There has never been a 66-book canon in all of Church history until the Protestants invented it.

[Walpole]

Change my mind and prove me wrong.

 

[SolaScriptura]

The Books of The Old Testament Canon - 39 as in the Protestant Canon

Philo of Alexandria (c 20 BC-AD 50)

“More to the point is the evidence of Philo, the quintessential representative of Alexandrian Jewry. His numerous quotations from the scriptures provide important evidence about the history of the Greek text of the Old Testament and also about Alexandrian hermeneutical method. Although he does not expressly frame a clear definition of the limits of the Canon, it is evident that for him the Law is the supreme documentary authority. He quotes from all the books in the other two divisions of the Palestinian canon except Ezekiel, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, and Daniel... At all events it does not appear that Philo quotes any apocryphal book as holy scripture. (P Ackroyd and C Evans; The Cambridge History of the Bible, vol. 1, p.148)

Josephus (A.D.37-100)

“We have explicit testimony respecting the time of completing the canon from the Jewish historian Josephus, who was born at Jerusalem, a.d. 37, of priestly descent. In his treatise against Apion, an Alexandrian grammarian, hostile to the Jews, I., 8, he speaks in the following manner of the sacred books : " We have not tens of thousands of books, discordant and conflicting, but only twenty-two, containing the record of all time, which have been justly believed [to be divine]. And of these, five are the books of Moses, which embrace the laws and the tradition from the creation of man until his [Moses'] death. This period is a little short of three thousand years. From the death of Moses to the reign of Artaxerxes, the successor of Xerxes, king of Persia, the prophets who succeeded Moses wrote what was done in thirteen books. The remaining four books embrace hymns to God and counsels for men for the conduct of life. From Artaxerxes until our time everything has been recorded, but has not been deemed worthy of like credit with what preceded, because the exact succession of the prophets ceased. But what faith we have placed in our own writings is evident by our conduct ; for though so long a time has now passed, no one has dared, either to add anything to them, or to take anything from them, or to alter anything in them. But it is instinctive in all Jews at once from their very birth to regard them as commands of God, and to abide by them, and, if need be, willingly to die for them." According to Josephus, therefore, the period in which the books esteemed sacred by the Jews were written, extended from the time of Moses to the reign of Artaxerxes I. of Persia ; after which no additions of any sort were made to the canon. Artaxerxes Longimanus, the monarch here referred to, reigned forty years, from B.C. 465 to B.C. 425. In the seventh year of his reign Ezra came up to Jerusalem from the captivity (Ezra vii. 1, 8); and in the twentieth year of the same Nehemiah followed him (Neh. ii. 1, 5, 6).” (William Green; General Introduction to the Old Testament: Canon. pp.37-38. Emphasis mine)
​

The Fifth Book of Maccabees (Late 1st Century A.D.)

“There was a man of Macedon named Ptolemy, endued with knowledge and understanding; whom, as he dwelt in Egypt, the Egyptians made king over the country of Egypt. Wherefore he, being possessed with a desire of seeking out various knowledge, collected all the books of wise men from every quarter. And being anxious to obtain the Twenty-four Books, he wrote to the high priest in Jerusalem, to send him seventy elders from among those who were most skilled in those books ; and he sent to the priest a letter, with a present… So the secretaries took down from every one of them the translation of the Twenty-four Books. And when the translations were finished, Eleazar brought them to the king; and compared them together in his presence : on which comparison, they were found to agree. Upon which the king was exceeding glad, and ordered a large sum of money to be divided amongst the party. But Eleazar himself he rewarded with a munificent recompense.” (Henry Cotton; The Five Books of Maccabees; Book V, Ch.II, 1-3, 8-10)

