The Seven Partitions of the Canonical Books

ON THE VARIOUS PARTITIONS OF THE CANONICAL BOOKS of the old Testament which are placed in the first order of the sacred Canon

Three, as we have already shown, are the modes of reckoning the holy volumes of the old covenant among the sacred expositors: ¹ of whom those who follow the third supputation employ, as I judge, no partition for distinguishing the divine books. But they who embrace the first supputation discern the twenty-two books already enumerated by four partitions differing among themselves. And they to whom the second kind of enumeration is more pleasing distribute the twenty-four books into three partitions, each differing from the other: of which the first has three classes of books, the second four classes, and the third likewise four. Their co-ordinations are here subjoined in order.

THE FIRST PARTITION of the two-and-twenty volumes of the old Testament, into three classes ² — that is, into the books of the Law, of the prophets, and of the Psalms or Songs: which [partition] indeed (as Luke relates) our Lord Jesus Christ used after his resurrection, when, opening to the disciples the sense of the scriptures, he interpreted to them whatsoever things had been written of him in the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms. Josephus also, in the first book against Apion the grammarian, followed the same partition.

The books of the Law, five: ³

1. Genesis. 2. Exodus. 3. Leviticus. 4. Numbers. 5. Deuteronomion.

The books of the Prophets, thirteen: ⁴

6. Joshua. 7. Judges & Ruth. 8. Samuel. 9. Melachim [Kings]. 10. Paralipomenon. 11. Esdras. 12. Esther. 13. Job. 14. Esaias. 15. Jeremias & the Threni. 16. Ezechiel. 17. Daniel. 18. The XII minor Prophets.

The books of the Psalms, or Hymns, or Songs, four: ⁵

19. David. 20. Proverbs. 21. Ecclesiastes. 22. Canticle of Canticles.

THE SECOND PARTITION of the two-and-twenty Hebrew volumes, which Epiphanius, Bishop of Salamis, in the book entitled On the parts of the divine scripture, and John Damascene, in the 4th book On the orthodox faith, digested into four Quinaries [sets of five] — namely the Legal, the Hagiographic, the Poetic, and the Prophetic — and besides these into one Binary [set of two].

The first Quinary, of the Legal [books]:

1. Genesis. 2. Exodus. 3. Leviticus. 4. Numbers. 5. Deuteronomion.

The second Quinary, of the Hagiographa:

6. Joshua. 7. Judges & Ruth. 8. The first of Kingdoms with the second. 9. The third of Kingdoms with the fourth. 10. The two of Paralipomenon.

The third Quinary, of the Songs:

11. Job. 12. Psalter. 13. Proverbs. 14. Ecclesiastes. 15. Canticles.

The fourth Quinary, of the Prophets:

16. The twelve minor Prophets. 17. Esaias. 18. Hieremias. 19. Ezechiel. 20. Daniel.

The Binary:

21. Esdras. 22. Esther.

THE THIRD PARTITION of the two-and-twenty ancient books of the first order, distributed into three classes by Gregory the Theologian [Nazianzen]: that is, into the historical, the Poetic, and the Prophetic books.

The historical books, twelve:

1. Genesis. 2. Exodus. 3. Leviticus. 4. Numbers.

(the Third Partition, continued — the historical books:)

5. Deuteronomium. 6. Joshua. 7. Judges. 8. Ruth. 9. Kings first & second. 10. Kings third & fourth. 11. Paralipomenon. 12. Esdras.

