Topic: The Chair of Moses
Question:
Can you give me some citation on these? I have been reading on the development of the OT canon and I have not seen any reference to a 200 BC Sanhedrin decision (wasn't 2Mac written in 100 BC?). Are you speaking of the "Great Synagogue" theory (c. 400 BC)? Also, I cannot find any reference to the Chair of Moses other than Scott Hahn's tape.
Answer:
First of all, the Chair of Moses, as referred to by Jesus in Matt 23, was an element of Jewish oral Tradition. The "chair of Moses" was Moses' teaching authority --the authority inherited by the legitimate teachers of Israel:
It is recorded in the Midrash Rabbah: "They made for him (Moses) a chair like that of the advocates, in which one sits and yet seems to be standing." (Exodus Rabbah 43:4)
Also, the Pesikta siRav Kahana 1:7 mentions the "chair of Moses," and the editors of the English edition comment: "The particular place in the synagogue where the leaders used to sit was known metaphorically as the 'chair of Moses' or as the 'Throne of the Torah,' symbolizing the succession of teachers of Torah (from Moses) down through the ages."
Also, if you ask any Orthodox Jewish rabbi, he will tell you that he holds (in part) the "Chair of Moses" today.
Jesus teaches that the scribes and Pharisees (i.e, the full Sanhedrin, with the High Priest as its head) rightfully succeeded to this "Chair of Moses." See also Acts 23:3-5, where Paul calls the High Priest the legitimate ruler of the people of Israel.
Simply put, the "Chair of Moses" was the teaching authority of the synagogue; and ...
a) On the local level, the "Chair of Moses" was held by the principal rabbi of a particular city's synagogue (e.g. Corinth or Rome).
b) On the regional level, the "Chair of Moses" was held by the principal rabbi of a particular region (e.g. Rabbi Akiba at Jamnia).
c) BUT, ... On the universal level, the "Chair of Moses" was ACTUALLY held by the High Priest in Jerusalem. This is more than clear from John 11:49-52 and from Acts 23:2-5, where Paul backs down because the law defined the High Priest as "the ruler of thy people." See also Acts 28:17-21, where those who held the "Chair of Moses" in Rome (i.e., the "leaders of the Jews": 28:17) speak about receiving authoritative instruction from Jerusalem (i.e., from the ACTUAL and UNIVERSAL "Chair of Moses," the High Priest).
For the Jews of the Diaspora, one could not be said to be part of Israel if he rejected the rightful authority of Jerusalem. Such a position would make oneself a Samaritan. :-)
Indeed, the Jewish historian Josephus says how the Hellenistic Jews before the fall of the theocracy in Palestine looked reverently toward Jerusalem and favored religious currents coming from it: "Doubts were referred there for solution" (Josephus, Contra Apion 1.30-36).
We also know that the Jews of the Dispersion turned to Jerusalem for their Scriptures (2 Mc 2.13-15) and for its translation [Est 11.1 (Vulg); 10.31 (LXX)]. Such were appeals to the **ultimate** "Chari of Moses" (Matt 23:1-3), the High Priest and the Sanhedrin itself.
So, to answer your other question about the Septuagint Greek canon being approved by Jerusalem in c. 200 B.C., .... Both Josephus and 2 Maccabees 2:13-15 (compared with 2 Maccabees 1:1-6) testify to the fact that the Jews of Alexandria, Egypt (where the Septuagint canon was fomed) based their orthodoxy on the decrees from Jerusalem.
Also, ... According to both Jewish and Christian tradition, the Septuagint was compiled by scholars from Jerusalem under the supervision of the High Priest:
"The Septuagint Version is first mentioned in a letter of Aristeas to his brother Philocrates. Here, in substance, is what we read of the origin of the version. Ptolemy II Philadelphus, King of Egypt (287-47 BC) had recently established a valuable library at Alexandria. He was persuaded by Demetrius of Phalarus, chief librarian, to enrich it with a copy of *****the sacred books of the Jews*****. To win the good graces of this people, Ptolemy, by the advice of Aristeas, an officer of the royal guard, an Egyptian by birth and a pagan by religion, emancipated 100,000 slaves in different parts of his kingdom. He then sent delegates, among whom was Aristeas, ****to Jerusalem, to ask Eleazar, the Jewish high-priest, to provide him with a copy of the Law, and Jews capable of translating it into Greek*******. The embassy was successful: a richly ornamented copy of the Law was sent to him and seventy-two Israelites, six from each tribe, were deputed to go to Egypt and carry out the wish of the king. They were received with great honor and during seven days astonished everyone by the wisdom they displayed in answering seventy-two questions which they were asked; then they were led into the solitary island of Pharos, where they began their work, translating the Law, helping one another and comparing translations in proportion as they finished them. At the end of seventy-two days, their work was completed, The translation was read *******in presence of the Jewish priests, princes, and people assembled at Alexandria, who all recognized and praised its perfect conformity with the Hebrew original ******. The king was greatly pleased with the work and had it placed in the library. ....Aristeas's story is repeated almost verbatim by Flavius Josephus (Ant. Jud., XII, ii) and substantially, with the omission of Aristeas' name , by Philo of Alexandria (De vita Moysis, II, vi). (Catholic Encyclopedia).
also ...
"The Greek version, known as the Septuagint, welcomed by the Alexandrian Jews, spread quickly throughout the countries in which Greek was spoken; it was utilized by different writers, and supplanted the original text in liturgical services. Philo of Alexandria used it in his writings and looked on the translators as inspired Prophets; it was finally received even by the Jews of Palestine, and was employed notably by Josephus, the Palestinian Jewish historian." (Ibid).
So, the bottom line is that, before the time of Christ, the Septuagint canon was approved for use by the reigning Jerusalem establishment (the legitimate "Chair of Moses"). It's subsequent rejection by the Jews under Rabbi Akiba (after A.D. 90) was not the act of a legitimate Chair of Moses, since that Chair had ceased to exist, both because of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70 and by the Old Covenant's replacement by the New Covenant in Christ --a Covenant overseen, not by the "Chair of Moses," but by the subsequent "Chair of Peter." --the teaching authority of the Church.
Mark Bonocore
Catholic Apologist
June 19, 2001