4 EZRA - The Apocalypse (A.D.100-135)

“So in forty days were written ninety-four books *. And it came to pass when the forty days were fulfilled, that the Most High spake unto me saying: "The twenty-four books that thou hast written publish, that the worthy and unworthy may read (therein) : but the seventy last thou shalt keep, to deliver them to the wise among thy people” [*The twenty-four books are, of course, the books of the O.T., which were read openly in the synagogue, and were open for all to read. The number 24 is the ordinary reckoning of the O. T. books (5 + 8+ 11). In the Talmud and Midrash the O.T. is regularly termed 'the twenty-four holy Scriptures'. Another reckoning was 22 (cf. Joseph, c. Apion, i. 8) in accordance with the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet (so also Origen, Epiphanius, Jerome). This total seems to have been obtained by combining Ruth with Judges, and Lamentations with Jeremiah. The seventy last, i.e. the apocalypses which were secret books.]” (R H Charles; The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, Vol.II. IV Ezra, XIV, 45-46, p.624; also, G A Box, The Apocalypse of Ezra, p.113)

Melito (died. A.D.180)

“But in the Extracts made by him the same writer [i.e. Melito] gives at the beginning of the Introduction a catalog of the acknowledged books of the Old Testament, which it is necessary to quote at this point. He writes as follows: "Melito to his brother Onesimus, greeting! Since you have often, in your zeal for the Word, expressed a wish to have extracts made from the Law and the Prophets concerning the Saviour, and concerning our entire Faith, and have also desired to have an accurate statement of the ancient books, as regards their number and their order, I have endeavored to perform the task, knowing your zeal for the faith, and your desire to gain information in regard to the Word, and knowing that you, in your yearning after God, esteem these things above all else, struggling to attain eternal salvation. Accordingly when I went to the East and reached the place where these things were preached and done, I learned accurately the books of the Old Testament, and I send them to you as written below. These are their names: Of Moses five, Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, Deuteronomy; Joshua the son of Nun, Judges, Ruth, four of Kingdoms, two of Chronicles, the Psalms of David, Solomon's Proverbs also [called] Wisdom, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Job; of the Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, the Twelve [minor prophets] in one book, Daniel, Ezekiel, Esdras. From which also I have made the extracts, dividing them into six books." Such are the words of Melito.” (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History iv. 26)

The Syriac Peshitta (1st cent. AD, from the Hebrew OT)

“The theory that the translation was made by or for the converts in Adiabene would imply a date in the first century CE. Even aside from that theory, the translation must pre-date the fourth-century Syriac fathers Aphrahat and Ephrem, who cite it extensively. It can in fact hardly be later than about 200 CE, since it uses a particle that Ephrem no longer understood...Quite apart from its own interest, the translation has an important bearing on both earlier and later writings. In relation to the Hebrew text of the Bible, it is the earliest translation of the whole [Hebrew] canon into another Semitic language ” (M P Weitzman; The Syriac Version of the Old Testament, Introduction, p.2)

“Thirdly, the earlier form [original] of the Peshitta, a daughter version of the Septuagint, seems to have omitted the additional books [apocrypha] and Chronicles. If it was of Christian origin, this would be a pointer to the restriction of the canonical list within the Church.” (P R Ackroyd and C F Evans; The Cambridge History of the Bible, Vol. I, pp.158-159)

The Babylonian Talmud (70-200 A.D.)

“Our Rabbis taught: The order of the Prophets is, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and the Twelve Minor Prophets. Let us examine this. Hosea came first, as it is written, God spake first to Hosea. But did God speak first to Hosea. Were there not many prophets between Moses and Hosea? R. Johanan, however, has explained that [what It means is that] he was the first of the four prophets who prophesied at that period, namely, Hosea, Isaiah, Amos and Micah. Should not then Hosea come first? - Since his prophecy is written along with those of Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, and Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi came at the end of the prophets, he is reckoned with them. But why should he not be written separately and placed first? - Since his book is so small, it might be lost [if copied separately]. Let us see again. Isaiah was prior to Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Then why should not Isaiah be placed first? - Because the Book of Kings ends with a record of destruction and Jeremiah speaks throughout of destruction and Ezekiel commences with destruction and ends with consolation and Isaiah is full of consolation; therefore we put destruction next to destruction and consolation next to consolation. The order of the Hagiographa is Ruth, the Book of Psalms, Job, Prophets, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Daniel and the Scroll of Esther, Ezra and Chronicles.” (Tractate Bava Batra 14b-15a)

