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John of Damascus was an eminent theologian of the Eastern Church, born in Damascus, but a monk in Jerusalem for most of his adult life. His list of canonical books is given in an instruction "Concerning Scripture" in his Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book IV, Chapter XVII.
The Greek text below is from Westcott's General Survey of the History of the Canon of the New Testament (5th ed. Edinburgh, 1881). The English translation is from The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series Two, Volume IX. (reprint Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1955).
... Ἰστέον δέ ὡς εἴκοσι καὶ δύο βίβλοι εἰσὶ τῆς παλαιᾶς διαθήκης κατὰ τὰ στοιχεῖα τῆς Ἑβραΐδος φωνῆς· εἴκοσι δύο γὰρ στοιχεῖα ἔχουσιν ἐξ ὧν πέντε διπλοῦνται ὡς γίνεσθαι αὐτὰ εἴκοσι ἑπτά. διπλοῦν γάρ ἐστι τὸ Χὰφ καὶ τὸ Μὲμ καὶ τὸ Νοῦν καὶ τὸ Φὲ καὶ τὸ Σαδί. διὸ καὶ αἱ βίβλοι κατὰ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον εἴκοσι δύο μὲν ἀριθμοῦνται εἴκοσι ἑπτὰ δὲ εὑρίσκονται διὰ τὸ πέντε ἐξ αὐτῶν διπλοῦσθαι. Συνάπτεται γὰρ ἡ Ῥοὺθ τοῖς Κριταῖς καὶ ἀριθμεῖται παρ' Ἑβραίοις μία βίβλος· ἡ πρώτη καὶ ἡ δευτέρα τῶν Βασιλειῶν μία βίβλος· ἡ τρίτη καὶ ἡ τετάρτη τῶν Βασιλειῶν μία βίβλος· ἡ πρώτη καὶ ἡ δευτέρα τῶν Παραλειπομένων μία βίβλος· ἡ πρώτη καὶ ἡ δευτέρα τοῦ Ἔσδρα μία βίβλος. Οὕτως οὖν σύγκεινται αἱ βίβλοι ἐν πεντατεύχοις τέτρασι, καὶ μένουσιν ἄλλαι δύο ὡς εἶναι τὰς ἐνδιαθέτους βίβλους οὕτως· πέντε νομικάς, Γένεσιν, Ἔξοδον, Λευιτικόν, Ἀριθμοί, ∆ευτερονόμιον· αὕτη πρώτη πεντάτευχος, ἣ καὶ νομοθεσία. Εἶτα ἄλλη πεντάτευχος, τὰ καλούμενα Γραφεῖα, παρά τισι δὲ Ἁγιόγραφα ἅτινά ἐστιν οὕτως· Ἰησοῦς ὁ τοῦ Ναυῆ, Κριταὶ μετὰ τῆς Ῥούθ, Βασιλειῶν πρώτη μετὰ τῆς δευτέρας βίβλος μία, ἡ τρίτη μετὰ τῆς τετάρτης βίβλος μία, καὶ αἱ δύο τῶν Παραλειπομένων βίβλος μία. αὕτη δευτέρα πεντάτευχος. Τρίτη πεντάτευχος αἱ στιχήρεις βίβλοι, τοῦ Ἰώβ, τὸ Ψαλτήριον, Παροιμίαι Σολομῶντος, Ἐκκλησιαστὴς τοῦ αὐτοῦ, τὰ Ἄισματα τῶν ᾀσμάτων τοῦ αὐτοῦ. Τετάρτη πεντάτευχος ἡ προφητική, τὸ δωδεκαπρόφητον βίβλος μία, Ἡσαΐας, Ἰερεμίας Ἰεζεκιήλ, ∆ανιήλ, εἶτα τοῦ Ἔσδρα αἱ δύο εἰς μίαν συναπτόμεναι βίβλον, καὶ ἡ Ἐσθήρ. |
... Observe, further, that there are two and twenty books of the Old Testament, one for each letter of the Hebrew tongue. For there are twenty-two letters of which five are double, and so they come to be twenty-seven. For the letters Caph, Mere, Nun, Pe, Sade are double. And thus the number of the books in this way is twenty-two, but is found to be twenty-seven because of the double character of five. For Ruth is joined on to Judges, and the Hebrews count them one book: the first and second books of Kings are counted one: and so are the third and fourth books of Kings: and also the first and second of Paraleipomena: and the first and second of Esdra. In this way, then, the books are collected together in four Pentateuchs and two others remain over, to form thus the canonical books. Five of them are of the Law, viz. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. This which is the code of the Law, constitutes the first Pentateuch. Then comes another Pentateuch, the so-called Grapheia, or as they are called by some, the Hagiographa, which are the following: Jesus the Son of Nave, Judges along with Ruth, first and second Kings, which are one book, third and fourth Kings, which are one book, and the two books of the Paraleipomena which are one book. This is the second Pentateuch. The third Pentateuch is the books in verse, viz. Job, Psalms, Proverbs of Solomon, Ecclesiastes of Solomon and the Song of Songs of Solomon. The fourth Pentateuch is the Prophetical books, viz the twelve prophets constituting one book, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel. Then come the two books of Esdra made into one, and Esther. |
Ἡ δὲ Πανάρετος, τουτέστιν ἡ Σοφία τοῦ Σολομῶντος καὶ ἡ Σοφία τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, ἣν ὁ πατὴρ μὲν τοῦ Σιρὰχ ἐξέθετο Ἑβραϊστί Ἑλληνιστι δὲ ἡρμήνευσεν ὁ τούτου μὲν ἔγγονος Ἰησοῦς τοῦ δὲ Σιρὰχ υἱός· ἐνάρετοι μὲν καὶ καλαί ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀριθμοῦνται οὐδὲ ἔκειντο ἐν τῇ κιβωτῷ. |
There are also the Panaretus, that is the Wisdom of Solomon, and the Wisdom of Jesus, which was published in Hebrew by the father of Sirach, and afterwards translated into Greek by his grandson, Jesus, the Son of Sirach. These are virtuous and noble, but are not counted nor were they placed in the ark. |
Τῆς δὲ νέας διαθήκης εὐαγγέλια τέσσαρα· τὸ κατὰ Ματθαῖον, τὸ κατὰ Μάρκον, τὸ κατὰ Λουκᾶν, τὸ κατὰ Ἰωάννην. Πράξεις τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων διὰ Λουκᾶ τοῦ εὐαγγελιστοῦ. καθολικαὶ ἐπιστολαὶ ἑπτά· Ἰακώβου μία, Πέτρου δύο, Ἰωάννου τρεῖς, Ἰούδα μία. Παύλου ἀποστόλου ἐπιστολαὶ δεκατέσσαρες. Ἀποκάλυψις Ἰωάννου εὐαγγελιστοῦ. Κανόνες τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων διὰ Κλήμεντος. |
The New Testament contains four gospels, that according to Matthew, that according to Mark, that according to Luke, that according to John: the Acts of the Holy Apostles by Luke the Evangelist: seven catholic epistles, viz. one of James, two of Peter, three of John, one of Jude: fourteen letters of the Apostle Paul: the Revelation of John the Evangelist: the Canons of the holy apostles, by Clement. |
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