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On the Origin of Christian Scripture: The Evolution of the New Testament Canon in the Second Century
The New Testament claims to be a collection of writings from eight authors. The manuscript tradition and the first provenance narratives place its publication in the middle of the second century, when many other books on Jesus and his first followers were circulating. Competing publications on Jesus communicate knowledge secretly passed on from generation to generation, transcending time and geographical boundaries. Like the Canonical Edition of the New Testament, they use first-century voices to address second-century concerns, such as whether the Creator of the world was the Father of Jesus, the role of women in congregations, the culture of producing and distributing books, and the authority of Jewish Scripture for Christians. The shared meta-narrative is the story of a divine messenger sent to earth to deliver the promise of eternal life to those who believe his message. The editorial narrative of the Canonical Edition names a certain Theophilus as the implied publisher who assembles the collection, organizes it in four volumes, and presents it to the public when Paul is in Rome and faces his day in court. Historically, the New Testament was published a century after Paul's death as an interpolated and enlarged revision of the Marcionite Edition, which combined one gospel book with several letters of Paul. It presented itself as a publication of autographs for an international Greek-speaking readership in Central Europe, North Africa, Asia Minor, and Greece. This perspective provides new answers to old exegetical questions like the genre of the Johannine corpus, the function of synoptic parallels, and the authorship of the letters of Paul.
- GenresReligion
217 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 19, 2023
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December 25, 2023
The book "On the Origin of Christian Scripture" by David Trobisch is a comprehensive study of the formation of the New Testament canon in the second century. Trobisch argues that the canon of the New Testament was already formed and "published" in the middle of the second century, based on various manuscripts and historical sources.
The argument in the book is logically structured, consistent in the presentation of the evidence, and well-argued in the conclusion that a specific group or person was responsible for the compilation and publication of the New Testament in the mid-second century.
His book deserves credit for its sound approach. However, it repeatedly leads to misunderstandings. Trobisch's studies focus on manuscripts and not exclusively on external sources such as Justin Martyr. His investigation into the order of the Gospels is deliberately based on manuscript studies (HSS) and deliberately avoids quoting the Church Fathers unless they explicitly confirm that they have seen this order in a manuscript.
The book is divided into several chapters, each of which sheds light on different aspects of the origin and dissemination of the Christian scriptures.
1 "This Thing Called New Testament": Trobisch begins with a discussion of what the New Testament is and how it differs from other literary forms. He emphasizes the distinction between documents and literature and how this distinction is relevant to understanding the New Testament.
2. "When Was the Canonical Edition First Published?": Here Trobisch examines the manuscripts of the New Testament and documented early readers. He argues that the canonical edition of the New Testament was probably published before the year 180 and analyzes the significance of various historical conflicts and challenges to this publication.
3 "What Did Competing Publications Look Like?": This chapter looks at competing publications on the New Testament and how they may have influenced the form and content of the canon.
4. "Why Is the Canonical Edition a Collection of Autographs?": Here Trobisch discusses why the canonical edition of the New Testament is seen as a collection of autographs and the implications this has for understanding the text.
5 "The Design of the Canonical Edition": In this chapter, Trobisch examines the design and structure of the canonical edition and how this affects the interpretation and meaning of the writings.
6 "The Origin of the Canonical Edition": The final chapter focuses on the origin of the canonical edition and how various factors, including interpolations and additional writings, led to its current form.
Trobisch concludes that the Canonical Edition of the New Testament, a collection of 27 writings organized in four volumes, was probably published before the year 161 and no later than the year 180, as documented by Irenaeus. This edition was produced in contrast to and in competition with the Marcionite edition and was influenced by historical conflicts such as the Easter controversy between the Catholic communities in Rome and Asia Minor. The New Testament thus emerges in the second half of the 2nd century as a major work of world literature, published in Greek for an international audience in various parts of the then known world.
Trobisch's conclusions suggest that the canonical edition of the New Testament is a deliberately crafted collection that emerged in a specific historical context. This view is consistent with current scholarly discussion, which increasingly recognizes the importance of editorial decisions and historical contexts in the formation of the New Testament canon.
