Canon (Bible)

The barrel means in all religions of all the texts considered sacred and governing worship : see Canon (religion).

The word canon comes from the ancient Greek itself the original Semitic Hebrew (reed, measuring stick), Akkadian Ugaritic the Punic and perhaps even Sumerian .

Paul of Tarsus (St. Paul) uses the term to refer both boundaries of the territories to evangelize ascribed to it (2 Cor 10:13-16)

and the rule of conduct imparted to Christians (Galatians 6:16).

In ^the fourth century , the meaning of this word is used in connection with the Bible. This is so books of the Old Testament and New Testament which are reported two new terms:

• In 363 , the Council of Laodicea in the barrel 59 (Regional Council)
• In 392 , in the Festal Letter of Athanasius of Alexandria.

Canon of the Hebrew Bible

The idea of a canon of the Hebrew Bible (called " Old Testament "by Justin Martyr ) is made only after the Synod of Jamnia (or Yabnah or Yabneh), that is to say at the end the ^first century after the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans. Previously, the concept of a closed list (in the sense of complete and final) books included in the Septuagint is inconceivable . However, the process of canonization seems to have been an open process.

The Masoretic text of the current contemporary writing of the Mishna , that is to say the result of work of doctors from ^the second century. This work of grammarians (the vocalization stores various possible pronunciations) continues until ^the tenth century , the manuscript of St. Petersburg (Codex Leningradensis, listed B19A) which dates from the ^eleventh century (copied in Cairo in 1008-1009, of According to the colophon) and is the basis for the study of Hebrew Bibles (such as BHS - B iblia ebraica S H tuttgartensia - edited by Rudolf Kittel), is a witness to this work. Until the ^first century , the Bible of all is the Greek text of the Septuagint , though editions of Hebrew different proto-Masoretic text existed, as shown by the rolls of Qumran.

Hypothesis gun Jamnia

In Jewish Antiquities, Josephus gives a list of 22 books comprising the canon of Jewish scriptures. It includes:

• 13 books of the prophets ,
• 4 books of maxims, proverbs and wisdom ,
• 5 books of Moses.

After Jamnia rabbinical tannaim the middle, the middle who wrote the Mishna , saw himself as the natural heir to all previous traditions, whether Sadducees , Essene or obviously Pharisees. However, in the middle of Gamaliel II , the attitude apocalyptic "members of the Movement of Jesus "in the words of Jacques Schlosser (Professor at the Faculty of Catholic Theology of Strasbourg), makes it a threat to relations with the Roman occupiers. In addition, they are Min ( sectarian ), in that they concentrate access to the alliance on baptism. From this point of view, they are disinterested in the whole people. De facto, they are a divider and reformist sect as were the Essenes .

In addition, they "do say" things more strange to the Septuagint. Rabbinic controversies, recorded in the Talmud show discussions on the pretext of exegesis imaginative, have opinions about the relevance of a given text (Megillah Treaty, Treaty Soferim). We are witnessing a return to Hebrew, to a distrust of the Greek texts which do subside until the early ^third century.

The witnesses of this development are numerous. For example:

• In the Septuagint , Samuel is described as " nazir constantly since his mother's womb "while the Masoretic text used today denied him this quality (in the Masoretic text, the only" Nazir from the womb "is Samson (see Judges 13.5). The traditional interpretation says that the Septuagint away from the original Hebrew text. However, a discussion in the treaty Nazir is concerned nazirat Samuel. This suggests that the text the Septuagint was little different from the one or other of the Hebrew scriptures then usually outstanding and creative development tannaim was, first to eliminate any apocalyptic or messianic aspect, that is to say revolutionary.
• Another Talmudic discussion shows the decommissioning of a text written in Aramaic. It corresponds to the period of distrust of texts translated from Syriac, which is an Eastern Aramaic. The Treaty Megillah , Jonathan b. Uzziel downgrade the book of Daniel the prophet (Nebiim) in writing (ketoubim) while Flavius Josephus and the Septuagint considered him a prophet.

