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Why were the Twelve Minor Prophets counted as one book in the Hebrew canon?
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Hebrew Bible
Portion of the Aleppo Codex, a manuscript of the Hebrew Bible written in the Hebrew language in the 10th century ce; in the Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum, Jerusalem.
In the Hebrew Bible, the Twelve Minor Prophets are consolidated into a single book known as The Twelve. This grouping is a reflection of the ancient practice of recording these works on a single scroll.12
While many Christian versions of the Old Testament treat these as 12 separate books, the Hebrew canon maintains them as one unit within the Nevi'im (the Prophets), specifically as the final entry among the Latter Prophets. The distinction in the number of books between the Hebrew Bible and other traditions arises because Christian canons often subdivided original Hebrew texts—such as Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, and the Minor Prophets—into multiple parts.132