Few of the books of the Christian Scriptures were in the form they are now until the last quarter of the 2nd century CE, the exception being the authentic letters of Paul of Tarsus.
The first canon of
Christian scripture was that brought by Marcion of Sinope to Rome around 140
CE, which contained the seven recognized letters of Paul plus a work Marcion
called the Gospel of the Lord. Later writers called Marcion’s gospel an
abridged version of the Gospel of Luke
but in truth it was probably an earlier version of Luke without later
interpolations and additions by other scribes.
In another example, scholars
universally recognize that the “Pericope Adulterae” (the story of Jesus and the
woman taken in adultery) was a very late addition to the Gospel of John, which is
itself the work of primarily two different writers. This opinion goes back to the time of the Apostolic
Fathers, specifically Papias of Hierapolis, who related that the story originated
in the Gospel of the Hebrews, a Greek-language gospel used by Jewish
Christians.
Without exception, every
reference in the New Testament to or quote from the Old Testament, or Tanakh,
comes from the Septuagint. There are several
references to or quotes from the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, specifically the
Assumption of Moses, 1 Enoch, the Martyrdom of Isaiah, and the Life of Adam and
Eve. In addition, several of the letters
of Paul of Tarsus quote pagan authors, including Menander, Euripides, and Epimenides.
Before we continue, let’s
see the universally recognized canon of the Christian New Testament in its
entirety. In this case, there is much
more agreement than on the canon of the Old Testament.
New Testament
Gospel
of Matthew
Gospel
of Mark
Gospel
of Luke
Gospel
of John
Acts
of the Apostles
Epistle
of Paul to the Romans
1st Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians
2nd Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians
Epistle
of Paul to the Galatians
Epistle
of Paul to the Ephesians
Epistle
of Paul to the Philippians
Epistle
of Paul to the Colossians
1st Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians
2nd Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians
Epistle
of Paul to Philemon
1st Epistle of Paul to Timothy
2nd Epistle of Paul to Timothy
Epistle
of Paul to Titus
Epistle
to the Hebrews
Epistle
of James
1st Epistle of Peter
2nd Epistle of Peter
1st Epistle of John
2nd Epistle of John
3rd Epistle of John
Epistle
of Jude
Revelation
of John the Divine
Antilegomena
In his Church History when
Eusebius writes of the Christian Scriptures, he refers to several which were
used many authorities in the Early Church but whose canonicity was disputed by
other authorities. Many of these “antilegomena”,
as he called them, are among the universally recognized works of the New
Testament. Others were used but
ultimately judged by the majority of the Church to be not canonical.
Of the canonical works in
this list, the Revelation of John the Divine so beloved of American Christian
fundamentalists was rejected by all the churches and patriarchs in the East
(Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople, Jerusalem) until very late, and even today
is not included in the lectionary of any Eastern church. This means they acquiesce to the instant of
the West (Rome) that it is canonical but still refuse to read it publicly.
Epistle
of James
Epistle
of Jude
2nd Epistle of Peter
2nd Epistle of John
3rd Epistle of John
Epistle
to the Hebrews
Revelation
of John the Divine
Revelation
of Peter
Acts
of Paul
Shepherd
of Hermas
Epistle
of Barnabas
Teaching
of the Twelve Apostle to the Heathen
The last of these works,
which is older than any book of the New Testament save perhaps the genuine
letters of Paul, is commonly referred to as the Didache.
Doubtful Epistles of Paul
Several of the alleged
letters of Paul are now widely recognized as pseudepigraphal on a number of
counts by all but the most stubbornly traditional. Opinion about the Epistle of Paul to the
Philippians, not listed here, is roughly evenly divided. This means the authentic letters of Paul
include Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians,
and Philemon.
1
Timothy
2
Timothy
Titus
2
Thessalonians
Ephesians
Colossians
Quasi-canonicals
Including the noncanonical
works in the Antilegomena, several inspired works deemed either pseudepigraphal
forgeries or not rising to the level of canon were used widely throughout the
Church in its early centuries.
1st Epistle of Clement
2nd Epistle of Clement
Protevangelium of James
3rd Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians
Sibylline
Oracles
Traditions
of Matthias
Oral
Gospel
Preaching
of Peter
Gospel
of the Egyptians
Gospel
of the Hebrews
Shepherd of Hermas
Didache
Epistle of Barnabas
Apocalypse of Peter
Acts
of Paul
New Testament Apocrypha
Christain Scriptures
include an even greater number of apocryphal books than their Hebrew
predecessors. Some of these were even
considered valid by certain authorities.
