Canon of the Hebrew Bible vs. Christian Old Testament

Introduction

When you first open a Bible, you’re not simply reading a book. You are entering a library — a collection of writings that were composed, preserved, debated, and finally recognized over centuries. These texts shaped ancient Israel’s identity, nourished the early church, and continue to guide faith communities today. One of the most important — and often overlooked — features of the Bible is the canon: the collection of writings deemed inspired, authoritative, and normative by a faith community.

The term canon comes from a Greek word meaning a “measuring rod” or “standard.” In biblical studies, it refers to the list of books that a particular religious community accepts as divinely inspired Scripture. While the Hebrew Bible (in Jewish tradition) and the Christian Old Testament share the same core biblical books, there are differences in how they are structured, ordered, and in some Christian traditions, what additional writings are included. These differences reflect deep historical processes, theological emphases, and interpretive traditions.

In this article, we’ll explore the canon of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and the canon of the Christian Old Testament. We’ll trace origins, examine differences, and consider interpretative implications. By the end, you should see how something as simple as the order of books can profoundly shape how Scripture is read and understood.

The Hebrew Bible: Tanakh

The Hebrew Bible is traditionally divided into three parts: Torah, Neviʾim (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings) (Lim, 2013). Its contents correspond to what Christians call the Old Testament’s core or protocanonical books.

• Torah (Law) – The first five books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. These lay out themes of creation, covenant, Israel’s ancestors, the law, and identity (Lim, 2013).

• Neviʾim (Prophets) – Split into two sub-sections: the Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings) and the Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor Prophets). These books narrate Israel’s history in the land, the role of leadership, and God’s prophetic word calling Israel back to covenant faithfulness (Lim, 2013).

• Ketuvim (Writings) – A more diverse grouping: poetry (Psalms, Proverbs, Job), narrative / history (Ruth, Esther, Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles), philosophical / reflections (Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs), and others. These reflect wisdom, worship, lament, and Israel’s reflections on life with God through all its ups and downs (Lim, 2013).

Historical Development of the Hebrew Canon

Scholarly research indicates that the Hebrew canon did not emerge fully formed at once. Instead, it developed gradually. According to Timothy H. Lim (2013), there was a plurality of authoritative writings recognized by different Jewish communities during the post-exilic period, not a single official canon universally accepted until the Rabbinic period (Lim, 2013).

The Torah appears to have been authoritative early, perhaps in the Persian period (~5th century BCE). The Prophets came to recognition in subsequent centuries. The Writings (Ketuvim) seem to have been most fluid — some books like Ecclesiastes or Song of Songs were debated for longer. Lim argues, based on evidence including the Dead Sea Scrolls and writings such as the Letter of Aristeas, that by about the end of the first century CE, there was a majority canon in Judaism: a mostly agreed-upon set of books, even if some disagreements lingered (Lim, 2013).

Josephus (first century CE) provides early external testimony: in Against Apion, he refers to twenty-two or twenty-four books (counting some groups combined) divided into three parts: the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings (Weiss, as cited in Lim, 2013). Such external testimony helps date how far the canonization process had proceeded by that time (Lim, 2013).

The Christian Old Testament

When Christianity emerged, its early community inherited Jewish sacred writings. But several factors — linguistic, cultural, and theological — influenced how Christians adapted, ordered, and in some traditions added to these Scriptures.

Role of the Septuagint

A key intermediary in the Christian reception of the Hebrew scriptures was the Septuagint (LXX) — a Greek translation of Hebrew scriptures made in the Hellenistic period (3rd-2nd centuries BCE). For many Greek-speaking Jews and early Christians, the Septuagint was their Scripture (Lim, 2013). It included not only what later became the Hebrew Bible books, but also additional works (written in Hebrew or Aramaic, or translated into Greek) which some Christian traditions later classified as deuterocanonical or Apocrypha (Gallagher & Meade, 2019).

The Septuagint’s wording is often quoted in the New Testament — sometimes instead of the Hebrew text — which shows its early status among Christian communities (Lim, 2013).

Christian Canon Lists and Order

Early Christian writers and church councils produced lists of canonical books. Edmon L. Gallagher & John D. Meade (2019) in The Biblical Canon Lists from Early Christianity offer a detailed examination of how Christian lists from the second through fourth centuries reflect variation in order, inclusion, and grouping of Old Testament books. These lists show that Christian canons generally include the Hebrew Bible’s protocanonical books but differ in order, and in some traditions also include the deuterocanonical books (Gallagher & Meade, 2019).

