Biblical Canon
Scripture and Canon
Scripture refers to sacred texts that a religious community considers authoritative. Canon is the specific accepted list of books considered divinely inspired and part of that scripture.
These two terms are related but distinct. A community might reference many sacred writings, but only those formally accepted into the canon carry the highest authority. The process of determining which books belong in the biblical canon is called canonization, and it involved centuries of debate among religious leaders and scholars. There was no single moment when the canon was "locked in." Instead, various councils and traditions gradually reached consensus over time.
Old and New Testaments
The Christian Bible is divided into two main sections:
- The Old Testament contains 39 books written before the time of Jesus. These include narrative histories (Genesis, Exodus), poetry and wisdom literature (Psalms, Proverbs), and prophetic writings (Isaiah, Jeremiah). Christians inherited these texts from the Jewish tradition, where they're known as the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh.
- The New Testament contains 27 books written after the time of Jesus. These cover his life and teachings (the Gospels), letters to early Christian communities (the Epistles), and apocalyptic prophecy (Revelation).
Together, that's 66 books in the standard Protestant Bible. Catholic and Orthodox Bibles include additional books, which brings us to the Apocrypha.
Apocrypha
The Apocrypha refers to a collection of books written roughly between the Old and New Testament periods (around the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE). These include books such as Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, and 1 and 2 Maccabees.
Whether these books belong in the Bible depends on which Christian tradition you're looking at:
- Catholic and Orthodox traditions accept them as canonical (Catholics call them "deuterocanonical," meaning "second canon")
- Protestant traditions generally exclude them from the canon, though some Protestant Bibles include them as a separate section for historical reference
This difference is one of the clearest examples of how the canon isn't identical across all of Christianity.
New Testament Genres
The 27 books of the New Testament aren't all the same type of writing. They fall into three main genres, each serving a different purpose for early Christian communities.
Gospels
The Gospels are the first four books of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They tell the story of Jesus's life, ministry, death, and resurrection.
Each Gospel was written by a different author with a distinct perspective and intended audience. Mark is generally considered the earliest and shortest, focusing on Jesus's actions. Matthew emphasizes Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Luke provides detailed historical context and highlights Jesus's concern for the marginalized. John takes a more theological approach, focusing on Jesus's divine identity.
The Gospels contain a mix of narrative, parables, sermons, and dialogues. They're not biographies in the modern sense but rather faith documents designed to convey who Jesus was and what his life meant.
Epistles
The Epistles are letters written by early Christian leaders to various churches and individuals. There are 21 Epistles in the New Testament, and many are attributed to the apostle Paul (Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, among others). Other Epistles are attributed to figures like Peter, James, and John.
These letters served a practical purpose: they provided guidance, encouragement, and instruction to young Christian communities that were figuring out what it meant to follow Jesus. Topics range from theology and ethics to church organization and personal conduct. Because they were written to address specific situations in specific communities, understanding their historical context helps you interpret what they're saying.
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Revelation
Revelation is the final book of the New Testament and stands apart from everything else in it. It's a highly symbolic, apocalyptic work attributed to John of Patmos that describes visions of the end times and the ultimate triumph of God.
The book is filled with vivid imagery: the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the number 666, the Battle of Armageddon, and a new heaven and earth. Interpretations vary widely across Christian traditions. Some view it as a literal prophecy of future events. Others read it as allegory representing spiritual truths or as a coded commentary on the Roman Empire's persecution of early Christians. This range of interpretation makes Revelation one of the most debated books in the entire Bible.
Biblical Translations
Two translations played an outsized role in how the Bible spread across the ancient world.
Septuagint
The Septuagint is a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) completed in the 3rd century BCE in Alexandria, Egypt. Its name comes from the Latin word for "seventy," referring to the tradition that around 72 Jewish scholars were commissioned to translate the Torah into Greek.
Why does it matter? By the time of Jesus, Greek was the common language across much of the Mediterranean world. The Septuagint made the Hebrew scriptures accessible to Greek-speaking Jews and, later, to early Christians. Many Old Testament quotations found in the New Testament actually come from the Septuagint rather than the original Hebrew. It also includes the books that would later be called the Apocrypha, which is one reason Catholic and Orthodox traditions accept those books as canonical.
Vulgate
The Vulgate is a Latin translation of the Bible completed in the late 4th century CE by Saint Jerome at the request of Pope Damasus I. Jerome worked from the original Hebrew and Greek texts, along with existing Latin translations, to create a more accurate and consistent version.
The Vulgate became the official Bible of the Roman Catholic Church for over a thousand years. Because Latin was the language of education, law, and the Church throughout medieval Europe, the Vulgate had a profound influence on Western culture, literature, and art. It remained the Catholic Church's standard Bible until well into the 20th century.