It will now be convenient to treat of the two Testaments together, _i.e._,
_the canon of the Bible_. The canons of both have been considered
separately to the end of the third century; they may be henceforward
discussed together. We proceed, therefore, to the Bible-canon of the
fourth century, first in the Greek Church and then in the Latin. The
Council of Laodicea (A.D. 363), at which there was a predominant semiarian
influence, forbad the reading of all _non-canonical_ books. The 59th canon
enacts, that “private psalms must not be read in the Church, nor
uncanonized books; but only the canonical ones of the New and Old
Testament.” The 60th canon proceeds to give a list of such. All the books
of the Old Testament are enumerated, but in a peculiar order, somewhat
like the Septuagint one. With Jeremiah is specified _Baruch_, then the
Lamentations and _Epistle_. The prophets are last; first the minor, next
the major and Daniel. In the New Testament list are the usual seven
Catholic epistles, and fourteen of Paul, including that to the Hebrews.
The Apocalypse alone is wanting. Credner has proved that this 60th canon
is not original, and of much later date.(227)
The Apostolic Constitutions give a kind of canon like that in the 59th of
Laodicea. After speaking of the books of Moses, Joshua, Judges, Kings,
Chronicles, those belonging to the return from the captivity, those of
Job, Solomon, the sixteen prophets, and the Psalms of David; our Acts, the
epistles of Paul, and the four gospels are mentioned. It is remarkable
that the Catholic epistles are not given. That they are indicated under
Acts is altogether improbable. The Antiochian Church of that time doubted
or denied the apostolicity of these letters, as is seen from Theodore,
Cosmas, and others. Hence, their absence from these Constitutions, which
are a collection belonging to different times; the oldest portion not
earlier perhaps than the third century.(228)
Cyril of Jerusalem, who took part in the Council of Laodicea,(229) gives a
list “of the divine Scriptures.” The books of the Old Testament are
twenty-two, and the arrangement is nearly that which is in the English
Bible. With Jeremiah is associated “Baruch and the Epistle.” All the New
Testament books are given except the Apocalypse. The list agrees very
nearly with that of Eusebius, by taking the latter’s “controverted”
writings into the class of the “generally received.”(230) The writer
insists on the necessity of unity in the Church upon the subject, and
forbids the reading of writings not _generally received_. None but these
are allowed. Yet he refers to Baruch (iii. 36-38) as _the prophet;_(231)
and in adducing the testimonies of the prophets for the existence of the
Holy Spirit, the last he gives is Daniel xiii. 41, 45. Sirach iii. 21, 22
is cited;(232) Wisdom is quoted as Solomon’s (xiii. 5);(233) the song of
the three children is used (verse 55)(234) with verses 27, 29;(235) and
Daniel (xiii. 22, 45) is quoted.(236)
In Athanasius’s festal epistle (365 A.D.) the archbishop undertakes “to
set forth in order, the books that are canonical and handed down and
believed to be divine.” His list of the Old Testament nearly agrees with
Cyril’s, except that Esther is omitted and Ruth counted separately, to
make out the twenty-two books. He adds, “there are other books not
canonical, designed by the fathers to be read by those just joining us and
wishing to be instructed in the doctrine of piety;” _i.e._, the Wisdom of
Solomon and the Wisdom of Sirach, and Esther and Judith and Tobit, and the
Doctrine of the Apostles so called, and the Shepherd; “those being
_canonical_, and these being _read_, let there be no mention of apocryphal
writings,” &c. The New Testament list is the same as Cyril’s, with the
addition of the Apocalypse.(237) He quotes several of the apocryphal books
in the same way as he does the canonical. Thus he introduces Judith (viii.
16) with “the Scripture said;”(238) and Baruch (iii. 12) is cited as if it
were Scripture.(239) Wisdom (vi. 26) has the epithet Scripture applied to
it.(240) Sirach (xv. 9) is introduced with “what is said by the Holy
Spirit.”(241) Baruch (iv. 20, 22) and Daniel (xiii. 42) are referred to in
the same way as Isaiah.(242) Tobit (ii. 7) has “it is written” prefixed to
it.(243) Canonical and apocryphal are mentioned together; and similar
language applied to them.
Eusebius of Caesarea cites Wisdom as a _divine oracle_;(244) and after
adducing several passages from Proverbs, subjoining to them others from
the same book with the introductory formula “these are also said to be the
same writers,” he concludes with “such is the scripture.”(245) Sirach is
cited as Solomon’s along with various passages from Proverbs.(246) After
quoting Baruch, he says, “there is no need to appeal to the divine voices,
which clearly confirm our proposition.”(247) The additions to Daniel are
also treated as Scripture.(248)
Basil of Caesarea(249) had a canon agreeing with that of Athanasius. Along
with the usual books reckoned as belonging to the canon, he used the
apocryphal productions of the Old Testament. Thus the book of Wisdom (i.
