Protocanonical books
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Protocanonical books is a term used to describe those scriptural texts contained in the Hebrew Bible. In contrast to the more controversial status of the deuterocanonical books, these 39 books of the Old Testament have always been considered sacred by almost all Christians throughout history. Based on the Jewish tradition of the Tanakh, they may be listed as 24 books, including the twelve minor prophets (combined in one book), one book each for 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles, as well as a single book for Ezra and Nehemiah.
[edit] Variations in the Hebrew canon
Josephus mentioned an unspecified organization into 22 books, possibly identical with the later scheme of Athanasius which combines Lamentations with Jeremiah and omits Esther.[1] Some scholars propose an alternate scheme for Josephus which either retains Esther and combines Ruth with Judges, or omits both Esther and Ecclesiastes. Alternatively, Theodore of Mopsuestia omitted Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Job, and Ezra-Nehemiah to obtain a listing of 22 books.[2]
The 22 book canon has one book for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The 24 book canon has one book for each of the elders who throws his crown before the Lamb in the Book of Revelation.[3][4]
[edit] New Testament
By analogy with the early and broad acceptance of the Hebrew scriptural texts, the term protocanonical is also sometimes used to describe those books of the New Testament which were more widely accepted by the early Church than some of the other 27 books recognized today by almost all Christians. For more information concerning the development of the New Testament canon, see the article Biblical canon.
[edit] References
- ^ Letter 39, Athanasius of Alexandria, English translation
- ^ Theodore of Mopsuestia, article from the Catholic Encyclopedia
- ^ Prologues of St. Jerome, Latin text
- ^ Prologus Galeatus, English translation
