How We Got Our Bible: Formation of the Canon

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As much as I like cannons, this article is not about cannons. It’s about canon. "Canon" originates from the Greek term kanōn, meaning “rule”. When talking about the Bible, “canon” means an authoritative list of books accepted as Holy Scripture.

The formation of the biblical canon, both the Old Testament (OT) and New Testament (NT), was a complex and gradual process. Here's a very basic overview of how the canon was formed.

Part 1. Formation of the Old Testament Canon

Early Emergence of the Canon

The Old Testament, as recorded in the Hebrew Bible, consists of three parts: The Pentateuch (or Torah, or Law), the Prophets (or Nevi’im) and the Writings (or Ketuvim, or Hagiographa).

Very early on, certain texts were seen as having divine authority. One of the earliest indications we have of the emergence of the canon can be found in Exodus 24. Having heard God speak, “Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said.” (Exodus 24:4 NIV). He then reads this “Book of the Covenant” to the Israelite people and they agree to do everything that it says (Exodus 24:7). Earlier, in Exodus 17:14, Moses had written stuff down for Joshua to read later. But chapter 24 is the first time you a written divine text recognised by a whole community.

The Pentateuch

We don’t know how long it took for the Pentateuch—the first five books of the Bible—to come to completion. Throughout the rest of the Bible, these books are described as “The Book of Moses” (2 Chronicles 25:4, 35:12, Ezra 6:18, Nehemiah 13:1, Mark 12:26) or “The Book of the Law of Moses” (Joshua 8:31, 23:6; 2 Kings 14:6, Neh 18:1). But then there are places within these books which outline Moses’ death (Deuteronomy 34), or describe him as “a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth“ (Numbers 12:3). I find it unlikely Moses wrote those two things. But it seems likely that, at the very least, he got the whole canon process going.

Edits to the Pentateuch probably took place as time went on. The account of Moses’ death is the most obvious example. According to Roger Beckwith:

“No one doubts that the Pentateuch was both complete and canonical by the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, in the 5th century BC, and it may have been so considerably earlier.”[1]

The Prophets and the Writings

Over the next several centuries, the books that we include in “The Prophets” and “The Writings” were composed. The dates of these various books overlap, but many of the prophetic writings were written earlier. It is often suggested that these books were probably fixed and arranged into their traditional Hebrew orders around 165 BC. In 2 Maccabees 12:14 (NRSV), we read that Judas Maccabeus “collected all the books that had been lost on account of the war that had come upon us, and they are in our possession.” The war in question is the Maccabean Revolt of 165.

Roger Beckwith suggests that, “In drawing up his list, Judas probably established not only the firm division into Prophets and Hagiographa [Writings], but also the traditional order and number of the books within them.”[2]

This canon was largely solidified by the time of Jesus and the early Christian era.

Part 2. Formation of the New Testament Canon

Apostolic Origins

The New Testament canon began to emerge with the writings of the apostles and their friends. From early on, there are indications that the books of the New Testament were considered on par with those of the Old. In 2 Peter 3:16, Peter equates the writings of Paul with the Old Testament Scriptures, saying that 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.” Assuming that Paul wrote Romans–Philemon, there we have 13 books considered Scripture.

Paul quotes Luke’s Gospel in 1 Timothy 5:18 and designates it “Scripture”. If he deems Luke’s Gospel “Scripture”, one assumes that he considers the sequel, Acts, to be Scripture as well. Our tally is up to 15.

Marcion

In the mid to late 2nd century, Marcion of Sinope argued that the Old Testament, and much of what is now part of the New Testament should be excluded from the canon. This forced the early church to think hard about which books were in and which were out. They needed a formal canon. And so we start getting some lists in response to Marcion, and to help Christians work out which books were in and which were out.

The Response

Ireneaus of Lyons (c. 174–189). In Against Heresies, we can deduce that Irenaus considered all of the 27 books in the New Testament as canonical except for Hebrews, 2 Peter and 3 John.

The Muratorian Canon (c. 170-210). The Muratorian Canon is similar to Ireneaus’ list, but also excludes, 1 Peter and James, and includes the Wisdom of Solomon and the Apocalypse of Peter. [4]

Eusebius (c. 324-325). In his Ecclesiastical History 3.25.1–7, Eusebius lists all of the 27 New Testament books as canonical, but acknowledges that some (not him) question the status of Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, and 3 John.[3]

Athanasius (367). In his 39th Paschal Letter, Athanasius of Alexandria lists all 27 of the books we now have as part of the New Testament. [5]

Synod of Hippo (393) and Council of Carthage (397) . The synod of Hippo also listed each of the 27 New Testament books (plus a bunch of extra Old Testament books). The findings of this synod were reaffirmed at the Council of Carthage in 397. [6]

Criteria for Canonicity: How did they work out what was in and what was out? Books were received as part of the canon based on four criteria: apostolicity (the books were written by or closely connected to the apostles), antiquity (the books were old, i.e., not written centuries after Jesus), universality (the books were widespread, not just read in one particular corner of the world), and orthodoxy (the books taught legit biblical doctrine). It’s important that we emphasise that the books were “received” rather than “selected”. “Selected” gives the vibe that we have the authority to choose what’s in and what’s out. “Received” points to the fact God is ultimately the authority. We sit under him and under his Word. We receive these books as from Him, and are not convinced that the other books are from Him.

Later

The decisions on the NT canon were later reaffirmed by leaders and churches of the Protestant Reformation (for example, Article 6 of the Anglican 39 Articles) and also the Council of Trent for the Roman Catholic Church.

But …

What about those other books?

There are a bunch of books called the “Apocrypha” that are included in the Old Testament canon of some Christian denominations, such as the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, but are considered non-canonical by Protestant denominations. If you want to know about them, see my forthcoming article titled “Whattup with the Apocrypha?”

Notes.

[1] Beckwith, R. T. “Canon of the Old Testament.” In New Bible Dictionary, edited by D. R. W. Wood, I. H. Marshall, A. R. Millard, J. I. Packer, and D. J. Wiseman. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996.

[2] Beckwith, R. T. “Canon of the Old Testament.”

[3] Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.25.1–7, trans. Arthur Cushman McGiffert, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, vol. 1, edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1890. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Accessed May 27, 2024. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250103.htm.

[4] Caius, Fragments of Caius, "Canon Muratorianus," in Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 5, trans. Stewart Dingwall Fordyce Salmond. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1994, 508–509.

[5] Athanasius, 39th Paschal Letter, trans. N. P. Williams, in St. Athanasius: Select Works and Letters, edited by Archibald Robertson, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, vol. 4. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996, 1326-1328.

[6] “The Canons of the 217 Blessed Fathers who assembled at Carthage,” in Henry R. Percival, ed., The Seven Ecumenical Councils of the Undivided Church, vol. 14 of A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian for the Christian Church, 2nd ser., edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Edinburgh; Grand Rapids, MI: T&T Clark; Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Canon XXIV, 254.