Biblical Literature, The tripartite canon

The threefold nature of the Hebrew Bible (the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings) is reflected in the literature of the period of the Second Temple (6th - 1st centuries BCE) and soon after it. The earliest reference is that of the Jewish wisdom writer Ben Sira (flourished 180 - 175 BCE), who speaks of �the law of the Most High . . . the wisdom of all the ancients and . . . prophecies.� His grandson (c. 132 BCE) in the prologue