<P> There is no scholarly consensus as to when the Hebrew Bible canon was fixed: some scholars argue that it was fixed by the Hasmonean dynasty, while others argue it was not fixed until the second century CE or even later . </P> <P> According to the Talmud, much of the Tanakh was compiled by the men of the Great Assembly (Anshei K'nesset HaGedolah), a task completed in 450 BCE, and it has remained unchanged ever since . </P> <P> The twenty - four book canon is mentioned in the Midrash Koheleth 12: 12: Whoever brings together in his house more than twenty four books brings confusion . </P> <P> The original writing system of the Hebrew text was an abjad: consonants written with some applied vowel letters ("matres lectionis"). During the early Middle Ages scholars known as the Masoretes created a single formalized system of vocalization . This was chiefly done by Aaron ben Moses ben Asher, in the Tiberias school, based on the oral tradition for reading the Tanakh, hence the name Tiberian vocalization . It also included some innovations of Ben Naftali and the Babylonian exiles . Despite the comparatively late process of codification, some traditional sources and some Orthodox Jews hold the pronunciation and cantillation to derive from the revelation at Sinai, since it is impossible to read the original text without pronunciations and cantillation pauses . The combination of a text (מקרא ‎ mikra), pronunciation (ניקוד ‎ niqqud) and cantillation (טעמים ‎ te ` amim) enable the reader to understand both the simple meaning and the nuances in sentence flow of the text . </P>

When did the tanakh get canonized to take on its current form