​

 

[SolaScriptura]

New Testament Canon of 27 Books as in the Protestant Canon

For the Books of the New Testament, I believe that all agree on the 27, which was agreed by the early Church, as found in the Easter Letter of the Church Father, Athanasius, dated 367 A.D. Where we read:

"Again, it is not tedious to speak of the books of the New Testament. These are: the four Gospels, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. After these, The Acts of the Apostles, and the seven epistles called Catholic: of James, one; of Peter, two, of John, three; after these, one of Jude. In addition, there are fourteen epistles of Paul the apostle, written in this order: the first, to the Romans; then, two to the Corinthians; after these, to the Galatians; next, to the Ephesians, then, to the Philippians; then, to the Colossians; after these, two of the Thessalonians; and that to the Hebrews; and again, two to Timothy; one to Titus; and lastly, that to Philemon. And besides, the Revelation of John" (From his Thirty-Ninth Festal Epistle, section V)

We have the 66 Books of the Holy Bible, 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. All completed by the 4th century AD, which is centuries before the so called Protestant Canon.

These are the ONLY Books that form the Infallible, Inerrant, Perfect Word of God.

 

[donadams]

Is revelation or the word of God limited or only known thru these scriptures? Thanks

 

[Walpole]

The Books of The Old Testament Canon - 39 as in the Protestant Canon

Philo of Alexandria (c 20 BC-AD 50)

“More to the point is the evidence of Philo, the quintessential representative of Alexandrian Jewry. His numerous quotations from the scriptures provide important evidence about the history of the Greek text of the Old Testament and also about Alexandrian hermeneutical method. Although he does not expressly frame a clear definition of the limits of the Canon, it is evident that for him the Law is the supreme documentary authority. He quotes from all the books in the other two divisions of the Palestinian canon except Ezekiel, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, and Daniel... At all events it does not appear that Philo quotes any apocryphal book as holy scripture. (P Ackroyd and C Evans; The Cambridge History of the Bible, vol. 1, p.148)​

Did you not bother reading your control-V paste?

"He quotes from all the books in the other two divisions of the Palestinian canon except Ezekiel, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, and Daniel..."

Those books are in the Old Testament canon, so you are not at 66.

Strike one.

Josephus (A.D.37-100)

“We have explicit testimony respecting the time of completing the canon from the Jewish historian Josephus, who was born at Jerusalem, a.d. 37, of priestly descent. In his treatise against Apion, an Alexandrian grammarian, hostile to the Jews, I., 8, he speaks in the following manner of the sacred books : " We have not tens of thousands of books, discordant and conflicting, but only twenty-two, containing the record of all time, which have been justly believed [to be divine]. And of these, five are the books of Moses, which embrace the laws and the tradition from the creation of man until his [Moses'] death. This period is a little short of three thousand years. From the death of Moses to the reign of Artaxerxes, the successor of Xerxes, king of Persia, the prophets who succeeded Moses wrote what was done in thirteen books. The remaining four books embrace hymns to God and counsels for men for the conduct of life. From Artaxerxes until our time everything has been recorded, but has not been deemed worthy of like credit with what preceded, because the exact succession of the prophets ceased. But what faith we have placed in our own writings is evident by our conduct ; for though so long a time has now passed, no one has dared, either to add anything to them, or to take anything from them, or to alter anything in them. But it is instinctive in all Jews at once from their very birth to regard them as commands of God, and to abide by them, and, if need be, willingly to die for them." According to Josephus, therefore, the period in which the books esteemed sacred by the Jews were written, extended from the time of Moses to the reign of Artaxerxes I. of Persia ; after which no additions of any sort were made to the canon. Artaxerxes Longimanus, the monarch here referred to, reigned forty years, from B.C. 465 to B.C. 425. In the seventh year of his reign Ezra came up to Jerusalem from the captivity (Ezra vii. 1, 8); and in the twentieth year of the same Nehemiah followed him (Neh. ii. 1, 5, 6).” (William Green; General Introduction to the Old Testament: Canon. pp.37-38. Emphasis mine)​

The list by Josephus is short of the number in the modern Hebrew (Protestant) canon. For example, he omits Esther. Thus you are still not at a 66-book canon.

