2.  Luke 11:51, Matthew 23:35

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“From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah” With these words Jesus confirms his witness to the extent of the Old Testament canon.   Abel was the first martyr recorded in Scripture (Genesis 4:8) and Zechariah the last martyr to be named in the Hebrew Old Testament order. Zechariah was stoned while prophesying to the people “in the court of the house of the Lord (2 Chronicles 24:21). Genesis was the first book in the Hebrew canon and 2 Chronicles the last.  Jesus was basically saying “Genesis to Chronicles,” or according to our order Genesis to Malachi thereby confirming the divine authority and inspiration of the entire Hebrew canon.

3. John 10:31-36; Luke 24:44

Jesus disagreed with the oral tradition of the Pharisees (Mark 7, Matthew 15), not with their concept of the Hebrew canon.  “There is no evidence whatever of any dispute between Him and he Jews as to the canonicity of any Old Testament book”

 

 

 

4. Prologue to Ecclesiasticus Sirach (130 B.C.)

Sirach who wrote and lived in Jerusalem makes mention of most famous men of the Old Testament.  He makes explicit mention of the Twelve Prophets. (Minor Prophets) This would indicate that the whole or at least the most of the OT was known to him and  already in his day the “Minor Prophets” were regarded as a special group by themselves. In his prologue he three times refers to the tripartite division of the OT.  Example: “Whereas many great teachings have been given to us through the law and the prophets and the others that followed them” Sirach 19:20-24

5. Philo
“Just after Christ (about A.D. 40), Philo witnessed to a threefold classification, making reference to the Law, the Prophets (or Prophecies), as well as hymns and the others which foster and perfect knowledge and piety”[1]

 6. Josephus
About 90 AD, the Jewish historian spoke about the closing of the Hebrew canon.
“Since Artaxerexes’ age the succession of prophets had ceased” This is what he wrote in Contra Apionem. Showing in his day the “Canon” was closed.

 7. The Talmud

• Written between 350-425 for the Jerusalem Talmud and about 500 AD for the Babylonian Talmud specifically states the books of the Apocrypha, including Sirach are non-canonical.

               Tosefta Yadaim 3:5

• Seder Olam Rabba 30 states, “Until then (the coming of Alexander the Great and the end of the empire of the Persians) the prophets prophesied through the Holy Spirit. From then on, “incline thine ear and hear the words of the wise”
• Tos. Sotah 13:2 baraita in Bab. Yoma 9b, Bab. Sotah 48b and Bab. Sanhedrin 11a: “With the death of Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi the latter prophets, the Holy Spirit ceased out of  Israel”.

How was the New Testament canon decided? 

              With the growth in the Church throughout the Roman world along came sects and groups of individuals each with their own agenda and leader.  Among these groups included the Judaisers, The Gnostics, The Mandaens and the Manichaens. In order to establish their credibility, they published works that included apostles names.  Many of the writing of the early church fathers, such as Irenaeus and Justin Martyr combat these early heresies.

The spread of these heretical teachings and their books with misleading names was causing confusion in the early church. 

                The main test to determine whether a New Testament book was part of the canon, was its authorship, was the author an apostle? This rule or canon is established in the test of the prophet to determine if the work was inspired. 

having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, ²¹in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, ²²in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.  Ephesians 2:20

To discover the true canon, the church also looked to the witness of the church fathers. Did early church fathers attest to the authenticity? Was the author an Apostole?  Several events created a necessity to standardize the need for an established canon.

1. Persecution: Diocletian in 303 AD called for the destruction of sacred books of the Christians.
2. Missions: The spreading of the Gospel to pagan lands and the translation of  scripture into local          languages required an authoritarian Christian canon.
3. Spread of false teaching: Counterfeit works were causing confusion in the early church, about what books were apostolic.
4. Rise of Heretics: As early as 140 AD, the heretic Marcion developed his own Canon and began to propagate it. The church needed to counter his influence by collecting the books of the New Testament.

