THE POST-CHRIST JEWISH COUNCIL OF JAVNEH (90A.D.

CONTENTS

1. THE AT JEWISH RABBI AT JAVNEN WERE ANTI-CHRISTIAN

2. THE COUNCIL OF JAVNEH HAD NO AUTHORITY (EVEN AMONG JEWS) TO CHANGE SCRIPTURE OR
THROW OUT ANY BOOKS FROM THE CANON.

3. IT WAS FROM THE COUNCIL OF JAMNIA (OR JAVNEH) WHICH THE PROTESTANT REFORMERS
DREW THEIR OLD TESTAMENT CANON.

☩ ☩ ☩ THE JEWISH RABBI AT JAVNEN WERE ANTI-CHRISTIAN ☩ ☩ ☩

☩ ☩ ☩ (Errata of the King James 1965 p.324) “This counsel (I.E. Javneh 90A.D.) not only declared the
Deutero Canonical books as Christian fabrication but when so far as to required all Jews to curse the
Name of Jesus of Nazerith. The council lacking in authority could not bring in end to the issue of the
Deutero-Canonical books. Even today the Ethiopian Jews still follow the original Canon of the
septuagint. It is the counsil of Javneh’s Canon that the Protestants accept and use for their Bible.”

☩ ☩ ☩ (DEFENDING THE DEUTERO CANONICALS 1996) In order to combat the spreading

Christian cult, rabbis met at the city of Jamnia or Javneh in A.D. 90 to determine which books were
truly the Word of God. They pronounced many books, including the Gospels, to be unfit as scriptures.
This canon also excluded seven books (Baruch, Sirach, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Tobit, Judith, and the
Wisdom of Solomon, plus portions of Esther and Daniel) that Christians considered part of the Old
Testament.

☩ ☩ ☩ (The Books of The Bible 1997 p.102) “One group of Jews rejected Jesus. The other group
accepted Jesus Christ as their Messiah and became completed Jews, or in other words Christians. The
Hebrew Canon of the majority of today’s Jews is the Canon that was settled upon by a group of Rabbis
meeting in Jamnia [Javneh] in 90 AD. However, these Rabbis were exclusively those who rejected
Jesus (and all of the New Testament. At this same meeting they also required all Jews to curse the
Name of Jesus of Nazerith.) The other group, the completed Jews, or Christians, accepted the Deutero
Canonical books as equally inspired. This can be seen in their writings where they use and quote from
these books and even call them Holy Scripture.”

☩ ☩ ☩ (Scripture alone? 1999) “The decision of a Jewish council which was held more than 50 years
after the resurrection of Christ are not binding on the Christian community just as the ritual walls of
Judaism are not binding on the Christians.... The council was to some extent a polemic directed
specifically against the "sect" of Christianity, therefore, was inherently opposed to Christianity. These
Jews most likely accept the shorter Pharisaic Canon precisely because the early Christians accepted the
longer Septuagint canon the decisions of this council represented the judgment of just one branch of
Judaism within Palestine not of Judaism as a whole”

☩ ☩ ☩ (The Canon of The Christians 1987) “The word Septuagint means "seventy" which (according
to legend) was the number of elders of Israel who did the translation into Greek at Alexandria, Egypt. It
differs textually with Hebrew Bible and is divided into four divisions: the Law, Historical books,

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Poetical and Wisdom books and finally books of the Prophets. Compared to the Hebrew Bible, it has
extra books which now exist in Catholic Old Testament. It is commonly believed that after the
destruction of the Jerusalem temple in 70 CE, the Jews under the leadership of Yohanan ben Zakkai
decided at Jamnia (or Javneh) to adopt the Hebrew Scripture as their canon (This Hebrew canon also
excluded seven books Baruch, Sirach, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Tobit, Judith, and the Wisdom of Solomon,
plus portions of Esther and Daniel that the early Christians considered part of the Old Testament). It
was the Anti-Christian resentment of Rabbi Zakkai that led the council to not only reject the Greek
Septuagint but also the Christian New Testament Gospels... Rabbi Zakkai also called upon every Jew to
curse the name of Jesus.”

☩ ☩ ☩ (Jewish encyclopedia 1955 p. 593) “the appearance of the Septuagint (which the Jews of the
Christian centuries rejected) was greeted enthusiasm everywhere; but with the rise of the Christian sect,
and its adoption of the version of the Bible, the jews began to denounce it vehemently, accusing the
Christians of falsifying the Greek texts this resentment eventually led Rabbi Zakkai and the council of
Jamnia (or Javneh) to openly reject the Septuagint whitch contained the seven books (Baruch, Sirach, 1
and 2 Maccabees, Tobit, Judith, and the Wisdom of Solomon, plus portions of Esther and Daniel)...The
council rejected all of the New Testament as Apocrypha ... They also required all Jews to curse the
Name of Jesus of Nazerith.”

☩ ☩ ☩ EVEN AMONG THE JEWS THE COUNCIL HELD NO AUTHORITY TO DETERMINE WHAT WAS
CANONICAL SCRIPTURE AND WHAT WAS NOT ☩ ☩ ☩

☩ ☩ ☩ (Encyclopaedia of Religion, Vol. 2, page 174). “In any case, Christians have no reason to accept
Jewish canon declared after our Lord ascension”

☩ ☩ ☩ (Errata of the King James 1965) “This counsel (I.E. Javneh 90A.D.) not only declared the
Deutero Canonical books as Christian fabrication but when so far as to required all Jews to curse the
Name of Jesus of Nazerith. The council lacking in authority could not bring in end to the issue of the
Deutero Canonical books. Even today the Ethiopian Jews still follow the original Canon of the
septuagint. It is the counsil of Javneh’s Canon that the Protestants accept and use for their Bible.”

