It depends on whose Bible you are talking about...the Roman Catholic Bible kept many of the apocryphal books (see chart in Wylen page 26) that were originally in the Greek translation loosely called the Septuagint. The Protestant canon excluded those apocryphal books as had the Jewish Bible earlier in its final canonical form (closed around 100 CE). I know that the apocryphal books were categorized as good to read but not sacred by Luther, but don't know the individual reasons for the exclusion of each one, but I will try to find a good reference on this for you.
OK. As far as the Jewish canon goes--Ezra closed the canon of the 5 books of Moses ca. 450; by the time of Jesus from about 100 BCE the second part Prophets was closed--in the Gospels you always read Jesus referencing "the Law and the Prophets" --by the first century these were canonical. I think the criteria of age and authenticity were influential in determining canonicity of the 3rd group "the Writings" which was supposed to have been closed about 200 CE. We have records of debates about inclusion of books like Esther and the Song of Songs in the Talmud but the process for including or excluding individual books is largely unknown. Want to write a PhD on this topic? Its a good one.
It depends on whose Bible you are talking about...the Roman Catholic Bible kept many of the apocryphal books (see chart in Wylen page 26) that were originally in the Greek translation loosely called the Septuagint. The Protestant canon excluded those apocryphal books as had the Jewish Bible
ReplyDeleteearlier in its final canonical form (closed around 100 CE). I know that the apocryphal books were categorized as good to read but not sacred by Luther, but don't know the individual reasons for the exclusion of each one, but I will try to find a good reference on this for you.
OK. As far as the Jewish canon goes--Ezra closed the canon of the 5 books of Moses ca. 450; by the time of Jesus from about 100 BCE the second part Prophets was closed--in the Gospels you always read Jesus referencing "the Law and the Prophets" --by the first century these were canonical. I think the criteria of age and authenticity were influential in determining canonicity of the 3rd group "the Writings" which was supposed to have been closed about 200 CE. We have records of debates about inclusion of books like Esther and the Song of Songs in the Talmud but the process for including or excluding individual books is largely unknown. Want to write a PhD on this topic? Its a good one.
ReplyDeleteI Forgot to say vis a vis authenticity and age is that the apocraphal books are newer (younger) and that may have had something to do with it.
ReplyDeleteapocryphal
ReplyDeleteforgive the typo