There two ways this process is viewed.  The church is not determining the scripture but discovering what already exists and was established by Christ.

The Canon of the New Testament[3]

I. Two Preliminary Considerations

The canon is the collection of 27 books which the church (generally) receives as its New Testament Scriptures. The history of the canon is the history of the process by which these books were brought together and their value as sacred Scriptures officially recognized. That process was gradual, furthered by definite needs, and, though unquestionably continuous, is in its earlier stages difficult to trace. It is always well in turning to the study of it to have in mind two considerations which bear upon the earliest phases of the whole movement. These are:

1. Early Christians Had the Old Testament

The early Christians had in their hands what was a Bible to them, namely, the Old Testament Scriptures.

II. Three Stages of the Process

For convenience of arrangement and definiteness of impression the whole process may be marked off in three stages:

1.         that from the time of the apostles until about 170 ad;

2.         that of the closing years of the 2nd century and the opening of the 3rd (170-220 ad);

3.         that of the 3rd and 4th centuries. In the first we seek for the evidences of the growth in appreciation of the peculiar value of the New Testament writings; in the second we discover the clear, full recognition of a large part of these writings as sacred and authoritative; in the third the acceptance of the complete canon in the East and in the West.

1. From the Apostles to 170 AD

(1) Clement of Rome; Ignarius; Polycarp

The first period extending to 170 ad.—It does not lie within the scope of this article to recount the origin of the several books of the New Testament. This belongs properly to New Testament Introduction (which see). By the end of the 1st century all of the books of the New Testament were in existence. They were, as treasures of given churches, widely separated and honored as containing the word of Jesus or the teaching of the apostles. From the very first the authority of Jesus had full recognition in all the Christian world. The whole work of the apostles was in interpreting Him to the growing church. His sayings and His life were in part for the illumination of the Old Testament; wholly for the understanding of life and its issues. In every assembly of Christians from the earliest days He was taught as well as the Old Testament. In each church to which an epistle was written that epistle was likewise read. Paul asked that his letters be read in this way (1 Thess 5:27; Col 4:16). In this attentive listening to the exposition of some event in the life of Jesus or to the reading of the epistle of an apostle began the “authorization” of the traditions concerning Jesus and the apostolic writings. The widening of the area of the church and the departure of the apostles from earth emphasized increasingly the value of that which the writers of the New Testament left behind them. Quite early the desire to have the benefit of all possible instruction led to the interchange of Christian writings.

Polycarp (110 ad ?)
 writes to the Philippians, “I have received letters from you and from Ignatius. You recommend me to send on yours to Syria; I shall do so either personally or by some other means. In return I send you the letter of Ignatius as well as others which I have in my hands and for which you made request. I add them to the present one; they will serve to edify your faith and perseverance” (Epistle to Phil, XIII). This is an illustration of what must have happened toward furthering a knowledge of the writings of the apostles. Just when and to what extent “collections” of our New Testament books began to be made it is impossible to say, but it is fair to infer that a collection of the Pauline epistles existed at the time Polycarp wrote to the Phil and when Ignatius wrote his seven letters to the churches of Asia Minor, i.e. about 115 ad. There is good reason to think also that the four Gospels were brought together in some places as early as this. A clear distinction, however, is to be kept in mind between “collections” and such recognition as we imply in the word “canonical.” The gathering of books was one of the steps preliminary to this. Examination of the testimony to the New Testament in this early time indicates also that it is given with no intention of framing the canonicity of New Testament books. In numerous instances only “echoes” of the thought of the epistles appear; again quotations are incomplete; both showing that Scripture words are used as the natural expression of Christian thought. In the same way the Apostolic Fathers refer to the teachings and deeds of Jesus.

Clement of Rome, in 95 ad, wrote a letter in the name of the Christians of Rome to those in Corinth. In this letter he uses material found in Mt, Lk, giving it a free rendering (see chapters 46 and 13); he has been much influenced by the Epistle to the Hebrews (see chapters 9, 10, 17, 19, 36). He knows Romans, Corinthians, and there are found echoes of 1 Timothy, Titus, 1 Peter and Ephesians.

