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{{Bible}}

{{Bible}}

The '''Biblical canon''' is the officially recognized list of books which are considered part of the [[Bible]].  The first [[Christian]]s used the Greek translation of the [[Old Testament]] known as the [[Septuagint]] which was written and read by Jews as the Greek language had generally replaced Hebrew. In the [[Council of Jamnia]] of 90 A.D., Jewish rabbis rejected the Septuagint in favor of the Hebrew language text, and omitted certain books such as [[Book of Baruch|Baruch]], [[Judith]], [[Maccabees]], [[Book of Sirach|Sirach]], and [[Book of Tobit|Tobit]], relatively recent contributions which had become part of Jewish culture.

A '''Biblical canon''' is an officially recognized list of books which are considered to be divinely inspired and authoritative by a religious group, or sect, or denomination as part of the [[Bible]]. The [[Samaritans]], centered at Mount Gerizim in Israel to this day, hold as inspired and authoritative only the ''Five Books of Moses'' as represented in the Samaritan Pentateuch,<ref>[http://www.academia.edu/4050972/A_Critical_editio_maior_of_the_Samaritan_Pentateuch_State_of_Research_Principles_and_Problems_2013_ Stefan Schorch, A Critical ''editio maior'' of the Samaritan Pentateuch:State of Research, Principles, and Problems]</ref> and exclude all other writings in the [[Old Testament]] as the works of men which have been falsely added to the sacred scriptures in direct violation of [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=deuteronomy%204:1-2&version=KJV Deuteronomy 4:1-2;] [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=deuteronomy%2012:32&version=KJV 12:32]. The first [[Christian]]s used the Greek translation of the [[Old Testament]] known as the [[Septuagint]] which was written and read by Jews as the Greek language had generally replaced Hebrew. In response to the rise of the Christian sect and the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70, in the [[Council of Jamnia]] of A.D. 90, Jewish rabbis discussed rejecting the Septuagint in favor of selected Hebrew language texts, omitting certain books such as [[Book of Baruch|Baruch]], [[Judith]], [[Maccabees]], [[Book of Sirach|Sirach]], and [[Book of Tobit|Tobit]], some of these originally written in Hebrew and/or Aramaic,<ref>"some of these originally written in Hebrew and/or Aramaic". Discoveries of Hebrew and Aramaic manucripts of [[Book of Tobit|Tobit]], [[Book of Sirach|ben Sira (Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus)]], [[Epistle of Jeremiah]] in the caves at [[Qumran]] near the [[Dead Sea]], the "[[Dead Sea Scrolls]]", demonstrate that a Hebrew or Aramaic origin of a text included in the Greek translation of the Jewish scriptures in the Septuagint accepted by Christians was not the sole criterion for inclusion or exclusion in the Hebrew canon, but included consideration of evidence of content which supported Christian doctrine. Linguistic evidence shows that other Septuagint books which were excluded by rabbinical authority after A.D. 90 certainly had an original Hebrew or Aramaic text. See

