. This is attested by the fact that the haftarot which accompany the Torah portions in the 3-year reading cycle – which itself was put together shortly after the Babylonian exile – does not contain readings from any book outside of these 13. The present canon of the Hebrew bible (known in the Rabbanite community as the Tanakh) was decided upon by Pharisaic elders at the Council of Yavneh around the year 90 CE.

In the ‘Ascents of James’, Jacob the Pious debates with the High Priest what books should be acknowledged and referenced as part of their debate – this was obviously pre-Yavneh. In deciding what to consider the canon that we as Talmidis would use, the question was: what was the order that Yeshua`, as a Galilean, would have known?

The next best-known Galilean of the 1st century CE was Josephus. In his book, Against Apion (book 1, passage 8), he writes that there were 22 books in the bible he knew:

“and of them five belong to Moses; the Prophets, who were after Moses, wrote down what was done in their times in thirteen books, and the remaining four books contain hymns to God, and precepts for the conduct of human life”.

Why the Book of Esther was not included in the ancient Galilean Canon

Some historical, Galilean-Judean sources suggest that bibles used in the land of Israel may not have included the Book of Esther. Very few copies of the Book of Esther have been found in the Land of Israel, in contrast to the wealth of copies of other books. However, most copies that do exist are found in areas where the Babylonian Jewish community dwelt. Purim is therefore considered a “local” Jewish folk festival, not a national one (like Chanukkah), or a biblical one (like Passover or Sukkot). It appears in the Babylonian Jewish bibles, where the scroll of Esther originated, but hardly in any Galilean-Judean ones.

The order of books that Josephus knew

Here then is the order that Josephus probably knew, which make up the 22 he spoke of:

       The Torah
1. Genesis

2. Exodus

3. Leviticus
4. Numbers
5. Deuteronomy

       The Prophets
6. Joshua
7. Judges
8. Samuel [a]
9. Kings [b]
10. Isaiah
11. Jeremiah
12. Ezekiel
13. The Twelve [c]
14. Job
15. Ruth
16. Lamentations
17. Daniel
18. Chronicles [d]

         The Writings
19. Psalms
20. Song of Songs
21. Proverbs
22. Ecclesiastes

The Galilean Canon of the Talmidi Miqra
We have kept this basic order. The only difference is, that we have re-arranged the order of the last four books, so that the two books of sayings come first, and the Book of Psalms is placed last. In this way, the very last lines of the Talmidi Miqra (bible) become a psalm of praise to YHVH:

“Praise YHVH. Praise God in the Sanctuary;

       praise God in the dome of the sky, God’s splendid work.
Praise God for such mighty deeds;

       praise God for such exceeding greatness.
Praise God with the sounding of the horn,

       praise God with the harp and lyre,

Praise God with tambourine and dancing,

      praise God with the strings and flute.
Praise God with the clash of cymbals,

       praise God with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise YHVH!

       Praise Yahh!” 

 

          The Torah
1. Genesis

2. Exodus

3. Leviticus
4. Numbers
5. Deuteronomy

          The Prophets
6. Joshua
7. Judges
8. Samuel (1 Samuel and 2 Samuel)
9. Kings (1 Kings and 2 Kings)
10. Isaiah
11. Jeremiah
12. Ezekiel
13. The Twelve

• Hosea
• Yoel
• `Amos
• `Ovadiah
• Yonah
• Mikhah
• Nahum
• Havaqquq
• Tzefaniah
• Haggai
• Zekhariah
• Malakhi

14. Job
15. Ruth
16. Lamentations
17. Daniel
18. Chronicles (1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah)

          The Writings
19. Proverbs
20. Ecclesiastes
21. Song of Songs
22. Psalms

Notes
a. now split into 1 Samuel & 2 Samuel
b. now split into 1 Kings & 2 Kings
c. consisting of Hosea, Yo’el, `Amos, `Ovadyah, Yonah, Mikhah, Nahum, Havaqquq, Zefanyah, Haggai, Zekharyah, Malakhi
d. now split up into 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah

written by Benny Thomson and Shmu’eyl Nappach