Canonical structure refers to the final form of our English Bibles primarily – both order and content. This discipline is often called canonical criticism. Canonical criticism is defined as follows:
An approach that seeks to interpret the biblical books with respect to their authoritative status and theological context within the Bible. Canonical criticism thus focuses on the final form of the biblical texts rather than their earlier stages of composition or transmission (though recognition of the stages plays an integral role in some uses of this approach). Furthermore, canonical critics argue that the object of biblical interpretation is theological reflection within a community of faith. For example, Torah and the Gospels have a special function in the canon. They are set apart as first and foundational; hence the Prophets in the OT and Paul in the NT should be read in the light of the Torah and the Gospels respectively, even though the Prophets and Paul’s letters may predate the present form of the Torah and Gospels. Canonical criticism sees the Bible as “Scripture,” as authoritative writings of the community of faith,[1] and incorporates theological reflection as part of the reading of a text.[2]
Any text under consideration must be interpreted in light of its place and function within the entire canon of Scripture. Some books are theologically foundational to others and the latter must be understood in light of the former and the former is often explained by the latter.
1. Canonical structure of the Old Testament: We will consider the canonical structure of our English Bibles then the canonical structure of the ancient Hebrew Bible.
a. Canonical structure of the English Bible: Our English Bibles are comprised of 39 Old Testament books. They follow the basic order and number of the Septuagint (LXX) – Genesis – Malachi. The LXX is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, translated by “Greek-speaking Jews in Alexandria from the third to the second century B.C.”[3] LXX (Roman numeral for 70) stands for a tradition that says 72 Jewish scholars translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek in 72 days. It is an interesting phenomenon of history that the LXX changed the order of the Hebrew canon (see below) and number of books, though not the content, and added the Apocrypha. Why do our English Bibles have 39 books instead of the 24 books of the ancient Hebrew canon? The reason for this is due to the fact that the first English Bibles followed the order of the Latin Vulgate, which followed the order of the LXX[4] though Jerome translated into Latin from the Hebrew text.
Our English Old Testaments reflect a four-fold division of its 39 books considered from the standpoint of genre: I. The Law (Pentateuch) – 5 books; II. Historical Books (Joshua-Esther) – 12 books; III. Poetry (Job-Song of Solomon) – 5 books; and IV. Prophets (A. Major Prophets [Isaiah-Daniel] – 5 books; B. Minor Prophets [Hosea-Malachi] – 12 books) – 17 books.[5] The Pentateuch is the foundation for the rest of the Old Testament. The historical books trace ancient Old Covenant Israel’s history immediately subsequent to the death of Moses through the period of the judges and to the establishment of the monarchy and return from exile. The poetical books cover diverse issues related to Job, worship, and wisdom. The prophets are God’s prosecuting attorneys who both look to the past (i.e., the Pentateuch) and promise deliverance in the future.
b. Canonical structure of the Hebrew Bible (in the next post)
[1] This is important to note at this time. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were brought together by the community of faith. They are the compositional and organizational product of believers. This means that theological reasons are behind the final form of the canon.
[2] PDBS, 23.
[3] PDBS, 105.
[4] Cf. David Ewert, From Ancient Tablets to Modern Translations: A General Introduction to the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1983), 34, for a brief discussion of the order of the English Bible.
[5] This analysis of the division of the English Old Testament is found in Ewert, From Ancient Tablets to Modern Translations, 34.
Dr. Richard Barcellos is associate professor of New Testament Studies. He received a B.S. from California State University, Fresno, an M.Div. from The Master’s Seminary, and a Th.M. and Ph.D. from Whitefield Theological Seminary. Dr. Barcellos is pastor of Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Palmdale, CA. He is author of Trinity & Creation, The Covenant of Works, and Getting the Garden Right. He has contributed articles to various journals and is a member of ETS.
Courses taught for CBTS: New Testament Introduction, Biblical Hermeneutics, Biblical Theology I, Biblical Theology II.
