La bibbia della Chiesa Copta

[Johan]

Sul sito http://www.coptiortodossiroma.it/viene scritto che l'antico testamento è formato da 46 libri...i copti utilizzano il testo masoretico?

[Jungmann]

The Old Testament Canon
-----------------------
As prophesized by the Lord Jesus Christ, the Jewish sacrificial system was
ended by the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D. 70. The Old
Testament canon was settled in the Jewish mind long before that year. However,
the destruction of Jerusalem and the scattering of the Jewish religious
authority developed a need for a canon that would be more definitive; the jews
were scattered and needed to determine which books were authoritative because
of the many extra-scriptural writings and the decentralization. In particular,
the need for an Old-testament canon was prompted by the increased circulation
of Christian writings amongst the Jews themselves.

When the destruction of the Jerusalem and the Temple was imminent, a great
rabbi belonging to the school of Hillel in the Pharisaic party--Yochanan ben
Zakkai by name--obtained permission from the Romans to reconstitute the
Sanhedrin on a purely spiritual basis at Jabneh (Jamnia), between Joppa and
Azotus (Ashod). Some of the discussions which went on at Jamnia were handed
down by oral transmission and ultimately recorded in the rabbinical
writings. Their debates focussed on whether canonical recognition should be
accorded to some books (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs and
Esther). The upshot of the Jamnia debates was the firm acknowledgement of all
these books as Holy Scripture [7].

Before the Jamnia debates and conclusions (A.D. 70-90), the canon of the Old
Testament was well established in the Jewish mind. The Old Testament was broken
down into three major parts: The Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. This
breakdown is evident in the sayings of Jesus Christ as recorded in the New
Testament [Luke 24:44, 111] and [Matthew 235]. The Law (Torah) consists of
the five books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deuteronomy). The Prophets (Nebhim) consists of books of the Former Prophets
(Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings) and the Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Ezekial, and The Twelve). The Writings (Kethubhim) consists of the Poetical
Books (Psalms, Proverbs, and Job), the Five Rolls (Song of Songs, Ruth,
Lamentations, Esther, and Ecclesiastes), and the Historical Books (Daniel,
Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles).

Although the Christian church has the same Old Testament canon, the number of
books differs because Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles are divided into two books
each. The order of books also differs. In addition to the canonical Jewish Old
Testament, the Coptic Orthodox Church as well as most Apostolic churches,
including the Roman Catholic church recognize few other Jewish books as part of
the inspired Old Testament. These are the Deutro-canonical books, often
referred to as the "Apocrypha", from the Greek word "apokruphos", which means
"concealed".

The New Testament Canon
-----------------------
When the Synod of Hippo in A.D. 393 listed the twenty-seven books of the New
Testament, it did not confer upon them any authority which they did not already
possess, but simply recorded their previously established canonicity. The
ruling of the Synod of Hippo was repromulgated four years later by the Third
Synod of Carthag.

Long before these councils were convened, from the very early years of the
church, Christians, especially local church elders, were constantly collecting,
evaluating and deciding which of the many writings of their day carried the
authority of the Apostles [Colossians 4:16] [2-Peter 3:15-16]. The question
asked of any writing to be read in the churches was: To what extent is this
book (epistle, narrative, apocalypse, or gospel) an authentic and pure
representation of the life and teachings of Jesus and His apostles? The content
of the canon was, therefore, determined by general usage, not by authoritarian
pronouncement.

First century Christians saw in the words of Lord Jesus and the writings of the
Apostles an authority of divine inspiration. They venerated these writings and
the tradition very much. The deaths of the Apostles by the end of the first
century elevated the importance of their writings as Christians saw the need to
preserve what the Apostles have reported. This preservation was done mostly
through oral teaching from one generation to the next. This "oral tradition"
continued for the second and third centuries. But, as time passed, an
increasing circulation of books recognized as either not in accordance with the
Apostle's teachings (i.e. heretical) or not written by them even though an
Apostle's name may have been attached to them (i.e. pseudonymous), motivated
the believers to become increasingly concerned about identifying the authentic
works of the Apostles. It is this concern that eventually led to the Synod of
Hippo in A.D. 393 [8].