Christian Cyclopedia

1. Canon is a

word meaning “rule” or “list.” Since the time of Athanasius (

373) “canonical” has come to mean “authoritative, inspired, divine.” The word is used to denote the collection of inspired books of the Bible.

2. Originally it was the prophet's word which was “inspired.” As the prophetic oracles were incorporated in written records, many of them achieved canonical status after the voice of prophecy became silent in the 4th

Discovery of the “Book of the Law” 621

had stimulated the canonical consciousness, though the Pentateuch as we know it today did not achieve canonical status until

ca.

400

In addition to the Law and the Prophets, a 3d division known as

Hagiographa*

(

Gk.

) or Kethubim (

Heb.

“Writings”), consisting of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and 1 and 2 Chronicles, was included in the canon of the

The

canon was completed

ca.

100. Divergences are found among the mems. of the Dead Sea community (see

Dead Sea Scrolls

) at Khirbat Qumran who recognized or used books rejected by the rabbis. Jews in Alexandria were more liberal than their Palestinian brothers and included in their canon Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, additions to Esther, Judith, additions to Daniel, 1 and 2 Maccabees, I and 2 Esdras, Baruch, and the Prayer of Manasses. These writings are known as the

Apocrypha.*

Jesus and His disciples appear to have adhered to the more limited Palestinian canon. Paul and his converts relied heavily on the LXX, whose inspiration was viewed by many early Christians as equal to that of the

Heb.

originals. Almost all

Scriptures, with the probable exception of Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, and Ezra, are either quoted or alluded to in the New Testament. References to apocryphal writings are also made (Ja 1:19 [Ecclus 5:11]; Mt 27:43 [Wis 2:13, 18–20]; Eph 6:11, 13–17 [Wis 5:17–21]). Occasionally also Pseudepigrapha are cited. Jude 14–16 quotes Enoch 1:9. Jerome says the quotation in Mt 27:9 was taken from a writing attributed to Jeremiah, but there is strong possibility that in this passage we are dealing with scribal interpretation. There has been no unanimous agreement in the Christian

ch.

on the extent of the

canon. Jerome preferred to exclude the Apocrypha and transmit in the

Vulgate*

the Jewish canon of the 39 books contained in most

Eng.

translations. Because of wellest. use of the Apocrypha, these writings gradually became part of the Vulgate and were used also by the framers of the Book of Concord, who make no pronouncements on the extent of the

canon. Luther's dictum on the Apocrypha expressed in his

tr.

of the Bible 1534, “These are books which are not held equal to the sacred Scriptures and yet are useful and good for reading,” influenced subsequent generations; we find the Apocrypha excluded from the sacred canon in the translations

gen.

used in

Luth.

Angl.

, and

Ref.

churches (though the

KJV

originally included them).

3. The canon of 27 books in the

was fixed gradually. It took some time before all

books were universally known and recognized as inspired. The

ch.

proceeded cautiously, concerned to

est.

the apostolic credentials of each writing.

4. Most scholars agree that all

books had been written by the middle of the 2d

; some think that the

yr.

100 is the terminal date. Apostolic writings were gradually gathered into collections (

cf.

2 Ptr 3:16), encouraged by the prestige these writings enjoyed in the worshiping community (see Cl 4:16: 1 Th 5:27; 2 Th 2:15; ), and by the use of the codex or book in place of scrolls. By the end of the 2d

the 4 gospels, Acts, the Pauline letters (exclusive of Hebrews), 1 John, and 1 Peter seem to have enjoyed universal recognition. Most of these are attested by the

Muratorian*

Canon, dating from the latter half of the 2d

In the earliest

yrs.

of the formation of the

canon the question of authorship was not a major concern. Conflicts with heretics, however, prompted the

ch.

to emphasize apostolicity as a criterion for canonical status. Little difficulty was encountered with books that had

est.

themselves throughout the

ch.

from time immemorial (such as the 4 gospels), but Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude, and Revelation were special objects of debate because of their limited use in certain areas of the church. Their canonical status, however, was recognized by the

Synod of Laodicea,*

and the persecutions begun by

Diocletian*

in 303 may have been a strong contributing factor. See also

Carthage, Synods and Councils of

5. The classification of

Origen*

into homologoumena (universally recognized),

antilegomena*

(not universally recognized), and spurious (mostly uncanonical gospels; the newly discovered Coptic Gospel of Thomas qualifies for this category) is paralleled substantially by

Eusebius* of Caesarea

. But Eusebius includes under the category antilegomena (1) disputed books (James, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude) and (2) spurious (Acts of Paul, Shepherd of Hermas, Apocalypse of Peter, Barnabas, Didache). Eusebius expresses no personal doubts about Hebrews, which he classifies as a homologoumenon; but he is not sure whether Revelation belongs among the “spurious” books. Eusebius' doubts about Revelation reflect the more conservative attitude of the Syrian

chs.

which have

gen.

adhered to a shorter canon of 22 books (lacking 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude, and Revelation).

6. Throughout the Middle Ages there was no doubt as to the divine character of any book of the

Luther again pointed to the distinction

bet.

homologoumena and

antilegomena*

(followed by

M. Chemnitz*

and

M. Flacius*

). The later dogmaticians let this distinction recede into the background. Instead of antilegomena they use the term deuterocanonical. Rationalists use the word canon in the sense of list. Lutherans in

Am.

followed Luther and held that the distinction

bet.

homologoumena and antilegomena must not be suppressed. But caution must be exercised not to exaggerate the distinction.

Higher Criticism

;

Isagogics

;

Theology

. WA FWD

F. Buhl, Kanon und Text des Alten Testamentes (Leipzig, 1891),

tr.

J. Macpherson, Canon and Text of the Old Testament (Edinburgh, 1892); H. E. Ryle, The Canon of the Old Testament, 2d

ed.

(London, 1895); W. R. Smith, The Old Testament in the Jewish Church, 3d

ed.

(New York, 1912); C. R. Gregory, Canon and Text of the New Testament (New York, 1907); B. F. Westcott, A General Survey of the History of the Canon of the New Testament, 7th

ed.

(London, 1896); T. Zahn, Introduction to the New Testament,

tr.

under direction and supervision of M. W. Jacobus and C. S. Thayer, 3d

ed.

, 3

vols.

(New York, 1909); W. H. Green, General Introduction to the Old Testament: the Canon (New York, 1916); A. H. McNeile, An Introduction to the Study of the New Testament, 2d

ed.

rev.

C. S. C. Williams (New York, 1953); E. J. Goodspeed, The Formation of the New Testament (Chicago, [1926]) and The Meaning of Ephesians (Chicago, 1933); A. Souter, The Text and Canon of the New Testament, 2d

ed.

rev.

C. S. C. Williams (London, 1954); K. Aland, The Problem of the New Testament Canon (London, 1962).

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