How did the Old Testament canon develop across traditions?

The Old Testament forms the first section of the Christian biblical canon and includes the books of the Hebrew Bible, alongside deuterocanonical texts in various Christian traditions. Different denominations recognize varying numbers and arrangements of these books due to historical decisions by religious authorities and councils. While Protestant Bibles generally match the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible divided into 39 books, Catholic and Orthodox canons include additional deuterocanonical writings.

What we know

• The Protestant Old Testament contains the same books as the Hebrew Bible, but they are numbered as 39 instead of 24 and ordered differently. [2]
• The Catholic Church officially affirmed its Old Testament canon, including deuterocanonical books, through several councils including Rome, Hippo, Carthage, Florence, and Trent. [2]
• The word canon originates from the Greek kanon, meaning rule or measuring stick, and has been used since the 14th century to describe accepted biblical books. [3]
• Various biblical canons developed through debate and agreement among religious authorities across different faiths and denominations. [3]

Where to go next

• a case in pointWhat are the deuterocanonical books?
• the bigger pictureHow did the New Testament canon develop?
• whenWhat happened during the intertestamental period?
• compared withWhy do Protestant and Catholic Old Testaments differ?
• whoWhat role did Jerome play in biblical translation?
• an unexpected connectionHow do ancient translation choices shape modern Bible differences?Writers of the New Testament used the Greek Septuagint, which closely resembles the Hebrew Bible but includes additional texts that shaped later Christian canons.

Sources

• [1]development of the Old Testament canon (Wikidata Q5266774) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Development of the Old Testament canon · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Biblical canon · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Development of the New Testament canon · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Intertestamental period · CC BY-SA 4.0