The first three listed
below are gospels used by Jewish Christians and respected by Gentile Christians
as well, even if the latter did not use them, although some did. For instance, Early Church Father Titus
Flavius Clemens (Clement) of Alexandria used the Gospel of the Hebrews as well
as the Gospel of the Egyptians, the Traditions of Matthias, the Sybilline
Oracles, and the Oral Gospel in addition to the works universally recognized at
the time.
The 2nd Diatessaron
of Tatian was a harmony of the four canonical gospels used in Aramaic-speaking
churches in the East for at least a couple of centuries after its
compilation. Its Old Testament quotes
come not from the Septuagint but from the Aramaic Peshitta, a separate
translation entirely. Notably, it lacks
the geneaologies of Matthew and Luke as well as the Pericope Adulterae of John.
Gospel of the Ebionites
Gospel of the Hebrews
Gospel of the Nazarenes
Infancy Gospel of James
Infancy Gospel of Thomas
Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew
Syriac Infancy Gospel
History of Joseph the Carpenter
Life of John the Baptist
Gospel of
Marcion (also called the “Gospel of the Lord”)
Gospel of
Mani
Gospel
of Apelles
Gospel
of Bardesanes
Gospel
of Basilides
Gospel of
Thomas
Gospel of
Peter
Gospel of Nicodemus (also called the
"Acts of Pilate")
Gospel of Bartholomew
Questions of Bartholomew
Resurrection of Jesus Christ
Diatessaron of Tatian
Apocryphon of James (also called the
"Secret Book of James")
Book of Thomas the Contender
Dialogue of the Saviour
Gospel of
Judas Iscariot
Gospel of
Mary Magdalene
Gospel of
Philip
Greek Gospel of the Egyptians
Sophia of Jesus Christ
Coptic Apocalypse of
Paul (distinct from
the Apocalypse of Paul)
Gospel of Truth
Gnostic Apocalypse
of Peter (distinct from
the Apocalypse of Peter)
Pistis Sophia
Second
Treatise of the Great Seth
Secret Gospel of John
Coptic Gospel of the
Egyptians
Trimorphic
Protennoia
Ophite Diagrams
Books of Jeu
Acts of Andrew
Acts of Barnabas
Acts of John
Acts of the Martyrs
Acts of Paul
Acts of Paul and
Thecla
Acts of Peter
Acts of Peter and
Andrew
Acts of Peter and
Paul
Acts of Peter and
the Twelve
Acts of Philip
Acts of Pilate
Acts of Thomas
Acts of Timothy
Acts of
Xanthippe, Polyxena, and Rebecca
Epistle of Barnabas
Epistle of the
Corinthians to Paul
Epistle of
Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans
Epistle of
Ignatius to the Trallians
Epistle of
Polycarp to the Philippians
Epistle to Diognetus
Epistle to the
Laodiceans
Epistle
to the Alexandrians
Epistle to Seneca
the Younger
Greek Apocalypse of Paul
Apocalypse of Peter
Apocalypse of
Pseudo-Methodius
Apocalypse of Thomas
Apocalypse of
Stephen
First Apocalypse of
James
Second Apocalypse of
James
Home Going of Mary
Falling asleep of the Mother of God
Descent of Mary
Apostolic
Constitutions
Didascalia Apostolorum
Book of Nepos
Canons of the
Apostles
Cave of Treasures
Liturgy of St James
Penitence of Origen
Prayer of Paul
Sentences of Sextus
Physiologus
Gospel of the Saviour
Naassene Fragment
Fayyum Fragment
Secret Gospel of
Mark
Oxyrhynchus Gospels
Egerton Gospel
Gospel of Eve
Gospel of the
Four Heavenly Realms
Gospel of Matthias
Gospel of Perfection
Gospel of the
Seventy
Gospel of
Thaddaeus
Gospel of the Twelve
Memoria Apostolorum
Clementine Recognitions
Clementine Homilies
3 comments:
The "Gospel of the Hebrews was not a "Greek language Gospel."
It was translated and edited by Augustine from the Hebrew language, not Greek.
Since it was composed and used in Egypt and since the Hellenistic Jews who made up the bulk of the early Christian community spoke and read primarily or solely Greek (as in the Septuagint, for example), yes, it most certainly was. Also, Augustine does not have a gospel translation to his credit among his writings, not from any language.
The Gospel of the Hebrews doesn't even exist intact. It is known only from quotations of it by Cyril of Jerusalem, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Jerome.
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