4)(250) is quoted by him. So are Sirach (xx. 2);(251) Baruch, (iii.
36)(252) called Jeremiah’s; Judith (ix. 4);(253) and Daniel (xiii.
50).(254)
Gregory of Nazianzus(255) puts his list into a poetical form. In the Old
Testament it agrees with Athanasius’s exactly, except that he mentions
none but the canonical books. Like Athanasius, he omits Esther. In the New
Testament he deviates from Athanasius, by leaving out the Apocalypse,
which he puts among the spurious.(256) He does not ignore the apocryphal
books of the Old Testament, but quotes Daniel xiii. 5.(257)
Amphilochius of Iconium(258) gives a metrical catalogue of the Biblical
books. The canon of the Old Testament is the usual one, except that he
says of Esther at the end, “some judge that Esther should be added to the
foregoing.” He notices none of the apocryphal books. His New Testament
canon agrees with the present, only he excludes the Apocalypse as
_spurious_; which is given as the judgment of the majority. He alludes to
the doubts that existed as to the epistle to the Hebrews, but regards it
as Pauline; and to the number of the catholic epistles (seven or
three).(259) The concluding words show that no list was universally
received at that time.
Epiphanius(260) follows Athanasius in his canon. As to the number of the
Old Testament books, he hesitates between twenty-two and twenty-seven; but
the contents are the same. At the end of the twenty-seven books of the New
Testament, Wisdom and Sirach are mentioned as “divine writings;” elsewhere
they are characterized as “doubtful.”(261) His practice shows his
sentiments clearly enough, when Sirach (vii. 1) is introduced with “the
Scripture” testifies(262); vii. 9 is elsewhere quoted(263); Wisdom (i. 4)
is cited as Solomon’s;(264) Baruch (iii. 36) is introduced with, “as the
Scripture says,”(265) and Daniel (xiii. 42) is quoted with, “as it is
written.”(266) He mentions the fact that the epistles of Clement of Rome
were read in the churches.(267)
Didymus of Alexandria(268) speaks against 2 Peter that it is not in the
canons.(269)
Chrysostom(270) does not speak of the canon; but in the New Testament he
never quotes the last four catholic epistles or the Apocalypse. All the
other parts he uses throughout his numerous works,(271) including the
Apocrypha. Thus he introduces Wisdom (xvi. 28) with “Scripture says.”(272)
He quotes Baruch (iii. 36, 38);(273) and Sirach (iv. 1.).(274)
Didymus of Alexandria(275) cites Baruch (iii. 35) as Jeremiah,(276) and
treats it like the Psalms.(277) Daniel (xiii. 45) is also quoted.(278) He
says of Peter’s Second Epistle that it is not in the canon.
Theodore of Mopsuestia(279) was much freer than his contemporaries in
dealing with the books of Scripture. It seems that he rejected Job,
Canticles, Chronicles, and the Psalm-inscriptions; in the New Testament
the epistle of James, and others of the catholic ones. But Leontius’s
account of his opinions cannot be adopted without suspicion.(280)
The canon of Cyril of Alexandria(281) does not differ from Athanasius’s.
Like other writers of the Greek Church in his day he uses along with the
canonical the apocryphal books of the Old Testament. He quotes 1 (iii.)
Esdras (iv. 36) with “inspired Scripture says.”(282) Wisdom (vii. 6) is
introduced with, “according to that which is written.”(283) In another
place it has the prefix “for it is written” (i. 7);(284) and is treated as
Scripture (ii. 12).(285) Sirach (i. 1) is cited.(286) Baruch also (iii.
35-37) is introduced with, “another of the holy prophets said.”(287)
The catalogues of the Old Testament contained in the manuscripts B, C, and
א need not be given, as they are merely codices of the Septuagint, and
have or had the books canonical and apocryphal belonging to that version.
The list of the New Testament books in B is like that of Athanasius.
Imperfect at the end, the MS. must have had at first the Epistles to
Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and the Apocalypse. C (cod. Ephraemi rescriptus)
has fragments of the New Testaments, which show that it had originally all
the present books in the same order as Athanasius’s. א or the Sinaitic
manuscript has the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas, in
addition to the New Testament.
