The Holy Bible 2
The Septuagint and the Peshito-We recognize first the important translation of the Hebrew canon known as the Septuagint. This was a Greek version of the Old Testament, translated from the Hebrew at the instance of an Egyptian monarch, probably Ptolemy Philadelphus, about 286 B.C. The name Septuagint connotes the number seventy, and is said to have been given because the translation was made by a body of seventy-two elders, in round numbers seventy; or, as other traditions indicate, because the work was accomplished in seventy, or seventy-two days; or, according to yet other stories, because the version received the sanction of the Jewish ecclesiastical council, the Sanhedrin, which comprised seventy-two members. Certain it is that the Septuagint, sometimes indicated by the Roman numerals LXX, was the current version among the Jews in the days of Christ‘s earthly ministry, and was quoted by the Savior and the apostles in their references to the old canon. It is regarded as the most authentic of the ancient versions, and is accepted at the present time by the Greek Catholics and other eastern churches. It is evident, then, that from a time nearly three hundred years before Christ, the Old Testament has been current in both Hebrew and Greek; and this duplication has been an effective means of protection against alterations.
Another compilation, the Peshito, was made, according to tradition, at an early but undetermined date and is referred to as “the oldest Syriac version of the Bible.” It contains the canonical books of the Old Testament and many New Testament books, omitting, however, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude and Revelation. The Peshito is regarded by scholars as of great critical value.
The Present Compilation recognizes thirty-nine books in the Old Testament; these were originally combined as twenty-two books, corresponding to the letters in the Hebrew alphabet. The thirty-nine books as at present constituted may be conveniently classified as follows:
The Pentateuch or Books of the Law……………………… 5
The Historical Books…………………………………………. 12
The Poetical Books…………………………………………….. 5
The Books of the Prophets…………………………………. 17
The Books of the Law-The first five books in the Bible are collectively designated as the Pentateuch (pente-five, teuchos-volume) and were known among the early Jews as the Torah, or the law. Their authorship is traditionally ascribed to Moses, and in consequence the “Five Books of Moses” is another commonly used designation. They give the history, brief though it be, of the human race from the creation to the flood, and from Noah to Israel; then a more particular account of the Israelites through their period of Egyptian bondage; thence during the journey of four decades in the wilderness to the encampment on the farther side of Jordan.
The Historical Books, twelve in number, comprise: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, the two books of Samuel, the two of Kings, the two of Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. They tell the story of the Israelites entering the land of promise, and their subsequent career through three distinct periods of their existence as a people-(1) as a theocratic nation, with a tribal organization, all parts cemented by ties of religion and kinship; (2) as a monarchy, at first a united kingdom, later a nation divided against itself; (3) as a partly conquered people, their independence curtailed by their victors.
The Poetical Books number five: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. They are frequently spoken of as the doctrinal or didactic works, and the Greek designation Hagiographa (hagios-holy, and graphe-a writing) is still applied. These are of widely different ages, and their association in the Bible is probably due to their common use as guides in devotion amongst the Jewish churches.
The Books of the Prophets comprise the larger works-Isaiah, Jeremiah, including his Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel, commonly known as the works of the four Major Prophets; and the twelve shorter books-Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, known as the books of the Minor Prophets. These give the burden of the Lord’s word to His people, encouragement, warning and reproof, as suited their condition, before, during, and after their captivity.
The Apocrypha embrace a number of books of doubtful authenticity, though such have been at times highly esteemed. Thus, they were added to the Septuagint, and for a time were accorded recognition among the Alexandrine Jews. However, they have never been generally admitted, being of uncertain origin. They are not quoted in the New Testament. The designation apocryphal, meaning hidden, or secret, was first applied to the books by Jerome. The Roman church professes to acknowledge them as scripture, action to this end having been taken by the Council of Trent (1546); though doubt as to the authenticity of the works seems still to exist even among Roman Catholic authorities. The sixth article in the Liturgy of the Church of England defines the orthodox view of the church as to the meaning and intent of Holy Scripture; and, after specifying the books of the Old Testament which are regarded as canonical, proceeds in this wise: “And the other books (as Hierome [Jerome] saith) the church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners; but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine; such are these following:-The Third Book of Esdras; The Fourth Book of Esdras; The Book of Tobias; The Book of Judith; The rest of the Book of Esther; The Book of Wisdom; Jesus, the Son of Sirach; Baruch the Prophet; The Song of the Three Children; The Story of Susanna; Of Bel and the Dragon; The Prayer of Manasses; The First Book of Maccabees; The Second Book of Maccabees.”
