North Africa

February 8, 2018

The canonization of the New Testament in the fourth century

In his Easter letter of 367 CE, Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria, gave a list of the books that would become the 27 book New Testament canon.  He actually used the word canonized, (κανονιζόμενα).  The first council that accepted the present canon of the New Testament may have been the Synod of Hippo Regius in North Africa in 393 CE.  In 397 CE and 419 CE, the Councils of Carthage, also in North Africa, accepted this canonical 27 number of books.  These North African councils were under the authority of St. Augustine (354-430 CE), who regarded the canon as already closed.  Pope Damasus I (366-384 CE) in the Council of Rome in 382 CE, issued the same biblical canon.  This same Pope Damasus I commissioned St. Jerome (347-420 CE) to translate and produce the Latin Vulgate edition of the Bible around 383 CE.  Thus, the fixation of the canon in the West was complete at the end of the 4th century CE.

May 26, 2017

The ships of Tarshish (Ezek 27:25-27:25)

“The ships of Tarshish

Traveled for you

In your trade.

So you were filled.

You were heavily laden

In the heart

Of the seas.”

There is the problem of trying to situate Tarshish, which is often mentioned in the biblical literature. It could be Carthage in North Africa, Tarsus in Turkey, or Sardinia, an island in the Mediterranean Sea. This town had a lot of precious metals and important ships, as well as ship building. Thus the trade merchandise of Tyre was on these ships of Tarshish. They were filled with lots of items, as they moved on the high seas.