The progress made by the Greek Church of the fourth and former part of the
fifth century, in its conception of the canon seems to be, that the idea
of ecclesiastical settlement, or public, legal, definitive establishment
was attached to the original one. A writing was considered canonical when
a well-attested tradition put it among those composed by inspired men,
apostles or others; and it had on that account a determining authority in
matters of faith. Books which served as a rule of faith and were
definitively set forth by the Church as divinely authoritative, were now
termed _canonical_. The canon consisted of writings settled or determined
by ecclesiastical law.(288) Such was the idea added to the original
acceptation of canon. To canonical were opposed apocryphal writings,
_i.e._, _heretical_ and _fabricated_ ones; while an intermediate class
consisted of those read in the churches, which were useful, but not
decisive in matters of belief. Another advance in the matter of the canon
at this period was the general adoption of the Hebrew canon, with a
relegation of the Greek additions in the Septuagint to the class _publicly
read_.(289) Yet doubts about the reception of Esther into the number of
the canonical books were still entertained, though it was one of the
Jewish canon; doubtless on account of its want of harmony with Christian
consciousness. And the catholic epistles which had been doubted before,
Jude, James, Second Peter, were now generally received. But there was a
division of opinion about the Apocalypse.
We come to the period of the Latin, corresponding to that of the Greek
Church which has just been noticed. Augustine(290) gave great attention to
the subject, laboring to establish a complete canon, the necessity of
which was generally felt. According to him the Scriptures which were
received and acknowledged by all the churches of the day should be
canonical. Of those not universally adopted, such as are received by the
majority and the weightier of the churches should be preferred to those
received by the fewer and less important churches. In his enumeration of
the forty-four books of the Old Testament, he gives, after Chronicles,
other histories “which are neither connected with the order” specified in
the preceding context, “nor with one another,” _i.e._, Job, Tobit, Esther,
Judith, the two books of the Maccabees, and Esdras. Wisdom and
Ecclesiasticus, he thinks, should be numbered among the prophets, as
deserving of authority and having a certain likeness to Solomon’s
writings.(291) He says of the Maccabees that this “Scripture has been
received by the Church not uselessly, if it be read or heard
soberly.”(292) The famous passage in the treatise on Christian doctrine,
where he enumerates the whole canon, is qualified by no other; for though
he knew the distinction between the canonical books of the Palestinian
Jews and the so-called apocryphal ones, as well as the fact of some New
Testament writings not being received universally, he thought
_church-reception_ a sufficient warrant for canonical authority. Hence, he
considered the books of the Maccabees canonical, because so received by
the Church; while he says of Wisdom and Sirach that they merited
_authoritative_ reception and numbering among the _prophetic_
Scriptures.(293) Of the former in particular he speaks strongly in one
place, asserting that it is worthy to be venerated by all Christians as of
divine authority.(294) But he afterwards retracted his opinion of the
canonical authority of Sirach.(295) He raises, not lowers, the authority
of the so-called apocryphal books which he mentions. He enumerates all the
New Testament books, specifying the Pauline epistles as fourteen, and so
reckoning that to the Hebrews as the apostle’s; but he speaks of it
elsewhere as an epistle about which some were uncertain, professing that
he was influenced to admit it as canonical by the authority of the
Oriental churches.(296) In various places he speaks hesitatingly about its
Pauline authorship.
In 393, the African bishops held a council at Hippo where the canon was
discussed. The list of the canonical Scripture given includes, besides the
Palestinian one, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Tobit, Judith, and the two books
of Maccabees. The New Testament canon seems to have agreed exactly with
our present one.(297) The Council of Carthage (397) repeated the statute
of its predecessor, enumerating the same books of the Bible as
canonical.(298) Augustine was the animating spirit of both councils, so
that they may be taken as expressing his views on the subject.