Concurrent writing of the Mishna and the Gospels reveals the underlying controversy. They are competing newsrooms. These controversies play a significant role both in the evolution of thinking around rabbinical Gamaliel II than in the delivery of the Christian system.

(See feature article Abraham Joshua Herschel )

Assumption of Sundberg (1964)

From a consensus built around a canonization in 3 phases:

• a first phase around 400 BCE on the Pentateuch
• a second phase around 200 BCE on the Prophets
• a third phase to 90 before the Common Era Writings on. The latter being canonized in the first century ratified by common usage.

Albert C. Sundberg, Jr. intends, from 1964, a more complex hypothesis .

Assumption of Thackeray (1921)

Henry St. John Thackeray is a grammarian. He worked primarily on the Septuagint, that is to say about the Bible in Greek. In 1921, he published: The Septuagint and Jewish Worship, A Study in Origins (The Schweich Lectures of the British Academy).

Hypothesis Leman Beckwith

• Leman Beckwith: The Old Testament of the Early Church, Harvard Theological Studies, No. 20

Construction of the New Testament Canon

Two successive theses are currently in the process of synthesis.

Thesis Adolf von Harnack and Hans Freiherr von Campenhausen

• for Hans Freiherr von Campenhausen see Formation of the Christian Bible
• Adolf von Harnack 's book: Origin of the New Testament

Around 200 emerges the idea of a catalog of books comprising the New Testament. Authority shall then:

• Four gospels
• 13 letters of Paul
• acts
• the first letter of John
• the first letter of Peter

Besides the indexes tracking the slow formation of the corpus, described in section Gospel , witnesses are given in more concrete:

• The Muratori Fragment of Roman origin
• Irenaeus of Lyons , a native of Asia Minor
• Tertullian in Carthage
• Clement of Alexandria

The influence of Marcion was instrumental in the formation of a cannon.

Thesis of Albert C. Steinberg

(Read: The Old Testament of the Early Church, Harvard Theological Studies, No. 20)

According to this book, there was never Alexandrian Canon of the Septuagint, as confirmed by studies on the construction of the Talmud , as mentioned above.

The desirability of interrogates list closed the Christians until the very end of the ^fourth century. It really no interest than Westerners. The canon of the Old Testament , the Latin churches like the Greek churches, evolve in parallel. Until the ^fourth century, it is called barrel after barrel open and closed.

However Steinberg date the fragment of Muratori's ^fourth century and gives him an Eastern origin. These characteristics make a list of all the others and he withdrew his inaugural list status. This design eliminates the lengthy discussion between the churches and the closing of the canon attributed to an ecclesiastical authority.

The content of the fragment ruin this assumption on the construction of the New Testament. Fragment no mention of the Epistle to the Hebrews very popular in the Eastern Churches because falsely attributed to Paul of Tarsus.

Birth of a written tradition in the East

Until the first century , the Bible is all of the Septuagint , though editions of Hebrew different proto-Masoretic text existed, as shown by the rolls of Qumran. She will give the Old Testament of the Christians. The Masoretic text of the current contemporary writing of the Mishna , that is to say the result of work of doctors from the second century although a proto-Masoretic text is known from 150 BCE.

This work of grammarians (the vocalization stores various possible pronunciations) continues until the tenth century , the manuscript of St. Petersburg (Codex Leningradensis) which dates from the tenth century and is the basis for Bible study in Hebrew , is a witness of this work.

After the synod Jamnia , middle rabbinical tannaim who wrote the Mishna , saw himself as the natural heir to all previous traditions, whether Sadducees , Essene or obviously Pharisees. In the middle of Gamaliel II , Christians appear to be sectarian and heretical. Their interpretation of the Septuagint is in question. There is thus a distrust Instruments Greek and a return to the Hebrew. Writing concomitant Mishna and Gospels reveals therefore polemics underlying played a significant role both in the evolution of thinking around rabbinical Gamaliel II in the delivery of the Christian system.

