Eleanor Finch
The term canon is used to describe the books that are divinely inspired and therefore belong in the Bible. The biblical canon is the collection of scriptural books that God has given to his people. The canon of Scripture includes only the inspired and revealed word of God Himself. His word is divine truth, and is distinguished from all other writing. It is commonly misconceived that the canon of Scripture was determined by the Jews or early church leaders. However, God alone determined which books belonged in the Bible, and He was their origin. The canon of Scripture gives us confidence that the Bible we study today is truly the inspired and complete Word of God. It is the “rule of faith” by which we can live our lives.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of books | 66 (39 Old Testament, 27 New Testament) |
| Division of Old Testament | Law, Prophets, Writings |
| Division of New Testament | Gospels, Acts, Epistles, Revelation |
| Authorship | Various authors |
| Time of writing | Written at different times and places |
| Authority | Determined by God, not church councils |
| Purpose | To reveal God to mankind |
| Reception | Received by the collective body |
| Apostolic connection | Authorship or association with apostles |
| Canonization process | Conducted by Jewish rabbis, scholars, and early Christians |
| Canonization date | Between 200 BC and 200 AD |
| Canon recognition | Recognized by individual churches or groups of churches |
| Disputed books | Apocrypha, deuterocanonical works |
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What You'll Learn
The role of God and church councils
The biblical canon refers to the collection of scriptural books that God has given to his people. The word "canon" comes from the Greek "kanōn", meaning "rule" or "measuring stick". The biblical canon is composed of many smaller books written by various authors in different places and at different times.
The role of God in the canon of scripture is fundamental. God is believed to have chosen the human authors who wrote the scriptures. The scriptures are God's word, and they are used to reveal Himself and communicate with mankind. God guided the early church councils in their recognition of the canon, and the preservation of His word.
Church councils played a significant role in publicly recognizing the canon of Scripture. The early church faced persecution, and Christians were sometimes put to death for possessing copies of Scripture. This raised the question of which books were worth dying for. While individual churches or groups of churches may have recognized certain books as inspired, the church councils helped to establish a broader consensus.
The Catholic Church, in particular, played a key role in defining the canon of Scripture. The Synod of Rome under Pope Damasus in AD 382, followed by the Councils of Hippo in 393 and Carthage in 397 and 419, were influential in determining which books were included in the New Testament. The Council of Florence, which concluded in 1449, further affirmed the canon of the Catholic Church.
It is important to note that the process of canonization was not always straightforward and involved debate and agreement among religious authorities, resulting in variations between different faiths and denominations. For example, the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Assyrian churches may have different lists of accepted books compared to the Catholic Church.
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The process of canonization
The Old Testament (OT) canon was largely settled by the birth of Jesus, if not earlier, and it served as a foundation for the emerging Christian faith. Jesus himself accepted the OT canon, and there is no record of him disputing its contents. This indicates that by the time of Jesus, the OT canon was already well-established and widely accepted.
The New Testament (NT) canon, however, took longer to solidify. By the middle of the second century, a core collection of scriptural books, including the four gospels, Acts, Paul's epistles, Hebrews, 1 Peter, 1 John, and Revelation, were widely accepted as Scripture. These books were circulated among the early churches and recognized as divinely inspired, with innate worth and apostolic authority.
The role of church councils was significant in the process of canonization. While they did not decide if a book was Scripture, they played a crucial role in publicly recognizing and codifying the canon. The first ecclesiastical councils to classify the canonical books were held in North Africa, at Hippo Regius in 393 and Carthage in 397. These councils reflected the general practice of the Christian communities at the time.
To determine if a book belonged in the NT canon, the church councils considered several factors. These included the author's connection to the apostles, the acceptance of the book by the wider Christian community, the consistency of doctrine and orthodox teaching, and the evidence of high moral and spiritual values within the text.
In summary, the process of canonization of Scripture involved a combination of divine inspiration, recognition by religious leaders, and the collection and preservation of texts. The canonization of the OT and NT occurred over centuries, with the finalization of the NT canon taking place through the work of early church councils. The canonization process ensured that only those books considered to be divinely inspired and authoritative were included in the Bible.
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The Old Testament and New Testament
The Old Testament is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, based on the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasional Aramaic writings by the Israelites. Christians traditionally divide the Old Testament into four sections: the first five books or Pentateuch (corresponding to the Jewish Torah); history books telling the story of the Israelites, from their conquest of Canaan to their defeat and exile in Babylon; poetic and wisdom literature, which explore themes of human experience, morality, and divine justice; and the books of the biblical prophets, warning of the consequences of disobeying God's laws.
The Old Testament canon was not always agreed upon, and even today, different Christian denominations have different Old Testament canons. For instance, the Catholic Church and Eastern Christian churches hold that certain deuterocanonical books and passages are part of the Old Testament canon, while the Protestant Old Testament canon does not include these deuterocanonical works. The Samaritan community in Nablus, for example, claims to possess the oldest existing copy of the Torah, penned by Abisha, a grandson of Aaron, and considers itself the true "guardian of the Law".