The Poetic, or Song-books, five:

13. Job. 14. David. 15. Proverbs. 16. Ecclesiastes. 17. Canticles.

The Prophetic books, five:

18. The twelve minor Prophets. 19. Esaias. 20. Jeremias. 21. Ezechiel. 22. Daniel.

This series of the books Gregory the Theologian, in the book of his poems, briefly comprised in these Greek hexameters, with some pentameters:

Δέχνυσο τοῦτον ἐμεῖο τὸν ἔγκριτον, ὦ φίλ᾽, ἀριθμόν· ἱστορικαὶ μὲν ἔασι βίβλοι δυοκαίδεκα πᾶσαι, τῆς ἀρχαιοτέρης Ἑβραϊκῆς σοφίης. πρωτίστη Γένεσις, εἶτ᾽ Ἔξοδος, Λευιτικόν τε, ἔπειτ᾽ Ἀριθμοί, εἶτα Δεύτερος Νόμος. ἔπειτ᾽ Ἰησοῦς, καὶ Κριταί, Ῥοὺθ ὀγδόη, ἡ δ᾽ ἐνάτη δεκάτη τε βίβλοι πράξεις Βασιλήων, καὶ Παραλειπόμεναι· ἔσχατον Ἔσδραν ἔχεις. αἱ δὲ στιχηραὶ πέντε, ὧν πρῶτός γ᾽ Ἰώβ· ἔπειτα Δαυίδ· εἶτα τρεῖς Σολομώντειαι, Ἐκκλησιαστής, ᾎσμα καὶ Παροιμίαι. καὶ πένθ᾽ ὁμοίως πνεύματος προφητικοῦ· μίαν μέν εἰσιν ἐς γραφὴν οἱ δώδεκα· Ὠσηὲ κ᾽ Ἀμώς, καὶ Μιχαίας ὁ τρίτος, ἔπειτ᾽ Ἰωήλ, εἶτ᾽ Ἰωνᾶς, Ἀβδίας, Ναούμ τε, Ἀββακούμ τε, καὶ Σοφονίας, Ἀγγαῖος, εἶτα Ζαχαρίας, Μαλαχίας. μία μὲν οἵδε. δευτέρα δὲ Ἡσαΐας, ἔπειθ᾽ ὁ κληθεὶς Ἰερεμίας ἐκ βρέφους, εἶτ᾽ Ἰεζεκιήλ, καὶ Δανιήλου χάρις. ἀρχαίας μὲν ἔθηκα δύω καὶ εἴκοσι βίβλους, τοῖς τῶν Ἑβραίων γράμμασιν ἀντιθέτους.

Which we have rendered, after a fashion, thus [Sixtus’s Latin verses, here Englished]:

Receive the number and the names of the holy books: and first the historical, twice six in order. Of these the first is Genesis, then Exodus, and Levites [Leviticus], and Numbers, and the will of the law repeated once again [Deuteronomy]. These Jesus [Joshua], the Judges (Critae), and Ruth the Moabitess follow. Next the ninth and the tenth hold the illustrious deeds of the Kings; in the eleventh come the annals [Paralipomenon]; the last is Esdras. There are likewise five books of song: of these the first is Job; next to him is David the king; and the Three of Solomon — namely Ecclesiastes, and Proverbs, and the Song. After these, next, five volumes of the holy Prophets: of which twice six are held in one book — Oseas and Amos, Michas, and Joel and Jonas, Abdias and Naum, Abacuh and Sophonias, glad Aggeus, Zacharias, and Malachias: these hold the first book; Esaia holds the second; after these, Irmeias [Jeremiah], called from his mother’s womb; Ezechiel, the strength of the Lord; and Daniel the last. These seven, and thrice five, volumes of the old covenant figure forth the two-and-twenty elements [letters] of the men of Jerusalem.

Nor let it seem strange to you, excellent reader, that in this partition no mention is made by Gregory of the book of Esther, ⁶ which the Hebrews receive into their canon. For Melito, bishop of Sardis, enumerating the canonical books in his epistle to Onesimus, also passes it by; and St. Athanasius, in the Synopsis of the divine scripture, expressly cuts it off from the canonical volumes ⁷ — because in those times the authority of this book was not yet firm among all the churches, which certain additions ████ [a word inked out by the censor], inserted into the book (as we shall afterwards point out), had rendered suspect.

THE FOURTH PARTITION of the two-and-twenty Hebrew volumes, distributed by the ancient Jews into three classes — that is, into the Legal, the Prophetic, and the Hagiographa — which Jerome, in the preface of the book of Kings, and Isidore, in the sixth of the Etymologies, embrace.