*[https://books.google.com/books?id=dtlDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA203&lpg=PA203&dq=apocryphal+books+having+evidence+of+hebrew+or+aramaic+origin&source=bl&ots=CkMPwQMciG&sig=y6w4tnI_wvIqyzCWqCoN3xo8mvQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VGGcVP2RH4r2yQT7toKYAw&ved=0CFMQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=apocryphal%20books%20having%20evidence%20of%20hebrew%20or%20aramaic%20origin&f=false The Apocrypha of the Old Testament: With Historical Introductions, a Revised Translation, and Notes Critical and Explanatory, by Edwin Cone Bissell. Scribner, 1890. 680 pages], page 208ff, citing evidence that the "additions to Esther" were also translated from the Hebrew. (Google eBook)</ref> relatively recent Jewish contributions in the 3rd through the 1st centuries before Christ which had become part of Jewish culture; and simultaneously excluded as condemned and false the writings of the "heretics" (the ''minim'', including Christians), and cursed Christians in a "benediction" against them and others.<ref>[http://www.defendingthebride.com/bb/curse.html DEFENDING  THE  BRIDE. THE  CURSE  AGAINST  CHRISTIANS  AT  JAMNIA  ABOUT  90 AD]<br/>[http://www.academia.edu/6811953/The_Jewish_Council_of_Jamnia_and_Its_Impact_on_the_Old_Testament_Canon_and_New_Testament_Studies The Jewish “Council” of Jamnia and Its Impact on the Old Testament Canon and New Testament Studies, Tim Gordon October 20, 2007]</ref> Martin Luther and the leaders of the [[Reformation]] cite as authoritative and determinative the canon of the Hebrew Bible as defined by rabbinical authorities who excluded and condemned as false the entire New Testament scriptures and Jesus as the Messiah.<ref>Luther rejected the seven books of the Old Testament citing the Palestinian Canon as his authority. Clearly his reasons were doctrinal. However, his decision poses serious difficulties. What authority from God would Jews have in the Christian era to determine which books of the Old Testament were or were not divinely inspired? In 1529, Luther proposed adoption of the 39-book canon of rabbinic Judaism as the Old Testament canon of the Christian Bible. He justified his decision to exclude seven books from the Old Testament canon of 46 books by an appeal to precedent, citing Jerome who, around A.D. 400 had expressed concerns also voiced by his rabbinical sources that these books in Greek had no Hebrew counterparts. Research into the Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qumran has discovered Hebrew copies of some of the disputed books, which makes their rejection on this ground unsupportable. Luther's principal reason for opposing these Old Testament books seems to be that they contain textual support for doctrines he had rejected, such as praying for the dead (2 Maccabees 12:42-45).<br/>See [http://www.totustuus.com/luther Luther and the Canon of the Bible,

by Jim Seghers]<br/>[http://www.olswahiawa.org/uploads/2/1/8/4/21845996/session_3.pdf The Canon of the Bible]<br/>[http://catholicdefense.blogspot.com/2011/07/can-protestants-rely-upon-council-of.html Wednesday, July 20, 2011. Can Protestants Rely Upon the "Council of Jamnia" for Their Bible?]</ref> See [http://biblehub.com/multi/romans/3-2.htm Romans 3:2] "''unto them were committed the oracles of God.''". This is an historical fact. But if the Jews have been so entrusted with the word of God that they have therefore been given the divine authority to determine the canon of sacred scripture as Luther and Reformation Protestants maintain, then the whole New Testament is excluded from the canon of the holy Bible because it does not meet established rabbinical criteria for what is sacred inspired scripture.

The [[Orthodox Church|Eastern Christian churches]] continue to use the Greek Septuagint to this day. The Western Church of [[Catholicism]] commissioned a Latin translation from [[Saint Jerome]] in the early 5th century which came to be known as the [[Vulgate]].  It remains the official Roman Catholic (Latin Rite) Bible.

The [[Orthodox Church|Eastern Christian churches]] continue to use the Greek Septuagint to this day. The Western Church of [[Catholicism]] commissioned a Latin translation from [[Saint Jerome]] in the early 5th century which came to be known as the [[Vulgate]].  It remains the official Roman Catholic (Latin Rite) Bible, and as a translation of the Hebrew is an important witness to earlier readings of the pre-Masoretic Hebrew text.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=wfwq-9gaZFcC&pg=PT13&lpg=PT13&dq=Vulgat+witness+to+Hebrew+text&source=bl&ots=B4YaN19NkF&sig=Cktx0t4xtMerH3AHA2TDFLcqR-k&hl=en&sa=X&ei=3Y-cVNabAYuAygSFtYGYAw&ved=0CDgQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=Vulgat%20witness%20to%20Hebrew%20text&f=false Exploring the Origins of the Bible (Acadia Studies in Bible and Theology): Canon Formation in Historical, Literary, and Theological Perspective Craig A. Evans, Emanuel Tov, Baker Academic, Oct 1, 2008. 272 pages] (Google eBook)<br/>[http://www.academia.edu/3596676/Short_Notes_on_LXX_and_Vulgate_Lam_1_1 Gideon Kotzé (University of Stellenbosch) SHORT NOTES ON THE VALUE OF THE SEPTUAGINT AND VULGATE FOR THE INTERPRETATION OF LAMENTATIONS 1:1] Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages 36/1 (2010), pp.77-93 75.</ref>

