Reception

The book of Odes is not included in the Masoretic Text (Hebrew Bible). It is included in Septuagint manuscripts beginning in the fifth century ad. Odes is not included in the fourth-century Greek Bibles Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus. It is first attested as a group of 14 odes following the book of Psalms in the Old Testament section of Codex Alexandrinus (A, 02), a Greek Christian Bible dated to the early fifth century ad. From the fifth century onward, Odes regularly follows Psalms in Greek manuscripts, probably because the odes were used liturgically in a similar way to the psalms. Most of the manuscripts in question do not contain the whole Bible or even the whole Old Testament but specifically the Psalms and Odes, sometimes together with additional material for liturgical use; these manuscripts are known as Psalters. The number of odes varies somewhat among manuscripts; by the year 1000, nine odes had become the standard collection, but these were still sometimes supplemented with others (Hengel, Septuagint, 58–59; Rahlfs, Psalmi cum Odis, 78–79; Mearns, Canticles, 14).

In Syriac tradition, the Psalms were followed by three odes beginning probably before the fifth century. Later, under Greek influence, some Syriac churches added additional odes. In Syriac, the odes appear especially in Psalter manuscripts after the eighth century, but also in some manuscripts of the Old Testament (van Peursen, “Introduction,” 14–15; see also Mearns, Canticles, 39–49). The book of Odes is not included in the Latin Vulgate. Collections of canticles (the Latin equivalent of odes) appear in many Latin Psalter manuscripts (Mearns, Canticles, 50–81). These Latin collections of canticles are not regarded as biblical books.

Since Odes is in ancient Greek Bibles that would have been used by early Christians but is not part of the Hebrew Bible (and as such is noncanonical for the Jewish tradition), it may be considered part of the Old Testament Apocrypha. However, most lists of Apocrypha do not include Odes, since Odes is mostly made up of selections from other books in the Greek Bible (including the Old Testament Apocrypha). The book of Odes is not included in Protestant or Catholic biblical canons. The book of Odes is often included in Eastern Orthodox biblical canons; the services of the Eastern Orthodox church use the hymns it contains liturgically, indicating that they have significant authority for that church regardless of whether they are considered canonically part of the Old Testament. Odes may also be included in the biblical canon of Syriac tradition churches.