The New Testament is the second division of the Christian Bible, written in Koine Greek. For most churches, the canon is an agreed-upon list of 27 books, including the four canonical Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, 21 Epistles or letters, and the Book of Revelation. The core books of the New Testament were completed before 120 AD, with the Gospels being finished slightly earlier (the first of which, Mark, was likely written around 70 AD).
For the first three hundred years of Christianity, there was no entirely agreed-upon canon. The earliest record of an attempt at compiling a canon was made by Marcion, around 140 AD, who accepted only a modified version of Luke and ten of Paul's letters, while rejecting the Old Testament entirely. After the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, Roman Emperor Constantine instructed Eusebius to put together accepted Christian Scriptures to be displayed in churches. However, it is unknown if Eusebius completed this task. The canon of the New Testament was one of the most important developments in the thought and practice of the early church, yet history does not reveal how, when, or by whom it was brought about.
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The influence of Judaism
The Jewish canon was not directed from above but developed from the "bottom-up". Ancient Jews did not have councils in the way that Christians did, and while the Temple in Jerusalem kept some scrolls, it did not do so to prescribe the books of the canon. This is known as the theory of the majority canon, which takes into account the historical circumstances that led to the formation of the Jewish canon of ancient and modern Jews.
The term "canon" is derived from Greek and means "a measuring stick, a rule", and by analogy, "a list" of writings. The word was first applied by the church fathers (not earlier than 360) to the collection of Holy Scriptures, primarily to those of the Old Testament. The idea expressed by the designation "canonical writings" is of Jewish origin.
The Jewish canon is essentially the Pharisaic canon that was adopted in Rabbinic Judaism. The Pharisees held to the twenty-two or twenty-four book canon, and it was this canon that eventually became the canon of Rabbinic Judaism because the majority of those who founded the Jewish faith after the destruction of Jerusalem were Pharisees. The canon was closed "probably between 150 and 250 CE".
The Hebrew Bible or Old Testament is widely agreed to be the construct of faith communities. The Jewish Tanak and Protestant Old Testament have the same collection of books and it is the canon of Pharisaic-Rabbinic Judaism. It was not, and is not, the canon of other faith communities that considered different lists of books as authoritative.
There is no scholarly consensus as to when the canon of the Hebrew Bible was fixed. Some scholars argue that it was fixed during the Hasmonean dynasty (140–40 BCE), while others argue it was not fixed until the second century CE or even later.
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The concept of 'divine truth'
The concept of divine truth is central to the understanding of the biblical canon. The term "canon" comes from the Greek word "kanon", meaning "rule" or "measuring stick." It refers to the collection of scriptural books that are considered divinely inspired and belong in the Bible. This collection of books is believed by Christians to be the Word of God, containing divine truths that are distinguished from all other writings.
The process of determining the biblical canon was a complex one. It involved the efforts of Jewish rabbis, scholars, and early Christians over centuries. However, it is believed by many that God ultimately decided which books belonged in the biblical canon. These books were recognised by God's followers as divinely inspired due to their divine qualities, reception by the collective body, and their apostolic connection. For example, the Gospels, Acts, Paul's epistles, Hebrews, 1 Peter, 1 John, and Revelation were widely accepted as Scripture by the middle of the second century.
The formation of the Old Testament canon is believed to have occurred earlier, with the Torah, Prophets, and Writings canonised by 100 AD, according to a popular position. However, there is criticism of this view by modern scholars. The Old Testament canon was further supported by Jesus's testimony to their authenticity and the absence of any dispute over the boundaries of this canon in the New Testament writings.
The New Testament canon was formed through a similar process of recognition and collection. Early on, some New Testament books were recognised as Scripture, such as Paul's letters, which were considered by Peter to be on par with the Old Testament. Church councils played a role in publicly recognising the canon, following principles such as the author's connection to an apostle, the book's acceptance by the body of Christ, and its consistency with orthodox teaching.
The concept of divine truth is essential in the formation of the biblical canon. The books included in the canon are believed to be divinely inspired and contain truths that are beyond human understanding. This belief has guided the process of canonisation, with God guiding His followers to recognise and collect these writings. The biblical canon, therefore, serves as a rule of faith for Christians, providing them with confidence that they possess the complete and inspired Word of God.
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Frequently asked questions
The canon of Scripture is a set of texts (or "books") that a particular Jewish or Christian religious community regards as part of the Bible. The word "canon" comes from the Greek "kanon", meaning "rule" or "measuring stick".
The canon of Scripture was formed through debate and agreement on the part of the religious authorities of their respective faiths and denominations. The process of recognition and collection of texts for the canon began in the early centuries of the Christian church. Church councils played a role in publicly recognizing the canon of Scripture, but it was God who decided which books belonged in the biblical canon.
The Old Testament canon is the first part of Christian Bibles and contains, at minimum, the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, divided into 39 (Protestant) or 46 (Catholic) books. The Catholic Church and Eastern Christian churches hold that certain deuterocanonical books and passages are part of the Old Testament canon.
The New Testament canon is the second part of Christian Bibles and contains 27 books: the four canonical gospels, Acts of the Apostles, 21 Epistles or letters, and the Book of Revelation. The formation of the New Testament canon began in the early part of the second century AD.
