Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Yigal Levin <Yigal.Levin AT biu.ac.il>]

Even if all of what you write below is historically accurate, nothing in
what you quote proves that there was a "Council of Yamnia/Yavine". "Google;
Hebrew Canon; Council of Jamina" is hardly a source, but in any case, most
of the sites that I get when Googling "Hebrew Canon; Council of Jamnia"
actually admit that the current view in scholarship is that there was no
such "council". 

The fact that most of those who denied that there was such a council are
Jews may even also be correct. Although Heinrich Graetz, who came up with
the hypothesis in the first place, was also Jewish, the idea of "ecumenical
councils" gathering a debating points of doctrine is uniquely Christian, and
seems out-of-place in a Jewish setting. So the "myth" was very popular in
early-to-mid 20th century academic scholarship, which was largely
Christian-dominated. As more Jews entered the field and encountered this
myth, they realized that it did not fit the sources, and began to question
it. Today the vast majority of academic scholars will admit that there
really is no evidence of this "council".

This is not to say that there was not a debate over the number of books
which went on for centuries. I wrote so in my previous post. What's your
point?

Yigal Levin

-----Original Message-----
From: b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Sidney
Sent: Friday, May 06, 2011 6:10 AM
To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [b-hebrew] Hebrew Canon

Sidney Williams

Re: [b-hebrew] Fake words (Yigal Levin)

(2) There is absolutely no evidence that there ever was a "Council" of
Yamnia/Yavine" in the late first century CE.  This is a myth ."

See: Google; Hebrew Canon; Council of Jamina.  The denyiers are in the
majority and are almost Jews.  The proponents have a more logical argument.
History has recorded under many subjects, "A meeting between Jews of
Alexandria and Palestine over whether there are 22 or 24 books of Hebrew.  

"The reader will observe here that Josephus here reckons but 22 inspired
books" - Reason and Revelation 1868, Robert Milligan, page 156.  
5 Books = Law.
13 Books = Prophets.
6 Books = Psalms (From Iesous - Luke 24.44.  NOTE: Books numbered by letter
of the alphabet, with three "Yods" (Ys), producing 24 Books.

24 Books of Old Testament

1) Reason and Revelation, 1868, Robert Milligan, page 157:

"The reader will observe that Josephus here reckons but 22 inspired books.
... The reason for this enumeration is because there are but 22 letters in
the Hebrew alphabet.  

"According to this classification, Judges and Ruth make but one book; the 2
books of Samuel, 2 of Kings, and 2 of Chronicles, made but three in all;
Ezra and Nehemiah are one, Jeremiah and Lamentations are one, and the 12
Minor Prophets, are but one.

Some of the Jewish doctors, however, as in the Talmud, and the Massorah,
separate Judges and Ruth, and Jeremiah and Lamentations, and thus make in
all 24 sacred books."

2) Canon of Scripture, 1988, F.F.Bruce, page 19.

"For the Jews 'the book' is the Hebrew Bible, comprising the Law, the
Prophets and the Writings.  
        Compare: "And He said to them, 'These the words which I spoke to you
... for it is necessary to be fulfilled all the [things] having been written
in the Law of Moses and Prophets and Songs (Psalms) concerning Me" (Lk
24.44).

"The books of the Hebrew Bible are traditionally 24 in number, arranged in
three divisions.  The first division is the Torah ('law' or 'direction'),
comprising 5 books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
Deuteronomy).  The second division is (Hebrew): it is further subdivided
into the four Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings) and the four
Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Book of the 12
Prophets).  The third division is called (Hebrew) 'writings': it comprises
11 books.  First come the Psalms, Proverbs and Job; then a group of 5 called
(Hebrew) scrolls (Song of Songs. Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther);
finally, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah (reckoned as one book), Chronicles.  This is
the arrangement regularly followed in printed editions of the Hebrew Bible";
page 29.
NOTE: This was the Jews' opinion.  But Song of Songs and Esther contain not
one of the many names of the Gods, and so, they are obviously spurious
writings.  Esther is unrealistic Jewish propaganda and Dong of Songs is
pornography, obsessed with the naked female body.

3) 24 Elders (Rev 4.4), Named by Sid Williams, 1997, Exhaustive Commentary
on Revelation:

        1) Job (1585-??)                9) Hosea (807-727)
17) Daniel (599-520)
        2) Moses (1626-1585)               10) Isaiah (758-698)
18) Ezekiel (594-574)
        3) Joshua (1594-1560)              11) Micah (755-698)
19) Obadiah (587)
        4) Samuel (1110-1070)              12) Zephaniah (640-610)
20) Haggai (519)
        5) David (1050-1010)               13) Joel (713)
21) Zechariah (519-517)
        6) Solomon (1009-970)            14) Nahum (612)
22) Ezra (480-479)
        7) Jonah (822)                     15) Habakkuk (606)
23) Nehemiah (455-443)
        8) Amos (807-782)                  16) Jeremiah (611-569)
24) Malachi (440)

NOTE: The 24 Elders casting their crowns before the throne [in Third Heaven,
in AD 77 - Revelation 4.10] was the "canonizing" of the Hebrew Scripture.

Sidney Williams 



 







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