The Legal books, five:

1. Genesis. 2. Exodus. 3. Leviticus. 4. Numbers. 5. Deuteronomion.

The Prophetic books, eight:

6. Joshua. 7. Judges & Ruth. 8. Samuel. 9. Melachim. 10. Esaias. 11. Jeremias with the Threni. 12. Ezechiel. 13. The twelve minor Prophets.

The books of the Hagiographa, nine:

14. Job. 15. Psalter. 16. Proverbs. 17. Ecclesiastes. 18. Canticles. 19. Daniel. 20. Paralipomenon, or chronicon. 21. Esdras & Nehemias. 22. Esther.

THE FIFTH PARTITION of the four-and-twenty books of the old Testament into three classes — namely the Legal, the Prophetic, and the Hagiographic — in use among the ancient Latins; of which Jerome makes mention in the preface of the book of Kings, and of Daniel.

The Legal books, five:

1. Genesis. 2. Exodus. 3. Leviticus. 4. Numbers. 5. Deuteronomion.

The Prophetic books, eight:

6. Joshua. 7. Judges.

(the Fifth Partition, continued — the Prophetic books:)

8. Samuel. 9. Melachim. 10. Esaias. 11. Jeremias. 12. Ezechiel. 13. The twelve minor Prophets.

The books of the Hagiographa, eleven:

14. Job. 15. Psalms. 16. Proverbs. 17. Ecclesiastes. 18. Canticles. 19. Daniel. 20. Paralipomenon. 21. The two of Esdras. 22. Esther. 23. Ruth. 24. Cinoth, or the lamentations.

THE SIXTH PARTITION, by which the more recent Jews divide the עשרים וארבע Hesrim ve Arba — that is, the twenty-four — books of the old Testament into four series: namely into תורה Thora, i.e. the Law; into נביאים ראשונים Neviim Risonim, i.e. the former Prophets; into נביאים אחרנים Neviim Acharonim, i.e. the latter Prophets; and into כתובים Chethuvim, that is, the Scriptures — or, as the Greeks say, ἁγιόγραφα, that is, Holy writings.

The books of the תורה Thora — that is, of the Law, which is also called חומש Chomesci, i.e. the Quinary, from the number of its volumes — five:

1. Genesis. 2. Exodus. 3. Leviticus. 4. Numbers. 5. Deuteronomion.

The books of the נביאים ראשונים Neviim Risonim, that is, of the former Prophets, four:

6. Joshua. 7. Judges. 8. Samuel. 9. Melachim.

The books of the נביאים אחרנים Neviim Acharonim, that is, of the latter Prophets, four:

10. Esaias. 11. Jeremias. 12. Ezechiel. 13. תרי עשר Thire Hesser, that is, the Twelve minor Prophets.

The books of the כתובים Chethuvim, that is, of the Scriptures, eleven:

14. Psalter. 15. Proverbs. 16. Job. 17. Daniel. 18. Ezra. 19. Paralipomenon. 20. Ruth. 21. Esther. 22. Ecclesiastes. 23. Canticle of Canticles. 24. Lamentations.

THE SEVENTH PARTITION of the four-and-twenty holy volumes of the old Testament, digested by the more recent Latins into four classes: namely into the legal, the Historical, the Paraenetic [hortatory], and the Prophetic.

The Legal books, five:

1. Genesis. 2. Exodus. 3. Leviticus. 4. Numbers. 5. Deuteronomion.

The Historical books, nine:

6. Joshua. 7. Judges. 8. Ruth. 9. Kings first, with the second. 10. Kings third, with the fourth. 11. The two of Paralipomenon. 12. Esdras. 13. Esther. 14. Job.

The Paraenetic books, three:

15. Proverbs. 16. Ecclesiastes. 17. Canticles.

The Prophetic books, seven:

18. David. 19. Esaias. 20. Jeremias. 21. The Threni. 22. Ezechiel. 23. Daniel. 24. The twelve minor Prophets.