Jerome(299) gives a list of the twenty-two canonical books of the Old
Testament, the same as that of the Palestinian Jews, remarking that some
put Ruth and Lamentations among the Hagiographa, so making twenty-four
books. All besides should be put among the Apocrypha. Wisdom, Sirach,
Judith, Tobit, the Shepherd are not in the canon. The two books of
Maccabees he regarded in the same light.(300) But though Jerome’s words
imply the apocryphal position of these extra-canonical books, he allows of
their being read in public for the edification of the people, not to
confirm the authority of doctrines; _i.e._, they belong to “the
ecclesiastical books” of Athanasius. His idea of “apocryphal” is wider and
milder than that of some others in the Latin Church. It has been
conjectured by Welte,(301) that the conclusions of the African councils in
393 and 397 influenced Jerome’s views of the canon, so that his later
writings allude to the apocryphal works in a more favorable manner than
that of the _Prologus galeatus_ or the preface to Solomon’s books. One
thing is clear, that he quotes different passages from the Apocrypha along
with others from the Hebrew canon. In his letter to Eustochius, Sirach
iii. 33 (Latin) comes between citations from Matthew and Luke; and is
introduced by _which is written_, in a letter to Pammachius; and xxii. 6
has _divine Scripture_ applied to it.(302) Ruth, Esther, and Judith are
spoken of as _holy volumes_. The practice of Jerome differed from his
theory; or rather he became less positive, and altered his views somewhat
with the progress of time and knowledge. As to the New Testament, he gives
a catalogue of all that now belongs to it, remarking of the epistle to the
Hebrews and of the Apocalypse that he adopts both on the authority of
ancient writers, not of present custom. His opinion about them was not
decided.(303) In another work he gives the Epistle of Barnabas at the end
of the canonical list. He also states the doubts of many respecting the
Epistle to Philemon, and about 2 Peter, Jude, 2 and 3 John. According to
him the first Epistle of Clement of Rome was publicly read in some
churches.(304)
Hilary of Poitiers(305) seems to have followed Origen’s catalogue. He
gives twenty-two books, specifying “the epistle” of Jeremiah; and remarks
that some added Tobit and Judith, making twenty-four, after the letters of
the Greek alphabet. He cites Wisdom and Sirach as “prophets.”(306) In the
New Testament he never quotes James, Jude, 2 and 3 John, nor 2 Peter. 2
Maccabees (vii. 28) is introduced with “according to the prophet;”(307)
Sirach (xxxi. 1) is introduced with “nor do they hear the Lord
saying;”(308) Wisdom is cited as Solomon’s (viii. 2);(309) Judith (xvi. 3)
is cited;(310) so is Baruch (iii. 36);(311) and Daniel xiii. 42.(312)
Optatus of Mela(313) has the usual canonical books, but omits the epistle
to the Hebrews. He uses the apocrypha without scruple, introducing Sirach
(iii. 30) with “it is written;”(314) and Wisdom (i. 13) with “it is
written in Solomon.”(315)
Lucifer of Cagliari(316) uses the apocrypha equally with the canonical
books. Thus 1 Maccabees (i. 43) is quoted as “holy Scripture.”(317) So is
2 Maccab. (vi. 1).(318) Judith (ix. 2) is cited,(319) as are also Wisdom
(xvii. 1, 2);(320) Tobit (iv. 6);(321) and Daniel (xiii. 20).(322)
Ambrose of Milan(323) had the same canon as most of the Westerns in his
time. With some others, he considered the Epistle to the Hebrews to have
been written by St. Paul. In the Old Testament he used the apocryphal
books pretty freely. Wisdom (vii. 22) is cited as authoritative
Scripture.(324) Sirach (xi. 30) is also cited as Scripture.(325) Baruch
(iv. 19) is quoted;(326) Daniel (xiii. 44, 45) is treated as Scripture and
prophetic;(327) and Tobit is expounded like any other book of
Scripture.(328)
Rufinus(329) enumerates the books of the Old and New Testaments which “are
believed to be inspired by the Holy Spirit itself, according to the
tradition of our ancestors, and have been handed down by the Churches of
Christ.” All the books of the Hebrew canon and of the New Testament are
specified. After the list he says, “these are they which the fathers
included in the canon, by which they wished to establish the assertion of
our faith.” He adds that there are other books not _canonical_, but
_ecclesiastical_—the Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Tobit, Judith, and the
books of the Maccabees. Besides the usual New Testament works, he speaks
of the Shepherd of Hermas, and the “Judgment of Peter” as read in the
churches, but not as authoritative in matters of faith.(330)
Philastrius(331) of Brescia gives some account of the Scriptures and their
contents in his time. The canonical Scriptures, which alone should be read
in the Catholic Church, are said to be the law and the prophets, the
gospels, Acts, thirteen epistles of Paul, and seven others, _i.e._, two of
Peter, three of John, one of Jude, and one of James. Of the Old Testament
apocrypha he asserts that they ought to be read for the sake of morals by
the perfect, but not by all. He speaks of _heretics_ who reject John’s
gospel and the Apocalypse. Respecting the Epistle to the Hebrews which is
omitted in his canon, he speaks at large, but not very decidedly,
affirming that some attributed its authorship to Barnabas, or Clement of
Rome, or Luke. “They wish to read the writings of the blessed apostle, and
not rightly perceiving some things in the epistle, it is not therefore
read by them in the church. Though read by some, it is not read to the
people in the church; nothing but Paul’s thirteen epistles, and that to
the Hebrews sometimes.”(332) The influence of the East upon the West
appears in the statements of this father upon the subject. He had several
canonical lists before him; one at least from an Oriental-Arian source,
which explains some assertions, particularly his omission of the
Apocalypse.
