The Canon of the Bible

by Samuel Davidson

(b) Pauline Epistles, Hebrews (following immediately that to Philemon); in Augustine and the Vulgate version generally. It is so in the canons of the councils at Hippo and Carthage (a.d. 393 and 397), and in the MSS. D. and G., in Isidore of Spain, and the council of Trent.

IX. With respect to the order of the Catholic Epistles, which were not all adopted into the canon till the end of the fourth century; Eusebius putting all except 1 John and 1 Peter among the antilegomena; while Jerome, and the council of Carthage (a.d. 397) admit them unreservedly; the usual order, viz., James, 1 and 2 Peter, John, Jude, prevailed [pg 117] in the Eastern Church. It is in the Peshito or old Syriac version, Eusebius, Cyril of Jerusalem, Epiphanius, the 60th of the Laodicean canons, Athanasius, Gregory of Nazianzus, Amphilochius, the stichometry of Nicephorus, the MSS. א. A. B. C., and most Greek MS. But the 76th of the Apostolic canons has Peter, John, James and Jude. The canon, however, is comparatively late.

(a) Peter, John, Jude, James; in Philastrius of Brescia. If we may rely on Cassiodorus's account of Augustine, the African father followed the same arrangement.

(b) Peter, James, Jude, John; in Rufinus.

(c) Peter, John, James, Jude; in the councils of Carthage, a.d. 397, 419, Cassiodorus, and a Gallican Sacramentarium. The Vulgate and council of Trent follow this arrangement.

(d) John, Peter, Jude, James; in the list given by Innocent I., and the third council of Toledo.

The Eastern church naturally set the Epistle of James, who was Bishop of Jerusalem, at the head of the others; while the Western put Peter, the Bishop of Rome, in the same place.

X. The Revelation varied little in position.

(a) In the decree of Galasius, according to its three recensions, the Revelation follows Paul's epistles, preceding those of John and the other Catholic ones.

(b) In D or the Clermont MS. it follows the Catholic epistles, and precedes the Acts; which last is thrown to the end of all the books, as if it were an appendix to the writings of the apostles.[374]