as to the time from the death of Moses till the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, the prophets who were after Moses wrote down what was done in their times in thirteen books. The remaining four books contain hymns to God and precepts for the conduct of human life. It is true our history has been written since Artaxerxes very particularly, but has not been esteemed of the like authority with the former by our forefathers, because there has not been an exact succession of prophets since that time : and how firmly we have given credit to these books of our own nation is evident by what we do ; for during so many ages as have already passed, no one has been so bold as either to add anything to them, to take anything from them, or to make any change in them ; but it has become natural to all Jews immediately and from their very birth, to esteem these books to contain divine doctrines, and to persist in them, and, if occasion be, willingly to die for them."[1] This list agrees with our present canon, showing that the Palestinian Jews were tolerably unanimous as to the extent of
the collection. The thirteen prophets include Job ; the four lyric and moral books are Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Canticles.The canon, however, was not considered to be closed in the 1st century before and the 1st after Christ. There were doubts about some portions. The book of Ezekiel gave offence, because some of its statements seemed to contradict the law. Doubts about others were of a more serious nature, about Ecclesiastes, the Canticles, Esther, and the Proverbs. The first was impugned because it had contradictory passages and a heretical tendency; the second, because of its worldly and sensual tone ; Esther for its want of religiousness ; and Proverbs on account of incon sistencies. This scepticism went far to procure the exclu sion of the suspected works from the canon, and their rele gation to the class of the genuzim.[2] But it did not prevail. Hananiah, son of Hezekiah, son of Garon, about 32 B.C., is said to have reconciled the contradictions and allayed the doubts.[3] But these traces of resistance to the fixity of the canon were not the last. They reappeared about 65 A.D., as we learn from the Talmud,[4] when the contro versy turned mainly upon the canonicity of Ecclesiastes, which the school of Shammai, who had the majority, op posed ; so that the book was probably excluded.[5] The question emerged again at a later synod at Jabneh or Jam- nia, when R. Eleaser ben Asaria was chosen patriarch, and Gamaliel the second deposed. Here it was decided, not unanimously, however, but by a majority of Hillelites, that Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs " pollute the hands," i.e., belong properly to the Hagiographa. This was about 90 A.D.[6] Thus the question of the canonicity of certain books was discussed at two synods. The canon was vir tually settled at Jamnia, where was confirmed what R. Akiba said of the Canticles in his usual extravagant way: "No day in the whole history of the world is of so much worth as the one in which the Song of Songs was given to Israel ; for all the Scriptures are holy ; but the Song of Songs is most holy."[7] As the H agiographa were not read in public, with the exception of Esther, opinions of the Jewish rab bins might still differ about Canticles and Ecclesiastes, even after the synod at Jamnia.
Jewish literature began to degenerate after the captivity, and it continued to do so. It leant upon the past more and more, having an external and formal character with little of the living soul. The independence of their reli gious literature disappeared with the national independence of the Jews ; and the genius of the people was too exclu sive to receive much expansion from the spirit of nations with whom they came in contact. In such circumstances, amid the general consciousness of present misfortune, which the hope of a brighter future could not dispel, and regretful retrospects of the past tinged with ideal splendour, the exact time of drawing a line between books that might be included in the third division of the canon must have been arbitrary. In the absence of a normal principle to deter mine selection, the productions were arbitrarily separ ated. Not that they were badly adjusted. On the con trary, the canon as -a whole was wisely settled. Yet the critical spirit of learned Jews in the future could not be extinguished by anticipation. The canon was not really settled for all time by a synodical gathering at Jamnia ; for Sirach was added to the Hagiographa by some rabbins about the beginning of the 4th century ;[8] while Barudi circulated long in Hebrew, and was publicly read on the day of atonement in the 3d century according to the apostolic constitutions.[9] These two books were in high re pute for a considerable time, possessing a kind of canonical credit even among the learned Jews of Palestine. Bab, Jochanan, Elasar, Babba bar Mare, occasionally refer to Sirach in the way in which the c tubim were quoted ; the writer of Daniel used Baruch ; and the translator of Jere miah put it into Greek.
With the formation of the canon we may now connect the labours of the Great Synagogue, so far as Jewish autho rities present credible information regarding it. The Tal- mudic and other accounts are legendary in part, and also in correct. Little as is known of its members or doings, some idea may be gathered from scattered notices about it as well as from analogy.
Pirke Aboth, about 200 A.D., where it is said that " Moses received the law from Mount Sinai and delivered it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, the elders to the prophets, and the prophets delivered it to the men of the Great Syna gogue. . These last spake three words : Be cautious in pro nouncing judgment ; make many disciples ; put a hedge about the law."[10] In Baba Bathra their Biblical labours are somewhat minutely described : " Moses wrote his book, and the section of Balaam, and Job. Joshua wrote his book and eight verses in the law. Samuel wrote his book and Judges and Buth. David wrote the psalms of the ten elders, <fcc., &c. Jeremiah wrote his book, Kings, and Lamentations. Hezekiah and his colleagues wrote Isaiah, Proverbs, Canticles, and Coheleth. The men of the Great Synagogue wrote Ezekiel, the twelve prophets, Daniel, and Ezra. Ezra wrote his book and the genealogy in Chronicles down to himself,"[11] It is not clear what is meant by "writing" (2H3) in the latter part of the statement. It means composition in the first part, as the context un doubtedly shows ; and that is Rashi s explanation of the verb throughout.[12] Perhaps, however, when used of the Great Synagogue it means no more than edit. That body put into their present form and received into the national library the works specified. Late writers, such as Abar- banel, Abraham ben David, ben Maimun, <fee., record that Ezra was president, and that it consisted of 120 members,
including Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, <fec. ; but the names
- ↑ Contra Apion, i. 8.
- ↑ D^rlj? literally concealed, withdrawn from public use.
- ↑ See Furst s Der Kanon des alien Testaments, u.s.w. pp. 147, 148.
- ↑ Tract. Sabbat., ch. i.
- ↑ Adoyoth, v. 3.
- ↑ See Graetz s Kohtlet, pp. 162, 163.
- ↑ One who said, " Whoever reads such writings as Sirach and the later books loses all part in everlasting life," can have no weight.
- ↑ Zunz s Die gottesdienstlichen Vortraye, pp. 101, 102.
- ↑ v. 20, p. 124, ed. Ueltzen.
- ↑ Chapter i.
- ↑ Fol. 15, 1.
- ↑ See Herzfeld s Geschi hte des Volkes Israel, vol. ii. p. 94.
