Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Excerpts from Michael E. Stone, “Armenian Canon Lists I—The Council of Partaw (768 C. E.)"

Canon List of the Council of Partaw:

 

And you shall all, clerics and laymen, have sacred books for worship from the Old and from the New Testaments:

The Books of Moses, of Genesis, of Exodus, of Leviticus, of Numbers, of Deuteronomy,
Joshua son of Nun,
Judges and of Ruth,
of Kingdoms IV,
the Days of the Books of Paralipomena II,
of Ezra II Discourses,
the Book of Job,
the Book of Psalms I, [or: I Book of Psalms],
of Solomon, III Books,
the XII Prophets,
Isaiah,
Jeremiah,
Ezekiel,
Daniel.

 

And from outside [i.e., of them] there shall be assigned, for teaching of your greatly learned children, the Wisdom of Sirach. (Michael E. Stone, “Armenian Canon Lists I—The Council of Partaw (768 C. E.),” The Harvard Theological Review 66, no. 4 [October 1973]: 480-81)

 

 

The Armenian translation of Apostolic Canon lxxxiv is published in Kanonagirk’ Hayoc’, pp. 112f. A translation of this Armenian text is offered here:

 

And all your clerics shall have holy books of the Old and New Testaments,
Of Moses, Gensis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy,
Joshua,
Of Judges with Ruth,
Four Kingdoms,
The Days of the Paralipomena,
Two discourses of Ezra,
Job,
Of CL Psalms,
Of Solomon III,
XII Prophets,
Isaiah,
Jeremiah,
Ezekiel,
Daniel,
Maccabees.
And you shall have Sirach for the instruction of your children. (Ibid., 484)

 

 

5. Of especial interest is the situation with regard to the Books of Maccabees. They are lacking altogether in the Canon of Partaw, and are to be found at the end of the list of books given in the Armenian version of the Apostolic Canon. In the Greek form of this latter Canon the Books of Maccabees are to be found following Esther, at the end of the series of historical books, in the middle of the list.

 

6. The position of Maccabees at the very end of the list observed, in the Armenian version of the Canon of Laodicea. In this case the books are missing altogether in the Greek version of the Canon. This appears to indicate a special relationship existing between these various lists of canonical books extant in Armenian.

 

7. The generally doubtful position of the Books of Maccabees in the Greek Canon lists is quite clear. They occur of course in the early Greek codices but are omitted from such early Greek Canon lists of that of Melito (Swete, list 1), Athanasius (Swete, List 3), Cyril of Jerusalem (Swete, list 4), and others.

 

8. It is of further interest to observe that books so well established in the Canon of the Greek Bible as Judith, Tobit, and Wisdom of Solomon do not appear in the Greek or Armenian texts of the Canons discussed here. This, it seems to us, is more evidence of the common tradition of these particular lists than it is reflection on the position of these books in actual usage. (Ibid., 485-86)