Probably not, at least not in the form that was long taught. It was often claimed that rabbis gathered at Jamnia (Yavneh), around AD 90, officially closed the canon of the Jewish Scriptures. This theory, popularised in the nineteenth century, has now been largely abandoned by historians.
What the theory claimed
After the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70, rabbinic Judaism reorganised itself. The idea spread that the rabbis gathered at Jamnia held a real council there, like the Christian councils, to decide once and for all which books belonged to the Scriptures. The Jewish canon would then have been fixed on a specific date, by an act of authority.
Why it was abandoned
Several reasons led historians to rethink this idea:
- The silence of the ancient sources. Neither the Jewish historian Josephus nor the early Christian writers mention any such council.
- What the rabbinic sources actually say. They only refer to a discussion about two books, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs, not to the adoption of a complete list.
- Debates that went on. The closing of the Jewish canon was a long process, and discussions continued well afterwards.
A canon fixed by usage
The real story is slower. In ancient Israel, God’s will came first through people: prophets, priests and Levites. The book found in the temple under Josiah (2 Kings 22-23) marked a decisive step, and Deuteronomy 4:2 already expresses the principle of a canon: “You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it.” After the exile, the Torah became the bond that held a scattered people together.
By the time of Jesus, the Jews already regarded their writings as sacred, in three parts: the Law, the Prophets and the Writings. Jesus probably shared the twenty-two books mentioned by Josephus. The New Testament never gives the exact list, which suggests it was not an issue.
Why it matters
This is not just an academic question. Catholics and Protestants do not count the same number of books in the Old Testament, and the date when the Hebrew canon was closed plays a part in that debate. Knowing that Jamnia was probably not a council calls for caution: in Judaism as in Christianity, the canon took shape mainly through the usage of a people, rather than through a single decree.