Early Judaism- A Comprehensive Overview

the specific books in the canon and at best inconclusive evidence for any-

thing beyond “the Law and the Prophets.” The Prologue to Ben Sira is

clearest with “the Law and the Prophets and the other books of our ances-

tors” (8–10; cf. 1–2, 24–25). But this could mean either a tripartite or a bi-

partite collection: either (1) the Law, (2) the Prophets, and (3) the Writings;

or (1) the Scriptures (i.e., the Law and the Prophets) and (2) other impor-

tant religious literature helpful toward instruction and wisdom (like Ben

Sira itself ). Whereas both the bipartite and the tripartite (albeit quite

vague for the third category) positions are defensible, in contrast, the oft-

cited reference to a tripartite canon in 4QMMT C10 (“in the book of Mo-

ses [and] in the book[s of the P]rophets and in Dav[id.. .]”) requires

serious scrutiny. The DJD editors’ interpretation as an attestation of a tri-

partite canon is highly dubious on at least five levels: questionable place-

ment of a fragment (4QMMTdfrg. 17), paleographic transcription of sev-

eral letters, reconstruction of the composite text in light of disagreements

between the manuscripts, awkward syntax, and the content denoted by the

last phrase (wbd??[ ]). That is, two of the three sections, “the book[s of ]”

the Prophets, and “David,” may well disappear from the alleged tripartite

reference. Appeals to other biblical references — such as in Ben Sira’s own

work and 1 and 2 Maccabees — are likewise unpersuasive, unless one takes

a maximalist approach in which mere knowledge of or allusive mention of

a book means that it, or even its entire category of books, was already con-

sidered canonical. Only toward the end of the first centuryc.e.does

Josephus write of an exclusive twenty-two-book collection, and4 Ezra

mentions a set of twenty-four books for the public alongside seventy to be

distributed among the wise. Thus, the absence of any clear mention of a

tripartite collection of Scriptures prior to the late first centuryc.e.weighs

in favor of a bipartite collection envisioned in the Prologue to Ben Sira.

Terminological Distinctions

For clarity and to avoid maximalist overinterpretation, it is essential to dis-

tinguish between terms or realities that are closely associated with the con-

cept of canon but are not identical with it. Anauthoritativework is one

which a group, whether secular or religious, recognizes and accepts as de-

terminative for its conduct, and as of a higher order than can be overrid-

den by the power or will of the group or any member. An example would

be a constitution or law code. A book ofScriptureis a sacred authoritative

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eugene ulrich

EERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
Tuesday, October 09, 2012 12:03:58 PM