The formation of the biblical canon / by Lee Martin McDonald. [print]

"Foreword to the Fourth Edition"--Page xiii.

First edition published as The formation of the Christian biblical canon, 1988.

Revised and expanded edition of: The biblical canon : its origin, transmission, and authority. Hendrickson Publishers, 2006.

v1. The Old Testament : its authority and canonicity v2. The New Testament : its authority and canonicity.

VOLUME 1, PART 1 - Introductions and definitions: Introduction ; The notation and use of scripture ; The notion, use, and adaptability of canon

VOLUME 1, PART 2 - Formation of the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament canon: The Hebrew scriptures ; The law, the prophets, and the cessation of prophecy ; Greek influence and the formation of the Hebrew Bible ; Scripture among Essenes, Sadducees, Pharisees, and Samaritans ; Emerging Jewish and Christian collections of scriptures ; The scriptures of Jesus and early Christianity ; Texts reflecting an emerging Biblical canon ; Scripture in the rabbinic tradition (90-550 CE) ; Ancient artifacts and the stabilization of the Jewish scriptures ; The formation of the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament : a summary

VOLUME 2, PART 3 - The formation of the New Testament canon: From story to scripture : the emergence of the New Testament writings as scripture ; New Testament writings as scripture ; From scripture to canon : tracing the origins ; Authorities in early Christianity : tradition, scripture, and the Spirit ; The influence of heresy on the formation of the Bible ; The literary artifacts of antiquity and canonization ; Codices, Nomina Sacra, catalogues, and citations ; Collections, councils, and canon formation ; The criteria question ; Final reflections.

"Lee Martin McDonald provides a magisterial overview of the development of the biblical canon the emergence of the list of individual texts that constitutes the Christian bible. In these two volumes in sum more than double the length of his previous works on this subject McDonald presents his most in-depth overview to date. McDonald shows students and researchers how the list of texts that constitute 'the bible' was once far more fluid than it is today and guides readers through the minefield of different texts, different versions, and the different lists of texts considered 'canonical' that abounded in antiquity. Questions of the origin and transmission of texts are introduced as well as consideration of innovations in the presentation of texts, collections of documents, archaeological finds and Church councils. In the first volume McDonald reexamines issues of canon formation once considered settled, and sets the range of texts that make up the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament) in their broader context. Each individual text is discussed, as are the cultural, political and historical situations surrounding them. The second volume considers the New Testament, and the range of so-called 'apocryphal' gospels that were written in early centuries, and used by many Christian groups before the canon was closed. Comprehensive appendices showing various canon lists for both Old and New Testaments and for the bible as as a whole are also included" -- Link to source of summary

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