The Biblical Canon
A brief overview of how we got our Bible
Regarding the development and official establishment of the biblical canon, the claim is often made that this was not settled until the fourth century. While there was anofficial recognition by the Council of Hippo in AD 393, the canon itself was already fairly well-attested by the early church. For instance, Irenaeus (AD 180) provided compelling evidence for the canon of the New Testament. In his writings, he acknowledges the authority of the four Gospels, Acts, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, 1 John, and Revelation. F. F. Bruce comments on the general acceptance of the four Gospels by this time: “In his [Irenaeus] treatise Against Heresies (III, ii.8), it is evident that by AD 180 the idea of the fourfold Gospel had become so axiomatic throughout Christendom that it could be referred to as an established fact as obvious and inevitable and natural as the four cardinal points of the compass (as we call them) or the four winds.”[1]
Regarding the Old Testament canon, we know that the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, was accepted by the early church, due in no small part to the fact that it was “the text of Scripture quoted by most New Testament authors.”[2] Further, Christianity, an outgrowth of Judaism was already in possession of the Jewish Scripture (which began to be called the “Old” Testament). The veracity of the Jewish Scriptures was reaffirmed in the Gospels, which attested to Jesus’ quotation from fully twenty-four Old Testament books. The ancient historian Flavius Josephus (37-101) indicates that the Church had begun to limit the canonical Old Testament books to the 39 books of the Protestant Old Testament (thus excluding the Apocryphal books of the Roman Catholic Bible). He groups them into 22 books (conforming to the Hebrew alphabet) and says that “we have not an innumerable multitude of books among us… but only twenty-two books, which contain all the records of all the past times” (Against Apion, 1.8).
In the third century, Origen began to call the various books of the Bible thus established as a “canon” (or “standard”), thus empathizing their divine authority. In this vein, it is important to note that “[t]he writings are not authoritative because they are included in the list; they are in the list because their authority has been recognized.”[3] To determine that authority, early church fathers applied several tests upon any writing being considered for inclusion into the canon, including its apostolicity (written by an apostle or by one immediately under apostolic authority), acceptance by the church at large, and its doctrinal consistency – both internal (i.e., not self-contradictory) and external (i.e., not conflicting with other accepted writings). It was, ultimately, Athanasius' 39th Festal Letter in AD 367 (wherein he sought to differentiate the inspired canon from the various apocryphal writings) that first set down the “official” recognition of the biblical canon that survives today.
[1] F. F. Bruce, The Books and the Parchments: How We Got Our English Bible (Old
Tappan, N. J.: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1950), p. 109.
[2] Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity (Volume 1), (NY: HarperCollins, 1984), p. 12.
[3] F.F. Bruce, “The Canon of Scripture,” Inter-Varsity (Autumn 1954): p. 19.
Regarding the Old Testament canon, we know that the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, was accepted by the early church, due in no small part to the fact that it was “the text of Scripture quoted by most New Testament authors.”[2] Further, Christianity, an outgrowth of Judaism was already in possession of the Jewish Scripture (which began to be called the “Old” Testament). The veracity of the Jewish Scriptures was reaffirmed in the Gospels, which attested to Jesus’ quotation from fully twenty-four Old Testament books. The ancient historian Flavius Josephus (37-101) indicates that the Church had begun to limit the canonical Old Testament books to the 39 books of the Protestant Old Testament (thus excluding the Apocryphal books of the Roman Catholic Bible). He groups them into 22 books (conforming to the Hebrew alphabet) and says that “we have not an innumerable multitude of books among us… but only twenty-two books, which contain all the records of all the past times” (Against Apion, 1.8).
In the third century, Origen began to call the various books of the Bible thus established as a “canon” (or “standard”), thus empathizing their divine authority. In this vein, it is important to note that “[t]he writings are not authoritative because they are included in the list; they are in the list because their authority has been recognized.”[3] To determine that authority, early church fathers applied several tests upon any writing being considered for inclusion into the canon, including its apostolicity (written by an apostle or by one immediately under apostolic authority), acceptance by the church at large, and its doctrinal consistency – both internal (i.e., not self-contradictory) and external (i.e., not conflicting with other accepted writings). It was, ultimately, Athanasius' 39th Festal Letter in AD 367 (wherein he sought to differentiate the inspired canon from the various apocryphal writings) that first set down the “official” recognition of the biblical canon that survives today.
[1] F. F. Bruce, The Books and the Parchments: How We Got Our English Bible (Old
Tappan, N. J.: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1950), p. 109.
[2] Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity (Volume 1), (NY: HarperCollins, 1984), p. 12.
[3] F.F. Bruce, “The Canon of Scripture,” Inter-Varsity (Autumn 1954): p. 19.
