· Bibliology ·

Lecture Sixteen:  The Canon of Scripture

TH330 Systematic Theology I · Moody Bible Institute · Dr. Richard M. Weber

“The canon of Scripture is the list of books that belong in the Bible.”  (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, 54)

“If we are to trust and obey God absolutely we must have a collection of words that we are certain are God’s own words to us.”  (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, 54)

Deut 32:47.  “They are not just idle words for you – they are your life.  By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

I. The Meaning of the Term “Canon”

A. Derivation of the Term

kanon (kanon – measuring instrument; i.e., “ruler”)

Gal 6:16.  “Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.” (Cf. Phil 3:16)

B. Historical Usage of the Term

C. The Meaning of the Term

II. The Criteria for Canonicity

A. Self-Authentication

“For a book to belong in the canon, it is absolutely necessary that the book have divine authorship.”  (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, 62)

B. Decisions of Individuals or Councils

III. The Old Testament Canon

A. The Composition of the Old Testament Canon

MOSES

Deut 31:24-26.  “After Moses finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end, he gave this command to the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord:  ‘Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God.  There it will remain as a witness against you…”

JOSHUA

Josh 24:26.  “Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God…”

435 bc Malachi latest written book.

B. Evidence From the Old Testament Itself

1. A Number of Old Testament Passages Refer to the Law of Moses As Being Authoritative

Josh 1:7-8.  “[God said], “Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.  Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.  Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

1 Kings 2:3.  “[O]bserve what the Lord your God requires:  Walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses…”

Cf. 2 Kings 14:6; 2 Kings 21:8; 2 Kings 23:25; Ezra 6:18; Neh 13:1; Dan 9:11; Mal 4:4

2. The Prophets Spoke the Word of God

Josh 6:26.  “At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath:  ‘Cursed before the Lord is the man who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho…”

1 Kings 16:34.  “In Ahab’s time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho.  He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its bates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken by Joshua son of Nun.”

Daniel 9:2.  “I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.”

Jer 25:11-12.  “This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.  But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation…”

Cf. 2 Chron 36:22-23 with Ezra 1:1-4.

C. The Completion of the Old Testament Canon

1. Malachi 4:5.  “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come.”

JOHN THE BAPTIST

2. Evidence From 1 Maccabees

1 Macc 4:45-46.  “So they tore down the altar and stored the stones in a convenient place on the temple hill until there should come a prophet to tell what to do with them.”

1 Macc 9:27.  Speaks of a great distress, “such as had not been since the time that prophets ceased to appear among them.”

3. Evidence From Rabbinic Literature

“After the latter prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi had died, the Holy Spirit departed from Israel…”  (Babylonian Talmud, Yomah 9b, repeated in Sota 48b, Sanhedrin 11a, and Midrash Rabbah on Song of Songs, 8.9.3)

they recognized that the prophets were done…that malachi was the last..

4. Evidence From the Dead Sea Scrolls

a. Their Importance

The society of Qumran,

b. Their Number

325 no in our canon…

c. Their Testimony

Many of these writings contain commentaries.

5. Other Evidence

They were written after 435 BC, awaiting another prophet.

a. Prologue to Ecclesiasticus

b. Philo

40 bc – law prophets hymns precepts

c. Josephus (37-100 A.D.)

“From Artaxerxes to our own times a complete history has been written, but has not been deemed worthy of equal credit with the earlier records, because of the failure of the exact succession of the prophets.”  (Josephus, Against Apion, 1.41)

d. Council of Jamnia (90 A.D.)

e. The Church Fathers

6. Evidence From the New Testament Canon

a. Quotations of the Old Testament in the New Testament

b. Matthew 5:17.  “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

c. Luke 11:50-51.  “Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah…”

IV. The New Testament Canon

A. Tests For New Testament Canonicity

1. The Test of Authority

2. The Test of Uniqueness

3. The Test of Acceptance

“…[T]here was no book that was doubted by any large number of churches that eventually was accepted into the canon.”  (Charles C. Ryrie, Basic Theology, 123)

B. The Recognition of the New Testament Canon

1. The Apostolic Period

1 Tim 5:18.  “For the Scripture says, ‘Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,’ and ‘The worker deserves his wages.’”

2 Pet 3:16.  “[Paul’s] letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.”

2. 70-170 A.D.

3. 170-350 A.D.

a. The Muratorian Canon

Heb james 1+2 peter not included. But the fragment breaks off, so there is a chance that he did include them, but we cannot know for sure

b. The Old Syriac Version

2 peter 3 john jude and rev not included here. Whoever wrote this does not include the apocrypha.

c. The Old Latin Version

End of 2nd century beginning of third. 2peter, james and heb not included.

4. The Completion of the New Testament Canon

a. Athanasius’ Paschal Letter

b. The Council of Carthage (397 A.D.)

Made it official.

5. Regarding Martin Luther’s Opinion of James

“St. John’s Gospel and his first Epistle, St. Paul’s Epistles, especially those to the Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, and St. Peter’s Epistle – these are the books which show to thee Christ, and teach everything that is necessary and blessed for thee to know, even if you were never to see or hear any other book of doctrine.  Therefore, St. James’ Epistle is a perfect straw-epistle compared with them, for it has in it nothing of an evangelic kind.”  (Martin Luther, Preface to the New Testament”)

V. The Apocrypha

A. Identifying the Apocrypha

· 1 and 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Rest of Esther, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch (including the Epistle of Jeremiah, Song of the Three Holy Children, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, Prayer of Manasseh, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Shepherd of Hermas

B. Arguments For and Against the Canonicity of the Apocrypha

1. Jerome’s Vulgate

a. The Evidence Supporting Canonicity

b. The Evidence Against Canonicity

2. Athanasius

a. The Evidence Supporting Canonicity

b. Evidence Against Canonicity

“[These books are] not indeed included in the Canon, but appointed by the Fathers to be read by those who newly join us, and who wish for instruction in the word of guidelines.”  (Athanasius, Letter 39, in Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, 2nd ser., ed. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978, vol 4: Athanasius, pp 551-552)

3. Melito, Bishop of Sardis

“When I came to the east and reached the place where these things were preached and done, and learnt accurately the books of the Old Testament, I set down the facts and sent them to you.  These are their names:  five books of Moses, Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Joshua the son of Nun, Judges, Ruth, four books of Kingdoms, two books of Chronicles, the Psalms of David, the Proverbs of Solomon, and his Wisdom, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, Job, the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, the Twelve in a single book, Daniel, Ezekiel, Ezra.”  ((Melito, Bishop of Sardis, c 170 A.D.)

C. The Problems With Apocryphal Books

Eccleiasticus actually states alms giving will get you forgiveness.