the old testament takes shape
The Old Testament is divided into three -- law/Pentateuch, prophets and writings. The Pentateuch is traditionally attributed to Moses who placed a copy in the Ark about 3,300 years ago. Long afterwards, other books were added to this. As to when the Old Testament Canon was finalized, no one is certain.
Some say it was compiled around 430 BC, based from Josephus' declaration that nothing was added, decreased or changed from Scripture since 424 BC. Others say it only begun 100 BC.
So far, these books were written in Hebrew, but after the Jews dispersed to many lands and lost their Jewish tongue, the books were translated into the more common language of Greek. This is known as the Septuagint version--meaning 70, the number of translators who did the work. This was widely accepted and was the version Jesus and His followers used.
It is worth noting that two thirds of the Old Testament passages quoted in the New Testament came from the Septuagint version. This is important because the Septuagint version contains the deuterocanonical books (which are considered apocryphal or not accepted as Scripture by non-Catholics).
deuterocanonical books
Most non-Catholics don’t recognize these books as part of the Bible, arguing that they were not part of the list formulated during the Council of Javneh. The problem with this is that this council was formulated by modern Jews who were not interested in apostolic teaching and were motivated by concerns different from the apostolic community that Jesus started. In fact this council was held about 90 AD when Apostles were already actively building God’s Church as Jesus instructed them. In fact, most of them already died at this time. Prior to this, there was no formal effort among the Jews to define a formal canon.
Moreover, this canon is not consistent with the Septuagint version, which was, as previously mentioned, the version Jesus used. The Apostles have chosen to use this, and the Church was obliged to continue in this manner. In fact, since the Church was already existent at that time and Jerusalem already fell around 70 AD, the rabbis no longer had authority to settle the matter as Jesus already gave authority to settle this to His Church through the Apostles.
Other non-Catholics also argue that Jesus never quoted from the deuterocanonicals. The problem with this argument is that there are a lot of Old Testament books that Jesus never quoted from and yet are part of the Old Testament canon. Moreover, Jesus actually quoted and alluded from deuterocanonical books like Wisdom, and 1 and 2 Maccabees. It cannot be denied that Jesus and the Apostles treated these books in the same level as the other Old Testament books, and we have no reason to do otherwise.
the early church grows
Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He asked His Apostles to proclaim the Gospel, but never asked them to put them into writing. The Apostles thus did as Jesus did--they preached orally and trained trusted men to do so as well. This was their sure way of protecting God's Word from corruption. The Apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, scattered around the world and evangelized people.
None of them had a concept of writing a collection of books to form the New Testament. In fact, only five of them put to writing what they preached. All works written arose from special needs that had to be addressed. The Apostles roamed the world and founded churches, who constantly asked for their guidance--being their spiritual father--when in confusion. Thus, St. Paul would write to his converts at Ephesus or Corinth when he is not there. They were never meant as letters for the whole Church as the New Testament. Moreover, they were read only to specific congregations, and not published as handouts for all Christians to read.
The writing of the New Testament took place around 50-100 AD. No book in the New Testament states when they were written but scholars were able to make approximates of their origin. The most probable first written work was the Gospel of St. Matthew in its early Aramaic, and the last being the works of St. John. See chart below for a complete and more detailed list regarding these approximates:
| Date of Composition | Canonical Writing | Author | Written in |
| 51-52 | 1 and 2 Thess | Paul | Corinth |
| 50-55 | [Early Aramaic Gospel] | Matthew | Palestine (?) |
| 50-60 | Jas | James | Jerusalem (?) |
| 54 | Gal | Paul | Ephesus (?) |
| 57 (spring) | 1 Cor | Paul | Ephesus |
| 57-58 (autumn) | 2 Cor | Paul | Macedonia |
| 57-58 (winter) | Rom | Paul | Corinth |
| 60 (?) (64-70) | Mk | Mark | Rome (?) |
| 62 (?) (54-57) | Phil | Paul | Rome (Ephesus) |
| 62 | Col, Philem, Eph | Paul | Rome |
| 62 (?) (67-70) | Lk | Luke | Rome (Achaia) |
| 63 (75) | Acts | Luke | 64 | 1 Pt | Peter | Rome |
| 64 (80) | 2 Pt | Peter (?) | Rome (?) |
| 65 | 1 Tim and Tit | Paul | Macedonia |
| 65 (?) (80) | Heb | Paul (?) | Rome (?) Athens (?) |
| 66 | 2 Tim | Paul | Rome |
| 68-70 | Mt | Matthew | Syria (?) |
| 70 (?) | Jude | Jude Thaddeus | (?) |
| 85-95 | Rev | John | Patmos |
| 95-100 | 1, 2, and 3 Jn | John | Ephesus (?) |
| 98-100 | Jn | John | Ephesus (?) |
the new testament is compiled
In 397 AD, through St. Augustine's influence, the Council of Carthage settled the Canon of the New Testament as we have it now. This council approved the decision of a previous council in 393 AD, the Council of Hippo. Their decision was then sent to Rome to be approved and confirmed by the Roman Pontiff, for no council is authoritative or binding unless approved by the Pope. There were people who mention the individual books of the Bible earlier than that, but it was the Council of Carthage that authoritatively declared and compiled the Bible as we have it now.
There were basically three classes of books prior to 397 AD. They were either canonical, disputed or false. Canonical books, or those accepted by all Christians as written by apostolic men, include four Gospels, 13 epistles by St. Paul and the Acts of the Apostles. These were accepted by both east and west churches, and read during the Mass.
Disputed books are those that some Christians accept but are rejected by some in other area. Among these are the epistle of St. James, epistle of St. Jude, 2nd epistle of St. Peter, 2nd and 3rd epistles of St. John, epistle to the Hebrews and the book of Revelation. Other books of this class some of us may not be familiar with because they didn't make the final list include the epistle of Barnabas, Doctrine of the Twelve Apostles, and Gospel according to the Hebrews.
Lastly, there is the third class which are not accepted as Apostolic because of contents that go against what the Apostles were teaching at that time. This include the Gospel of St. James, Acts of Pilate, Acts of Thecla, Gospel of Judas, and the Gospel of St. Thomas.
This caused confusion to the Christians for they couldn't identify which books are binding to their lives. Again, it was the Council of Carthage approved by the Pope that settled this. This was further affirmed by the Council of Florence in in 1442 under Pope Eugenius, and by the Council of Trent in 1546. It is by the authority given to them by Jesus that they have decided. Rome has spoken. The matter is settled.
As Christians grew in number, more translations arose to address those who neither speak Hebrew nor Greek. Some of them were correct, some of them were dubious. Around 400 AD, Pope St. Damascus asked St. Jerome to write an authoritative Latin version since a lot of corrupt translations were coming out. The outcome is the Latin Vulgate, which was mostly translated from the original Hebrew, and was the official version used by the Church. To date, the Church continues to safeguard Scripture from versions/translations that are not in line with the Tradition that Jesus left to His Church. Again, it is by the authority given to them by Jesus that they do so. Rome has spoken. The matter is settled.
Next in this series...
How do we know for sure that the Bible is God's Inspired Word?
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