Canon of the Bible

A biblical canon is a collection of books that a Jewish or Christian community accepts as Scripture. These books are authoritative for faith and teaching.

The word “canon” translates a Greek word and a Hebrew word that mean “rule” or “measuring rod.” A canon is a standard. People use it to decide which books belong in Scripture.

After the fourth century AD, many Christians recognized 66 books as Scripture. These included 27 books in the New Testament and 39 books in the Old Testament. In the same way that the works of Plato, Aristotle, and Homer became an accepted collection of Greek literature, the New Testament books became the accepted collection of Christian writings.

We do not know the exact standards used to select the books of the Jewish Scriptures, often called the Hebrew Bible and known to Christians as the Old Testament. The Jewish people clearly valued these books for their faith, worship, and life.

Early Christian writers said that “apostolicity” was important when selecting New Testament books. Apostolicity means that a book had a close connection to the apostles or their teaching. Local churches collected and preserved these books. They used them in worship and for authoritative guidance in Christian life. The Old Testament books were collected and preserved in a similar way.

The canon developed over time. No single event established it. The process took several hundred years and did not end at the same time in every part of the Roman Empire.

At first, local churches had their own collections of books. Over time, Christians compared these collections, and a more widely accepted canon developed. Most churches still use this canon today. However, some Eastern churches accept a slightly smaller New Testament than churches in the West.

Both Judaism and Christianity believe that God’s Spirit worked in a special, guiding way in the writing and preservation of his word.

See Old Testament Canon; New Testament Canon.