• Stone, clay tablets, papyrus, leather, wooden or ivory tablets, potsherds, precious metals, paper, ink

What is a better term for testament?

• The term testament calls to mind a last will and testament, which can de defined as “ an act by which a person determines the deposition of his property after his death”. However, most scholars agree that it is an inadequate term for the two parts of scripture since they encompass far more than this concept. “Covenant” better pictures the relationship God longs to have with his people.

• The formal pronouncements made by the Jewish authorities of the Council of Jamnia defined the limits of the canon, even though there is little evidence to support the existence of such a council.

. The OT books that belong to the Megilloth.

• A section of the Writings that is also called the Five Scrolls. Each of these books was read in the synagogue on certain days.
  • Songs of Song
  • Ruth
  • Lamentations
  • Ecclesiastes
  • Esther

• Tobit
• Judith
• Wisdom of Solomon
• Ecclesiasticus/Sirach
• 1 Maccabees
• 2 Maccabees
• Baruch
• Epistle of Jeremiah
• Additions to Esther
• Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men
• Susanna
• Bel and the Dragon
• 1 Esdras
• 2 Esdras
• Prayer of Manasseh

• The Septuagint, The Prologue to Ecclesiasticus, evidence from the New Testament, Philo of Alexandria, 2 Esdras, Josephus, Melito (Bishop of Sardis), a list in Jerusalem, Origen, Athanasius, Jerome, Tyrannius Rufinus, and Jewish Tradition.

• The New Testament never cites any apocryphal books as inspired.
• None of the apocryphal books claim to be the word of the Lord as do many Old Testament books.
• The Old Testament canon is confirmed by many sources: 2 Esdras, Josephus, Melito, Jerusalem list, Origen. Each of these sources lists the same 39 Old Testament books as we have today.
• There is little evidence to suggest that two different canons originated in Palestine and in Egypt. In fact, Philo, a Jew from Alexandria, never quotes from an apocryphal book as authoritative.
• There are significant historical inaccuracies in the Apocrypha. For example, the events in the Book of Tobit are chronologically incompatible- Tobit is said to live in Ninevah about 722 B.C., and yet he also saw the division of the united kingdom in 931 B.C.
• There are theological inconsistencies; for example 2 Maccabees 12:43-45 espouses praying for the dead, but canonical books maintain that decisions about one’s eternal destiny can only be made before death.
• Many early church fathers spoke against the canonicty of much or all of the Apocrypha; no major church father accepted all of the apocryphal books until Augustine. The apocryphal books have never been universally accepted by the church.
• The earliest list of the Old Testament canon by Melito does not include the Apocrypha.
• Jerome, the most qualified Hebrew scholar in his time, argued against the canonicity of the Apocrypha.
• During the Council of Trent, Martin Luther argued against the canonicity of the Book of Maccabees, citing the New Testament, early church fathers, and Jewish teachers in support. The Roman Catholic Church responded by canonizing the Apocrypha.

• Clement of Rome

• Ignatius
• Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna
• Justin Martyr
• Marcion
• Irenaeus
• The Muratorian Canon
• Clement of Alexandria
• Tertullian
• Hippolytus
• Origen
• Eusebius of Caesarea
• Athanasius

a. Gospel of the Hebrews                    g. Apocalypse of Paul

            b. Gospel of Peter                               h. Acts of Andrew

            c. Infancy Gospel of Thomas              i.  Acts of John

            d. Apocryphon of James                      j.  Acts of Thomas

            e. Gospel of Philip                               k. Odes of Solomon

            f.  Apocalypse of Peter

What is general revelation? What is special revelation?

• General revelation is that which can be known about God through elements, human processes or intuition.
• Special revelation is that which can be known about God through some means of direct communication from Him.

What are the synoptic gospels and why are they called that? (p. 55)

• The synoptic gospels are the first three gospels and the name is due to the fact of their similarity of content.

What is Paleo-Hebrew script? What is the Assyrian script? (p. 82)

• During the biblical period two differenct scripts were used for Hebrew, the earlier called paleo-Hebrew (or old herbrew) and the later Square script (or Assyrian script after its origin).

• The first known list of Old Testament books from Christian circles was drawn up by Melito, Bishop of Sardis, who was said to have acquired the information while traveling in Syria.

What facilitated both Hebrews and Revelation coming into the canon?

• The Western Church was more restrictive as to which books were included in their canon and the Eastern church more broad, but together they came to a satisfactory agreement.  Together, they came to accept Hebrews and Revelation in the bible.

• 32%

What work used a three-part description of the OT?

• The Prologue to Ecclesiasticus

From what city is the term Bible derived?

