In many ancient manuscripts, a distinct collection known as the Odes of Solomon is found together with the similar Psalms of Solomon. The purpose of speaking in tongues as laid out in the Bible is for edification, or encouragement. 1 Corinthians 14.4–5 says that a person speaking in tongues edifies themselves, and that when accompanied by an interpretation it edifies the whole church (Paul also makes clear that a person should pray for an interpretation of what they say). A national harvest Thanksgiving Day was set for Sunday October 1, 1854. Abundant harvests followed in 1855, 1856, 1857, 1858 and 1859. Although there was a bad harvest in 1860, by then the idea of annual Harvest Thanksgiving service had set in as a popular event in the church calendar. Annual Harvest Thanksgiving services became common across Anglican churches in the 1860s, and started to be common in Non-conformist churches in the 1870s. St Paul’s Cathedral in London started to hold them annually from 1874.

Marcion of Sinope was the first Christian leader in recorded history (though later considered heretical) to propose and delineate a uniquely Christian canon [24] (c. 140). This included 10 epistles from Paul, as well as an edited version of the Gospel of Luke, which today is known as the Gospel of Marcion. By doing this, he established a particular way of looking at religious texts that persists in Christian thought today. [25] After Marcion, Christians began to divide texts into those that aligned well with the " canon" (meaning a measuring line, rule, or principle) of accepted theological thought and those that promoted heresy. This played a major role in finalizing the structure of the collection of works called the Bible. It has been proposed that the initial impetus for the proto-orthodox Christian project of canonization flowed from opposition to the list produced by Marcion. [25] Apostolic Fathers [ edit ] Metzger, Bruce M. (13 March 1997). The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and Significance. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-826954-4. The canons of the Church of England and English Presbyterians were decided definitively by the Thirty-Nine Articles (1563) and the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647), respectively. The Synod of Jerusalem (1672) established additional canons that are widely accepted throughout the Eastern Orthodox Church.a b In Eastern Orthodox Churches, including the Georgian Orthodox Church, Ecumenical Councils are the highest written determining church authority on the lists of Biblical books. Canon 2 of the Quintsext Council, held in Trullo and affirmed by the Eastern Orthodox Churches, listed and affirmed Biblical Canon lists, such as the list in Canon 85 of the Canons of the Apostles. Trullo's Biblical Canon lists affirmed documents such as 1-3 Maccabees, but neither Slavonic 3 Esdra/Ezra (AKA Vulgate "4 Ezra/Esdras"), nor 4 Maccabees. Source: Canon 2, Council of Trullo, https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3814.htm Barnstone, Willis (ed.) (1984). The Other Bible: Ancient Alternative Scriptures. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-7394-8434-0.

In years when there was an abundant harvest nationally, there would be a nationally set Thanksgiving Day for the Church of England to thank God for the harvest.These thanksgivings were called Harvest Thanksgivings. Freedman, David Noel, ed. (1992). Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol. III. New York: Doubleday. pp.634–637. Augustine of Hippo declared without qualification that one is to "prefer those that are received by all Catholic Churches to those which some of them do not receive" (On Christian Doctrines 2.12). In the same passage, Augustine asserted that these dissenting churches should be outweighed by the opinions of "the more numerous and weightier churches", which would include Eastern Churches, the prestige of which Augustine stated moved him to include the Book of Hebrews among the canonical writings, though he had reservation about its authorship. [46] Rohmann, Dirk (2016). Christianity, Book-Burning and Censorship in Late Antiquity: Studies in Text Transmission. Arbeiten zur Kirchengeschichte. Vol.135. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. ISBN 9783110485554 . Retrieved 11 April 2018. Prudentius [348– c. 410] ... intends to demonstrate the superiority of Christianity and was likely aware that at this time the Bible has not replaced other books as much as he wants to think. This passage also presents a possible hint that old Latin translations were replaced with a new canonical version, perhaps alluding to the Vulgate, written by Jerome at the end of the fourth century. By implication, this suggests that uncanonical texts were unlikely to be transcribed—an ideologically and authoritatively endorsed selection process that comes close to modern understandings of censorship.Harvest Festivals were also adopted elsewhere. Schools, clubs and public houses would also organise them, and invite the local minister to come along to conduct the service. Although not so common in pubs now, they are still common in primary schools. The book of Sirach is usually preceded by a non-canonical prologue written by the author's grandson.

