Canon as a "measuring stick"

Gregory Goswell (Master of Theology [Australian College of Theology] Doctor of Philosophy [University of Sydney]), "The Ordering of the Books of the Canon and the Theological Interpretation of the Old Testament" https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/jtheointe.13.1.0001

Gregory Goswell argues that the order in which Biblical books are placed can help illuminate their meanings. The sequential ordering of the canon is a component of the paratext of the Scripture (elements that are adjoined to the text but not part of the text necessarily like verse numbers).

Goswell uses the book of Ruth to prove his claim. In the Greek Old Testament, it is placed after Judges among the books classified as Histories, recording the prehistory of the Davidic house since the gospels include Ruth in the genealogy of Jesus. However, in the Hebrew Bible Ruth is read from a wisdom perspective because it is places after the characterization of the “woman of worth” found in Proverbs 31. Goswell concludes: “Reading a biblical book in relationship with other biblical books both narrows its range of possible meanings and opens up new interpretative options as the contents of one canonical text throw light on another.”

Dr. Jackson Wu (PhD in applied theology from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary), "The Doctrine of Scripture and Biblical Contextualization: Inspiration, Authority, Inerrancy, and the Canon," https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/article/the-doctrine-of-scripture-and-biblical-contextualization/

Dr. Wu affirms “the importance of contextualization and identifies biblical boundaries for contextualization which stem from and evangelical view of the Bible.” He argues the God revealed himself through culture and history to convey the truth, especially existing institutions for his theological purposes. This, Wu contends, explains the similarities between Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern religious writings.

Likewise, the Bible needs to be understood within its particular context as John Walton reminds: “the Bible was written for us, but not to us.” Wu also notes that the Bible was recorded in a culture which passed down stories orally and reassures Christians that “accuracy or biblical fidelity depends on how precise their words match their written Bible.” He concludes by sharing that the canon, the written text that we have now, is purposeful because it creates a collective identity for those who believe in its stories.

Dr. Lee Martin McDonald (B.A., Biola University, B.D., Talbot Theological Seminary, Th.M., Harvard University, Major in New Testament History and Patristics, Ph.D., University of Edinburgh, Focus: New Testament Studies), "Fluidity In The Early Formation Of The Hebrew Bible," https://www.jstor.org/stable/26950401?seq=1

“There is considerable fluidity throughout the history of the Hebrew Bible, from its development, when the primary story that gave rise to the Jewish people was transmitted initially by memory, to the time when no other books were seriously considered for inclusion.” This, McDonald argues, comes from a plethora of motives behind sacred Jewish texts such as the preservation of stories which spoke to Israelite national identity, teaching wisdom, offering hope, worship, etc.

The tripartite collection of the Hebrew Bible (Writings, Wisdom, and Prophecy) was not settled until the Amoraic period (200-500 AD) and different groups included and excluded different books after that time also. For example, “A number of religious texts that were not included in the Hebrew Bible or most Christian Old Testament canons were evidently significant literature among the Essenes at Qumran, for example, the Book of Jubilees.” It is also worth noting that half of the large scrolls at Qumran are non-biblical texts.

McDonald also stresses caution when drawing conclusions from the Dead Sea Scrolls since what was discovered was not necessarily a complete library. Likewise, the Qumran scrolls also show varying degrees of additions and redactions in their sacred texts. McDonald concludes the essay evidencing the Hebrew Bible’s fluidity even into the Middle Ages: “Only a few Christian Old Testament manuscripts predate the fourth century CE.”

Eugene Ulrich (Litt.B., Xavier University; Ph.L., Loyola University; M.Div., Woodstock College; M.A., Ph.D., Harvard University), "Our Sharper Focus on the Bible and Theology Thanks to the Dead Sea Scrolls," https://www.jstor.org/stable/43725135

Eugene Ulrich’s main argument is that the Dead Sea Scrolls ­­­­reveal a pluriformity of biblical texts as well as the process of textual development in antiquity. He begins by providing a comprehensive history of the Qumran scrolls. Ulrich uses two Isaiah scrolls to illustrate his thesis, lQIsab and lQIsaa. lQIsab appeared to agree nearly word for word with the traditional Masoretic Text while lQIsaa exhibited many variants including verses and passages that were taken out or added in.

Scholars deemed lQIsaa as “vulgar” or “worthless” because it diverged so widely from what the biblical text was “supposed to look like.” However, Ulrich pushes back by contending that lQIsaa was preserved more carefully in linen and a sealed jar rather than lQIsab, which was not found in this condition. Likewise, as more scrolls were uncovered in Qumran, many showed textual divergences from our modern text.

Ulrich uses a large portion of his essay to list and explain the variations of biblical texts. Ulrich stands in agreement with Lawrence Schiffman who writes, “they are the oldest, the best, and the most authentic evidence we have for the shape of the Scriptures at the time of the beginning of Christianity and rabbinic Judaism.” The Qumran scrolls, he argues, also reveal that the Scripture we have now began as oral traditions that became important or popular which were still being developed near the end of the first century C.E.

Ulrich concludes with the idea that community was instrumental in forming and endorsing the tradition as scripture as a stage in the Bible’s development.