☩ ☩ ☩ (Errata of the King James 1965) “The counsel had no real authority (even among the Jews) to
determine the Canonicity of scripture. Considering this counsel happened 60 years after Christ died
there is no reason for Christians to accept their verdict.”

☩ ☩ ☩ (Encyclopedia Judaica, vol. 6, p. 1146) “There is no evidence that the Rabbis at the council of
Javneh (90A.D.), had the legitimate authority to determine scripture for the Jewish religion”

☩ ☩ ☩ (Encyclopaedia of Religion, Vol. 2, page 173) “The authority of council (Javneh 90A.D.) was
rejected by the early Christians and the Jews of Ethiopia and Alexandria.”

☩ ☩ ☩ (Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Bible 1963 p.1324) “The council of Javneh ( 90 A.D.) was
made out above Rabbis ( or teachers ) with no religious authority to accept or reject scripture.”

☩ ☩ ☩ (The Books of The Bible 1997 p.102) “Jews in many parts of the Roman Empire ( such as
Alexandria and Ethiopia ) refused to accept Javneh’s ( 90A.D.) claime of authority”

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☩ ☩ ☩ (Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Bible 1963 ) “Even in the second century of the Christian era
the Jewish rabbis were not fully agreed on the Canonicity of certan books (e.g. Cant, Eccl; cfr. Also 4,
Esd 14,44ff).”

☩ ☩ ☩ (The Encyclopedia of Judaism, vol 15 page 117) “says that the limit of the third part (Writings)
was not finalized until mid of second century. In addition, the Hebrew Canon was also not accepted by
Ethiopian Jews who accept Septuagint to this day “

☩ ☩ ☩ (Dictionary of Biblical Literacy 1986. p.321) “Precisely when Jewish leadership officially
adopted the traditional 39 books of the so-called "Hebrew Canon" is not known; nor is there agreement
as to exactly what criteria were used in determining the Canon.”

☩ ☩ ☩ (Scripture alone? 1999) “The decision of a Jewish council which was held more than 50 years
after the resurrection of Christ are not binding on the Christian community just as the ritual walls of
Judaism are not binding on the Christians.… The council was to some extent a polemic directed
specifically against the "sect" of Christianity, therefore, was inherently opposed to Christianity. These
Jews most likely accept the shorter Pharisaic Canon precisely because the early Christians accepted the
longer Septuagint canon the decisions of this council represented the judgment of just one branch of
Judaism within Palestine not of Judaism as a whole”

☩ ☩ ☩ (Background To The Bible, An introduction to Scripture Study 1978. p.124) “There is no record
of a decision reached by an authoritative Jewish body closing the Old Testament Canon. Each
synagogue was authonomous;”

☩ ☩ ☩ (Encyclopedia Judaica, vol. 6, p. 1147). “The group of Jews which met at Javneh became the
dominant group for later Jewish history, and today most Jews accept the canon of Javneh. However,
some Jews, such as those from Ethiopia, follow a different canon which is identical to the Catholic Old
Testament and includes the seven Deutero Canonical books”

☩ ☩ ☩ IT WAS FROM THE COUNCIL OF JAMNIA OR JAVNEH ( 90 A.D. ) WHICH THE PROTESTANT
REFORMERS DREW THEIR OLD TESTAMENT CANON ☩ ☩ ☩

☩ ☩ ☩ (DEFENDING THE DEUTERO CANONICALS 1996 p.621) To justify this rejection of books
that had been in the Bible since before the days of the apostles (for the Septuagint was written before
the apostles), the early Protestants cited as their chief reason the fact that the Jews of their day did not
honor these books, going back to the council of Javneh in A.D. 90. But the Reformers were aware of
only European Jews; they were unaware of African Jews, such as the Ethiopian Jews who accept the
Deutero Canonicals as part of their Bible. They glossed over the references to the Deutero Canonicals
in the New Testament, as well as its use of the Septuagint.

☩ ☩ ☩ (The Columbia Encyclopedia, Fifth Edition Copyright 1993) most Protestant bodies, whose
canon conforms to that of the contemporary Hebrew Bible. There the books follow the order of the
Palestinian Hebrew Canon, which appears to have been adopted by A.D. c.100, although most of the
books had clearly received Canonical status well before this time.

☩ ☩ ☩ (Errata of the King James 1965 p.324) “This counsel (I.E. Javneh 90A.D.) not only declared the
Deutero-Canonical books as Christian fabrication but when so far as to required all Jews to curse the

3
Name of Jesus of Nazerith. The council lacking in authority could not bring in end to the issue of the
Deutero Canonical books. Even today the Ethiopian Jews still follow the original Canon of the
Septuagint. It is the counsil of Javneh’s Canon that the Protestants accept and use for their Bible.”

’☩ ☩ ☩ (encyclopedia Americana 1995 Vol 15 p.1496) “The Protestant Old Testament Canon is based
upon the Jewish council of Javneh (90 C.E.)”

☩ ☩ ☩ (Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Bible 1963 p.1287) “It was from Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai
and the council of Jamnia (or Javneh) which the Protestant reformers drew their Old Testament
Canon.”

☩ ☩ ☩ (Encyclopedia Judaica, vol. 6, p. 1148). “Protestantism derives its Old Testament Canon from
the European Jews who followed the Canon of the council of Jamnia or Javneh (90 CE.).”

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