World Timeline Annotations
Compiled by Skylar H. Burris
These notes accompany the World Literature Timeline.
Hebrew Cannon: The rabbis meeting in Jamnia selected twenty-four books to be included in the Palestinian Hebrew Scriptural cannon. These are equivalent to the thirty-nine books which today comprise the Protestant Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (the Pentateuch); Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (the Histories); Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Songs (Wisdom Literature); Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micha, Nahum, Habbakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi (Prophets). In Alexandria, the rabbis (representing the Greek-speaking Jews) had accepted additional books: 1 and 2 Maccabees, Tobit, Judith, Sirach, Wisdom, and Baruch, 3 Ezra, as well as additional parts of Esther and Daniel (such as Bel and the Dragon). These books were included in the Septuagint and are known by Protestants as the apocrypha, because they are not included in the Protestant or modern Jewish cannon (both of which follow the Palestinian cannon).
The Septuagint (c. 250 B.C.) is a Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, including the apocryphal writings. The Septuagint forms the Old Testament scriptures in the Catholic, Greek, Slavonic, Armenian and Ethiopian Bibles. The Catholic Bible, however, does not include 3 Ezra and the Ethiopian bible includes other pseudepigraphal books not recognized by other churches, such as 1 Enoch and Jubilees.
The term pseudepigrapha literaly means "false inscriptions." These works (we know of 52) were written by Jews and Christians between 200 B.C. and 200 A.D. Writers often credited their works to famous biblical characters, such as Enoch. Though not part of most Bible cannons today, these works influenced both Judaism and Christianity as well as the writers of the Bible. For instance, Jude in his epistle refers to a story from the Assumption of Moses and directly quotes the Book of Enoch.
New Testament Cannon: Before the Council of Carthage in 397 A.D., there was much debate over which books should be considered canonical. Revelation and Hebrews, in particular, were strongly disputed by many Christians, as were James, 2 Peter, and 2 and 3 John. These books were eventually included in the cannon but other disputed bookswere excluded: Shepherd of Hermas, 1 and 2 Clement, and the Didache. The books selected at the Council of Carthage have been accepted as the New Testament ever since, by both Protestants and Catholics. These books include: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation. (This is the order in which these books are arranged in modern Bibles--they were not always placed in this order.)
The Dead Sea Scrolls: Before the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, the oldest surviving Hebrew Old Testament manuscripts dated form the 9th century. The Dead Sea Scrolls, which contain about 170 biblical manuscripts, date from the 3rd century B.C. to the 1st century A.D.
The Koran (Quan): Muhammad was born in Mecca about 570 AD. According to Islam, in about 610 he was visited by the Angel Gabriel during the month of Ramadan. Gabriel came to him and said, "Recite!" When he awoke, the words of the Koran were inscribed on Muhammad's heart. Some of the words were written down in his lifetime, but the book was not compiled until the time of his successor, Uthman. Today, it is the sacred scripture of the Muslims, the Word made Book. It condemns the heresy of Christians and Jews and teaches absolute submission (Islam) to the one and only God, Allah.
Josephus: Josephus was a Jewish historian and author of The Jewish War and Jewish Antiquities. He was appointed commander of the Gaililean forces in the rebellion against Rome. He held out for a 47-day siege, entering into a suicide pact with his soldiers, but he did not kill himself and instead surrendered to General Vespasian, who later (as Josephus prophesied) became emperor. Josephus eventually became Titus's aid and urged the Jews who were defending Jerusalem to surrender. For his support, he was granted Roman citizenship.
The Mishna: The Mishna contains centuries of interpretation of the Torah (the law), including sections on agriculture, appointed times, women, damages, holy things, and purities.