Innocent I. of Rome wrote to Exsuperius (405 A.D.), bishop of Toulouse,
giving a list of the canonical books. Besides the Hebrew canon, he has
Wisdom and Sirach; Tobit, Judith, the two Maccabees. The New Testament
list is identical with the present. He also refers to pseudepigraphical
writings which ought not only to be rejected but condemned.(333)
A canonical list appears in three different forms bearing the names of
Damasus (366-384), Gelasius I. (492-496), and Hormisdas (514-523).
According to the first, the books of the Old Testament are arranged in
three orders. In the first are the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, four
Kings, two Chronicles, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticles, Wisdom,
and Ecclesiasticus; in the second, all the prophets, including Baruch; in
the third, Job, Tobit, Judith, Esther, Esdras, two Maccabees. The New
Testament books are the four gospels, fourteen epistles of Paul, the
Apocalypse, and Acts, with seven Catholic epistles.
That which is called the Decree of Gelasius is almost identical with the
preceding. It wants Baruch and Lamentations. It has also two Esdrases
instead of one. In the New Testament the epistle to the Hebrews is absent.
The Hormisdas-form has the Lamentations of Jeremiah: and in the New
Testament the Epistle to the Hebrews.
The MSS. of these lists present some diversity; and Credner supposes the
Damasus-list a fiction. But Thiel has vindicated its authenticity. It is
possible that some interpolations may exist in the last two; the first,
which is the shortest, may well belong to the time of Damasus.(334)
In 419 A.D. another council at Carthage, at which Augustine was present,
repeated the former list of books with a single alteration, viz., fourteen
epistles of Paul (instead of thirteen).(335)
The preceding notices and catalogues show a general desire in the Western
Church to settle the canon. The two most influential men of the period
were Augustine and Jerome, who did not entirely agree. Both were unfitted
for a critical examination of the topic. The former was a gifted spiritual
man, lacking learning and independence. Tradition dominated all his ideas
about the difficult or disputed books. He did not enter upon the question
scientifically, on the basis of certain principles; but was content to
take refuge in authority—the prevailing authority of leading churches. His
judgment was weak, his sagacity moderate, and his want of many-sidedness
hindered a critical result. Jerome, again, was learned but timid, lacking
the courage to face the question fairly or fundamentally; and the
independence necessary to its right investigation. Belonging as he did to
both churches, he recommended the practice of the one to the other. He,
too, was chiefly influenced by tradition; by Jewish teachers in respect to
the Old Testament, and by general custom as to the New. The question was
not susceptible of advancement under such manipulation; nor could it be
settled on a legitimate basis. Compared with the eastern Church, the
western accepted a wider canon of the Old Testament, taking some books
into the class of the _canonical_ which the former put among those _to be
read_. In regard to the New Testament, _all_ the Catholic epistles and
even the Apocalypse were received. The African churches and councils
generally adopted this larger canon, because the old Latin version or
versions of the Bible current in Africa were daughters of the Septuagint.
If the Latins apparently looked upon the Greek as the original itself, the
apocryphal books would soon get rank with the canonical. Yet the more
learned fathers, Jerome, Rufinus and others, favored the Hebrew canon in
distinguishing between _canonical_ and _ecclesiastical_ books. The
influence of the Eastern upon the Western Church is still visible, though
it could not extinguish the prevailing desire to include the disputed
books. The Greek view was to receive nothing which had not apparently a
good attestation of divine origin and apostolic authority; the Latin was
to exclude nothing hallowed by descent and proved by custom. The former
Church looked more to the sources of doctrine; the latter to those of
edification. The one desired to contract those sources, so as not to be
too rich; the other to enlarge the springs of edification, not to be too
poor. Neither had the proper resources for the work, nor a right
perception of the way in which it should be set about; and therefore they
were not fortunate in their conclusions, differing as they did in regard
to points which affect the foundation of a satisfactory solution.
Notwithstanding the numerous endeavors both in the East and West to settle
the canon during the 4th and 5th centuries, it was not finally closed. The
doubts of individuals were still expressed; and succeeding ages testified
to the want of universal agreement respecting several books. The question,
however, was _practically_ determined. No material change occurred again
in the absolute rejection or admission of books. With some fluctuations,
the canon remained very much as it was in the 4th and 5th centuries.
