A Theory of the Majority Canon

Abstract

This article proposes a theory of the formation of the Jewish canon. It suggests that the Pharisaic canon became the canon of Rabbinic Judaism, because the majority of those who re-founded the religion after the destruction of the Temple were Pharisees. The theory of the majority canon further advances the view that before the emergence of the one traditional canon Jewish communities held varying collections of texts as authoritative scriptures. The origins and development of the canon were influenced by internal and external factors. There was no central body that pronounced on the canon. Rather the authority arose from the bottom-up as Jews came to regard certain books, but not others, as canonical.