JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

ible
THE CANON, TEXT, AND EDITIONS
canon
General Titles
There is no single designation common to all Jews and employed
in all periods by which the Jewish Scriptures have been
known. The earliest and most diffused Hebrew term was Ha-
Sefarim (“The Books”). Its antiquity is supported by its use in
Daniel in reference to the prophets (Dan. 9:2). This is how the
sacred writings are frequently referred to in tannaitic literature
(Meg. 1:8; MK 3:4; Git. 4:6; Kelim 15:6; et al.). The Greekspeaking
Jews adopted this usage and translated it into their
vernacular as τἁ βιβλία. The earliest record of such is the Letter
of *Aristeas (mid-second century B.C.E.) which uses the singular
form (v. 316, ὲν τῇ βίβλε) for the Pentateuch. The translator
of The Wisdom of *Ben Sira into Greek (c. 132 B.C.E.)
similarly employs “The Books” to designate the entire Scriptures
(Ecclus., prologue, v. 25 “καὶ τἁ λοιπἁ τῶν βιβλίων”). It is
from this Hellenistic Jewish usage of τἁ βιβλία, which entered
European languages through its Latin form, that the English
“Bible” is derived.
The term Sifrei ha-Kodesh (Sifre ha-Qodesh; “Holy
Books”), although not found in Hebrew literature before the
Middle Ages, seems to have been used occasionally by Jews
even in pre-Christian times. The author of I Maccabees (12:9),
who certainly wrote in Hebrew (c. 136–135 B.C.E.), speaks of
“the Holy Books”. In the early first century C.E., the Greek
writer of II Maccabees 8:23 mentions “the Holy Book” (…
τὴν ὶερἁν βίβλον) and toward the end of that century, both
Josephus (Ant., 20:261) and Pope Clement I (First Epistle,
43:1) refer to “the Holy Books” (αὶ ὶεραὶ βὶβλοι). The appelation
is rare, however, since the increasing restriction of sefer
in rabbinic Hebrew to sacred literature rendered superfluous
any further description. On the other hand, Kitvei ha-Kodesh
(Kitve ha-Qodesh; “Holy Writings”), is fairly common in tannaitic
sources as a designation for the Scriptures (Shab. 16:1;
Er. 10:3; Yad. 3:2, 5; 4:6; BB 1:6; Par. 10:3). Here the definition is
required since the Hebrew בתכ (ktb) did not develop a specialized
meaning and was equally employed for secular writing
(cf. Tosef., Yom Tov 4:4). The title “Holy Writings” was also
current in Jewish Hellenistic and in Christian circles, appearing
in Greek as αὶ ὶεραὶ γραφαὶ (Philo, Fug. 1:4; Clement’s First
Epistle 45:2; 53:1), as τἁ ἱερἁ γράμματα (Philo, Mos. 2:290, 292;
Jos., Ant., 1:13; 10:210; et al.). Closely allied to the preceding is
the title Ha-Katuv (“The Scripture”; Pe’ah 8:9; Ta’an. 3:8; Sanh.
4:5; Avot 3:7, 8, et al.) and the plural Ha-Ketuvim (“The Scriptures”;
Yad. 3:5 et al.). These, too, were taken over by the Jews
of Alexandria in the Greek equivalent, probably the earliest
such example being the Letter of Aristeas (vv. 155, 168, διἁ τῆς
γραΦῆς). This term was borrowed by the early Christians (ὴ
γραΦή John 2:22; Acts 8:32; II Tim 3:16 et al.; αὶ γραφαί Mark
12:24; I Cor. 15:34 et al.; τἁ γράμματα John 5:47).
These uses of the Hebrew root ktb (“to write”) to specify
the Scriptures have special significance, for they lay emphasis
on the written nature of the text in contradistinction to the
oral form in which the rabbinic teachings were transmitted. In
the same way, Mikra (Miqraʾ; lit. “reading”), another term for
the Bible current among the rabbis, serves to underline both
the vocal manner of study and the central role that the public
reading of the Scriptures played in the liturgy of the Jews. The
designation is found in tannaitic sources (Ned. 4:3; Avot 5:21;
TJ, Ta’an, 4:2, 68a), but it may be much older, as Nehemiah 8:8
suggests. It is of interest that Miqraʾ as the Hebrew for “Bible”
achieved wide popularity among Jews in the Middle Ages The
acronym ך״נת (TaNaKh), derived from the initial letters of the
names of the three divisions of the Bible (Torah, Neviʾim, Ketuvim),
became similarly popular.
Still another expression for the Scriptures is *Torah,
used in the widest sense of the term as the revelation of religion.
While it is only occasionally so employed for the Bible
in rabbinic literature (cf. MK 5a with respect to Ezek. 39:15;
Sanh. 91b citing Ps. 84:5; PR 3:9, in reference to Eccles. 12:12),
the fact that νóμος, the Greek rendering of Torah, is found in
the New Testament in the same way (John 10:34, quoting Ps.
82:6) indicates that it may once have been in more common
use among Jews.
Thoroughly Christian is the characterization “Old Testament”
(i.e., Covenant; II Cor, 3:14; cf. Heb. 9:15–18). This
term is used to distinguish the Jewish Bible from the “New
Testament” (i.e., Covenant; I Cor. 11:25; II Cor. 3:6; Christian
interpretation of Jeremiah 31:30–32). At the same time, it is
possible that the designation “Testament” (i.e., “Covenant,”
Gr.: διαθήκη) may have been a reflection of an extended use
among Jews of the Hebrew berit (“covenant”) or Sefer ha-Berit
(“Book of the Covenant”; Ex. 24:7; II Kings 23:2, 21). Jeremiah
(31:30–32) himself uses “covenant” and “Torah” synonymously,
and the “Book of the Torah” found in the Temple (II Kings
22:8, 10) is alternatively styled the “Book of the Covenant”
(ibid. 23:2, 21). The Wisdom of Ben Sira (24:23) actually uses
the latter term βιβλως διαθήκης) parallel with Torah (νóμος),
and a similar usage is found in I Maccabees 1:56–57.
[Nahum M. Sarna]
The Canon
The term as applied to the Bible designates specifically the
closed nature of the corpus of sacred literature accepted as
authoritative because it is believed to be divinely revealed.
The history of the word helps to explain its usage. “Canon”
derives ultimately from an old Semitic word with the meaning
of “reed” or “cane” (Heb. הנק), later used for “a measuring
rod” (cf. Ezek. 40:5), both of which senses passed into Greek
(κάννα, κανών). Metaphorically, it came to be used as a rule or
standard of excellence and was so applied by the Alexandrian
grammarians to the Old Greek classics. In the second century,
κανών had come to be used in Christian circles in the sense of
“rule of faith.” It was the Church Fathers of the fourth century
C.E. who first applied “canon” to the sacred Scriptures.
No exact equivalent of this term is to be found in Jewish
sources although the phrase Sefarim Ḥiẓonim (“external
books”; Sanh. 10:1), i.e., uncanonical, is certainly its negative
574 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 3