Comparing and Contrasting Jewish and Protestant Canon Endings

This essay provides a comparative analysis of the concluding sections of the Jewish and Protestant Old Testament canons. It begins by examining the Protestant Old Testament's ending with the book of Malachi, focusing on the prophecy of Elijah's return and its connection to the coming of the Messiah and John the Baptist. The essay then shifts to the Jewish canon, which concludes with 2 Chronicles, highlighting the themes of restoration and rebuilding, particularly through the figure of King Cyrus. The core of the essay contrasts these endings, noting how the Protestant version extends into the anticipation of the Messiah, while the Jewish version emphasizes the restoration of the Jewish people to their land. The conclusion synthesizes these differences, emphasizing the shared message of hope and divine intervention, despite their distinct character portrayals and concluding narratives. The essay uses scholarly sources to support its arguments and provides a comprehensive overview of the subject.

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Compare and contrast the different endings of the Jewish and Protestant versions of
the canon
Introduction
Evidently from the provided study background, the number of books within the Old
Testament has been reduced to those contained in the Jewish version by the Protestants. This
according to the theological interpretation were meant to accord dignity to the Jewish traditions
which are also valued by the Protestants. The content of this paper is organized into three
sections comparing and contrasting the endings of the Jewish and Protestants versions of the
canon of Jewish sacred scriptures.
Task 1:
The last verse of Old Testament in the Protestants Bible is the last part of the book of
Malachi. The word Malachi according to various scholars means, my messenger thus not the
name of the author. The book of Malachi talks about various Minor Prophets, however, at the
end of the book, Malachi talks of a prophecy (Coogan1376). The last verse of Malachi talks of
the second coming of Prophet Elijah before the great day of the lord. The protestants bible in
connotes that behold God lord shall send a prophet before the coming His great and dreadful day.
And that the prophet to be sent (Elijah) shall turn the children’s’ hearts to their fathers and also
the hearts of their fathers to them, lest the Lord God come and smite the earth with His curse

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(Malachi 4: 5-6). If Malachi’s prophecy could be interpreted literally then it could mean that,
since Elijah did not dies he would come for the second time to bring people closer to God before
His coming (Shields 5-6). However linking the verse to the beginning of the New Testament, the
prophecy can be concluded to be talking of the Messiah and the Messiah’s forerunner who is
John the Baptist. This can be affirmed by what Jesus said in while teaching in the New
Testament (Coogan 1378). He said while speaking about John that, John is Elijah who has come
and that he has come already (Mathew 11:11; Mark 9:13). Concerning the role of the coming
Elijah John was well aware of her roles and prepared the way by baptizing people and asking
them to repent of their sins before the coming of the messiah (Luke 1:13-17, 76-79).
Task 2:
The Jewish canon ends with the 2 Chronicles, unlike the Christian Bible which ends with
Malachi. In the last verse of the 2 Chronicles, it talks about the destruction of the Temple of
Jerusalem and the 70 years of exile. Thus the last chapter of the Jewish canon connotes that in
the 1st year of Cyrus the Persian king, the Lord revealed to Jeremiah that the Lord shall stirrer up
the spirit of King Cyrus to send a Herald to all kingdoms. The in interpreting the king Cyrus
speech ‘the Lord God of heaven given has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has
appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among you
may the Lord his God be with him and let him up” (2 Chronicles 26:33). It can be said that King
Cyrus is the messiah who has come to bring them back to their land from captivity (Dillard 155).
Task 3:
After the reviewing the endings of the Jewish Bible ending and protectants or the
Cristian Bible Old Testament ending, I can say that it is quite fascinating to highlight the
differences and the similarities in the ending. The Hebrews Bible ends with 2 chronicle while

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the Protestants Old Testament ends with the book of Malachi (Goswell 30). The 2 chronicle ends
with the quote from King Cyrus who was to restore the Jewish back to their land and build the
temple and have all nations in earth at his feet. The messiah means the chosen or the anointed
one, King Cyrus has been chosen and anointed by the Lord God to save the Jews from the
captivity (Dillard 156). Thus this book portray Cyrus as the Messiah who has come to save Jews
and has called them back to their nation and build it up as the lord God intends. This
interpretation is not agreeable to the Protestants whose OT ends with prophecy of the coming of
the messiah and prophet Elijah who is his forerunner (Ferguson 130). Therefore the Christians
Bible extend to the coming of messiah Jesus Christ and his forerunner john the Baptist (Smith
30).
In conclusion, the Jews canon ends with the message of restoration and rebuilding as well
as the calling of their calling to a restoration. This is similar to the ending of the protestants old
testament which also talks of the coming of the messiah and a prophet whom will restore the lost
to God, this manner all the message to the Jews and Christians are similar though through the use
different characters that bring the difference.

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Works cited
Coogan, Michael, et al., eds. The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version.
Oxford University Press, (2018): 1376-1378
Dillard, Raymond B. 2 Chronicles. Vol. 15. Zondervan, 2018. Internet source. Retrieved from;
http://oldwebsite.streamroot.io/chronicles-vol-2-chronicles.pdf
Ferguson, Anthony. "The Elijah Forerunner Concept as an Authentic Jewish
Expectation." Journal of Biblical Literature137.1 (2018): 127-145.
Goswell, Gregory. "Should the Church Be Committed to a Particular Order of the Old Testament
Canon?." Horizons in Biblical Theology 40.1 (2018): 17-40.
Shields, Peter E. "Chronicles As The Intended Conclusion To The Hebrew
Scriptures." Channels: Where Disciplines Meet3.2 (2019): 5-6
Smith, Ralph. Micah-Malachi. Vol. 32. Zondervan, 2018. Internet source. Retrieved from;
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2226974.Micah_Malachi