§ 14. Proof that the Jewish canon, in the days of Jesus, contained the same books which now constitute our Old Testament. The inquiry, what were the particular books, known in the time of Jesus and his apostles, and denominated ἱερα γραμματα (1), or ὁ νομος και οἱ προφηται, or simply ὁ νομος (2), or ή γραφή (3), and which were sanctioned by our Saviour and his apostles, as writings of divine authority; must be determined principally (4) from the testimony of the New Testament. For, in addition to the books of Moses (5), which the New Testament expressly mentions and declares to be of divine authority (§ 13), as appears from the expression o voμos nau οἱ προφηται the New Testament also specifies the following books, as belonging to the sacred canon of the Jews. The book of Joshua and that of Judges, Heb. 11: 30-34 (compared with Josh. 6: 2. Judg. 6: 4, 11, 14, 15). Acts 13: 20, μετα ταυτα — έδωκε κριτας (6). The books of Samuel, 1 Sam. ch. 21. Heb. 1; 5. The books of Kings, ch. 19 (8). Matth. 12: 3 &c. comp. comp. 2 Sam. 7: 14 (7). Rom. 11:2. comp. 1 K. Daniel, Matth. 24: 15. comp. Dan. 9: 27. Heb. 11: 33, 34. comp. Dan. 6: 3. Job, 1 Cor. 3: 19. comp. Job 5: 13 (9.) Isaiah, Luke 4: 16 &c. comp. Is. 61: 1. 58: 6. Acts 8: 30-35. comp. Is. ch. 53. John 6: 45. compare Is. 54: 13. John 12: 41. comp. Is. 6:10. 1 Cor. 14: 21. comp. Is. 28: 11. Rom. 3: 15-19. Hosea, Rom. 9: 25. comp. Hos. 2: 25. Amos, Acts 7: 42. comp. Amos 5: 25. Acts 15: 15. comp. Amos 9: 11. Jonah, Matth. 12: 39-41. comp. Jonah 2: 1. Micah, John 7: 42. and Matth. 2: 5. comp. Micah 5: 1. Habakkuk, Acts 13: 40. comp. Hab. 1: 5. Zechariah, Matth. 21: 4. compare Zech. 9: 9. John 19: 37. comp. Zech. 12: 10. Malachi, Mark 1: 2. comp. Mal. 3: 1. The book of Psalms, Luke 20: 42, Maßıð hɛyel εν βιβλῳ ψαλμων. Acts 1: 20, γεγραπται εν βιβλο yaμov. Matth. 21: 42. (comp. Ps. 118: 22), ev tais reagais. In Luke 24: 44, they are called yaμoi, and in v. 45, are included among the reapas. John 13: 18. (comp. Ps. 41 : 10), ένα πληρωθη ή γραφη. Rom. 3: 10-14. comp. Ps. 14: 1. 5: 10. 140: 4. 10: 7. Rom. 3: 18, 19. comp. Ps. 36: 2. 107: 42. Proverbs of Solomon, James 4: 6. comp. Prov. 3: 34 (10). To these books, which are expressly named in the New Testament, may be added Ezekiel, and the four minor prophets, which are not above mentioned; because it was customary, before the time of Jesus, to class (11) Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, together, under the appellation of The book of the Prophets (βιβλος των προφητών); as well as to count twelve minor prophets (12). And that the other books, which are not named above, but which are, by Jews and Christians, re ceived into the canon of the Old Testament, were also admitted into the collection of Jewish sacred writings, at the time of Jesus and his apostles; is proved by the testimony of Josephus, their cotemporary. For, in his first book against Appion, (§ 8) (13), he states, that all the Jews (14) received twenty two books as sacred and of divine origin; and he also divides them, as Luke does (24: 44), into three principal classes. Now, if we attempt to make up the number of books given us by Josephus, we shall find that, according to the old Jewish method of calculating (15), besides those above mentioned, there are required exactly as many more as are now received by the Jews into their canon. And Josephus himself, in other passages, specifies the greater part of these additional books (16) as being such as were at that time received among the Sacred Writings (17). Finally, it is evident from the substantial accordance of the passages of the Old Testament, quoted in the New Testament or in Josephus or Philo, with our present text, that the writings of the Old Testament, with which Jesus and his apostles were acquainted, and which they confirmed as divine, were in the same state in which they now are, and that they have not suffered any material alteration since that time. Moreover, the very same arguments, by which the integrity of the New Testament was established (§ 4), are also applicable to the Old Testament, and satisfactorily establish its integrity (18). ILLUSTRATION 1. The signification of ἱερα γραμματα-ὁ νομος και οἱ προφηται. 2 The writings of the Old Testament are termed isqa yoaμpara sacred writings, in 2 Tim. 3:15; and ở voμos naι oi лoogηtαι the law and the prophets, in Acts 24: 14. Luke 16: 29, 31. Matth. 5: 17. comp. also Acts 28: 23. 13: 15. Rom. 3: 21. Matth. 7: 12. 22: 40. In a Dissertation on the most ancient division of the writings of the Old Covenant,1 the author of this work has made the following remarks: "Josephus uses the expression ὁ νομος και οἱ προφηται, and immediately after, quotes a passage from the Psalms (34: 20), and another from the book of Proverbs (3: 18), both of which belong to the third class, the Hagiographa. This mode of expression may have been an ellipsis, for ὁ νομος και οἱ προφηται, και τα λοιπα twv fißlov; for the latter expression (ra loina &c.) was comν; monly used to designate the third class of books or the Hagiographa. This form of expression, however, may have originated from the fact, that the writers of all the canonical books of the Old Testament except those of Moses, were termed лоодητα, in the more extended sense of the word. It is evident that Peter used the word лoogηraι prophets, in this sense, in Acts 3: 24, where he certainly did not exclude from among the προφήταις, οἱ ελαλησαν και κατηγγειλαν τας ημερας ταύτας (who foretold the time of Christ), the author of the Psalms, from whom he himself quotes a prophecy concerning Christ, Acts 2: 30. Taken in a still greater latitude, the expression of noonτα includes also Moses himself and the Mosaic writings; it em 1 See Paulus' Neuem Repertorium für biblische und morgenländische Literatur, Th. II. Num. 6. S. 239 &c. 2 De Maccabaeis, c. 18. braces the whole Old Testament. Thus it is used in Acts 3: 18, 21, immediately after which, Moses is mentioned (v. 22), and in v. 24, οἱ προφηται απο Σαμουηλ και των καθεξης the prophets from Samuel and afterwards. Thus too, in Matth. 26:56. Luke 18: 31. 24: 25, bу поо¶nrais we must understand the whole collection of sacred writings so far as they contained prophecies. ILLUSTRATION 2. The word voμos or LAW. This word is used, by synecdoche, for the whole Old Testament, in Matth. 5: 18. Luke 16: 17. John 10: 34 (where the 6th verse of the 82d Psalm is quoted as a passage from the νομος). Rom. 3: 19, where the phrase ὅσα ὁ νομος λέγει as the law saith, refers to several passages quoted from the Psalms (v. 11-18). ILLUSTRATION 3. Toa on or SCRIPTURE. In John 10: 35, yoagn denotes the collection of books which is termed voμos, in the 34th verse. ILLUSTRATION 4. The canon of the Old Testament, determined principally by the New Testament. All those books of the Old Testament, which are of any considerable use in the proof of the christian doctrines, and many others also, are specifically named in the New Testament, and classed among the holy Scriptures. Moreover, in the determination of the question, what books were contained in the Jewish canon, the testimony of the antilegomena of the New Testament, is as satisfactory evidence as that of the homologou |