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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]].  ==Historical development== 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 generally replaced Hebrew as the language of the people. In response to the rise of the Christian sect and the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70, Jewish rabbis at the [[Council of Jamnia]] in A.D. 90 discussed rejecting the Septuagint in favor of selected Hebrew language scriptural 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

===Ethiopic Orthodox canon (A.D. c. 4th century)=== The canon of the Ethiopic Bible of the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Orthodox Ethiopian Church]] as a whole differs both in the Old and New Testament from that of any other churches. The canonical books , written in the [[Geez language]] and on parchment , are numerous. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church has 46 books of the Old Testament and 35 books of the New Testament, bringing the total of canonized books of the Bible to 81. The canon of the Ethiopic Bible appears to date back to the 5th century.<ref>Sources: