Canon ‘Who’ from the Council of ‘What'?

Author: Johan Brand

Introduction

In my previous article, The Bible: An Ancient Library of Books, we had a peek at the Judeo-Christian Scriptures, and how it came to be. Please read that article for context before diving into this one. We looked at the Jewish Scriptures and its contents, the New Testament and its contents, as well as the modern-day Christian Bible and what it consists of. Another factor is that there were also some additional ancient writings, known as the “Second Temple” Jewish works (e.g. the apocrypha and the deuterocanonical books) that were initially part of the Scriptures, nevertheless, those writings were declared insufficient as being part of the official biblical canon late in the fourth century A.D. This short article will explore the canonicity of Scripture.

A Brief Summary of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures

The Bible is commonly printed as a single book in the 21st Century. Yet, for over a millennium, the majority of people faced it as a collection of several scrolls. Thereupon, it is not a foreign idea that any Bible you could pick up or buy in a bookstore today, contain precisely the exact collection of books. It is vital to recognise the Bible as a library of books that Jewish and Christian societies – globally – have historically acknowledged as a uniquely authoritative set of works. The Jewish Bible or the TaNaK (Old Testament) holds the Torah (the “law”), the Nevi’im (the “prophets”), and the Ketuvim (the other “writings”). The Christian Bible encompasses two key assortments, known as the Old- and the New Testament. They, too, hold several slighter assortments. The Old Testament is made up by the Pentateuch, the Historical Books, the Wisdom or Poetic Books, and the Prophetic Books. In turn, the New Testament be composed of the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the Pauline Epistles, and the General Epistles. The New Testament’s inclusion is the reasoning division between the Christian Bible and the Jewish Bible.

The Canonisation of the Bible

Most of the modern-day Christian traditions (which include the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant traditions) reached agreement that the New Testament consists of 27 books. Nevertheless, these major Christian traditions differ in regards to the number of writings that is part of the Old Testament. The content of the Old Testament – according to the Protestant tradition – agrees with that of the Jewish TaNaK, however, some of these writings are organised otherwise. According to the Roman Catholic tradition, the Old Testament equals the Protestant Bible in its organisation, but it comprises more books. Furthermore, there are even more writings in the Eastern Orthodox Christians’ Old Testament. The fact that our various Christian traditions share the New Testament, but disagree about the Old Testament might seem like a puzzling concept.

Surely, many of us wondered sometime during our life-span how so many different writings became part of the Bible. In a nutshell, each book underwent three foundational phases. To begin with, it was recorded. Secondly, it was used and circulated, initially historically on a small scale – since not everyone could read – and later it was read more commonly. At times it was also circulated with related manuscripts. Finally, all these texts were established as part of a concluded canon. This canonisation occurred when most societies who read these texts officially agreed that no additional books should be added to or subtracted from the general collection, finalising the contemporary Christian Bible. The decisions on which books to include were mainly based on historical facts and the general rule of the agreement between believers. Lee McDonald defines the canon as follows,

Canon, in the general sense that we intend here, denotes a fixed standard or collection of writings that defines the faith and identity of a particular religious community.

In light of the abovementioned, the canonisation of the New Testament occurred between the first and fourth centuries A.D. The four Gospels, the Book of Acts, and the Pauline Epistles were used more extensively from the second century A.D. onward. As time passed, various communities used different other texts for a couple of centuries longer. However, the Council of Rome officially established the canon in 382 A.D. The separations between today’s major Christian traditions and denominations took place later in time.

In regards to the canonisation of the TaNaK, the Pentateuch (or Torah) and the Prophets were well established libraries by the second century B.C. Again, various communities used different other texts for a couple of centuries longer. At this time, Judaism comprised many branches, including the Hellenists, Essenes, Sadducees, Hebraists, and Pharisees. The Christian faith was initially birthed as a variation of Judaism, around 100 A.D. After the Temple in Jerusalem was demolished by the Roman Empire, some diversities of Judaism ceased to exist, leading to the belief system commonly known as Rabbinic Judaism. On the other hand, Christianity progressively developed into a distinct movement.

Conclusion

It is fascinating how – throughout church history – these different scrolls evolved into a singular book. The general Jewish agreement around the Law and the Prophets, before Christianity even existed, clarifies the variances between the Christian Scriptures, and why the Old Testament is narrowed down to a small proportion of books. The remainder of differences were adopted before the TaNaK grew into the official account of the Jewish Bible. And moreover, centuries ago, countless communities shaped the Bibles that you and I have in our homes today. The formation of the Bible serves as a witness to both Christianity and Judaism (and I would personally argue … to all humanity – despite your tradition or religious standing) that God is at work, and that he has always been, throughout human history.

References:

McDonald LM 1995. The Formation of the Christian Biblical Canon. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.

Museum of the Bible 2015. How the Biblical Canon was Formed.

Online video. Accessed from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFEBwfYZBJY,

2020-07-10.