Strike two.

​

The Fifth Book of Maccabees (Late 1st Century A.D.)

“There was a man of Macedon named Ptolemy, endued with knowledge and understanding; whom, as he dwelt in Egypt, the Egyptians made king over the country of Egypt. Wherefore he, being possessed with a desire of seeking out various knowledge, collected all the books of wise men from every quarter. And being anxious to obtain the Twenty-four Books, he wrote to the high priest in Jerusalem, to send him seventy elders from among those who were most skilled in those books ; and he sent to the priest a letter, with a present… So the secretaries took down from every one of them the translation of the Twenty-four Books. And when the translations were finished, Eleazar brought them to the king; and compared them together in his presence : on which comparison, they were found to agree. Upon which the king was exceeding glad, and ordered a large sum of money to be divided amongst the party. But Eleazar himself he rewarded with a munificent recompense.” (Henry Cotton; The Five Books of Maccabees; Book V, Ch.II, 1-3, 8-10)

Are you reading what you are posting?

24 ≠ 39

Strike three.

4 EZRA - The Apocalypse (A.D.100-135)

“So in forty days were written ninety-four books *. And it came to pass when the forty days were fulfilled, that the Most High spake unto me saying: "The twenty-four books that thou hast written publish, that the worthy and unworthy may read (therein) : but the seventy last thou shalt keep, to deliver them to the wise among thy people” [*The twenty-four books are, of course, the books of the O.T., which were read openly in the synagogue, and were open for all to read. The number 24 is the ordinary reckoning of the O. T. books (5 + 8+ 11). In the Talmud and Midrash the O.T. is regularly termed 'the twenty-four holy Scriptures'. Another reckoning was 22 (cf. Joseph, c. Apion, i. 8) in accordance with the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet (so also Origen, Epiphanius, Jerome). This total seems to have been obtained by combining Ruth with Judges, and Lamentations with Jeremiah. The seventy last, i.e. the apocalypses which were secret books.]” (R H Charles; The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, Vol.II. IV Ezra, XIV, 45-46, p.624; also, G A Box, The Apocalypse of Ezra, p.113)

Once again, 24 is not 39.

Melito (died. A.D.180)

“But in the Extracts made by him the same writer [i.e. Melito] gives at the beginning of the Introduction a catalog of the acknowledged books of the Old Testament, which it is necessary to quote at this point. He writes as follows: "Melito to his brother Onesimus, greeting! Since you have often, in your zeal for the Word, expressed a wish to have extracts made from the Law and the Prophets concerning the Saviour, and concerning our entire Faith, and have also desired to have an accurate statement of the ancient books, as regards their number and their order, I have endeavored to perform the task, knowing your zeal for the faith, and your desire to gain information in regard to the Word, and knowing that you, in your yearning after God, esteem these things above all else, struggling to attain eternal salvation. Accordingly when I went to the East and reached the place where these things were preached and done, I learned accurately the books of the Old Testament, and I send them to you as written below. These are their names: Of Moses five, Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, Deuteronomy; Joshua the son of Nun, Judges, Ruth, four of Kingdoms, two of Chronicles, the Psalms of David, Solomon's Proverbs also [called] Wisdom, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Job; of the Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, the Twelve [minor prophets] in one book, Daniel, Ezekiel, Esdras. From which also I have made the extracts, dividing them into six books." Such are the words of Melito.” (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History iv. 26)

Are you even reading these control-v paste jobs???

FYI, the book of Wisdom, which he listed as a book of the Old Testament, is NOT in the Protestant canon!

Once again, there has NEVER been a 66-book canon in all of history until the progenitors of Protestantism invented it.

 

[SolaScriptura]

Did you not bother reading your control-V paste?