Attempts to Tatian, Marcion face of opposition to the dogmatism of Irenaeus and Athanasius are clearly behind the Canon

The canon of Marcion (c. 150 )

It precedes the official canon. It keeps the writings circulating:

• The epistles of Paul, he knows of only 10 out of 13 of the official canon posterior
• A redacted version of the Gospel of Luke that Marcion is a companion of Paul.

Paul's letters known by Marcion are:

• Galatians
• 1 and 2 Corinthians
• Romans
• 1 and 2 Thessalonians
• Ephesians that Marcion called "Laodicean"
• Colossians
• Philippe
• Philemon.

This corpus editorial continued into Syriac Church, with the addition of Hebrews that some modern authors ascribe to Marcion while the ancients attributed to Paul.

The Diatessaron of Tatian

Troubled by the fact that we retain four gospels with four different stories about themselves and the facts of Jesus, Tatian began to melt into one continuous narrative, coherent, retaining only what is common to them, erasing all by this selection which is divergent as it considers another meaningless anecdote. It draws on the four gospels canonized since. The freedom with which they are used, similar to that which availed themselves of the authors of Matthew and Luke in their recovery of Mark shows that the moment he wrote the 4 gospels are not even sacred. The loans he made to other sources show that they are not intended to be an exclusive source. At a time when the idea of triumph Plotinus that the truth is one and that the dissent is hateful, it is inconceivable that each of the canonical gospels were considered destined to stand on its own and not to complement the other. Each of them, from the viewpoint of their authors, proposed to become the only valid evidence of the life and teaching of Jesus that would supersede all others. Moreover, the polemical intention is clearly marked in the incipit of the author to Theophilus. Harmonizing several compilations have been produced. That of Tatian persist in the canonical corpus of the Syriac Church.

Canonization of the 4 gospels

Why these 4 there and not others? This question immediately comes to mind of a reader of the XXI ^century. She was also interested readers of late antiquity and the answer given by Irenaeus in his Adversus Haereses not fail to amaze the modern reader:

"Moreover, there can be no greater or smaller number of Gospels (four). Indeed, since there are four regions of the world in which we and four principal winds, and because, secondly, the Church is spread throughout the land and it has the support column and for the Gospel and the Spirit of life, it is natural that it has four columns which blow from all sides and make the imperishable life to men. Hence it appears that the Word, Artisan of the universe, who sits on the cherubim and holds all things, when manifested to men gave us a Gospel quad form, although held by a single mind. "

Coexistence of an oral tradition

The study of the Fathers of the Church and the collection of citations they give in the writings of ^second century and ^third century show that the words attributed to Jesus of the Gospels did not come as they are known. The first assumption is that they cite from memory and that it is not quite accurate. Comparison with quotations from the Old Testament shows less divergence with the texts of the Septuagint. Should we assume that their memory is less faithful to the so-called Jesus as the texts of the Septuagint? Yet men of antiquity were overtrained for long recitations. It therefore makes another assumption. Other Gospels were written that transmit other traditions and called on the facts of Jesus. They use the same oral tradition and serve as references in the texts of the ancient Fathers. Books such as:

• The Gospel of Thomas On the concept of heresy

  Depending on whether one is in the ^second century , the ^third century , the ^fourth century , the heresies are not the same. It follows that the books are not rejected the same. With the exception of heresies Donatist mlcienne and novartienne , dealing with disagreements over how to address the apostates and other relapsed and raise the question of forgiveness, heresies are mostly regional and regionally processed until the Council of Nicaea in 325. It therefore includes a list of heresies which varies with geography (region) and history (time) led to exclusions / inclusions which are from time to time of reckoning. Until the Council of Chalcedon , who was excommunicated as to Rome can be found at Antioch or elsewhere, and vice versa. Two examples:

  • Marcion bringing to Rome around 140 - 150 its 10 letters of Paul of Tarsus off again excommunicated, founded his church and his body is used as the basis for the Syriac church
  • Athanasius of Alexandria , excommunicated in his patriarchate of origin is noted and welcomed in Rome until the Emperor in council do decide it is no longer possible for a bishop to raise the excommunication of another colleagues. Despite this, the bishops of Nicomedia , of Antioch , of Caesarea continue to welcome and reintegrate excommunicated from Alexandria or Rome.

