The Merging And Confusing Of Compositional And Compilational Histories In Recent Discussions Of The New Testament Canon -- By: Gregory Goswell
Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 66:1 (Mar 2023)
Article: The Merging And Confusing Of Compositional And Compilational Histories In Recent Discussions Of The New Testament Canon
Author: Gregory Goswell
JETS 66:2 (March 2023) p. 73
The Merging And Confusing Of Compositional And Compilational Histories In Recent Discussions Of The New Testament Canon
* Gregory Goswell is Academic Dean and Lecturer in Biblical Studies at Christ College, Sydney, 1 Clarence St., Burwood, NSW 2134, Australia. Christ College is an affiliated college of the Australian College of Theology.
Abstract: It is ancient readers rather than the biblical authors who are responsible for the order of the books in the NT canon. The authors of Acts, Romans, 2 Peter, and James did not intend their compositions to play a specific canonical role or to occupy a set position in the lineup of NT books. By putting the books of the NT canon in a certain order, early readers provided a paratextual frame for the biblical text, reflecting a certain way of understanding the text. The placing of books in order puts an external constraint on the text of Scripture, albeit an inescapable one when texts of diverse origin are collected in a literary corpus, but the processes of composition and compilation are separate in origin and function.
Key words: canon, book order, paratext, Acts, Romans, 2 Peter, James
The distinction between a biblical book and the paratextual frame of that book, for example, its assigned title (The Acts of the Apostles) or its position within a grouping of scriptural books (the Pauline Corpus), is the difference between the (authorial) text and (allographic) commentary on the text.1 The framing of the biblical text by paratextual elements such as book titles and book order has the effect of highlighting (or obscuring) certain inherent features of the book in question,2 for the biblical paratext reflects the reactions and interpretive decisions of ancient readers and scribes. My argument is that the composing of the books that now make up the NT canon (their compositional history) and the conjoining of these books in canonical groupings such as the Four Gospels (compilations that represent an early stage of their reception history) are separate processes both in concept and execution.3 The first action (composition) is something done by authors,
JETS 66:2 (March 2023) p. 74
but the second (compilation) is an activity of readers, who form books into collections due to perceived links or similarities between books (e.g., common author, genre, or themes).4 This examination of the evidence is needed because of what I view as the merging and confusing of compositional and com...
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