Tradition shaped and established its character. General usage gave it a
permanency which it was not easy to disturb. No definite principles guided
the course of its formation, or fixed its present state. It was dominated
first and last by circumstances and ideas which philosophy did not
actuate. Its history is mainly objective. Uncritical at its commencement,
it was equally so in the two centuries which have just been considered.
The history of the canon in the Syrian church cannot be traced with much
exactness. The Peshito version had only the Hebrew canonical books at
first; most of the apocryphal were rendered from the Greek and added in
the Nestorian recension. In the New Testament it wanted four of the
catholic epistles and the Apocalypse. Ephrem (A.D. 378) uses all the books
in our canon, the apocryphal as well as the canonical. The former are
cited by him in the same way as the latter. Sirach ii. 1 is quoted with
_as the Scripture says_;(336) and Wisdom iv. 7 with _it is written_.(337)
Daniel xiii. 9, belonging to the Greek additions, is also cited with _as
it is written_.(338) It should be observed that the quotations given are
all from Ephrem’s Greek, not Syriac, works; and that suspicions have been
raised about the former being tampered with. The Syrian version of the New
Testament made by Polycarp at the request of Philoxenus of Mabug, had the
four catholic epistles wanting in the Peshito. It had also the two
epistles of Clement to the Corinthians, if we may judge by the Harclean
recension, A.D. 616; for a MS. in the Cambridge University Library
contains those epistles immediately after the Catholic ones, and before
those of St. Paul; so that they are put on an equality with the canonical
writings. The Apocalypse is wanting. Junilius, (though an African bishop
about 550 A.D.), says that he got his knowledge from a Persian of the name
of Paulus who received his education in the school of Nisibis. He may,
therefore, be considered a witness of the opinions of the Syrian church at
the beginning of the 6th century. Dividing the biblical books into those
of _perfect_, those of _intermediate_, and those of _no authority_, he
makes the first the canonical; the second, those added to them by many
(plures); the third, all the rest. In the first list he puts
Ecclesiasticus. Among the second he puts 1 and 2 Chronicles, Job, Ezra and
Nehemiah, Judith, Esther, 1 and 2 Maccabees; and in the New Testament,
James, 2 Peter, Jude, 2 and 3 John. He also says that the Apocalypse of
John is much doubted by the Orientals. In the third list _i.e._, books of
no authority added by some (quidam) to the canonical, are put Wisdom and
Canticles.(339) The catalogue is confused, and erroneous at least in one
respect, that Jerome is referred to, as sanctioning the division given of
the Old Testament books; for neither he nor the Jews agree with it.
The canon of the Abyssinian church seems to have had at first all the
books in the Septuagint, canonical and apocryphal together, little
distinction being made between them. Along with the contents of the Greek
Bible there were Enoch, 4 Esdras, the Ascension of Isaiah, the Jubilees,
Asseneth, &c. That of the New Testament agrees with the present Greek one.
At a later period in the Arabic age a list was made and constituted the
legal one for the use of the church, having been derived from the Jacobite
canons of the apostles. This gives, in the Old Testament, the Pentateuch,
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Judith, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah,
Esther, Tobit, two books of Maccabees, Job, Psalms, five books of Solomon,
minor and greater prophets. The Wisdom of Sirach (for teaching children)
and the book of Joseph ben Gorion, _i.e._, that of the Maccabees, are
external. The New Testament has four gospels, Acts, seven apostolic
epistles, fourteen of Paul, and the Revelation of John. Later catalogues
vary much, and are often enlarged with the book of Enoch, 4 Esdras, the
Apocalypse of Isaiah, &c. The canon of the Ethiopic church was
fluctuating.(340)
The canon of the Armenians had at first the Palestinian books of the Old
Testament, twenty-two in number, and the usual New Testament ones, except
the Apocalypse. It was made from the Syriac in the fifth century by Sahak
and Mesrob. The deutero-canonical books and additions were appended, after
the disciples of those two men who had been sent by them into different
places, brought back authentic copies of the Greek Bible from the
patriarch Maximian, by which the version already made was interpolated and
corrected; as it was subsequently corrected by others despatched to
Alexandria and Athens, who, however, did not return till their teachers
were dead. The MSS. of this version were afterwards interpolated from the
Vulgate; Oskan himself translating for his edition (which was the first
printed one, A.D. 1666), Sirach, 4 Esdras and the Epistle of Jeremiah from
the Latin. The book of Revelation does not seem to have been translated
till the eighth century. Zohrab’s critical edition (1805) has Judith,
Tobit, the three books of Maccabees, Wisdom, and the Epistle of Baruch
among the canonical books; and in an appendix, the fourth book of Esdras,
the prayer of Manasseh, the Epistle of the Corinthians to Paul and his
answer, the Rest (end) of the apostle and evangelist John, the prayer of
Euthalius. Like the edition of Oskan, this has all the deutero-canonical
books, which were derived from the Septuagint, and incorporated by the
first translators with their original version. Another edition published
at St. Petersburgh (1817), for the use of the Jacobite Church, has the
prayer of Manasses and 4 Esdras after the Apocalypse.
