Term
| In your English Bibles, how many books of Law, History, Wisdom/Poetry, Prophets? (p. 27) |
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Definition
Law – 5 (Gen. – Deut.)
History – 12 (Josh. – Esther)
Wisdom/Poetry – 5 (Job – Song.)
Prophets – 17 (Is. – Mal.) |
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Term
| In your English bibles, how many books of Gospels, History, Letters, Apocalypse? |
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Definition
Gospels – 4 (Matt. – Jn.)
History – 1 (Acts)
Letters – 21 (Rom. – Jud.)
Apocalypse – 1 (Rev.) |
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Term
| What is the meaning of the word “Bible.” |
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Definition
| Bible derives from the Latin translation of the Greek word biblion (“book”), itself a derivation of the word Byblos, one of the name for papyrus. |
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Term
| What does the word Testament mean? |
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Definition
Testament “an act by which a person determines the deposition of his property after his death.”
Or, covenant |
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Term
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Definition
Tenak is an acrostic Jews refer to their Scriptures
T – Torah (law)
N – Nebiim (prophets)
K – Kethubim (writings |
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Term
| What are two differences between Chronicles and Samuel/Kings? |
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Definition
1.Samuel and Kings are collectively call the Books of Kingdoms in the Septuagint
1.I.e. 1-2 Sam. + 1-2 Kings = 1-4 Kingdoms |
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Term
| What are the arguments commonly advanced for accepting the Apocrypha? (p. 124) |
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Definition
1) Some NT books possibly make allusions to apocryphal and Pseudepigraphal books
1.Heb. 11:35 may allude to 2 Macc. 7,12
2.Jude 9 may allude to the Testament of Moses (pseud.)
3.2 Tim. 3:8 possibly makes reference to the Testament of Moses (pseud.)
4.Jude 14,15 quotes 1 Enoch 1:9
2) NT authors often quote from the Septuagint, the earliest of which included the Apocrypha. Some manuscripts included…
1.Aleph = Codex Sinaiticus (4th Century)
2.A = Codex Alexandrinus (5th Century)
3.B= Codex Vaticanus (4th Century)
3) Several Apocryphal books were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls
4) Early Christian art reflects some knowledge of the Apocrypha
5) Early Western church fathers accepted authority of the Apocrypha
1.Clement of Alexandria
1. i. Tobit, Sirach, Wisdom
2.Origen
1. i. Epistle of Jeremiah
3.Irenaeus
1. i. Wisdom
6) The Council of Trent (1546) proclaimed the Apocrypha canonical. |
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Term
| Who was the first to use the term “apocryphal” for the books now commonly so labeled. (p. 122) |
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Definition
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Term
| Is there good evidence that none of the apocryphal or pseudepigraphal works were included in the OT Hebrew canon used by Jews and early Christians? (p. 119) |
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Definition
| Yes, there is no evidence that these books were ever accepted by Alexandrian Jews to form an Alexandrian canon. These books probably originated from Jewish traditions and folklore possibly to fill the desire for further revelatory material that had ceased. |
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Term
| Do all of the apocryphal books have some type of inaccuracies in them? (p. 126 |
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Definition
No, 11 out of 15 have contradictions or inaccuracies.
- The ones that don’t
■Prayer of Azariah
■Song of the Three Young Men
■Prayer of Manasseh |
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Term
| What are the ten arguments set forth in the list in the readings for the rejection of the canonicity of the Apocrypha? (p. 126) |
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Definition
1) NT never cites any apocryphal books as inspired.
2) None of the apocryphal books claim to be the word of the Lord
3) OT canon is confirmed by many sources
1.2 Esdras
2.Josephus
3.Melito
4.Jerusalem List
5.Origen
4) There is little evidence to suggest that two different canons originated in Palestine and in Egypt. Philo, never quotes an apocryphal book as authoritative.
5) There are significant historical inaccuracies in the Apocrypha.
1.Events in the book of Tobit
1. i. Claimed to be at 722 and at 931
6) There are theological inconsistencies
1.2 Macc. 12 says to pray for the dead, contradicts Heb. that eternal destiny can only be made before death
7) Many early church fathers spoke against the canonicity of much or all of the Apocrypha
8) The earliest list of the OT canon by Melito (c.170) does not include the Apocrypha
9) Jerome argued against the canonicity of the Apocrypha
10) During the Council of Trent, Martin Luther argued against the canonicity of the Book of Macc. citing the NT |
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Term
| Were any copies of pseudepigraphal writings uncovered in the caves of Qumran? (p. 129 |
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Definition
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Term
| What are some good reasons given in the text as to why study the pseudepigrapha? (p. 129) |
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Definition
1) For the information they furnish concerning the social dimension of early Judaism.
2) It shows how important the OT was to the Jews
3) They are helpful in showing how doctrines developed in relationship to the NT |
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Term
| Is the issue of NT canonicity more difficult to determine than OT canonicity? (p. 131) |
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Definition
| Yes, there is less definitive evidence. |
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Term
| How were the events and teachings of Christ transmitted for the first 30 years of the church age? (p. 132) |
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Definition
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Term
| Why should we trust the oral accounts of the events of Christ’s life? (pp. 132-133) |
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Definition
1) Jesus’ life would have been taken on fixed forms in the telling; any embellishments or mistakes would have been easily detected by listeners.
