I
The conclusion is clear: before the time of the Maccabees there was no canon of sacred books; the books we now have were selected from many others by the Pharisees of the second temple, who also instituted the formulas for prayers, and these books were accepted only because they decided to accept them. The so-called Great Synagogue didn’t begin until after Asia was conquered by the Macedonians. And the opinion of Maimonides and others that this council was presided over by Ezra, Daniel, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zecariah, etc. is a ridiculous invention.
Benedict de Spinoza, A Theologico-Political Treatise