Revised and expanded edition, 2003

The concept of the Bible.

With the word "Bible" we associate the idea of one large book containing all the Holy Scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments. But, in essence, it is not one book, but a whole collection of sacred books, strictly defined by the Church, written at different times, in different places and with different purposes, and belonging either to the divinely inspired (canonical books) or only to God-enlightened men (non-canonical books).

It is taken from the Greek from the word βίβλος, which means "book," and is used in the plural form τά βιβλία from unities, the diminutive τό βιβλίον, meaning "a small book," "a book." In view of this, St. John Chrysostom interprets this word as one collective concept: "The Bible," he says, "are many books that form one single one."

This collective designation of Holy Scripture by one collective name undoubtedly existed already in the Old Testament period. Thus, in its original Greek form, τά βιβλία is found in the First Book of Maccabees (1 Maccabees 12:9), and the corresponding Hebrew translation is given by the Prophet Daniel (Dan. 9:2), where the works of Holy Scripture are designated by the term "Hassefarim" (םירפםה), which means "books," or rather, certain certain books, since they are accompanied by a certain term – "ha". [1]

In the period of New Testament history, at least in its early days, we do not yet find the word "Bible," but we encounter a number of its synonyms, of which the following are the most used: "Scripture" (ή γραφή Lk. 4:21; Jn. 20:9; Acts 13:32; Gal. 3:22), "Scriptures" (αί γραφαί – Matt. 21:41; Lk. 24:32; Jn. 5:39; 2 Pet. 3:16), "Holy Scriptures" (γραφαί άγίαι – Rom. 1:2), "The Holy Scriptures" (τά ίερά γράμματα – 2 Tim. 3:15).

But already among the Apostolic Fathers, along with the names of the Holy Scriptures just enumerated, the term τά βιβλία began to be encountered. [2] However, it came into general use only from the time of the famous collector and interpreter of the Holy Scriptures – Origen (3rd century) and especially St. John Chrysostom (4th century).

From the Greek authors, this collective designation of the Holy Scriptures passed on to the Latin writers, and the plural form of the neuter gender τά βιβλία finally received here the meaning of the singular feminine gender biblia. This last name, in its Latin form, passed to us in Russia, probably due to the fact that our first collectors of the Slavonic Bible were, among other things, under the influence of the Latin Vulgate.

The main feature that distinguishes the Holy Scriptures of the "Bible" from other literary works, giving them a higher power and indisputable authority, is their divine inspiration. By it is meant that supernatural, divine illumination which, without destroying or suppressing the natural powers of man, raised them to the highest perfection, protected them from errors, communicated revelations, in a word, guided the whole course of their work, thanks to which the latter was not a simple product of man, but as it were the work of God himself. According to the testimony of the holy Apostle Peter, "prophecy was never uttered by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke it, being moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Pet. 1:21). The Apostle Paul even finds the word "divinely inspired" and precisely in the application to Holy Scripture, when he says that "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God" (ΰεόπνευστος: 2 Tim. 3:16). All this is beautifully revealed by the Fathers of the Church. Thus, St. John Chrysostom says that "all the Scriptures are written not by slaves, but by the Lord of all, God;" and in the words of St. Gregory the Great, "the Lord speaks to us in the language of the holy prophets and apostles."

But this "inspiration" of the Holy Scriptures and their authors did not extend to the destruction of their personal, natural characteristics: that is why in the content of the sacred books, especially in their presentation, style, language, character of images and expressions, we observe significant differences between the individual books of the Holy Scriptures, depending on the individual, psychological and peculiar literatures of the characteristics of their authors.

Another very important feature of the sacred books of the Bible, which determines the varying degrees of their authority, is the canonical character of some books and the non-canonical nature of others. In order to clarify the origin of this difference, it is necessary to touch upon the history of the formation of the Bible itself. We have already had occasion to note that the Bible included sacred books written in different epochs and by various authors. To this it must now be added that along with the genuine, divinely inspired books, there appeared in different epochs non-authentic or non-divinely inspired books, which, however, their authors tried to give the appearance of authentic and divinely inspired. Especially many such works appeared in the first centuries of Christianity, on the basis of Ebionitism and Gnosticism, such as the "First Gospel of James," "the Gospel of Thomas," "the Apocalypse of the Apostle Peter," "the Apocalypse of Paul," and others. Such guidance was given to all the faithful by the Church of Christ herself – this pillar and affirmation of the truth – in her knowledge of the so-called canon.

The Greek word "κανών," like the Semitic "kane" (הכק), originally means "a reed stick," or in general any "straight stick," and hence in a figurative sense everything that serves to straighten and correct other things, e.g., "a carpenter's plumb line," or the so-called "rule." and in the Apostle Paul: "To those who walk according to this rule (κανών), peace and mercy be unto them, and unto the Israel of God" (Gal. 6:16). Based on this, the term κανών and the adjective κανονικός derived from it quite early began to be applied to those sacred books in which, according to the concordant tradition of the Church, they saw the expression of the true rule of faith, its model. Already Irenaeus of Lyons says that we have "a canon of truth – the word of God." And St. Athanasius of Alexandria defines the "canonical" books as those "which serve as the source of salvation, in which alone the teaching of piety is foretold."

The final difference between "canonical" and "non-canonical" books dates back to the time of St. John Chrysostom, Blessed Jerome and Augustine. From that time on, the epithet "canonical" was applied to those sacred books of the Bible which are recognized by the whole Church as divinely inspired, containing the rules and patterns of faith, in contrast to the books that are "non-canonical," i.e., although edifying and useful (for which they are placed in the Bible), but not divinely inspired, and "apocryphal" (απόκρυφος – hidden, secret), completely rejected by the Church and therefore not included in the Bible.

Thus, we must look at the sign of the "canonicity" of certain books as the voice of the Church's Holy Tradition, confirming the divinely inspired origin of the books of Holy Scripture. Consequently, in the Bible itself, not all of its books have the same meaning and authority: some (canonical books) are divinely inspired, i.e. contain the true word of God, others (non-canonical) are only edifying and useful, but are not alien to the personal, not always infallible opinions of their authors. This distinction must always be borne in mind when reading the Bible, for a correct evaluation and appropriate attitude towards the books included in it. [3]