canon of Scripture

canon of Scripture. The term ‘canon’ gradually acquired a technical meaning for the Books which were officially received as Scripture. It was long thought that the Hebrew Canon of the OT was closed in the second half of the 1st cent. AD, but it has been suggested that there was no defined canon until much later than this and there is discussion as to whether the canon of the OT formed a model for that of the NT or the other way round. The Jews of the Diaspora regarded as equally inspired certain other Greek Books, most of which are printed in the AV and RV among the Apocrypha (q.v.). The Four Gospels and the 13 Epistles of St Paul had been accepted, at least in parts of the Church, as an authoritative witness to the Apostolic teaching by c.130; towards the end of the 2nd cent. these NT writings came to be regarded as ‘Scripture’ on the same footing as the OT. Other NT writings were received more slowly, while some, e.g. the Epistle of Barnabas, were admitted by individual Churches though rejected by the majority. St Athanasius in his Festal Letter of 367 is the earliest exact reference to the present NT canon. A Council probably held in Rome in 382 gave a complete list of the canonical Books of the OT and NT which is identical with that given at the Council of Trent.