"He quotes from all the books in the other two divisions of the Palestinian canon except Ezekiel, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, and Daniel..."

Those books are in the Old Testament canon, so you are not at 66.

Strike one.


The list by Josephus is short of the number in the modern Hebrew (Protestant) canon. For example, he omits Esther. Thus you are still not at a 66-book canon.

Strike two.


Are you reading what you are posting?

24 ≠ 39

Strike three.


Once again, 24 is not 39.

Are you even reading these control-v paste jobs???

FYI, the book of Wisdom, which he listed as a book of the Old Testament, is NOT in the Protestant canon!

Once again, there has NEVER been a 66-book canon in all of history until the progenitors of Protestantism invented it.

Simply put, the Jews never accepted any of the books that are not in the so called Protestant Canon!

I have listed from various sources for the OT Canon, to show how they changed over time. You will notice that the two earliest, Philo and Josephus, who would have known the original LXX, and Hebrew Bible, never accepted any than the 22/24 Books, which are the 39 of the Protestant Canon.

Show ANY Jewish Bible from the BC, that has ANY book other than the 22/24. You CANNOT!!!

Ask ANY Jew if they EVER accepted ANY books than the 22/24, and they will say NEVER!!!

Your objections prove NOTHING!

 

[SolaScriptura]

Walpole Now you must show your evidence that has more than the 39 OT Books that the Jews used.

I will show how the LXX list of books also changed!

 

[SolaScriptura]

“When we look through early Christian literature for evidence about the New Testament Canon we do not always recall how recently an authoritative Canon of Old Testament books had come into existence. To be sure, something of a nucleus of books universally accepted had long been utilised; its existence is attested not only by the writings of Philo and Josephus, by the Qumran Scrolls, and by the writers of apocalyptic literature, but also by the Greek translations produced during and after the second century B.C. We may mention the statement by Josephus (C.Ap. i, 38-40) to the effect that there are twenty-two books 'rightly given credence'. The prologue to Ecclesiasticus had spoken of' the law and the prophets and the other ancestral books'. According to 2 Esdras 14:45-8 there were twenty-four books generally known, along with seventy others kept secret; the Babylonian Talmud (Baba Bathra 14b) mentions only the twenty-four. Apparently this number was accepted at a rabbinic council held at Jamnia in Palestine toward the end of the first century A.D.” (P R Ackroyd and C F Evans; The Cambridge History of the Bible, Vol. I, pp.229-300)

 

[Walpole]

Walpole Now you must show your evidence that has more than the 39 OT Books that the Jews used.

I will show how the LXX list of books also changed!

The Deuterocanonical books were contained in the Septuagint, which were the Scriptures used by Jesus, the Apostles and the early Church. Greek-speaking Jews used the Septuagint, but so many converted to Christianity that Greek-speaking Judaism ceased to exist not long after the time of the Apostles. The canon of the Catholic Old Testament is a Jewish canon; it is the canon of Jews who accepted Christ.

Modern rabbinical Judaism is descended from the practices of the Pharisees, who fixed the Hebrew canon after the development of Christianity and in response to Christianity. The progenitors of Protestantism Protestants chose the Old Testament canon of Jews (Masoretic) who rejected Christ. Ironically, Protestant Bibles like the NIV had to refer to the Septuagint to correct certain portions of their translations from the Tanakh to match the Christological meaning!

The New Testament actually affirms the authority of the Septuagint, which included the Deuterocanonical books. Here are a few examples...

Acts 15:17 ---> Amos 9:12 in the Septuagint. The Masoretic text contradicts the interpretation given by the Apostles.

Hebrews 1:6 ---> Deuteronomy 32:33 in the Septuagint. In the Masoretic text, this verse is missing.

Luke 4:18 ---> Isaiah 61:1 in the Septuagint. Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah, which is missing in the Masoretic text.


Furthermore, Protestant scholars Gleason Archer and Gregory Chirichigno listed 340 places where the New Testament cites the Septuagint, but only 33 places where it cites from the Masoretic Text rather than the Septuagint.

