How Was the Bible Canon Formed?

Foundations

What Does “Canon” Mean?

• From the Greek kanōn — a “measuring rod,” rule, or standard.
• It came to mean the authoritative list of books the Church measures itself by.
• The canon is the set of writings recognized as carrying God’s authority.
• Key idea: the Church recognized that authority — it did not create it.

Useful fact: Kanōn first named a straight reed used as a ruler — truth was “measured” against the standard.

Source: F. F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture; B. M. Metzger, The Canon of the New Testament.

Foundations

Key Terms

• Scripture — sacred writings received as God’s authoritative word.
• Canon — the recognized list of those writings.
• Apocrypha — in Protestant usage, books outside the Hebrew/Protestant Old Testament.
• Deuterocanon — those books, received as Scripture by Catholics and the Orthodox.
• Pseudepigrapha — works attributed to biblical figures, generally outside the canon.

Source: “Biblical canon,” Encyclopædia Britannica; L. M. McDonald, The Biblical Canon.

Old Testament

Israel’s Scriptures

• Israel’s Scriptures fall into three parts: Torah (Law), Nevi’im (Prophets), Ketuvim (Writings).
• Together the Jewish people called them the Tanakh.
• Jesus cites “the Law… the Prophets… and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44).
• They were broadly settled in rabbinic Judaism by the late first to second century.

Misconception: There was no single dramatic council; the old idea of a decisive “Council of Jamnia” is now widely doubted by scholars.

Source: L. M. McDonald, The Biblical Canon; Gallagher & Meade, The Biblical Canon Lists.

Old Testament

The Septuagint & Christian Usage

• The Septuagint (LXX) is the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (3rd–2nd c. BC).
• Greek-speaking Jews — and the apostles — used it widely.
• The New Testament often quotes the Old Testament in this Greek form.
• The Greek Old Testament of the early Church also included further books — the Protestant “Apocrypha,” the Catholic and Orthodox deuterocanon.

Source: F. F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture; “Biblical canon,” Britannica.

Old Testament

Why Christians Differ on OT Books

• Protestants follow the Hebrew canon: 39 Old Testament books.
• Catholics also receive seven deuterocanonical books, plus additions to Esther and Daniel (Trent, 1546).
• Eastern Orthodox, following the Greek Septuagint, receive those and often a few more (such as 3 Maccabees and Psalm 151).
• The differences concern the Old Testament — Protestants, Catholics and Eastern Orthodox share the same 27-book New Testament.

Useful fact: The 1611 King James Bible originally printed the Apocrypha in its own section between the Testaments.

Source: L. M. McDonald, The Biblical Canon; “Biblical canon,” Britannica.

New Testament

The New Testament Begins with Apostolic Witness

• The New Testament books come from the apostolic age — apostles and their close associates.
• They were read aloud in the churches from very early on.
• Apostolic authority — eyewitness connection to Jesus — is the root of their standing.
• Within the NT itself, Paul’s letters are already called “Scripture” (2 Peter 3:15–16).

Source: B. M. Metzger, The Canon of the New Testament.

New Testament

What Criteria Guided Recognition?

• Apostolic origin — written by an apostle or a close associate.
• Orthodox teaching — agreeing with the apostolic “rule of faith.”
• Widespread use — received across many churches, not one region.
• Read in worship — used in the Church’s public reading and liturgy.

Key idea: These were tests of recognition, not invention. The canon was recognized over time — not chosen overnight.

Source: F. F. Bruce; B. M. Metzger, The Canon of the New Testament.

Early Evidence

Eusebius’s Categories (c. AD 325)

• Accepted: the four Gospels, Acts, Paul’s letters, 1 Peter, 1 John.
• Disputed: James, Jude, 2 Peter, 2 & 3 John (and, for some, Revelation).
• Rejected: forged “gospels” and “acts” under apostles’ names, to be set aside.

Useful fact: Eusebius reports the churches’ opinion — and treats Revelation unusually, noting opinion about it was divided.

Source: Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History 3.25.

Early Evidence

Athanasius, AD 367

• In his 39th Festal (Easter) Letter, Bishop Athanasius listed the New Testament books.
• It is the first surviving list naming exactly our 27 books — no more, no fewer.
• He distinguished “canonical” books from others merely useful for reading.
• His list matches the 27-book New Testament of Protestant, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches; a few other ancient churches, such as the Ethiopian Tewahedo (Oriental Orthodox), differ.

Source: Athanasius, Festal Letter 39; Gallagher & Meade, The Biblical Canon Lists.

Early Evidence

The Councils of Hippo & Carthage

• These regional North African councils (Hippo, 393; Carthage, 397) listed the canonical books.
• They confirmed what the churches were already reading.
• Augustine, a major North African bishop, supported this broader canon.
• A council ratifies a consensus; it does not create Scripture’s authority.

Misconception: These regional councils did not “create the Bible.” They recorded books already in use across the churches.

Source: Council of Carthage (397) canon list; F. F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture.

Misconceptions

What Nicaea Did Not Do

• The Council of Nicaea (325) met to address the deity of Christ and the teaching of Arius.
• Its work produced the Nicene Creed (of 325, expanded in 381) and helped set the date of Easter.
• The biblical canon was not on its agenda at all.
• The popular claim that “Constantine chose the books” is simply false.

Misconception: Constantine did order 50 copies of Scripture — but that is making Bibles, not deciding their contents.

Source: F. F. Bruce; “Biblical canon,” Britannica.

Conclusion

The Big Takeaway

• The canon was received, not invented.
• It came through the worship, teaching, copying, and discernment of the historic Church.
• The Church recognized the authority the apostolic Scriptures already carried.
• Protestant, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians share the same 27-book New Testament.

In one line: The Church did not give the Scriptures their authority — it received and recognized it.

Source: Metzger; Bruce; McDonald; Gallagher & Meade.