If Trobisch's theories on the origin of the New Testament are correct, this would have important consequences for understanding its formation and canonization. Some classic assumptions that might need to be reconsidered are:
1. earlier dating of the canon: the assumption that the canon of the New Testament was not established until later in the fourth century under ecclesiastical authority would need to be revised. Trobisch argues for an earlier compilation in the middle of the second century.
2 Editorial influences: The idea that the New Testament texts were transmitted without significant editorial editing might need to be adjusted, as Trobisch points to editorial interventions and conscious decisions in compilation and titling.
3. uniformity of transmission: Trobisch's theory suggests that the early transmission of the New Testament was less fragmentary and diverse than often assumed, but rather the result of a coordinated effort.
4. the role of individuals or groups: The traditional view that the canon emerged through a broad consensus throughout the early church could be replaced by the idea that specific individuals or groups played a central role in the formation and publication of the canon.
These considerations would lead to a significant reassessment of the history and development of the New Testament, which in turn could have an impact on the theological interpretation and understanding of its authority in the Christian tradition.
In sum, Trobisch's book is a thorough and compelling study that offers new insights into the origins of the New Testament and its canonization.
As an additional reference for those interested, I would like to draw attention to David Trobisch's 1989 dissertation "Die Entstehung der Paulusbriefsammlung: Studien zur redaktionellen Geschichte des Neuen Testaments". This book, which was published in 2023 as a practical Kindle eBook on Amazon.de under the ASIN B0CJY3NX1D, offers a deep insight into the development of the Pauline writings. Particularly noteworthy is the English introduction, which facilitates access even for readers with limited knowledge of German.
The argument in the book is logically structured, consistent in the presentation of the evidence, and well-argued in the conclusion that a specific group or person was responsible for the compilation and publication of the New Testament in the mid-second century.
His book deserves credit for its sound approach. However, it repeatedly leads to misunderstandings. Trobisch's studies focus on manuscripts and not exclusively on external sources such as Justin Martyr. His investigation into the order of the Gospels is deliberately based on manuscript studies (HSS) and deliberately avoids quoting the Church Fathers unless they explicitly confirm that they have seen this order in a manuscript.
The book is divided into several chapters, each of which sheds light on different aspects of the origin and dissemination of the Christian scriptures.
1 "This Thing Called New Testament": Trobisch begins with a discussion of what the New Testament is and how it differs from other literary forms. He emphasizes the distinction between documents and literature and how this distinction is relevant to understanding the New Testament.
2. "When Was the Canonical Edition First Published?": Here Trobisch examines the manuscripts of the New Testament and documented early readers. He argues that the canonical edition of the New Testament was probably published before the year 180 and analyzes the significance of various historical conflicts and challenges to this publication.
3 "What Did Competing Publications Look Like?": This chapter looks at competing publications on the New Testament and how they may have influenced the form and content of the canon.
4. "Why Is the Canonical Edition a Collection of Autographs?": Here Trobisch discusses why the canonical edition of the New Testament is seen as a collection of autographs and the implications this has for understanding the text.
5 "The Design of the Canonical Edition": In this chapter, Trobisch examines the design and structure of the canonical edition and how this affects the interpretation and meaning of the writings.
6 "The Origin of the Canonical Edition": The final chapter focuses on the origin of the canonical edition and how various factors, including interpolations and additional writings, led to its current form.
Trobisch concludes that the Canonical Edition of the New Testament, a collection of 27 writings organized in four volumes, was probably published before the year 161 and no later than the year 180, as documented by Irenaeus. This edition was produced in contrast to and in competition with the Marcionite edition and was influenced by historical conflicts such as the Easter controversy between the Catholic communities in Rome and Asia Minor. The New Testament thus emerges in the second half of the 2nd century as a major work of world literature, published in Greek for an international audience in various parts of the then known world.
Trobisch's conclusions suggest that the canonical edition of the New Testament is a deliberately crafted collection that emerged in a specific historical context. This view is consistent with current scholarly discussion, which increasingly recognizes the importance of editorial decisions and historical contexts in the formation of the New Testament canon.