The Epistles of Ignatius (115 ad) have correspondences with our gospels in several places (Eph 5; Rom 6; 7) and incorporate language from nearly all of the Pauline epistles. The Epistle to Polycarp makes large use of Phil, and besides this cites nine of the other Pauline epistles. Ignatius quotes from Matthew, apparently from memory; also from 1 Peter and 1 John. In regard to all these three writers—Clement, Polycarp, Ignatius—it is not enough to say that they bring us reminiscences or quotations from this or that book. Their thought is tinctured all through with New Testament truth. As we move a little farther down the years we come to “The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles” (circa 120 ad in its present form; see DIDACHE); the Epistle of Barnabas (circa 130 ad) and the Shepherd of Hermas (circa 130 ad). These exhibit the same phenomena as appear in the writings of Clement, Ignatius and Polycarp as far as references to the New Testament are concerned. Some books are quoted, and the thought of the three writings echoes again and again the teachings of the New Testament. They bear distinct witness to the value of “the gospel” and the doctrine of the apostles, so much so as to place these clearly above their own words. It is in the Epistle of Barnabas that we first come upon the phrase “it is written,” referring to a New Testament book (Matthew) (see Epis., iv.14). In this deepening sense of value was enfolded the feeling of authoritativeness, which slowly was to find expression. It is well to add that what we have so far discovered was true in widely separated parts of the Christian world as e.g. Rome and Asia Minor.

 (2) FORCES INCREASING VALUE OF WRITINGS

(A) Apologists, Justin Martyr

The literature of the period we are examining was not, however, wholly of the kind of which we have been speaking. Two forces were calling out other expressions of the singular value of the writings of the apostles, whether gospels or epistles. These were (a) the attention of the civil government in view of the rapid growth of the Christian church and (b) heresy. The first brought to the defense or commendation of Christianity the Apologists, among whom were Justin Martyr, Aristides, Melito of Sardis and Theophilus of Antioch. By far the most important of these was Justin Martyr, and his work may be taken as representative. He was born about 100 AD at Shechem, and died as a martyr at Rome in 165 AD. His two Apologies and the Dialogue with Trypho are the sources for the study of his testimony. He speaks of the “Memoirs of the Apostles called Gospels” (Ap., i.66) which were read on Sunday interchangeably with the prophets (i.67). Here emerges that equivalence in value of these “Gospels” with the Old Testament Scriptures which may really mark the beginning of canonization. That these Gospels were our four Gospels as we now have them is yet a disputed question; but the evidence is weighty that they were. (See Purves, Testimony of Justin Martyr to Early Christianity, Lect V.) The fact that Tatian, his pupil, made a harmony of the Gospels, i.e. of our four Gospels, also bears upon our interpretation of Justin’s “Memoirs.” (See Hemphill, The Diatessaron of Tatian.) The only other New Testament book which Justin mentions is the Apocalypse; but he appears to have known the Acts, six epistles of Paul, Hebrew and 1 John, and echoes of still other epistles are perceptible. When he speaks of the apostles it is after this fashion: “By the power of God they proclaimed to every race of men that they were sent by Christ to teach to all the Word of God” (Ap., i.39). It is debatable, however, whether this refers to more than the actual preaching of the apostles. The beginning of the formation of the canon is in the position and authority given to the Gospels.

LiteratureReuss, History of the Canon of Holy Scriptures; E. C. Moore, The New Testament in the Christian Church; Gregory, Canon and Text of the New Testament; Introductions to New Testament of Jülicher, Weiss, Reuss; Zahn, Geschichte des Neutest. Kanons; Harnack, Das New Testament um das Jahr 200; Chronologie der altchristlichen Literatur; Westcott, The Canon of the New Testament; Zahn, Forschungen zur Gesch. des neutest. Kanons.

