Large Group #1: Canonicity

Have you ever read your Bible and wondered why it looks the way it does? How did the church decide what to include and what to leave out? On Monday, April 1, Nathan came over and talked about a bit of history, explaining how our bible ended up this way. Read on to find out what he had to say :)

As a heads up, I’m writing mostly verbatim from the powerpoint slides Nathan had.

And if you want to skip the history part, scroll all the way until it says "Hebrew Tanakh"

For the conclusion, read the last paragraph.

Canon

from the Greek word ‘kanon’, a type of reed used as a measuring stick

“the standard” against which others are measured

what/who determines canonicity, how & why?

[We then focused on the geographic outline of the Ancient Near East; there were so many cool maps, it’s really unfortunate how we can’t include them here :-/]

(cir. 1000 B.C.E.)

David (c. 1010-970 B.C.E.) and Solomon (c. 970-931 B.C.E.) rule the united kingdom of Israel.

The Temple is built in Jerusalem (c. 960 B.C.E.)

(931 B.C.E.)

Shortly after Solomon’s death (c. 931), the kingdom splits into Northern and Southern factions

Major sections of the Torah – the first five books of the Bible (incl. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers) – are written in Hebrew (c. 900-800)

(722 B.C.E.)

Assyrians invade Israel, leaving only Judah in the south.

Several prophets are active; sections of Isaiah are written, partially in response to the Assyrian crisis.

Deuteronomy and history books like Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings are written (c. 700-600)

(587 B.C.E.)

Babylonians attack Judah several times starting cir. 599, and take some captives.

Jerusalem and the Temple are destroyed in 587; mass numbers deported to Babylon starting in 586

Jeremiah and other prophets write and mourn the loss of Jerusalem.

(539 B.C.E.)

Persians invade, defeat Babylon; captive peoples, including those of Judah, are permitted to return home, 539

Jerusalem and Temple are rebuilt, 520-516

However, not all Jews return; some remain in Persia and Babylon, others resettle in cities around the Mediterranean.

For many Jews, their local Synagogue, where the Law (Torah) and the Prophets are read and taught, becomes the center of their worship – no longer the Temple in Jerusalem!

(322 B.C.E.)

From 334 to 322, Alexander “the Great” of Macedonia attacks, conquers territory from Greece to Egypt and east to Afghanistan and India.

Although local religions (such as Judaism) were generally tolerated, Greek culture and language spread rapidly.

(after 322 B.C.E.)

Greek cultural and linguistic dominance lasted long after Alexander’s death and the breakup of this empire.

Only Jews in Palestine still understood Hebrew and spoke Aramaic (a late form of Hebrew)

Jews in the rest of the known world spoke mostly Greek.

(cir. 200 B.C.E.)

Somewhere cir. 200-150, Jewish scholars in Alexandria translated the Hebrew scriptures into Greek.

The Greek scriptures, called the Septuagint, became used in synagogues throughout the Mediterranean.

The scriptures used might vary from one city to another.

(cir. 35 C.E.)

When Jesus’ disciples went out and planted churches, they often first encountered Jews who spoke Greek and knew the Septuagint; Gentile converts also spoke Greek.

Paul, the gospel writers, and all other New Testament authors wrote in Greek and quoted from the Septuagint.

Hebrew Tanakh – used almost exclusively in Palestine

Pentateuch (“five books”)

            Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

Navi’im (“prophets”)

Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habbakuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

Ketuvim (“writings”)

Psalms (150), Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel (12 chapters), Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles

Greek Septuagint – used throughout Asia Minor; Europe, North Africa

Pentateuch (“five books”)

            Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

History

Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel (I and II), Kings (I and II), Chronicles (I and II), I Esdras, Ezrah-Nehemiah, Tobit, Esther, Judith, Maccabees (I, II, and III)

Wisdom

Psalms (151), Prayer of Manasseh, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Psalms of Solomon

Prophets

Hosea, Amos, Micah, Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Nahum, Habbakuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Letter of Jeremiah, Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel (15 chapters), IV Maccabees

Determining the canon

By the 2^nd Century C.E., in addition to the Septuagint, many early churches were using the four gospels and thirteen letters attributed to Paul as “scripture”; several significant early theologians cite them in their work.

In 367, Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, published an Easter letter containing the same 27 New Testament texts we use today.

In 393, a gathering at Carthage endorsed the New Testament canon, officially confirmed at the Council of Carthage in 397.

Jerome’s 4^th Century translation into Latin, the official language of the Roman Empire, incorporated most of the Septuagint and the entire New Testament.

In the 16^th Century, Martin Luther began and unauthorized translation of the Latin Bible into German; he printed the seven “deuterocanonical” (Tobit, Judith, Maccabees (I and II), Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Baruch) books under a separate section.

At the Council of Trent (1545-1563), the Roman Catholic Church formally confirmed the Latin Bible including the seven “deuterocanonical” books.

Canonicity: three potential criteria

I. Apostolicity

II. Use in churches

III. Conformity to the “rule of faith”

[Then we had some discussion]

We all thought it was interesting how, as Christians, we would use the Bible to determine our culture and traditions, yet the method of picking which books to keep in the bible were partially dependent on the tradition of the time. But despite the different translations from different groups over the course of thousands of years, the Bible remained, and still remains, a coherent and consistent message. In some of our opinions, this speaks of God’s sovereignty and reality more powerfully than the idea that He just pulled out an English-translated bible and dropped it at our doorsteps. God’s word was written using a wide variety of people and many different translators, and it has survived to this day. God is totally awesome, right? :)