The New Testament
Its Origin and Authenticity-Since the latter part of the fourth century of our current era, there has arisen scarcely a question of importance regarding the authenticity of the books of the New Testament as at present constituted. During these centuries the New Testament has been accepted as a canon of scripture by professed Christians. In the fourth century there were generally current several lists of the books of the New Testament as we now have them; of these may be mentioned the catalogues of Athanasius, Epiphanius, Jerome, Rufinus, and Augustine of Hippo, and the list announced by the third Council of Carthage. To these may be added four others, which differ from the foregoing in omitting the Revelation of John in three cases, and the Epistle to the Hebrews in one.
This abundance of evidence relating to the constitution of the New Testament in the fourth century is a result of the anti-Christian persecution of that period. At the beginning of the century in question, the oppressive measures of Diocletian, emperor of Rome, were directed not alone against the Christians as individuals and as a body, but against their sacred writings, which the fanatical monarch sought to destroy. Some degree of leniency was extended to those persons who yielded up the holy books that had been committed to their care; and not a few embraced this opportunity of saving their lives. When the rigors of persecution were lessened the churches sought to judge their members who had weakened in their allegiance to the faith, as shown by their surrender of the scriptures, and all such were anathematized as traitors. Inasmuch as many books that had been thus given up under the pressure of threatening death were not at that time generally accepted as holy, it became a question of first importance to decide just which books were of such admitted sanctity that their betrayal would make a man a traitor. Hence we find Eusebius designating the books of the Messianic and apostolic days as of two classes: (1) Those of acknowledged canonicity: the Gospels, the epistles of Paul, Acts, 1 John, 1 Peter, and probably the Apocalypse. (2) Those of disputed authenticity: the epistles of James, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, and Jude. To these classes he added a third class, including books that were admittedly spurious.
The list published by Athanasius, which dates from near the middle of the fourth century, gives the constitution of the New Testament as we now have it; and at that time all doubts as to the correctness of the enumeration seem to have been put to rest; and we find the Testament of common acceptance by Christians in Rome, Egypt, Africa, Syria, Asia Minor, and Gaul. The testimony of Origen, who flourished in the third century, and that of Tertullian, who lived during the second, were tested and pronounced conclusive by the later writers in favor of the canonicity of the Gospels and the apostolic writings. Each book was tested on its own merits, and all were declared by common consent to be authoritative and binding on the churches.
If there be need to go farther back, we may note the testimony of Irenaeus, distinguished in ecclesiastical history as Bishop of Lyons; he lived in the latter half of the second century, and is known as a disciple of Polycarp, who was personally associated with the Revelator, John. His voluminous writings affirm the authenticity of most of the books of the New Testament and define their authorship as at present admitted. To these testimonies may be added those of the saints in Gaul, who wrote to their fellow sufferers in Asia, quoting freely from Gospels, epistles, and the Apocalypse; the declarations of Melito, Bishop of Sardis, who journeyed to the East to determine which were the canonical books, particularly of the Old Testament; and the solemn attest of Justin Martyr, who embraced Christianity as a result of his earnest and learned investigations, and who suffered death for his convictions. In addition to individual testimony we have that of ecclesiastical councils and official bodies, by whom the question of authenticity was tried and decided. In this connection may be mentioned the Council of Nice, 325 A.D.; the Council of Laodicea, 363 A.D.; the Council of Hippo, 393 A.D.; the third and the sixth Councils of Carthage, 397 and 419 A.D.