 Old Testament Manuscript History

Manuscript	History
	Dead Sea Scrolls In March 1947 a young Arab boy discovered in the caves of Qumran near the Dead Sea jars containing several leather manuscripts dating to the time of Christ. The belonged to the Essenes. The Essenes were a Jewish sect that settled in the Judean desert near Qumran. Other manuscripts were found over the next 10 years. 2 copies of the book of Isaiah were found along with books and fragments from the whole Old Testament except for the book of Ester. Prior to the discovery the oldest existing book of the Hebrew Old Testament dated to about 1000 AD. Carbon dating has placed them between 168 BC and 233 AD. Archaeology puts the dates at between 150 BC to 100 AD. Gleason Archer observed that the two copies of Isaiah proved to be word for world identical with our standard Hebrew Bible in more than 95% of the text. The 5% of variation consisted chiefly of obvious slips of the pen and variations in spelling. The scrolls gave an overwhelming confirmation of the Masoretic text. Some of the variants show parallels to the Greek text of the Septuagint (LXX). The Dead Sea Scrolls are owned by the Nation of Israel
	The Septuagint or the LXX The LXX version is the first translation of the OT ever made. The translation was inaugurated by Ptolemy of Philadelphus (285-247 BC) Ptolemy was fond of books and wanted to add the Hebrew Pentateuch to his collection in Alexandria. The LXX was the bible of the early church. The order of OT books is derived from the LXX through the Vulgate by St. Jerome. On the basis of the LXX Catholics advocate the “Larger” canon of the Jews in Alexandria. Protestants deny the existence of an independent canon in Alexandria in view of the “smaller” canon of the Jews in Palestine. The difference is 7complete books and portions of 2 others. The books are Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, I & 2 Macabees and additions to Daniel and Esther. These portions are rejected by protestants. The oldest existing LXX manuscript is dated 350 A.D which is.
	Samaritan Pentateuch With the split of the Samaritans from the Jews from the 8th century BC there arose a second Hebrew revision of the Pentateuch known as the Samaritan Pentateuch. It contains the five books of Moses and is written in Paleo-Hebrew script similar to the that found on the Moabite Stone, Siloam inscription. Author Frank Cross believes the Samaritan Pentateuch branched off in the Pre- Masoretic text in the the 2nd century BC. There are differences from the Masoretic text are trivial and orthographic. Some of the differences were introduced by Samaritans with the interest in preserving their status. Such as the location of the Arc. The oldest existing manuscript is dated to the 11th century AD.
	Aleppo Codex (900 AD) The Aleppo Codex dates from the Masoretic period (500-1000 AD) of Old Testament copying. During this period there was a deep reverence of the Scriptures, complete review of established rules and a systematic renovation of transmission technique Aleppo was written by Shelomo ben Baya’a but according to a colophon it was pointed (vowel marks were added) by Moses ben Asher (930 A.D.) It is a model codex based on the Masoretic text. It was not permitted to be copied for a long time and was reported to be destroyed. Aleppo Codex was smuggled from Syria to Israel. It has now been photographed and will be the basis of the New Hebrew Bible to be published by Hebrew University. It is a sound authority for the Ben Asher text.
NEW TESTAMENT MANUSCRIPTS	HISTORY
	The John Rylands Fragment John 18:31-33 (117-138 AD) The earliest known copy of any portion of the New Testament is from a papyrus codex (2.5 by 3.5 inches). It dates from the first half of the second century A.D. 117-138. (P.52)The papyrus is written on both sides and contains portions of five verses from the gospel of John (18:31-33,37-38). Because this fragment was found in Egypt a distance from the place of composition (Asia Minor) it demonstrates the chain of transmission. The fragment belongs to the John Rylands Library at Manchester, England
	Chester Beatty Papyri (250 AD) This important papyri consists of three codices and contains most of the New Testament. (P.45, P.46, P.47). The first codex(P.45) has 30 leaves (pages) of pap