The Georgian version consisted of the books and additions in the Greek
translation from which it was made. The New Testament has the canonical
books in the usual order. Jesus Sirach and two books of the Maccabees (2d
and 3d) were not in the Georgian MS. used by Prince Arcil for the edition
of 1743, but were rendered out of the Russian. The Moscow Bible printed
under the direction and at the cost of Arcil, Bacchar and Wakuset, is the
authorized edition of the Georgian Christians.
The Bible canon of the Eastern church in the middle ages shows no real
advance. Endeavors were made to remove the uncertainty arising from the
existence of numerous lists; but former decisions and decrees of councils
were repeated instead of a new, independent canon. Here belongs the
catalogue in the Alexandrian MS., of the fifth century, which is peculiar.
After the prophets come Esther, Tobit, Judith, Ezra and Nehemiah, 4
Maccabees, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticles, the
all-virtuous Wisdom, the Wisdom of Jesus of Sirach. In the New Testament,
the Apocalypse is followed by two epistles of Clement. The list was
probably made in Egypt. That of Anastasius Sinaita,(341) patriarch of
Antioch, is similar to Nicephorus’s Stichometry, which we shall mention
afterwards. Baruch is among the canonical books; Esther among the
antilegomena. The Apocalypse is unnoticed. The 85th of the Apostolic
canons gives a list of the Old and New Testament books, in which the usual
canonical ones of the former are supplemented by Judith and 3 Maccabees;
those of the latter by the two epistles of Clement, with the Apostolic
constitutions. This catalogue cannot be put earlier than the fifth or
sixth century, and is subject to the suspicion of having been
interpolated. We have also Nicephorus’s _Stichometry_ (806-815;)(342) of
which we may remark that Baruch is among the canonical books of the Old
Testament; while the Revelation is put with the Apocalypse of Peter, the
epistle of Barnabas and the Gospel according to the Hebrews, among the
antilegomena of the New Testament. It is also surprising that the
Apocalypse of Peter and the Gospel according to the Hebrews are not among
the Apocrypha, where Clement’s epistles with the productions of Ignatius,
Polycarp, and Hermas appear. The list is probably older than that of the
Antioch patriarch Anastasius Sinaita. Cosmas Indicopleustes (535) never
mentions the seven Catholic epistles of the New Testament or the
Apocalypse. The Trullan council (A.D. 692) adopts the eighty-five
Apostolic canons, rejecting, however, the Apostolic Constitutions.
Photius, patriarch of Constantinople,(343) follows the eighty-fifth
Apostolical canon of the Trullan Council.(344) But in his Bibliotheca(345)
he speaks differently regarding the epistles of Clement, and does not
treat them as canonical. Though the first was thought worthy to be read in
public, the second was rejected as spurious; and his own opinion was not
altogether favorable to them. John of Damascus;(346) the second Nicene
council (787); the Synopsis divinæ Scripturæ Vet. et Novi Test. (about
1000); Zonaras (about 1120); Alexius Aristenus (about 1160); and
Nicephorus Callistus (1330), call for no remark.
In the Western church of the Middle Ages, diversity of opinion respecting
certain books continued. Though the views of Augustine were generally
followed, the stricter ones of Jerome found many adherents. The canon was
fluctuating, and the practice of the churches in regard to it somewhat
lax. Here belong Cassiodorus (about 550); the list in the Codex Amiatinus
(about 550); Isidore of Seville(347) who, after enumerating three classes
of Old Testament books gives a fourth not in the Hebrew canon. Here he
specifies Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, saying
that the church of Christ puts them among the divine books, honors and
highly esteems them.(348) There are also the fourth council of Toledo
(632); Gregory the Great(349) Notker Labeo;(350) Ivo (about 1092);
Bede;(351) Alcuin;(352) Rabanus Maurus;(353) Hugo de St Victor;(354) Peter
of Clugny;(355) John of Salisbury;(356) Thomas Aquinas;(357) Hugo de St
Cher;(358) Wycliffe;(359) Nicolaus of Lyra,(360) &c., &c. Several of
these, as Hugo de St Victor, John of Salisbury, Hugo de St Cher, and
Nicolaus of Lyra, followed Jerome in separating the canonical and
apocryphal books of the Old Testament.(361)
The Reformers generally returned to the Hebrew canon, dividing off the
additional books of the Septuagint or those attached to the Vulgate. These
they called _apocryphal_, after Jerome’s example. Though considered of no
authority in matters of doctrine, they were pronounced useful and
edifying. The principal reason that weighed with the Reformers was, that
Christ and the apostles testified to none of the Septuagint additions.
