Bible Dictionary: The Canon of Scripture

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Smith's Bible Dictionary

The Canon of Scripture

may be generally described as the "collection of books which form the original and authoritative written rule of the faith and practice of the Christian Church," i.e. the Old and New Testaments. The word canon , in classical Greek, is properly a straight rod , "a rule" in the widest sense, and especially in the phrases "the rule of the Church," "the rule of faith," "the rule of truth," The first direct application of the term canon to the Scriptures seems to be in the verses of Amphilochius (cir. 380 A.D.), where the word indicates the rule by which the contents of the Bible must be determined, and thus secondarily an index of the constituent books. The uncanonical books were described simply as "those without" or "those uncanonized." The canonical books were also called "books of the testament," and Jerome styled the whole collection by the striking name of "the holy library," which happily expresses the unity and variety of the Bible. After the Maccabean persecution the history of the formation of the Canon is merged in the history of its contents. The Old Testament appears from that time as a whole. The complete Canon of the New Testament, as commonly received at present, was ratified at the third Council of Carthage (A.D. 397), and from that time was accepted throughout the Latin Church. Respecting the books of which the Canon is composed, see the article BIBLE. (The books of Scripture were not made canonical by act of any council, but the council gave its sanction to the results of long and careful investigations as to what books were really of divine authority and expressed the universally-accepted decisions of the church. The Old Testament Canon is ratified by the fact that the present Old Testament books were those accepted in the time of Christ and endorsed by him, and that of 275 quotations of the Old Testament in the New, no book out of the Canon is quoted from except perhaps the word of Enoch in Jude. --ED.)

Library

Now the Whole Canon of Scripture on which we Say this Judgment is ...
... Book 2 Chapter 13. Now the whole canon of Scripture on which we say this
judgment is to� 13. Now the whole canon of Scripture ...
/.../augustine/on christian doctrine in four books/chapter 13 now the whole.htm

Perhaps There is no Book Within the Whole Canon of Scripture So ...
... CHAPTER I. Perhaps there is no book within the whole canon of Scripture
so perplexing and anomalous� Perhaps there is no book ...
/.../jennings/old groans and new songs/chapter i perhaps there is.htm

The New Testament Definitely Protected the Old Testament as a Book ...
... as a book of the Church, but thrust it into a subordinate position and thus introduced
a wholesome complication into the conception of the Canon of Scripture. ...
/.../harnack/the origin of the new testament/ 3 the new testament.htm

The Divine Scripture Commands us to Abstain from Blood...
... The Sixth Ecumenical Council. Canon LXVII. The divine Scripture commands
us to abstain from blood� The divine Scripture commands ...
/.../schaff/the seven ecumenical councils/canon lxvii the divine scripture.htm

Introductory Notice to Novatian, a Roman Presbyter
... [ad210-280.] When we reflect upon the history of Solomon, and his marvellous
contributions to the sacred canon of Scripture, we must not be surprised to find ...
/.../introductory notice to novatian a.htm

Vehicles of Revelation; Scripture, the Church, Tradition.
... (b) The Canon of Scripture accepted by Athanasius has long been known from the
fragments of the thirty-ninth Festal Letter (Easter, 367). ...
/.../select works and letters or athanasius/section 4 vehicles of revelation.htm

That Nothing be Read in Church Besides the Canonical Scripture.
... The Sixth Ecumenical Council. Canon XXIV. (Greek xxvii.) That nothing be
read in church besides the Canonical Scripture. That nothing ...
/.../schaff/the seven ecumenical councils/canon xxiv greek xxvii that.htm

The Scope of the Apocalypse Shewn by Its Place in the Canon
... This scope is best gathered from its structure; but, before considering this, we
propose to look at it as shown by its place in the Canon of Scripture, and by ...
/.../bullinger/commentary on revelation/the scope of the apocalypse.htm

That He who is to be Ordained a Bishop must be Steadfastly ...
... Ancient Epitome of Canon II. ... diligent care, that is to say the Sacred Canons, the
Holy Gospel, the book of the Apostle, and the whole of the Divine Scripture. ...
/.../schaff/the seven ecumenical councils/canon ii that he who.htm

These are all the Books of Old Testament Appointed to be Read...
... the New Testament to all orthodox Christians is, to say the least, as fatal to its
reception as an ecumenical definition of the canon of Holy Scripture, as the ...
/.../schaff/the seven ecumenical councils/canon lx these are all.htm