The Seventy's Course in Theology, First Year / Outline History of the Seventy and A Survey of the Books of Holy Scripture

by B. H. Roberts

6. Attitude of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the Apocrypha: See Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xci.

7. Definition of the Term Canon: "The word Canon in classical Greek signifies properly a straight rod, as a carpenter's rule; and hence is applied metaphorically to a testing rule in ethics or in art, or in language (e. g. the canons of Grammar.) As applied to Scripture, the word indicates the rule by which the contents of the Bible must be determined, and thus, secondarily, an index of the constituent books. The canon of Scripture may be generally described as "the collection of books which forms the original and authoritative written rule of the faith and practice of the Church." (Dr. Smith's Old Testament History, p. 645.)

8. Arrangement of the Canon Ascribed to Ezra: "Among the achievements ascribed to Ezra is the collection, editing, and arrangement of the whole Jewish Scriptures in one canon, under the threefold division of the Law, the Prophets, and the Hagiographa. In performing this work, he is assumed to have added those passages which can not have been written by the authors whose names the books bear; such as the allusion to kings of Israel in Gen. xxxvi: 31; the account of the death and burial of Moses in the last chapter of Deuteronomy; and the many references to the state of 'things at this day.' * * * * * But the main question is, whether the present canon of the Old Testament was, in substance, the work of Ezra. It must be remembered that such a work involved much more than the collection into one volume of books already existing in a separate form; it included the selection from the whole number of those which bore, and were to bear forever, the stamp of divine authority: for no one imagines that the Scriptures of the Old Testament form a complete collection of the ancient Hebrew literature. That such a work, having such authority, had been completed before the Christian era, is clear from the allusions to the Holy Scriptures in the New Testament; and it was most probably accomplished during the Persian domination, which ended B. C. 323. There is every reason for its having been performed at as early a period as possible. Ezra's care to make the people well acquainted with the word of God is as conspicuous as his own knowledge of it. No man could be more qualified, as no time could be more fit, for a work which was most needful to establish the people in their faith. That the work must have been performed by an inspired man, is an axiom lying at the foundation of the whole question, unless we believe, on the one hand, that the Church is endowed in every age with power to decide what Scriptures are canonical, or unless, on the other hand, we give up a canon, in the proper sense of the word, and reduce the authority of Scripture to that which literary criticism can establish for its separate books. On this ground, none but Ezra can be the author of the canon; for no one has ever thought of ascribing the work to Nehemiah, the civil governor and man of action; and the only claim made for Malachi is the addition of his own prophecy to the canon already framed by Ezra, and even this supposition we have seen to be unnecessary, as Ezra may have been the survivor. The attempt to ascribe the work to some unknown inspired person later than Malachi is an example of the argumentum ab ignorantia, which has no weight against the evidence of what is known." (Dr. Smith's Old Testament History, pp. 645-646.)

9. The Authorized Version: The treatise on the Authorized Version in Smith's Bible Dictionary is full, and perhaps the best one extant; and while praising highly the work of the English translators of the A. V., exhibits quite clearly some of its defects, and points out the necessity for a new version. How far the "Revised Version" of 1870-1885 corrected the defects of the A. V. may be known only to Hebrew and Greek scholars; but the fact that the work was undertaken and carried to a conclusion at the expense of so much time, and scholarly effort, justifies the qualified acceptance of our English Bible set forth in one of our Articles of Faith, viz., "We believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly."

Footnotes

[1]. It has already been suggested in our Introduction to these lessons that excuses for non-preparation should not be tolerated; and we again call attention of the quorums to this necessary attitude respecting thorough preparation of lessons; and now emphasize our suggestions by applying them to these lectures. Those who are assigned to deliver the lectures can receive their appointment two or three weeks before they are called upon to deliver them, and it should be a matter of pride with those so appointed to come to their tasks thoroughly prepared. The lecturer is supposed to occupy about thirty minutes, and the assignments should be made with due regard to the difficulties of the subject.

[2]. No better mental exercise exists than that of writing. It leads to very definite thinking, and to exactness of expression, and is an art that should be cultivated by the Seventies. It is suggested, therefore, that at least one of the lectures, when the quorum session is devoted to such exercises, should be given in the form of a paper, a written treatise. The subject for the paper will be indicated as above.

[3]. Smith's Bible Dictionary.

LESSON III.

THE PENTATEUCH.