The Biblical Canons.
Harkins, Angela Kim
THE BIBLICAL CANONS. Edited by Jean-Marie Auwers and Henk Jan de
Jonge. Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium 163. Leuven:
Peeters, 2003. Pp. lxxvii + 717. $68.
The last 50 years have witnessed a steadily growing interest in the
topic of the biblical canons, their origins, and development. This fine
collection of essays (the proceedings of the Fiftieth Colloquium Biblicum Lovaniense held July 25-27, 2001) is a welcome addition to that
ongoing conversation. The topic of biblical canons is of interest to
both biblical scholars who maneuver among technical discussions of a
historical and textual nature, and theologically-oriented scholars
engaged in larger hermeneutical questions. The topics include "the
history of (parts of) the biblical canon, the relevance of the canon for
the exegesis of particular (passages of) books included in the Bible,
and the consequences of reading the Bible as canon. Historical,
hermeneutical, and theological aspects of the biblical canons competed
for the participants' attention" (vii). The proceedings have
been divided into OT and NT sections, and within those categories the
essays are distinguished as either main papers or offered papers. The
entire collection is introduced by Thomas Soding's essay, which
contextualizes the theological questions surrounding the interpretation
of the Bible as canon. The collection comes complete with a helpful
index of authors and ancient texts.
The twelve papers on the OT canons explore complex questions of
history, exegesis, textual criticism, and hermeneutics. Historical
papers range from discussions on the dating of the canonization of the
tripartite Hebrew Scriptures on the basis of Jewish and Christian
evidence (Arie van der Kooij and Gilles Dorival) to challenges that a
tripartite canon even existed as early as the Second Temple period
(Eugene Ulrich). Several papers, either explicitly or implicitly, treat
issues of concern to textual criticism or discuss the relationship of
the Septuagint, the so-called Alexandrian Canon, to the Hebrew text
(especially Johan Lust, Evangelia G. Dafni). It should also be no
surprise to find in such a collection specific discussions of the
biblical Psalter (Jean-Marie Auwers, Erich Zenger, and Susanne
Gillmayr-Buchier), the prologue of Sirach (van der Kooij, Veronica
Koperski, and Johan Leemans), the Deuteronomistic History (Jacques
Vermeylen, Matthias Millard), and the exploration of larger
hermeneutical questions (Auwers, Zenger, Johann Cook, and John Barton).
The section on the NT canon is made up of 17 papers. The opening
essay by Henk Jan de Jonge fittingly introduces and contextualizes the
modern scholarly study of the NT canon by focusing on the question of
orthodoxy. The papers in this half treat a variety of topics, including
the canonization of Paul's letters (Andreas Lindemann), the four
Gospels, and the Johannine corpus (Graham Stanton, Jean Zumstein, Konrad
Huber, and Martin Hasitschka), and also address the evidence for the
emergence of the Christian canon of the OT and NT, covering time periods
from the Apostolic age to Byzantium (Marinus de Jonge, Jens Schroter,
Joseph Verheyden). One can find papers dealing with textual criticism
(Camile Focant) and also papers on theological and hermeneutical matters
(Nicholas Perrin, Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr, Robert L. Brawley, Johannes
Nissen, Chris Ukachukwu Manus).
The attempt to group the essays in this volume by topic is neither
exclusive nor exhaustive, since often one piece could easily be included
under several headings. Essays that are particularly valuable or may be
of particular interest to the readers of Theological Studies (interested
in engaging the discipline-specific conversations of biblical and
theological studies in a fruitful dialogue) include those that explore
larger hermeneutical questions or clarify terminology that may be used
inconsistently by historical-critical scholars and theologians. One can
see from the essays that the terminology and criteria for canonicity
developed very differently for the OT and the NT texts. One thus might
profitably begin with Ulrich's discussion of the complex historical
development and technical definitions of canon in his treatment of the
issues during the late Second Temple period (including a useful appendix
of the various definitions of "canon" that are available
today). Ulrich's essay can then be compared to de Jonge's on
the NT canon that highlights the inconsistent application of the various
objective criteria for NT canonicity, suggesting that a more pressing
criterion in NT canonical determinations was a text's theological
orthodoxy. Further, Barton's methodological essay on canonical
approaches would be worthwhile for scholars of both the Bible and
theology. Whether or not one agrees with Barton's ultimate critique
of Childs's program, as outlined in his influential studies,
Biblical Theology in Crisis (1970) and Introduction to the Old Testament
as Scripture (1979), it should be acknowledged that Barton's
discussion touches on some of the inconsistent ways that biblical
scholars and theologians have understood Childs's approach.
One caution, however: Although this volume has something to offer
to scholars who may be either theologically oriented or interested in
engaging the discipline-specific conversations of historical and
scientific study of the Bible, a majority of the essays here may be
categorized under the latter, as they engage more technical topics.
ANGELA KIM HARKINS
Duquesne University, Pittsburgh
