ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the diversity of the early Christian movement. The Qumran evidence and New Testament texts share many similarities in the way they understand scripture, and together they shed light on the scriptures of the earliest Jesus-followers. The canons of Christian churches still differ from each other, especially in regard to the question of what books are counted among the Old Testament scriptures. In the late Second Temple period, there were various, still ongoing canonical processes or developments within Judaism. The Qumran evidence highlights the fact that the Hebrew Bible was still in the making during the time of the Jesus movement. Paul's letters were typically addressed to guide and instruct the local congregation he had founded. The Gospels were composed as authoritative guides for Christian communities to be read aloud alongside Jewish scriptures. Scripture is not only about texts, it is very much about people and communities who grant the authoritative status of scripture to certain texts.