Besides the canonical books of the Old Testament, Luther translated
Judith, Wisdom, Tobit, Sirach, Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees, the Greek
additions to Esther and Daniel, with the Prayer of Manasseh. His judgment
respecting several of these is expressed in the prefaces to them. With
regard to 1 Maccabees, he thinks it almost equal to the other books of
Holy Scripture, and not unworthy to be reckoned among them. Of Wisdom, he
says, he was long in doubt whether it should be numbered among the
canonical books; and of Sirach that it is a right good book proceeding
from a wise man. But he speaks unfavorably of several other apocryphal
productions, as of Baruch and 2 Maccabees. It is evident, however, that he
considered all he translated of _some_ use to the Christian Church. He
thought that the book of Esther should not belong to the canon.
Luther’s judgment respecting some of the New Testament books was freer
than most Protestants now are disposed to approve. He thought the epistle
to the Hebrews was neither Paul’s nor an apostle’s, but proceeded from an
excellent and learned man who may have been the disciple of apostles. He
did not put it on an equality with the epistles written by apostles
themselves. The Apocalypse he considered neither apostolic nor prophetic,
but put it almost on the same level with the 4th book of Esdras, which he
spoke elsewhere of tossing into the Elbe. This judgment was afterwards
modified, not retracted. James’s epistle he pronounced unapostolic, “a
right strawy epistle.” In like manner, he did not believe that Jude’s
epistle proceeded from an apostle. Considering it to have been taken from
2 Peter, and not well extracted either, he put it lower than the supposed
original. The Reformer, as also his successors, made a distinction between
the books of the New Testament similar to that of the Old; the _generally
received_ (homologoumena) and _controverted_ books (antilegomena); but the
Calvinists afterwards obliterated it, as the Roman Catholics at the
Council of Trent did with the old Testament.(362) The epistle to the
Hebrews, those of Jude and James, with the Apocalypse, belong to the
latter class. The distinction in question proceeded from genuine critical
tact on the part of the early Lutheran Church which had canonical and
deutero-canonical writings even in the New Testament collection. Nor did
the Reformers consider it a dangerous thing to bring the fact before the
people. To make it palpable, Luther attached continuous numbers to the
first twenty-three books of his version, bringing the four antilegomena
after these, without numbers; and this mode of marking the difference
continued till the middle of the 17th century.(363) Luther was right in
assigning a greater or less value to the separate writings of the New
Testament, and in leaving every one to do the same. He relied on their
internal value more than tradition; taking the _word of God_ in a deeper
and wider sense than its coincidence with the Bible.
Bodenstein of Carlstad examined the question of canonicity more thoroughly
than any of his contemporaries, and followed out the principle of private
judgment in regard to it. He divides the biblical books into three
classes—1. Books of the highest dignity, viz., the Pentateuch and the
Gospels; 2. Books of the second dignity, _i.e._, the works termed
prophetic by the Jews, and the fifteen epistles universally received; 3.
Books of the third and lowest authority, _i.e._, the Jewish Hagiographa
and the seven Antilegomena epistles of the New Testament. Among the
Apocrypha he makes two classes—such as are out of the canon to the Hebrews
yet hagiographical (Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Judith, Tobit, the two
Maccabees), and those that are clearly apocryphal and to be rejected
(third and fourth Esdras, Baruch, Prayer of Manasseh, a good part of the
third chapter of Daniel, and the last two chapters of Daniel.)(364)
Zwingli asserts that the Apocalypse is not a biblical book.(365)
Oecolampadius says—“We do not despise Judith, Tobit, Ecclesiasticus,
Baruch, the last two Esdras, the three Maccabees, the last two chapters of
Daniel, but we do not attribute to them divine authority with those
others.”(366) As to the books of the New Testament he would not compare
the Apocalypse, James, Jude, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John with the rest.(367)
Calvin did not think that Paul was the author of the epistle to the
Hebrews, or that 2 Peter was written by the apostle himself; but both in
his opinion are canonical.