In 70 CE, Jewish scholars assembled in a town west of Jerusalem to decide which holy books of writings should form the core of the Hebrew Scriptures. They decided on 5 books (Pentateuch) to form the core. Then they added 34 other books, rejecting most books written after 150 BCE. The Masoretic Text (MT) is the Hebrew text of the Tanakh approved for general use in Judaism.The history of the Masorah may be divided into three periods: (1) the creative period, from the beginning to the introduction of vowel-signs; (2) the reproductive period, from the introduction of vowel-signs to the printing of the Masorah (1525 CE); (3) critical period, from 1525 to the present time. The Apocrypha consisted of many books used for spiritual guidance...
They were included in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of Hebrew Scriptures in general use during the time of Jesus.
Covenant vs. Law
Abraham established a covenant with God and moved to Canaan with his followers around 1800 BCE. Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and established a covenant with God around 1280 BCE, starting the religious tradition of Judaism. The Laws of Hammarabi preceeded the Ten Commandments, but the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers Deuteronomy are considered the books of Law for the Jewish people and are contained in the Torah.
References
Johnson, Paul (1987). A History of the Jews, First,…