2) It seems unlikely that the disciples and early Christians would have falsified accounts of Jesus’ life and teachings when eyewitnesses were still alive to dispute those accounts
3) All the disciples were martyred for their faith, something that seems unlikely if it were based on accounts that they themselves had falsified or fictionalized
4) Extra biblical record support scriptural accounts of Jesus’ life and teachings
1.Tacitus Annals (115 to 117): “Christus, the founder of the name, had undergone the death penalty in the reign of Tiberius, by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilatus.
2.Josephus
3.Babylonian Talmud (a collection of Jewish oral traditions)
5) Biblical accounts include negative elements concerning the disciples, paul and the churches. If these were fabricated, they would not have included unfavorable details about the early church |
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Term
| When were all of the NT was written by? (date, p. 135) |
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Definition
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Term
| When were many of the NT books probably collected into some form of canon? (p. 141) |
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Definition
Probably before the mid-second century
- Clement of Rome (60-100)
- Ignatius (60-117)
- Polycarp (69-155)
- Justin Martyr (100-165)
- Marcion (140)
- Irenaeus (180)
- Many more … |
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Term
| • How long was there uncertainty regarding mainly the General Epistles? (P. 145) |
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Definition
| Well into the 4th century |
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Term
| OT canon was probably completed when? |
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Definition
| R.K. Harrison suggests about 400-300 B.C. |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
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Term
| NT Canon recognized (“substantially”) |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
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Term
| Apocrypha formally canonized |
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Definition
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Term
| What role does Josephus play in the discussion on the issue of canonicity? (Discuss Who, What, When…?) |
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Definition
- Josephus clearly indicates that there were 22 books in the OT canon when it was in question (p.43, 110-111)
o “…that we do not possess myriads if inconsistent books, conflicting with each other…”
- Describes the care taken in the preservation of the NT texts (90-100) (p.103)
o “But that our forefathers took no less, not to say even greater, care that the nations I have mentioned in the keeping of their records - a task which they assigned to their chief priests and prophets and that down to our own times these records have been, and…will continue to be, preserved with scrupulous accuracy…
- Did not hold the Apocrypha to be inspired (p.116)
- In determining OT canonicity…(p.117)
o “… and that there is no discrepancy in what is written…the prophets alone had this privilege…through the inspiration which they owed to God….practical proof of our reverence for our own Scriptures. For, although such long ages have now passed, no one has ventured either to add, or remove, or to alter a syllable; and it is an instinct with every Jew, from the day of his birth, to regard them as the decrees of God, to abide by them, and, if need be, cheerfully to die for them…
- In speaking about Jesus and the early church… (p.133)
o Confirms the existence of Christ
o Confirms Christ’s crucifixion and the explosion of the early church |
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Term
| What were the five questions/principles in determining canonicity? |
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Definition
6. Authoritative
7. Prophetic
8. Authentic
9. Dynamic
10. Received |
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Term
| What are the most important of these questions/principles in determining canonicity? |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| The Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible |
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Term
| What are some differences in the Old Testament Canons from Jewish Tradition, Septuagint Greek? Latin? Eastern Orthodox Greek? |
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Definition
o Jewish tradition puts most of our “history” section in their “Prophets” section.
o We put Lamentations in “Prophets” while the Hebrews do not.
o We put Job #1 in our Poetry while the Septuagint puts him at #5
o We and the Latin Vulgate are the same.
o Orthodox puts all those Apocryphal books in. |
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Term
| Where does Ruth go in the Bible in Jewish Tradition; where in the other traditions? |
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Definition
Jewish Tradition: Ruth goes in the “Writing” under the “Five Scrolls” (Megillot)
Septuagint, Vulgate, English: All have Ruth #3 in History |
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Term
| Name two Books from the Apocrypha (from the shorter list). |
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Definition
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Term
| Name two Books from the Pseudepigrapha (perhaps important ones from the longer list). |
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Definition
1) Ascension of Moses
2) Jubilees
*Make sure the two above are different and the second clearly written pseudonymously (false-name). |
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Term
| Beckwith listed five Pieces of Evidence for the shape (order) and the contents of the Old Testament Canon; what were they? |
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Definition
1. Know what ben-Sirach says.
2. Know what Luke 24:44 says.
3. Know what Talmud/Tosephta says.
4. Know Jesus’ Statement of History.
5. Know what the Philo Quote indicates. |
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Term
| Know what ben-Sirach says. |
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Definition
- Didn’t believe that a perfect translation of Hebrew to Greek could be possible.
- The doctrine is surprisingly traditional
- Considers biblical works as Scripture (p.103)
- There is no intimation of a future life with God in the Hebrew text; rather, all go to Sheol
- stress on the lessons of experience and on the “fear of the Lord |
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Term
| Know what Luke 24:44 says. |
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Definition
| Know what Luke 24:44 says. |
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Term
| Know what Talmud/Tosephata says. |
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Definition
Tosephta: “Law, Prophets and the Fifths.”
