Thursday 26 March 2009

Melito, bishop of Sardis - AD 170

The following is cited as being the earliest Christian list of the books of the Old Testment. The quotation is from Melito, the bishop of Sardis who wrote around AD 170 (as quoted in Eusebius: The Ecclesiastical History).
When I came to the east and reached the place where these things were preached and done, and learnt accurately the books of the Old Testament, I set down the facts and sent them to you. These are their names: five books of Moses, Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Joshua the son of Nun, Judges, Ruth, four books of Kingdoms, two books of Chronicles, the Psalms of David, the Proverbs of Solomon and his Wisdom, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, Job, the prophets of Isaiah, Jeremiah, the Twelve in a single book, Daniel, Ezekiel, Ezra.
(Esusebius: The Ecclesiastical History, Heinemann, 1975; translation by Kirsopp Lake)
Wayne Grudem, in his book Systematic Theology: An Introductino To Biblical Doctrine, points out the following:
"four books of Kingdoms" refers to 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings
"Proverbs of Solomon and his Wisdom" refers not to the apocryphal book entitled Wisdom but is a more complete description of the book of Proverbs.
"Ezra" refers to the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, this was the Jewish way of referring to these books.

"the Twelve in a single book" would then refer to Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habbakuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

This leaves the only books form the Old Testament unmetioned as being Esther and Lamentations (unless Lamentations, is included in the book of Jeremiah as he is quoted as the author of Lamentations).

Grudem goes on to say:
It is noteworthy here that Melito names none of the books of the Apocrypha . . .
(Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine by Wayne Grudem, Inter-VarsityPress 1994, p58)
The following is the quote from Melito in French (Méliton) taken from a Roman Catholic booklet:
Etant donc allé en Orient et ayant été jusqu'à l'endroit où a été préchée et accomplie l'Ecriture, j'ai appris avec exactitude les livres de l'Ancien Testament et j'en ai établi la liste que je t'envoie. En voici les noms : de Moïse cinq livres : Genèse, Exode, Nombres, Lévitique, Deutéronome, Jésus Navé (= Josué), Juges, Ruth ; quatre livres des Rois, deux des Paralipomènes ; Psaumes de David; Proverbes ou Sagesse de Salomon (= Proverbes) ; Ecclésiaste, Cantique des Canitques ; Job ; Prophètes : Isaïe, Jérémie, les Douze en un seul livre ; Daniel, Ezéchiel, Esdras. De ces ouvrages j'ai fait des extraits que j'ai répartis en six livres.
(Cahiers Evangile : L'inspiration et le canon des ecritures, Histoire et théologie, Editions du Cerf, p44)

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