---> Old Testament Quotations in the New Testament

So, either the Septuagint (containing the Deuterocanonical books) held authority with Jesus, the Apostles and the early Church, or they were all wrong and the progenitors of the various Protestant religions were right.


Lastly, Josephus torpedoes your argument. For he held there were 22 books in the Old Testament, NOT 39 (the number in the Protestant canon)...

"For we have not an innumerable multitude of books among us, disagreeing from and contradicting one another, [as the Greeks have,] but only twenty-two books . . ."

https://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/josephus/apion-1.htm


Once again, there is no canon in all of Church history which ever had 66 books, until the progenitors of Protestantism invented it.

 

[SolaScriptura]

Is revelation or the word of God limited or only known thru these scriptures? Thanks

ONLY in the 66 Inspired Books of the Holy Bible, 39 in the OT and 27 in the NT.

No other book is the Inspired Word of God!

 

[SolaScriptura]

Lastly, Josephus torpedoes your argument. For he held there were 22 books in the Old Testament, NOT 39 (the number in the Protestant canon)...

Check and see, the 22 Books listed by Josephus, are the SAME as the 39 in the PC, they are divided differently!

The Jews also divided the books as 24. but they are the SAME 39!!!

 

[SolaScriptura]

The Deuterocanonical books were contained in the Septuagint, which were the Scriptures used by Jesus, the Apostles and the early Church. Greek-speaking Jews used the Septuagint, but so many converted to Christianity that Greek-speaking Judaism ceased to exist not long after the time of the Apostles. The canon of the Catholic Old Testament is a Jewish canon; it is the canon of Jews who accepted Christ.

RUBBISH!

NO Jewish writer ever accepted the Deuterocanonical books, which is why they are so called!

Jesus Christ never used the LXX, nor did the Apostles or NT Writers!

They used a Hebrew Bible which is places very like the LXX, and in many places not

 

[SolaScriptura]

GREEK MANUSCRIPTS FOR THE LXX VERSION

You will see that even the 3 principle Greek Mss that have the LXX, the actual books differ, showing that they were added at a later date, and never in the Original LXX!

“In the Codex Vaticanus, the books are arranged upon cod. Vat. the same principle, the chief differences being (i) the introduction of 'Apocrypha,' (2)the place of 'Job' after the canonical writings of Solomon, due perhaps to the uncertainty about authorship ; and (3) the place of the Twelve Minor Prophets before Isaiah, due probably to an attempt at chronological arrangement. The order in which the books follow one another is, ' Genesis—Chronicles, I Esdras, 2 Esdras ( =Ezra, Nehemiah), Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Job, Wisdom of Solomon, Wisdom of the Son of Sirach, Esther, Judith, Tobit, Twelve Minor Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Baruch, Lamentations, Epistle of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel.

The Codex Alexandrinus contains the books of the Old Testament in three volumes, in the following order : —vol. i. Genesis to Chronicles ; vol. ii. Twelve Minor Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah with Baruch, Lamentations, and Epistle of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel (Theodotion's version), Esther with Additions Tobit, Judith, 1 Esdras 2 Esdras ( =Ezra, Nehemiah), 1, 2, 3, 4 Maccabees ; vol. iii. Psalms with Canticles, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom of Solomon, Wisdom of the Son of Sirach.

In the Codex Sinaiticus, the books of the Old Testament probably followed one another in a somewhat similar order. Genesis to Chronicles, 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras (=Ezra, 4th Cent. Nehemiah), Esther, Tobit, Judith, 1 Maccabees, 4 Maccabees, Isaiah, Jeremiah with Baruch, Lamentations, and Epistle [Ezek. Dan.], Minor Prophets, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom of Solomon, Wisdom of the Son of Sirach, Job. But the fragmentary condition in which the Old Testament in this MS. has survived, precludes any absolute certainty as to the place of Ezekiel and Daniel.” (Herbert Ryle; The Canon of the Old Testament, pp. 215-216)

 

[SolaScriptura]