Sometime the (five books of the) Psalms are referred to as the “Fifths.”
Sometime the Five Megilloth (scrolls) are referred to as the “Fifths.”
(Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes & Esther)
Regardless, it seems to be in the Holy Writings: its reference is to the festival at which each was to be written:
1. The Song of Songs - On the Feast of the Passover.
2. Ruth - On the Feast of Pentecost.
3. Lamentations - On the Fast of the ninth of Abib.
4. Ecclesiastes - On the Feast of Tabernacles.
5. Esther - On the Feast of Purim. |
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Term
| Know Jesus’ Statement of History |
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Definition
"You serpents, you brood of vipers, how shall you escape the sentence of hell? "Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. "Truly I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation. (Mt. 23:33-36 NASB)
“. . . in all probability implies that for Jesus and his hearers the canon began with Genesis and ended with Chronicles, seeing that the murder of Abel is recorded near the beginning of the former book (Gen. 4.3-15) and the murder of Zechariah near the end of the latter book (2 Chron. 24. 19-22) |
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Term
| Know what the Philo Quote indicates. |
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Definition
“The Laws, and the Oracles given by inspiration through the Prophets, and the Psalms, and the other books whereby knowledge and piety are increased and completed” (VC 25).
By this is would appear that Philo understood that the canon was divided into three parts roughly corresponding to the tri-partite groupings and order(s) now current within Judaism. However by the Fourth Century A.D. things were radically different. |
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Term
| In the discussion of Canon using the various historians and church fathers, what general movement do you see? |
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Definition
1. Most treatments have most of the same named books.
2. The shape of the Canon gradually shifts from Jewish (TANAK) form to
the form we have, without losing any of the original books (although not
divided the same way across traditions, e.g., Chronicles forming one book;
Ezra-Nehemiah sometimes forming one book, etc.).
3. Throughout the first four centuries of Church History, the order of books
begins to solidify and there is a movement to reject the Apocrypha
(Jerome) and Pseudepigrapha (lots of people). |
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Term
| Know what the instructor said about the dates of: |
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Definition
1. Malachi
1. (430 B.C.),
2. 2 Chronicles
1. (390 B.C.),
2. ben-Sirach
1. (Prologue 130 B.C., Writing 180 B.C.)
2. “Council of Jamnia”
1. (90 A.D. and |
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Term
| Muratorian Fragment/Canon (ca. 180-200) NT only |
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Definition
- Mentions Jude and 1 and 2 John but does not mention James, 1 and 2 Peter or Hebrews
- Mentions Wisdom of Solomon and Apocalypse of Peter |
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Term
| The textbook, p. 131, says: “The issue of the New Testament canon is much more difficult to determine than that of the Old Testament canon since there is less definitive evidence” (Wegner, Journey, 131). What does he mean by this? |
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Definition
1. There was/is a lot more NT material available to evaluate.
2. There were a lot more “Christian” people evaluating the material.
3. The OT material had, by the time of Christianity, crystallized and was more
uniform.
4. The NT material went through a brief period of oral transmission.
5. There was much less uniformity of faith with the Christians than with the Jews.
Early on there were several fully developed traditions (Greek, Latin, Slavonic,
Coptic, etc.).
6. There was much less geographical connectedness with the Christians than with
the Jews.
7. The process of copying, collecting and collating the books was longer
(geography, regional acceptance of some books, etc.)
8. The Jews never seemed to have as much trouble weeding out spurious works
(Apocrypha/Pseudepigrapha) as the Christians did (e.g., a lot of it canonized by
Council of Trent, 1545-63 A.D.) |
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Term
| Origen (ca. 230-50) From Eusebius Church History VI.25. OT & NT |
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Definition
- Formed a list held universally
o 4 Gospels
o Acts
o Paul’s 13 Epistles
o 1 Peter
o 2 Peter
o 2 and 3 John (he questions)
o James
o Jude
o Didache (Noncanonical)
o Epistle of Barnabas (Noncanonical)
o Shepherd of Hermas (Noncanonical)
o 1 Clement (Noncanonical)
o Acts of Paul (Noncanonical) |
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Term
| Eusebius (ca. 325) Ecclesiastical History III.25 NT only |
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Definition
- Includes all but:
o James
o Jude
o 2 Peter
o 2 and 3 John |
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Term
| Athanasius (ca. 367) Festal Letter 39 Both OT and NT |
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Definition
- First to include all 27 books of the NT in his canon
o Enumerated them in a Easter letter to his Parishioners in 367 |
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Term
| Jerome (ca. 394, 391) Epistle 53. 8-9 NPNF2 6.101-2 OT and NT |
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Definition
- Matthew
- Mark
- Luke
- John
Paul writes to seven churches
Hebrews
- Timothy
- Titus
- Philemon
- The Acts of the Apostles
- James
- Peter
- John, and Jude seven epistles
- The apocalypse of John |
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Term
| Athanasius (ca. 367) Festal Letter 39 Both OT and NT |
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Definition
- First to include all 27 books of the NT in his canon
o Enumerated them in a Easter letter to his Parishioners in 367 |
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