  Conclusion Progress

  Tatian and Marcion, by their choice of sources and rewrite their business reflect the resistance to accept multiple conflicting testimonies. Marcion's role was decisive, not least that the idea of closing a list to stand against other sources, a body opposed to other body available. The church of Marcion, as the discredited Marcionites , remain for centuries in Asia Minor. To fight against it, the Eastern Patriarchs and Western will use the method it had inaugurated: a list where the distinction of certain books elevated to the status of inspired Scripture refers to other sources of fabulae rank, that is ie of apocrypha.

  Canon East, the Western canon

  Criteria

  Depending on whether they come from East and West , lists of books selected are not the same. Besides the reluctance to plural receiving testimony tetramorph (Irenaeus neologism!), Some books received in the West are repudiated in the East and vice versa. The Eastern churches work with a long gun of 22 pounds while the Western Churches held to a canon of 27 books. Orientals as Westerners, however, use the same criteria:

  • Is compelling books that are received by the greatest number
  • Follows a second collection of books that look good but one wonders if they are enough to be read in public during the liturgies.
  • The third list includes all books written by heretics , and therefore must be rejected (or destroyed)

  This classification requires some remarks.

  On the second list

  It usually includes texts whose contemporary textual criticism shows that they are writing contemporary or near contemporary of those who are responsible for drawing up the lists. Although the canonization of a contemporary text is not prohibited, as is shown that the Diatessaron of Tatian the Syrian Church, it seems that the seniority assigned to either a sesame texts. This second list also includes books whose father unknown but received everywhere. After lengthy negotiations, some will be included in the canon. Others, for liturgical use in some communities, will be rejected. We have no idea what that means inauthentic. Inauthentic is the word used by Protestants to denote the books of the Old Testament that Catholics call "Apocrypha".

  The books are still being held

  The first list includes all:

  • The 4 gospels
  • Acts
  • The First Epistle of John

  With regard to the epistles of Paul, the lists vary. Marcion knew of 10 other lists give 13, even 14. Some lists were constructed around the symbolic number 7 at the cost of acrobatics: the letters double counting as one.

  Special Article: Paul of Tarsus

  • The following books were still delayed:
  • The Catholic Epistles, not because they are specific to a name (as we tend to believe today) but because they are addressed to all the churches instead of being sent to one of them, a metropolis, especially as the case is consistent with Paul and they imitate the genre.
  Article: the letter in antiquity.

  They are:

  • Jude
  • 2 and 3 John
  • Jacques
  • 2 Peter

  Some texts are systematically ignored in the West that are valued in the East and vice versa:

  • The Epistle to the Hebrews , received in the East
  • The Apocalypse (Revelation) of John, received in the West, rejected in the East because of the proximity of the tradition tannaim. Challenged by Athanasius of Alexandria , will be integrated into the gun ^fourth century
  • The Epistle to Philemon is unknown to the Syriac Church in contrast to the ³ rd Corinthians.

  Closing the gun

  Main article: Canons of the Church.

  In Latin Churches

  The barrel ends at 27 pounds by authority of the Church. Thus, it closes earlier than the East regional synods of Carthage of 397 and 419. Until the last years of the ^fourth century , it excludes the Epistle to the Hebrews. This question is never addressed in the ecumenical councils of the century. This gap then assigns the role of these councils and court instead of space to handle the affairs of churches in a unification project. In spite of the decrees of Gelasius, apocalyptic literature other than John's will be copied and held a party for the New Testament until the middle of the Middle Age ( XIII ^century )

  In Greek churches

  It is the use of books in the communities that determines the barrel. The gun starts at 22 pounds, without Epistle to the Hebrews, without letters of Jacques, or 2 Peter, 3 John or Jude either. In the mid- ^third century , the work of Cyprian of Carthage does not cite any of these 5 books nor the letter to Philemon, and obviously without Apocalypse.