If Trobisch's theories on the origin of the New Testament are correct, this would have important consequences for understanding its formation and canonization. Some classic assumptions that might need to be reconsidered are:
1. earlier dating of the canon: the assumption that the canon of the New Testament was not established until later in the fourth century under ecclesiastical authority would need to be revised. Trobisch argues for an earlier compilation in the middle of the second century.
2 Editorial influences: The idea that the New Testament texts were transmitted without significant editorial editing might need to be adjusted, as Trobisch points to editorial interventions and conscious decisions in compilation and titling.
3. uniformity of transmission: Trobisch's theory suggests that the early transmission of the New Testament was less fragmentary and diverse than often assumed, but rather the result of a coordinated effort.
4. the role of individuals or groups: The traditional view that the canon emerged through a broad consensus throughout the early church could be replaced by the idea that specific individuals or groups played a central role in the formation and publication of the canon.
These considerations would lead to a significant reassessment of the history and development of the New Testament, which in turn could have an impact on the theological interpretation and understanding of its authority in the Christian tradition.
In sum, Trobisch's book is a thorough and compelling study that offers new insights into the origins of the New Testament and its canonization.
As an additional reference for those interested, I would like to draw attention to David Trobisch's 1989 dissertation "Die Entstehung der Paulusbriefsammlung: Studien zur redaktionellen Geschichte des Neuen Testaments". This book, which was published in 2023 as a practical Kindle eBook on Amazon.de under the ASIN B0CJY3NX1D, offers a deep insight into the development of the Pauline writings. Particularly noteworthy is the English introduction, which facilitates access even for readers with limited knowledge of German.
August 12, 2025
I found this to be a fascinating read, and the score I’ve given this book is because of that, not because I agree with the argument presented. The author has presented some very technical data and made a very readable argument from it. He has given me some new things to think about.
I like the idea of a collected edition of the 27 books we call the New Testament, and that he calls the “Canonical Edition”, being a product of the 2nd Century. I would’ve appreciated some arguments around “book lists” from the following years that have additions/removals to this. Especially if this collection was canonical in the 2nd Century.
While I am prepared to consider the “Marcionite Collection” that the author proposes to be the older and the cause for the production. Certain arguments appear circular. This is like what can happen in other books with the proposed source, Q. Both these documents are inferred, and while we can debate how good the inferences are, we don’t have the copies of the actual documents!
I have no problem with the fact that editors (and as the author argues, publishers) did small inserts and adjustments. But as he develops the “interpolations” that must have happened, the author seems to be ending up with many of the books being a 2nd century creation, rather than just that they were “collected”. As someone who has had an interest in the pseudepigrapha of the 2nd century (and beyond) for several decades, I find the comparisons done to them a bit generous. We also seem to end up with a 2nd Century Christology creating Scripture, rather than an early High Christology that many more recent scholars have been arguing for.
I’m immersed in reading Irenaeus’ works, and so that probably added to my interest in this book. Not for the novice reader, but an enjoyable read :)
I like the idea of a collected edition of the 27 books we call the New Testament, and that he calls the “Canonical Edition”, being a product of the 2nd Century. I would’ve appreciated some arguments around “book lists” from the following years that have additions/removals to this. Especially if this collection was canonical in the 2nd Century.
While I am prepared to consider the “Marcionite Collection” that the author proposes to be the older and the cause for the production. Certain arguments appear circular. This is like what can happen in other books with the proposed source, Q. Both these documents are inferred, and while we can debate how good the inferences are, we don’t have the copies of the actual documents!
I have no problem with the fact that editors (and as the author argues, publishers) did small inserts and adjustments. But as he develops the “interpolations” that must have happened, the author seems to be ending up with many of the books being a 2nd century creation, rather than just that they were “collected”. As someone who has had an interest in the pseudepigrapha of the 2nd century (and beyond) for several decades, I find the comparisons done to them a bit generous. We also seem to end up with a 2nd Century Christology creating Scripture, rather than an early High Christology that many more recent scholars have been arguing for.
I’m immersed in reading Irenaeus’ works, and so that probably added to my interest in this book. Not for the novice reader, but an enjoyable read :)
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews