*This proposal is a co-authored submission by Sungmin Park and Tomas Bokedal , each submitting individually as per the submission guidelines.
The present paper discusses extrinsic and intrinsic textual dimensions involved in the emergence of the canonical sub-units that formed the New Testament, and the respective relationships between these dimensions. After an introductory section on how notions of ‘canon’ or ‘authoritative texts’ are in play in the NT documents, the paper explores (i) the relationship between the canonical reception of the Lukan Doppelwerk as part of the New Testament canon and the literary reference to οἱ πολλοί (“the many”) in the Lukan prologue (Luke 1:1); (ii) the relationship between the extrinsic formation of canonical sub-units, such as the Pauline letter corpus and the Catholic Epistles, and the intrinsic textual function of nomina sacra (special demarcations of a selection of “sacred names”) in these text-units; and (iii) the relationship between the canonization of New Testament canonical sub-units and the introduction in these texts of standard New Testament book titles and other paratextual elements. A complex view of the early canon formation process is endorsed in the light of these extrinsic and intrinsic aspects.