  This opposition to apocalyptic literature is part of the fight against millenarianism Montanist attested by Eusebius of Caesarea , and by Gregory Nazianzen , Amphilochius of Iconium (d. 896 ) who says of the Apocalypse :

  Some accept it but most say inauthentic

  The school of Antioch, with John Chrysostom ( 347 - 407 ), Theodore of Mopsuestia ( 393 - 466 ) sticks to a gun of 22 pounds without Apocalypse. The Council in Trullo ( 692 ) does nothing.

  Ambiguity of the fence

  In his Festal letter, Athanasius recommends noncanonical books for the instruction of beginners who are now considered apocryphal :

  • Pastor of Hermas
  • The Doctrine of the Apostles (now lost)

  It also recommends the Old Testament Apocrypha included today among the Deuterocanonical :

  • Wisdom of Solomon (Known in his time as the wisdom of Solomon and friends in his honor)
  • The transition from books to books without a father absurd and impious occurs slowly during debates and expressed in that form in Eusebius. Somehow, the quality of heretical men back from the books until about Pseudepigrapha. This assessment is tasty post when the exegesis has shown since the ^nineteenth century that even the four canonical Gospels are deemed themselves Pseudepigrapha.

  Specialty items: biblical Apocrypha , Biblical Manuscripts

  In this review of Athanasius rooted the best current hypothesis concerning the Coptic manuscripts of Nag Hammadi , suggests they were buried because some of them were convicted of the books.

  Writings mentioned in the Bible but are not there

  • the book of the covenant (Exodus 24:7)
  • Wars of the Lord (No. 21:14)
  • The Book of the Just (Joshua 10:13; 2 S 1:18)
  • the Book of Acts of Solomon (1 Kings 11:41)
  • the Book of Samuel the seer (1 Chron 29:29)
  • the Book of Nathan the prophet (1 Chron 29:29, 2 Ch 9:29)
  • the Book of Gad the prophet (1 Chron 29:29)
  • Prophecy of Ahijah of Shiloh (2 Chronicles 9:29)
  • Revelations of Jedo the prophet (2 Chronicles 9:29)
  • Shemaiah the Book of the prophet (2 Chron 12:15)
  • the Book of Iddo the prophet (2 Chr 12:15; 13:22)
  • Memoirs of Jehu (2 Chronicles 20:34)
  • the Book of Hoza (2 Ch 33:19)
  • the a href = "Livre_d% 27H% C3% A9noch" title = "Book of Enoch"> prophecies of Enoch / Enoch (Jud v. 14) Notes and references
    1. Chantraine: Etymological Dictionary of the Greek language, Klincksieck
    2. lexicon of the Bible, Bayard
    3. Emet article Bultmann &?? Dictionary for Theological?? to complete
    4. Festal Letter XXXIX, Athanasius. Festal Letter is a document sent by the bishop to the faithful of his diocese in which they request various things
    5. Thomas Rmer et al, Introduction to the Old Testament in Labor et Fides, 2005
    6. tienne Nodet op, Son of God, Cerf and Israel Knohl , The Messiah another, Bayard
    7. Babylonian Talmud, page 66a
    8. Treaty Talmud Megillah, p. 6a
    9. Albert C. Sundberg, Jr., The Old Testament of the Early Church Revisited, Festschrift in Honor of Charles Speel, edited by Thomas J. Sienkewicz and James E. Bett, Monmouth, Illinois, 1997
    10. French, The Formation of the Christian Bible, Hans von Campenhausen - Neuchtel: Delachaux & University Press, 1971
    11. download his book in English Origin of the New Testament
    12. Marguerat, op. cit.

    Related articles

    • Bible
    • Tanakh
    • Canon (religion)
    • Irenaeus of Lyons : Divine Inspiration of the Canon tetramorph
    • Biblical exegesis
    • History of research on the Pentateuch
    • Deuteronomistic History
    • List of books of the Bible
    • Deuterocanon
    • Bible translations
    • Biblical apocrypha
    • Holy Scripture
    • Canon (religion)
    • Period intertestamental

    External Links

    • (En) History of the Christian canon of the Bible by Edward Reuss, download
    • (En) Pontifical Biblical Commission. The Jewish People and Their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible
    • (En) Edward Cothenet, Marcion, the gospel of God abroad. A monograph on the history of the founding of the Catholic Church, Spirit and Life No. 102, March 2004
    • (En) Jean-Daniel Dubois, Gnosticism - The conflicts in the Church of the Second Century, November 18, 1995
    • (En) The Mormon canon
    • (In) Canon of the Old Testament - The Catholic Encyclopedia
    • (In) Canon of the New Testament - The Catholic Encyclopedia

    Bibliography

    • Introduction to the New Testament: Its history, writing, theology, edited by Daniel Marguerat , Labor & Fides, 2000 ( ISBN 978-2-8309-1149-7 )
    • Introduction to the Old Testament edited by Thomas Rmer , Labor & Fides, 2004
    • Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Bible, Canon article, Brepols, 2002.
    • Marie-Francoise Baslez , Bible and history, history Folio, Gallimard, 1998
    • Sources of Canon, the testimony of Irenaeus, Yves-Marie Blanchard, with the assistance of the Catholic Institute of Paris , June 1993
    • Wilfrid Harrington, New introduction to the Bible, Seuil, 1970.
    • Etienne Nodet and Justin Taylor , Essays on the origins of Christianity, Cerf.
    • Marcel Simon (historian) , The civilization of Antiquity and Christianity, Arthaud, 1972.
    • Odon Vallet , A New History of Religions, Seuil.

    Books of the Old Testament
    Tanakh (Common to the Hebrew Bible canon Jewish and Christian )	Torah ( Pentateuch ) Genesis (Gen) Exodus (Ex) Leviticus (Lev) Numbers (Nb) Deuteronomy (Dt) Nevi'im (Prophets) Ketuvim (Other Writings) Joshua (Josh) Judges (Jg) Ruth (Rt) 1 Samuel (1 S) 2 Samuel (2 S) 1 Kings (1 R) 2 Kings (2 K) 1 Chronicles (1 Ch) 2 Chronicles (2 Ch) Esdras (Ezra) Nehemiah (Ne) Esther (East) Job (Job) Psalms (Ps) Proverbs (Pr) Ecclesiastes (Ecc) Song of Songs (Song) Isaiah (Is) Jeremiah (Jer) Lamentations (The) Ezekiel (Ez) Daniel (Da) Hosea (Hos) Joel (Joel) Amos (Am) Obadiah (Ab) Jonas (Jon) Micah (Mi) Nahum (Na) Habakkuk (Ha) Zephaniah (Zep) Haggai (Ag) Zachariah (Zachariah) Malachi (Mal)
    Deuterocanon (Canon churches Catholic and Orthodox )	Tobit (Tb) Judith (Jdt) 1 Maccabees (1 M) 2 Maccabees (2 M) Wisdom (Wis) Ecclesiasticus (If) Baruch (Ba) Epistle of Jeremiah switchover Greek Greek Daniel switchover Esther
    Canon Orthodox Greek and Slavonic	Greece Esdras 3 Maccabees Prayer of Manasseh Psalm 151 Book of Odes Psalms of Solomon
    Canon Georgian Orthodox	4 Maccabees Ezra Latin
    Canon Ethiopian Orthodox restricted	Apocalypse of Ezra Jubilees Enoch 1-3 Maccabees Ethiopian 4 Baruch
    Peshitta Syriac	Psalms 152-155 2 Baruch Letter of Baruch

    Books of the New Testament
    Gospels	Matthew Marc Luke Jean
    Written apostolic	Acts of the Apostles
    Pauline Epistles	Roman 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians 1 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Titus Philemon
    Catholic Epistles	Hebrews Jacques 1 Peter 2 Peter * 1 John 2 John * 3 John * Jude *
    Apocalypse	Apocalypse of John *
    * Absent from the Peshitta Syriac

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