“A similar classification of the Sacred Books was still made in the time of Josephus, the historian. For, after stating that the Jews had twenty-two Books, he adds that, " of them five belong to Moses .... the Prophets, who were after Moses, wrote down what was done in their own times in thirteen books. The remaining four books contain hymns to God and precepts for the conduct of life. The Jews, therefore, in the time of Josephus, and at least for three centuries before that, divided the Books of their canon into three classes : first, the Law, or Books of Moses : second the Prophets ; third the Psalms or Hymns, which comprise the other Books, or all not in the other two classes. St. Jerome, who wrote three or four centuries after Josephus, testifies that in his time the Jews classified their books in the same manner, for he observes that they called the five Books of Moses Torah. the Law; eight others were composed of Prophets, and the remaining nine constituted the Hagiographa—sacred writings” (Tobias Mullen; The Canon of the Old Testament, p18. Roman Catholic work)

 

[SolaScriptura]

“Finally we may mention again the Old Testament quotations in the New Testament and in various early writers which appear to be derived from a version or versions different from the Septuagint, as well as the old version which it is assumed was revised by Lucian” (F Kenyon, Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts, p.111)

“According to Paul Kahle, the non-LXX elements in NT quotations of the OT reflect written Greek targums widely used before the church adopted the LXX as its standard version of the OT (The Cairo Geniza, 2nd ed. [1959], 209 – 64). The mass of variant readings in MSS of the LXX —variants that Kahle uses along with the aberrant text of OT quotations in the NT to prove the existence of Greek targums—present a discernible pattern of development from an archetype, not a hodgepodge of unrelated variants from independent Greek targums. Furthermore, the DSS have shown that many of the variants in the Septuagintal MSS were the result of progressive assimilation to the Hebrew text of the OT, not the result of amalgamation of differing Greek targums utilized by NT writers.” (Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol.V)

 

[SolaScriptura]

Jesus Christ, The HIGHEST Authority on The Canon of the Old Testament Books, said that there were only the 39:

"And He said to them, These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms about Me" (Luke 24:44)

This corresponds with the three-fold, Jewish division of the Old Testament into the Pentateuch, Prophets, and Ketubhim (Hagiographa). This is found in all of the Hebrews Bible and Hebrew Manuscripts from the earliest of times.

I. The Law, תורה thorah, including Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

II. The Prophets, נביאים, nabiaim, or teachers, including Joshua, Judges, the two books of Samuel, and the two books of Kings: these were termed the former prophets. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi: these were termed the latter prophets.

III. The Hagiographa, (holy writings), כתובים kethuvim, which comprehended the Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Canticles, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and the two books of Chronicles. The Jews made anciently only twenty-two books of the whole, to bring them to the number of the letters in the Hebrew alphabet; and this they did by joining Ruth to Judges, making the two books of Samuel only one; and so of Kings and Chronicles; joining the Lamentations to Jeremiah, and making the twelve minor prophets only one book (From Adam Clarke)

The Septuagint has four: law, history, poetry, and prophets, with the books of the Apocrypha inserted where appropriate. Which Jesus Christ could not be referring to in His words in Luke.

Even the Liberal, usually anti Bible/Christian BBC, gets this right!, https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z6wbqp3/revision/1

Not only Luke 24:44; but we also see from Jesus' words in Luke 11:49-51, Jesus spoke of “the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world . . . from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary.” Jesus is here referring to all the martyrs of the OT, from first to last. Abel was the first man murdered in history, which is recorded at the beginning in Genesis 4. Zechariah was the priest murdered in 2 Chronicles 24:20-22.

In the Jewish order of Books in the OT, the first Book is Genesis, and the last is 2 Chronicles, and not Malachi. Jesus' reference covers all the 22 Books (39 PC), which would not have included any of the additional books in the Roman Catholic bible, which is based on the later LXX.

 

[SolaScriptura]

Who better than the Jews, from even before the Time of Jesus Christ on earth, to give testimony to the number of Books that are the Old Testament? It is beyond any debate, that they always only accepted, either 22 or 24 (different divisions) Books, which are the same as the Protestant Canon.

