400 years

Christian Alexander

I have just lately been aware of the notion that the Bible is silent for 400 years. I think this is the intertestamental period. According to what I understand, the 400 years start at the writing of the book of Malachi and end with the birth of John the Baptist. Who proposed the idea of 400 years of stillness, and why may it be significant? Bard said, "This 400 years is of stillness and is a period called the intertestament period. Protestants refer to the period between the writing of the apocryphal texts as the inter-Testament years. This is due to the Protestant belief that the texts considered to be apocryphal are not inspired. The Jews are the source of this viewpoint. The apocryphal books were not recognized as inspired by the Jews.

"8. For we have not an innumerable multitude of books among us, disagreeing from, and contradicting one another: (as the Greeks have:) but only twenty two books: which contain the records of all the past times: which are justly believed to be divine. And of them five belong to Moses: which contain his laws, and the traditions of the origin of mankind, till his death. This interval of time was little short of three thousand years. But as to the time from the death of Moses, till the reign of Artaxerxes, King of Persia, who reigned after Xerxes [Note AS: Josephus gets his facts wrong here: he means Artaxerxes II whose reign began 404 or 403 BC, after Darius II. Though the events of the last inspired OT books happened during the reign of Artaxerxes I (464-424 BC), this history was not committed to Scripture until near the end of the reign of Darius II (423-404 BC) about 408 BC as I have shown above], the Prophets, who were after Moses, wrote down what was done in their times, in thirteen books. The remaining four books contain hymns to God; and precepts for the conduct of human life. ’Tis true, our history hath been written since Artaxerxes very particularly; but hath not been esteemed of the like authority with the former by our forefathers; because there hath not been an exact succession of Prophets since that time. And how firmly we have given credit to these books of our own nation, is evident by what we do. For during so many ages as have already passed, no one has been so bold, as either to add any thing to them; to take any thing from them; or to make any change in them. But it is become natural to all Jews, immediately, and from their very birth, to esteem these books to contain divine doctrines; and to persist in them: and, if occasion be, willingly to die for them. For ’tis no new thing for our captives, many of them in number, and frequently in time, to be seen to endure wracks, and deaths of all kinds, upon the theatres; that they may not be obliged to say one word against our laws, and the records that contain them. Whereas there are none at all among the Greeks who would undergo the least harm on that account: no nor in case all the writings that are among them were to be destroyed. For they take them to be such discourses as are framed agreeably to the inclinations of those that write them. And they have justly the same opinion of the elder writers: since they see some of the present generation bold enough to write about such affairs, wherein they were not present; nor had concern enough to inform themselves about them from those that knew them. Examples of which may be had in this late war of ours: where some persons have written histories, and published them, without having been in the places concerned; or having been near them when the actions were done: but these men put a few things together, by hearsay; and insolently abuse the world; and call these writings by the name of Histories." (Against Apion book 1, section 8, by Josephus the first century Jewish historian)."

MJ. Smith

The "silence" is a theological invention based on the choice of canon. The period in question is also known as the Second Temple period - covering the 2nd Temple. As the Protestants based their Old Testament canon on the Hebrew, the term 400 year silence developed as an alternative term. Note that 2nd Temple has meaning for both Christians and Jews; 400 year silence is strictly a Christian term. More interesting than which canon is chosen for the Tanakh is the question of what Christian groups did with the Oral Torah/Rabbinical canon.

This is an example of BARD's biases towards the American secular religion. Even when specifically asked, Bard has trouble using a canon other than the Protestant canon. Even when prompted multiple times, it will ignore 2/3 of the church by omitting Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches from its answer. The First Bible of the Church: A Plea for the Septuagint | Logos Bible Software is essential reading for making the distinction between the Jewish Old Testament and the Christian Old Testament ... and making an informed decision on canon.