TEACHING NOTES Introduction ‌In previous sessions of this study series we learned about how the Bible was written and copied over time. Now that we know how and when the biblical texts were written, the next step is determining which writings are Scripture (inspired by God) and which writings are not Scripture. This session will focus on the canon—or canonicity of the texts in the Bible. ‌ Questions to Address: ‌What is the “canon”? How/when was the OT canon finalized? How/when was the NT canon finalized? What about the Apocrypha texts? What is the “Canon”? ‌Greek: kanon = rule or standard ‌Hebrew: qaneh = measuring rod ‌The canon is a collection of books that have sacred status as authoritative for belief and practice. Some non-canonical writings were still considered important. ‌ How/when was the OT canon finalized? ‌ 400 BC - benchmark (written records) ‌ 2 Maccabees 2:13-15 “13 The same things also were reported in the writings and commentaries of Neemias; and how he founding a library gathered together the acts of the kings, and the prophets, and of David, and the epistles of the kings concerning the holy gifts. 14 In like manner also Judas gathered together all those things that were lost by reason of the war we had, and they remain with us, 15 Wherefore if ye have need thereof, send some to fetch them unto you.” ‌ Great Assembly (200 BC +) ‌120 scribes reach consensus ‌Torah: accepted by all Jewish groups. ‌Prophets & Writings: accepted by most Jewish groups. ‌ Septuagint (LXX): Greek Old Testament (300 BC) Done by 70 scribes in Alexandria, Egypt ‌Included additional books (Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha). NT quotes the LXX almost 80% of the time. Books written originally in Greek were questioned. ‌ OT Books Questioned: Esther: God not mentioned, questionable behavior ‌Song of Songs (Solomon): erotic language Ecclesiastes: mostly negative/pessimistic ‌Ezekiel 40-48: temple doesn’t match former temple ‌ Council of Jamnia (AD 100) Council of committed Jews only. Texts must exist in Hebrew to be considered Scripture. Septuagint set aside: because it was the OT of Christianity Masoretic Text created and established. Masoretes began making copies to “hand down" ‌Oldest copy of the MT is from AD 1008 ‌ How/when was the NT canon finalized? ‌ As with the OT, the NT canon was a process over time. AD 40-96: NT written and completed ‌AD 140: Marcion first mentions canon (but heretical) AD 140-170: Muratorian Fragment (1st list of NT books) AD 170-175: Tatian Diatessaron (harmony of 4 Gospels) AD 170-180: Irenaeus affirms 4 Gospels AD 200: References to all NT books in church writings AD 325: Nicea and Constantine (consensus) ‌AD 367: Athanasius list (full canon) ‌ The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha (300 BC - AD 120): ‌ There are two categories of writings that are ancient but are not considered to be Scripture by many Jewish and Christian groups. Most of these documents were written in the intertestamental period and some were written during the first century AD or shortly after. ‌ Apocrypha: Writings that were occasionally withheld from the general public because their content was considered less valuable or questionable. Pseudepigrapha: Writings that claim to be written by or written about ancient biblical characters. For example, the book of Enoch claims to be written by or about the Enoch from Gen. 5:22-24. These writings were copied and preserved by Jews and Christians. See a list of these books in the image below. ‌ How the OT Apocrypha was Removed: During the intertestamental period (2nd temple period) there were several Jewish writings that were considered very important. The Septuagint included these writings (an additional 13+ books). ‌ Jerome translated the Latin Vulgate (AD 400). Jerome included all books from the Septuagint. The Apocrypha remained in Catholic Bibles. Protestant Reformation (1500s) reverted back to “Hebrew only” books and removed the Apocrypha from their translations. ‌ Should we read the OT apocryphal books? ‌ Ancient Jews and Christians read these books as valuable/important. These books contain important information about the historical events and theology of ancient Israel. NT authors quote and allude to these texts. Principle: Writings don’t have to be Scripture to be true. ‌ Note: Without some of the Apocryphal books, one specific Messianic prophesy would be lost. In the NT Gospels, people believed Jesus was the Messiah because He could cast out demons. However, there is no prophesy or even mention of the Messiah casting out demons in the canonical OT. The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha included several prophesies that the Messiah would have power and authority over demons. The early church fathers used these writings in their arguments with Jews to prove that Jesus is the Messiah. ‌ What about the “lost” Gospels? ‌ The so-called “lost” writings of the NT gained popularity again with the release of Dan Brown’s novel The DaVinci Code. There are writings that claim to be written by apostles that were not considered Scripture. However, they were all written after the time of the apostles. ‌ Infancy Gospels—James, Thomas, Matthew (AD 150-600) Gospel of the Hebrews (120), Peter (150+), Judas (150+), Thomas (200), Philip (200+), Nicodemus (300+), Mary (400+) Apocalypse of Peter (120+) Of this list only the Gospel of the Hebrews and the Apocalypse of Peter were considered important, but not Scripture. All the others were immediately rejected as forgeries. ‌ Conclusion ‌The biblical canon consist of 66 books—39 OT and 27 NT—and should be trusted as Scripture for faith and practice. ‌The biblical canon has been settled for thousands of years and no books should be added nor subtracted. ‌