Canon of the Bible
By Samuel Davidson



The Canon of the Bible:

Its Formation, History, And Fluctuations

By

Samuel Davidson, D.D.

Of Halle, And LL.D.

From the Third Revised and Enlarged Edition.

New York

Peter Eckler Publishing Co.

1877





CONTENTS


Preface.
Chapter I. Introductory.
Chapter II. The Old Testament Canon From Its Beginning To Its Close.
Chapter III. The Samaritan And Alexandrian Canons.
Chapter IV. Number And Order Of The Separate Books.
Chapter V. Use Of The Old Testament By The First Christian Writers, And By
The Fathers Till The Time Of Origen.
Chapter VI. The New Testament Canon In The First Three Centuries.
Chapter VII. The Bible Canon From The Fourth Century To The Reformation.
Chapter VIII. Order Of The New Testament Books.
Chapter IX. Summary Of The Subject.
Chapter X. The Canon In The Confession Of Different Churches.
Chapter XI. The Canon From Semler To The Present Time, With Reflections On
Its Readjustment.
Footnotes






PREFACE.


The substance of the present work was written toward the close of the year
1875 for the new edition of the _Encyclopaedia Britannica_. Having been
abridged and mutilated, contrary to the author’s wishes, before its
publication there, he resolved to print it entire. With that view it has
undergone repeated revision with enlargement in different parts, and been
made as complete as the limits of an essay appeared to allow. As nothing
of importance has been knowingly omitted, the writer hopes it will be
found a comprehensive summary of all that concerns the formation and
history of the Bible canon. The place occupied by it was vacant. No
English book reflecting the processes of results of recent criticism,
gives an account of the canon in both Testaments. Articles and essays upon
the subject there are; but their standpoint is usually apologetic not
scientific, traditional rather than impartial, unreasonably conservative
without being critical. The topic is weighty, involving the consideration
of great questions, such as the inspiration, authenticity, authority, and
age of the Scriptures. The author has tried to handle it fairly, founding
his statements on such evidence as seemed convincing, and condensing them
into a moderate compass. If the reader wishes to know the evidence, he may
find it in the writer’s _Introductions to the Old and New Testaments_,
where the separate books of Scripture are discussed; and in the late
treatises of other critics. While his expositions are capable of
expansion, it is believed that they will not be easily shaken. He commends
the work to the attention of all who have an interest in the progress of
theology, and are seeking a foundation for their faith less precarious
than books however venerable.

It has not been the writer’s purpose to chronicle phases of opinion, or to
refute what he believes to be error in the newest hypotheses about the
age, authority, and composition of the books. His aim has been rather to
set forth the most correct view of the questions involved in a history of
the canon, whether it be more or less recent. Some may think that the
latest or most current account of such questions is the best; but that is
not his opinion.