Canon

Canon is from the Greek kanon (κανών), meaning measuring rod, rule, or standard[1]. The Greek word likely came from a Semitic root meaning reed (since reeds were used as measuring tools). In Christian usage the term came to refer to the recognized body of authoritative texts and, by extension, to other authoritative standards (canon law, canonized saints)[2]. The plural form canons is used in some legal and ecclesiastical contexts.

questions of canon show that scripture is shaped by community recognition as well as textual content.

Scriptural canon in Christianity refers to the recognized list of books constituting the Bible[2]. The canonical lists were developed across centuries, with the New Testament canon largely settled by the late fourth century and the Old Testament canon developing through interaction with the Jewish Tanakh[3]. Different Christian traditions have somewhat different canons: Protestant Bibles include 66 books, Catholic Bibles include 73 (with the additional deuterocanonical books), and Eastern Orthodox traditions include slightly more[3].

Jewish canon (Tanakh) consists of 24 books (counted differently as 39 in Christian numbering) divided into Torah, Nevi'im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings)[4]. The canon was largely settled in the first centuries CE, though discussions continued.

Islamic scripture (the Quran) has a different structure. The Quran is held to be revealed directly to Muhammad and was preserved through oral and written transmission, with the standard Uthmanic recension established within decades of the Prophet's death. The concept of canon as a process of recognizing books fits Islam less directly because the corpus has a different shape.

Hindu and Buddhist scriptural collections are vast and develop differently. The Hindu corpus (Vedas, Upanishads, epics, Puranas, dharmashastras, devotional and philosophical literature) has no single canon in the Christian sense; different schools privilege different texts. Buddhist canons (Pali Canon in Theravada, Chinese and Tibetan canons in Mahayana traditions) are larger and more open than Abrahamic canons.

Beyond scripture, canon language extends to canonized saints, canon law in Catholic and Orthodox tradition, and other authoritative standards. The metaphor of measuring rod recurs: canon is what marks proper measure[2].

Canon formation is a major area in biblical and religious studies. Bruce Metzger's The Canon of the New Testament remains foundational for Christian study[2]; Sid Z. Leiman's work on the Hebrew canon is important; Lee Martin McDonald[5] and others have continued the field. Comparative work on canonization across traditions has illuminated how communities recognize and protect authoritative texts.

• The Canon of the New Testamentby Bruce M. Metzger
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• The Biblical Canonby Lee Martin McDonald
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