Question about the Codex Sinaiticus

[TravisandJill]

I was wondering why the Church did not include the Epistle of Barnabas or The Shepard of Hermas in the Bible…especially since it was in the Bible way back then.

Thanks, Jill

 

[Eucharisted]

Tischendorf judged that there were four hands engaged in the writing of the manuscript; in this he has been generally followed. He has been less happy in obtaining acceptance of his conjecture that one of these scribes also wrote the New Testament of the Vatican Codex. He recognized seven correctors of the text, one of them contemporaneous with the writing of the manuscript. The Ammonian Sections and the Eusebian Canons are indicated in the margin, probably by a contemporary hand; they seem to have been unknown to the scribe, however, who followed another division. The clerical errors are relatively not numerous, in Gregory’s judgment.

Source: newadvent.org/cathen/04085a.htm

 

[COPLAND_3]

What it mainly boils down to is that the Holy Spirit led the Church to define the canon in the way that it is in now, so regardless of what could have been, we can trust that the Church was led by the Holy Spirit to define the canon. The definition of the canon is just as inspired as the Bible itself.

That being said, there is great edification and value in the letter of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas. There is a lot of Apostolic DNA running through those writings. In fact I believe the traditional understanding that St. Barnabas is the author and St. Hermas.