Rabbinic Judaism (Hebrew: יהדות רבנית) recognizes the twenty-four books of the Masoretic Text, commonly called the Tanakh (Hebrew: תַּנַ"ךְ) or Hebrew Bible. [2] Evidence suggests that the process of canonization occurred between 200 BC and 200 AD, and a popular position is that the Torah was canonized c. 400 BC, the Prophets c. 200 BC, and the Writings c. 100 AD [3] perhaps at a hypothetical Council of Jamnia—however, this position is increasingly criticised by modern scholars. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] According to Marc Zvi Brettler, the Jewish scriptures outside the Torah and the Prophets were fluid, with different groups seeing authority in different books. [10] A scroll of the Book of Esther, one of the five megillot of the Tanakh Many verses throughout the Word of God are conditional. Saying a Biblical affirmation and calling it done is not going to bring transformation in your life. An example would be: Van Liere, Frans (2014). An Introduction to the Medieval Bible. Cambridge University Press. pp.68–69. ISBN 978-0521865784. As a result of globalisation and increased interaction across countries and cultures, multilingualism is becoming increasingly important all around the world. Script, as the most important conveyor of information, is at the centre of this development. Designers are more and more faced with the challenging task to create advertising posters, signage systems, books or lettering for example that not only combine different languages but two or even more writing systems with varying visual precepts and habits. These books are accounted pseudepigrapha by all other Christian groups, Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox (Charlesworth's Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Introduction)The Book of Common Prayer, used by the Church of England, provides for special Thanksgiving prayers for specific occasions such as times of rain after drought, peace, deliverance from plague, and for plenty. The "Letter to the Captives" found within Säqoqawä Eremyas—and also known as the sixth chapter of Ethiopic Lamentations— may contain different content from the Letter of Jeremiah (to those same captives) found in other traditions. Exodus 23.16 says, ‘You shall keep the feast of ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labour’ (NIV). It is described in Exodus 34.22, where it is called the ‘Festival of Ingathering at the year's end’ in the traditional King James Version or the ‘Festival of the Final Harvest’ in the New Living Translation.It marked the end of the harvest and thus of the agricultural year.

The Samaritan Pentateuch's relationship to the Masoretic Text is still disputed. Some differences are minor, such as the ages of different people mentioned in genealogy, while others are major, such as a commandment to be monogamous, which appears only in the Samaritan version. More importantly, the Samaritan text also diverges from the Masoretic in stating that Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Gerizim—not Mount Sinai—and that it is upon Mount Gerizim that sacrifices to God should be made—not in Jerusalem. Scholars nonetheless consult the Samaritan version when trying to determine the meaning of text of the original Pentateuch, as well as to trace the development of text-families. Some scrolls among the Dead Sea scrolls have been identified as proto-Samaritan Pentateuch text-type. [14] The growth and development of the Armenian Biblical canon is complex. Extra-canonical Old Testament books appear in historical canon lists and recensions that are either exclusive to this tradition, or where they do exist elsewhere, never achieved the same status. See: Michael E. Stone, "Armenian Canon Lists I—the Council of Partaw (768 CE)." Harvard Theological Review 66.4 (1973): 479-486; Michael E. Stone, "Armenian Canon Lists II—The Stichometry of Anania of Shirak (c. 615-c. 690 CE.)." Harvard Theological Review 68.3-4 (1975): 253-260. Michael E. Stone, "Armenian Canon Lists III—The Lists of Mechitar of Ayrivankʿ (c. 1285 CE)." Harvard Theological Review 69.3-4 (1976): 289-300 Michael E. Stone, "Armenian Canon Lists IV—The List of Gregory of Tatʿew (14th Century)." Harvard Theological Review 72.3-4 (1979): 237-244; Michael E. Stone, "Armenian Canon Lists V—Anonymous Texts." Harvard Theological Review 83.2 (1990): 141-161; Michael E. Stone, "Armenian Canon Lists VI—Hebrew Names and Other Attestations." Harvard Theological Review 94.4 (2001): 477-491. Michael E. Stone, "Armenian Canon Lists VII: The Poetic List of Aṙak ‘el of Siwnik ‘(d. 1409)." Harvard Theological Review 104.3 (2011): 367-379.Ewert, David (2010). A General Introduction to the Bible: From Ancient Tablets to Modern Translations. Zondervan. p.104. ISBN 978-0310872436. Deuteronomy 31:6 ~ Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Articles of Religion 1571, The Church of England. Available at: https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/book-common-prayer/articles-religion#VII (Accessed: 07 November 2023). Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Canon of the Old Testament". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. section titled "The Council of Florence 1442"