BIBLE CANON - JewishEncyclopedia.com

Complete contents the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia.

www.jewishencyclopedia.com

 

[SolaScriptura]

The Jewish Rabannical Synod of Jamnia.​

A decisive point in the history of both the Canon and the Text of the Old Testament was reached about the end of the first century of the Christian era. Throughout the period of the wars of the Maccabees there may well have been little time to spare for the labours of scholarship (1) but with the attainment of religious independence and the return of more settled conditions came greater attention to study. In the famous schools of Hillel and Shammai, about the beginning of the Christian era, we may find the origin of a long line of rabbis and scribes to whom is due the fixing of the Hebrew Canon and of the traditional text as we now have them. The destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70, the annihilation of Judaea as a nation-state, the necessity of combating both the Christians who had taken to themselves the Old Testament Scriptures and the hellenistic tendencies within Judaism itself, turned the Jews back on their sacred books. Somewhere between a.d. 90 and 100 a synod is recorded to have been held at Jamnia (near Jaffa), at which certain disputed questions with regard to the acceptability of some of the books-notably of Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Esther-were decided, as well as of others accepted by the Christians but not included in the Hebrew Bible. It is from this point that we may regard the Canon of the Hebrew Scriptures as being definitely fixed so far as orthodox Judaism is concerned, and the canonical books are those which now appear in our Old Testament. But although the Canon of inspired Scriptures now included Law, Prophets and Writings, the Pentateuch remained supreme; it was the revelation par excellence, and the Prophets and Hagiographa were regarded as comment upon it, as 'tradition'. Moreover, it is for this reason that the non-canonical books (except Ecclesiasticus) ceased to be copied by the Jews, and their preservation is due to the fact that the Greek Canon of Alexandria had become the Old Testament of the Church

(1 In the description of the persecution of Antiochus in 1 Mace. i. 56, 57, it is said: "And they rent in pieces the books of the law which they found, and set them on fire. And wheresoever was found with any a book of the Covenant, and if any consented to the law, the king's sentence delivered him to death." But in 2 Mace. ii. 13, 14, after a reference to "the public archives and the records that concern Nehemiah, and how he, founding a library, gathered together the books about the kings and prophets, and the books of David, and letters of kings about sacred gifts", it is added: "And in like manner Judas also gathered together for us all those writings that had been scattered by reason of the war that befell, and they are still with us.")

(Sir F Kenyon; Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts, pages 68-69)

 

[SolaScriptura]

Walpole

Hi

In the OP you said "There has never been a 66-book canon in all of Church history until the Protestants invented it"

and to prove you wrong

What I have presented here, has beyond any doubt, proven what you say to be 100% WRONG!

The Jews, to whom the Old Testament belongs, never accepted any book as part of the OT Canon, that is not as in the Bible throughout the centuries

The oldest evidence from Philo and Josephus, is very clear, that at the Time Jesus Christ walked on earth, the OT only consisted of the Books as in the Protestant Canon, of 39 Books

The Testimony of Jesus Himself, in Luke's Gospel, is also clear, that the only Books that Jesus says are Inspired by the Holy Spirit, are the 39 Books

All the ancient evidence for the OT, from Jewish sources, only account for the 39 Books

Even in the Original LXX, there was not additional books, as part of the Canon

Other Bible Versions, like the Old Syriac, made in the 1st century AD, and the Latin Vulgate, in the 4th century, only have the 39 Books in the Hebrew Bible.

I would like to see your rebuttal to what I have shown in my many posts on here

Thanks

 

[justbyfaith]

The inspired book of Isaiah can be divided quite nicely into 39 and 27 chapters; and this points to the Bible as being a microcosm of the Bible.

The Bible is divided into 39 and 27 books (Old and New Testaments).

In the same way, the first 39 chapters of Isaiah show forth a legalistic God; while the last 27 portray a God of grace who saves in mercy.

I give this as evidence that the Protestant canon is the canon of inspired scripture.