The Holy Bible: Remarks Upon the Books of the Old Testament

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There are 39 books in the Old Testament, but the ancient Jewish writers reduced the number to 22 so that the sacred books might correspond in number to the 22 Sacred letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Josephus of Jewish historic fame, an unbeliever in Christ, born in Palestine about the time of Paul’s conversion, and thoroughly conversant with Hebrew literature, probably more so than any man then living, thus writes,— We have only two-and-twenty books which are justly believed to be of divine authority, of which five are the books of Moses. From the death of Moses to the reign of Artaxerxes, the son of Xerxes, King of Persia, the prophets who were the successors of Moses, have written in thirteen books. The remaining four books contain hymns to God, and precepts for the regulation of human life.”
This arithmetical feat was accomplished by regarding the Pentateuch as five separate books as in the Septuagint and in our English Bibles. The “thirteen books” written by the prophets were, (1) Joshua, (2) Judges with Ruth, (3) Samuel, (4) Kings, (5) Chronicles, (6) Isaiah, (7) Jeremiah with Lamentations, (8) Ezekiel, (9) Daniel, (10) The twelve minor prophets from Hosea to Malachi, (11) Job, (12) Ezra and Nehemiah, (13) Esther. The four remaining books are the Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song. It may appear singular to some that the 12 Minor prophets should be do grouped, but in most, if not all ancient catalogs they are regarded as one book, as also in all quotations from them. The reason of this, we suppose, was to facilitate an easy reference to these prophetic books. The modern Jews make up the Old Testament into 24 books.
The first five books of Scripture are ascribed to Moses, and this on the most unquestionable authority. They were originally written on one scroll, forming but one book, and are still so regarded in modern Jewish usage. It is difficult to say when the Pentateuch was first put into separate books, but it must have been at a very early period as the Seventy, about 280 B.C. regarded the Pentateuch as then so divided. The order in which they occur, as also their titles in our English Bibles is from that first of all translations i.e., the Septuagint.
When the Pentateuch was completed Moses directed it to be carefully placed beside the Ark, (Deuteronomy 31:24,2624And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, (Deuteronomy 31:24)
26Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee. (Deuteronomy 31:26)). Was this the identical copy of the law found by Hilkiah the high priest 750 years afterward, amongst the rubbish of the Temple, (2 Kings 22; 23)? or, was it a copy transcribed from the original by one of the early kings, (Deuteronomy 17:1818And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: (Deuteronomy 17:18))? We believe it was the very copy of the law or Pentateuch written by Moses, (2 Chronicles 34:1414And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the Lord given by Moses. (2 Chronicles 34:14)). That Moses was the writer of these five inspired records is evident from the testimony of the books themselves, (Deuteronomy 31:9, 249And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and unto all the elders of Israel. (Deuteronomy 31:9)
24And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, (Deuteronomy 31:24)), by Joshua (Chapter 1:7), by Samuel, (1 Samuel 12:6-86And Samuel said unto the people, It is the Lord that advanced Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7Now therefore stand still, that I may reason with you before the Lord of all the righteous acts of the Lord, which he did to you and to your fathers. 8When Jacob was come into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto the Lord, then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, which brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place. (1 Samuel 12:6‑8)), by David, (1 Kings 2:33And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: (1 Kings 2:3)), by Solomon, (1 Kings 8:53, 5653For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God. (1 Kings 8:53)
56Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant. (1 Kings 8:56),) by Jehovah, (2 Kings 21:88Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them. (2 Kings 21:8)), by Josiah, (2 Kings 23:2, 3, 252And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord. 3And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant. (2 Kings 23:2‑3)
25And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him. (2 Kings 23:25)), by Jehoiada, (2 Chronicles 23:16-1816And Jehoiada made a covenant between him, and between all the people, and between the king, that they should be the Lord's people. 17Then all the people went to the house of Baal, and brake it down, and brake his altars and his images in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. 18Also Jehoiada appointed the offices of the house of the Lord by the hand of the priests the Levites, whom David had distributed in the house of the Lord, to offer the burnt offerings of the Lord, as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was ordained by David. (2 Chronicles 23:16‑18)), by Hezekiah, (2 Chronicles 30:1616And they stood in their place after their manner, according to the law of Moses the man of God: the priests sprinkled the blood, which they received of the hand of the Levites. (2 Chronicles 30:16)), by Ezra (Chapter 7:6), by Nehemiah, (Chapter 13), by Daniel, (Chapter 9:11-13), Malachi, (Chapter 4:4), by Christ (John 5:45-4745Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. 46For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. 47But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words? (John 5:45‑47)), by Peter, (Acts 3:22-2622For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. 23And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. 24Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. 25Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. 26Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. (Acts 3:22‑26)), by Stephen, (Acts 7), by Paul (1 Corinthians is. 9), by all Jewish writers, ancient and modern, and by the Jewish nation in all ages, by apostates as Mahomet and Julian, by heathen writers as Longinus and Tacitus. Yet in face of this overwhelming testimony, Divine, Christian, Jewish, and Heathen, men will be found bold enough and bad enough to impugn the authority of the Pentateuch (To be continued.)