Issues of Canon

 

See Anchor Bible Dictionary, Canon (James Sanders) and Apocrypha (James Charlesworth)

Collins, John. “Before the Canon,” OT Interpretation. Ed. By J. L. Mays, D. L. Peterson, and K. H. Richards. Abingdon, 1995.

 

I.                    Situation Prior to Fall of the Temple (70 AD) – Torah fairly set.  Prophets more or less set (see DSS for differences in texts).  Many writings round and about, including many books from the later named apocrypha.  Different # and order of psalms (see DSS).  Likes of Josephus say prophesy lasts only from Moses to Ezra.  Pharisees probably had a narrower list than other Jewish groups.

II.                 Myth of Jamnia (Jabneh/Yavneh)  – Not an authoritative Council which decided which books were in or out, but an ongoing part of a discussion by a living, functioning community.  This community was now decidedly Pharisaic.

III.               Jewish “Canon” – Books which defile the hands. – 24 Books of Tanak (Torah, Prophets, Writings) – fairly set by end of 1st century, as written by Josephus

5 of the Pentateuch; the 8 of the Prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor Prophets); and the 11 of the Writings (Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles) with some variation of order in differing traditions

Disputed Books: (Ezekiel, Proverbs) Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, and Esther

IV.              Early Church and OT Canon – lots of dispute, still ongoing

A.     LXX: no tripartite division, no real Pentateuch but rather a continuous history .  Different order.  Translation into Greek from Hebrew in Alexandria over a number of centuries.  Included eventually the apocryphal books.  Used by early church with or without Hebrew Bible

B.     Early Greek codices contain, OT, NT, Apocrypha (all 13 works), some Pseudepigrapha, some additional Christina writings

C.     Jerome produced Vulgate, translated from Hebrew, no Apocrypha.  Later the Church added the Apocrypha “back in”

D.     Many Church Fathers quote apocrypha.  Augustine (d430) accepted it as canonical.

E.      Wycliffe’s Bible (1382) has no Apocrypha

V.                 Luther and Canon.  Luther was fairly sophisticated about canonical matters.  Did not consider Apocrypha part of OT, but did translate it and held it to be edifying.  (Note Luther also separated out some NT books in translation, including, James, Jude, and Revelation.)  Made historical arguments based on Church history about defining canon.  Was never a biblicist, never spoke of verbal inspiration of individual authors or such.

VI.              Between Luther and US churches.  Council of Trent (1546) and later Vatican Council of 1870 said the Vulgate was only accepted scripture, thus Apocrypha was in.  In Protestant churches, sometimes in and sometimes out.  Prior to the end of the 19th century, mostly in. 

VII.            American Biblicism and Beyond – American Bible Society left off Apocrypha in 19th century translations as did British Bible Society in its wake.  Situation still in flux.