• Derives from latin translation of Greek world biblion (“book”), itself a derivation of the word byblos, one of the names of papyrus possibly so called from the name of the Phoenician port Byblos from which Egyptian papyrus was exported to Greece.

. What is the basic meaning of the word canon?

• Refers to a “collection or list of books accepted as an authoritative rule of faith and practice. Word derives from a Semitic root, the Hebrew form being qaneh meaning “reed” or stalk”. Certain reeds were also used as measuring sticks, and thus one of the derived meanings of the word became “rule”. The Greeks incorporated this word into their language with a little broader meaning to refer to any type of standard or guideline.

What work supports an OT canon of 24 books?

• 2 Esdras

Who was an educated Jew who never cites the Apocrypha?

• Beckwith observes: “though Philo quotes all the books of the Pentateuch, most of the books of the Prophets and several of the books of the Hagiographa, often with formulas recognizing their divine authority, he never once quotes a book of the Apocrypha.”

What does the term pseudepigrapha denote?

• The word is derived from the plural form of the greek word pseudepigraphos(false writings). Today it is applied to writings that are falsely attributed to ideal figures featured in the old testament.

What is the term for a leaf book?

• Codex: Book made from sheets of papyrus placed on top of each other, folded in the middle and bound. “Codex” originally meant trunk of tree, and then a block of wood split up into tablets or leaves.

Who helped determine what NT books were considered canonical by church members?

• About 230 he formulated a list of New Testament books accepted universally by Christians: the four gospels, Acts, Paul’s thirteen epistles, 1 Peter, 1 John, and Revelation. He then citied those books held in dispute by some: Hebrews, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, James, and Jude.

• Marcion, a native Sinope in Asia Minor, came to Rome about A.D. 140 and founded a sect contending that the Old Testament had been made obsolete by the New Testament. Marcion further argued that the Old Testament ought not to be recognized as part of the Christian Canon.

Which work contains the earliest record of a “written” gospel?

• Didache

What are wooden dowels used to round scrolls called?

• Navels

Who was first to use the term “apocryphal”?

• Jerome, the most qualified biblical scholar at the time, was the first to use the term apocrypha.

What is the Protestant tradition about the Apocrypha?

• Traditional Protestant
  • The church recognized the biblical books as inspired texts.
  • The Bible and God’s Word created the church.
  • The Bible alone is inspired.
  • Revelation has ceased.
  • The Apocrypha is not accepted as inspired.

What is the Roman Catholic position on the Apocrypha?

• Traditional Roman Catholic
  • The church authorized the Bible.
  • The church created the Bible.
  • The Bible and church tradition are authoritative.
  • Revelation is continuing.
  • The Apocrypha is accepted.

What are the Agrapha?

• Agrapha (Greek for "non written"; singular agraphon) are sayings of Jesus that are not found in the canonical Gospels. The term was used for the first time by J.G. Körner, a German Bible scholar in 1776.

Who claimed continuing inspiration?

• Montanus was a fanatic who believed that he was the promised Paraclete. He and two prophetesses, Prisca and Maximilla, prophesied “through the Spirit” of the imminent return of Christ. He claimed to be the mouthpiece of the Holy Spirit and the God was continuing to speak to the church through him. This forced the church to make some decisions concerning the limits of the authoritative canon.

What position did the Council of Trent take regarding the Apocrypha?

• In 1546 the Roman Catholic Church determined that the Apocrypha as well as the Jewish Bible were authoritative Scriptures and firmly rejected anyone who did not agree.

Which pseudepigraphal work is quoted by Jude 14, 15?

• 1 Enoch 1.9

What is the meaning of the term testament? (p. 31)

• An act by which a person determines the deposition of his property after his death. Latin vulgate accurately translated “diatheke” as “testamentum” so that the two portions of the bible were known as the Vetus Testmentum and the Novum Testamentum.

• Jewish traditions of the rabbis which derives mainly from the first five books of the bible (Pentateuch).

• Writings and Scriptures

• Catholic means general or universal. The seven catholic epistles are James 1,2 Peter 1,2,3 John, and Jude.

What is the language of the original NT? (pp. 87-89)

• Koine Greek

What are the two languages of the original OT? (pp. 85-89)

• Hebrew and Aramaic

What books were disputed in the OT canon? (pp. 115-116)

• Ezekiel, Proverbs, Esther, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs.

What does the term apocrypha mean?

• In classical, Hellenistic, and probably in New Testament Greek the word Apokryphos means “hidden” or “concealed”, but how it came to refer to certain books is not clear.

Who was first to include all 27 NT books in his canon? (p. 144)

• Athanasius, the Bishop of Alexandria