The Biblical [[New Testament]] was taking shape by the end of the first century when the [[Gospels]] and the letters of [[Paul]] were already being circulated.  The heretic [[Marcion]] attempted to remove some books around 140 A.D., showing that there was already a grouping of books that were accepted as authentic. Twenty of the 27 books of the New Testament were accepted early in the history of Christianity, while the other seven that make up the Scriptures were subjects of dispute by a minority of biblical scholars. When [[Constantine]] first made Christianity a legal religion in the [[Roman Empire]] in the early 300s, he called together leading Christians from the East and West parts of the empire to iron out the principles of Christianity, including cementing the canon. Subsequent councils such as the Council of Hippo (393) and the Third Council of Carthage (397), dealt with minor questions of authenticity, and set forth the first-ever listing of all 27 books of the New Testament, and 46 books of the Old Testament, a canon of 73 books of the Bible, which remained unchanged for 1200 years. Still, 7 books of the Old Testament (and parts of 2 other books) and 7 books of the New Testament, 14 total, while accepted by the majority of Christian scholars and church leaders as part of the Biblical canon, continued to be debated by a minority of independent scholars, from the 4th through the 16th centuries. Since the 16th century these 14 books have been designated ''deuterocanonical'', as distinct from the ''protocanonical'' books universally accepted without debate from the 1st century of the church. The deuterocanonical Old Testament scriptural texts are:

The Biblical [[New Testament]] was taking shape by the end of the first century when the [[Gospels]] and the letters of [[Paul]] were already being circulated.  The heretic [[Marcion]] attempted to remove some books around 140 A.D., showing that there was already a grouping of books that were accepted as authentic. Twenty of the 27 books of the New Testament were accepted early in the history of Christianity, while the other seven that make up the Scriptures were subjects of dispute by a minority of biblical scholars. When [[Constantine]] first made Christianity a legal religion in the [[Roman Empire]] in the early 300s, he called together leading Christians from the East and West parts of the empire to iron out the principles of Christianity, including cementing the canon. Subsequent councils such as the Council of Hippo (393) and the Third Council of Carthage (397), dealt with minor questions of authenticity, and set forth the first-ever listing of all 27 books of the New Testament, and 46 books of the Old Testament, a canon of 73 books of the Bible, which remained unchanged for 1200 years. Still, 7 books of the Old Testament (and parts of 2 other books) and 7 books of the New Testament, 14 total, while accepted by the majority of Christian scholars and church leaders as part of the Biblical canon, continued to be debated by a minority of independent scholars, from the 4th through the 16th centuries, many of them quoting from the disputed books as if they were authoritative scripture.<ref>[http://www.christiantruth.com/articles/Apocrypha3.html The Old Testament Canon and the Apocrypha. Part 3: From Jerome to the Reformation, William Webster.] This article provides extensive translations of the writings of many of the major Western theologians from the fifth to the sixteenth centuries on their view of the Canon for the first time in English.<br/>See also [http://www.bible-researcher.com/jerome.html Jerome on the Canon] (bible-researcher.com)</ref> Since the 16th century these 14 books have been designated ''deuterocanonical'', as distinct from the ''protocanonical'' books universally accepted without debate from the 1st century of the church. The deuterocanonical Old Testament scriptural texts are:

*[[Book of Tobit|Tobit]]

*[[Book of Tobit|Tobit]]

*[[Book of Judith|Judith]]

*[[Book of Judith|Judith]]