A typical Christian Old Testament order in many traditions is:

1. Pentateuch (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

2. Historical Books (Joshua–Esther)

3. Poetry / Wisdom (Job–Song of Songs)

4. Prophets (Isaiah–Malachi)

This order while not universal in earliest Christian canon lists, became normative in most Western Christian Bibles. The arrangement reflects theological concerns: placing prophetic books at the end emphasizes anticipation of divine fulfillment (Christ) and prophetic hope (Gallagher & Meade, 2019; Lim, 2013).

Key Differences Between the Two Canons

Here are some of the major points of contrast between the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and the Christian Old Testament:

The Apocrypha / Deuterocanonical Books

Some Christian traditions include books not found in the Hebrew canon. These are often called the Apocrypha in Protestant contexts, or Deuterocanonical in Catholic and Orthodox. Examples include Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Baruch, and additions to Esther and Daniel.

Scholarly work (e.g., Gallagher & Meade, 2019) shows that many of these books were present in the Septuagint and used by early Christians, even before the canon was formally closed. But themselves, these books were often debated: which ones belonged, in what order, and with what level of authority (Gallagher & Meade, 2019; Lim, 2013).

Canon and Interpretation

Why do these structural and canonical differences matter?

• Context shapes reading. When a Christian opens a Bible and reads Malachi or Isaiah at the end of the Old Testament, they are encountering prophetic books that are ordered to anticipate something more to come. In contrast, a Jewish reader ends the Tanakh with Chronicles, which reflects a theological posture of covenant continuity and remembering the past.

• Authority and theological meaning. The inclusion/exclusion of certain books (like deuterocanonical books) affects doctrines, usage in liturgy, and theological reflection. For example, teachings drawn from Wisdom of Solomon or Sirach will weigh differently in communities that accept them as Scripture than in those that do not.

• Interpretative lenses. Because Christians have the New Testament as part of Scripture, many Christian readings of the Old Testament understand fulfillment, typology, or prophecy in light of Christ. Jewish interpretation does not presuppose that lens; their reading often focuses more on obedience, covenant, law, wisdom, covenant ethics, and messanic expectation in different terms.

Scholarly Perspectives & Debates

• Canonical closure. Scholars debate when exactly the Hebrew canon was fixed. Lim (2013) argues that a consensus had arisen by the end of the first century CE among mainstream Jewish communities, though recognition of some books (especially within the Writings) remained disputed for some time.

• Multiplicity of canonities. In the early stages, different Jewish and Christian groups had different collections of authoritative writings. The evidence of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Sirach, Philo, Josephus, and early Christian lists shows variation (Lim, 2013; Gallagher & Meade, 2019).

• Influence of translation and language. The Septuagint, with its Greek translation and additional books, played a big part in shaping Christian understanding of what counts as Scripture (Lim, 2013). Jerome’s preferences, Christian usage, and church councils (such as those at Hippo, Carthage, Trent) influenced which books were universally recognized in Christian traditions (Gallagher & Meade, 2019).

Conclusion

At first glance, the difference between the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament may seem like a matter of order or a few extra books. But when we dig deeper, we see that canon is never just about listing books — it’s about identity, authority, theology, and how faith communities see God’s story.

• The Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) emphasizes covenant, law, prophecy, worship, and Israel’s continuing identity. It ends with a remembrance (Chronicles), calling God’s people to remember, repent, remain faithful.

• The Christian Old Testament maintains much of that heritage but reorders it in light of the belief that God’s story leads to Christ. The placement of prophetic writings at the end often frames the Old Testament as leading forward into fulfillment.

By understanding these canons — their history, structure, theological logic — you gain not just historical knowledge, but insight into how the Bible functions as Scripture in different communities. As you work through this course, think about how structure shapes meaning, and how recognizing those structures helps you interpret well.

Competency Goal

By the end of this study, you should be able to:

• Describe the tripartite structure of the Hebrew Bible (Torah, Prophets, Writings) (Lim, 2013).

• Outline the structure/order of the Christian Old Testament, including how and why it differs (Gallagher & Meade, 2019; Lim, 2013).

• Explain how the ordering reflects theological emphases in Judaism (covenant, identity, worship) and Christianity (prophetic fulfillment, Christological anticipation).

• Recognize the role of the Septuagint and the debates over the Apocrypha/Deuterocanonical books (Gallagher & Meade, 2019).

• Articulate how canon shape influences interpretation of biblical text (Lim, 2013).

References

Gallagher, E. L., & Meade, J. D. (2019). The Biblical Canon Lists from Early Christianity: Texts and Analysis. Oxford University Press.

Lim, T. H. (2013). The Formation of the Jewish Canon. Yale University Press.