Biblical canon

The authoritative list of books accepted as scripture.

A biblical canon is a set of texts, also called books, that a particular Jewish or Christian religious community regards as part of the Bible. The English word 'canon' comes from the Greek word meaning 'rule' or 'measuring stick' and has been used since the 14th century to mean the collection or list of books of the Bible accepted by the Christian Church as genuine and inspired. Various biblical canons have developed through debate and agreement among religious authorities, with some books excluded altogether, while others are considered apocryphal or deuterocanonical by many denominations.

Quick Facts

Field: Religious canon
Known for: Defining the accepted books of the Bible for Jewish and Christian communities

Facts from the source article.

Background

The Jewish Tanakh, sometimes called the Hebrew Bible, contains 24 books divided into three parts: the Torah (teaching), the Nevi'im (prophets), and the Ketuvim (writings). It is composed mainly in Biblical Hebrew with portions in Aramaic. The Septuagint, in Koine Greek, closely resembles the Hebrew Bible but includes additional texts and is used as the Christian Greek Old Testament in some liturgical contexts. Evidence suggests the process of canonization for the Jewish scriptures occurred between 200 BC and 200 AD, with a popular position that the Torah was canonized first, then the Prophets, and finally the Writings, possibly at a hypothetical Council of Jamnia—though this position is increasingly criticized by modern scholars.

Did You Know?

The Samaritan canon includes only the Torah, rejecting all other parts of the Bible.
The Book of Deuteronomy includes a prohibition against adding or subtracting, which may apply to the book itself.
The Jewish Tanakh contains 24 books, while the Christian Old Testament is divided into 39 (Protestant) or 46 (Catholic) books.