The Protestant and Catholic Bibles don’t include the same number of books. The Protestant Bible contains 66 total – 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. The Catholic Bible contains 73 books. The Protestant and Catholic New Testaments are the same, but the Catholic Old Testament includes seven additional books plus extra sections in Esther and Daniel. This difference has a long, complicated history, but we’ll just touch on the highlights.

Where did these extra books come from?

These additional books come from a larger and varied collection of early Jewish writings referred to as “apocrypha.” They date to the intertestamental period between Malachi, the last Old Testament prophet, and the time of Christ. The writings include different literary genres like wisdom, history, prophecy, devotional/prayer, and novellas, as well as additions to other Bible books. (Also see “What happened between the Old and New Testaments?”)

Ancient Jews and early Christians found them useful and encouraging to one’s faith, thus they copied them and passed them down. But they also made the distinction between “inspiring” and inspired by God. Evidence indicates none of them were ever included in the Jewish Old Testament canon.

Many early church fathers considered them valuable for their historical and instructional content. But there’s no solid evidence that any of them considered them to be inspired and authoritative. In contrast to the books included in the protestant canon today, the apocryphal books faced ongoing skepticism regarding acceptance and use. Even those who saw value in reading them warned against using them to establish doctrine. 

Technically the adjective “apocryphal” and the word “apocrypha” describe an entire range of intertestamental writings. However today “Apocrypha” typically refers to the specific collection of apocryphal books accepted as canonical by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Note: “Canon” refers to the collection of books considered divinely inspired and thus authoritative for God’s people.

Who accepts them as canonical?

The 16^th century marks a decisive division between Catholics and Protestants over the Apocrypha. Before the reformation, the Catholic Church used the apocryphal books, but they were not part of the Catholic Church’s official canon. 

In 1517, Martin Luther sparked the protestant reformation by nailing his 95 theses to that church door in Germany. His theses rested on the principles of sola fide and sola scriptura. From his study of Romans Luther recognized that we are saved solely by faith in Christ (sola fide). Luther also emphasized the necessity of Scripture alone (sola scriptura) as our authority and source of doctrine. 

But “Sola Scriptura” necessitates we acknowledge what is Scripture and what is not Scripture. Although Luther considered the apocryphal books useful and valuable for Christians to read, he and the other reformers officially rejected the Apocrypha as non-canonical. They stood on the 39 Old Testament books the church had recognized and treated as divinely inspired since its birth at Pentecost. (Also see “Who Wrote the Bible and Why Does it Matter?,” “Three Reasons We Can Trust the Bible,” and “What does it mean that the Bible is Expired?” The last link goes to You Tube. If you follow it, I’d love for you to subscribe to my channel while you are there!)

However, when the Catholic Church affirmed its canon at the Council of Trent in 1546, it included seven apocryphal books and the additions to Esther and Daniel. Today these books are accepted as canonical by the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox churches.  

Why do Protestants reject the Apocrypha?

Like the Jews, Protestant Christians hold to the shorter 39-book Old Testament. History indicates these twelve books have never been included in the Jewish Old Testament canon. New Testament evidence and writings from the early church show this is the collection that Jesus, the apostles, and the early church fathers accepted and indicated to be divinely inspired. 

Is there value in the Apocrypha?

Some books, like 1 and 2 Maccabees, are historical and thus are useful in helping us understand Jewish history between the testaments. Others help us trace the Jewish theological development between the testaments. (Also see ) 

But “useful” is not the same as divinely inspired. If we choose to read any of these books we must read them in light of the teachings of Jesus and the apostles in the divinely inspired Scripture. 

Unfortunately, the Catholic Church bases some of its doctrine on passages from the Apocrypha. However, these doctrines like purgatory, praying to make atonement for the dead, and merit earned by works directly conflict with New Testament teaching.

What do we do with all this?

If you are interested check out some of the apocryphal books. Since they record a lot of interestamental history, perhaps start with 1 and 2 Maccabees. (You can read them on the this site.) But as faithful students of God’s Word, let’s ensure that whatever we hold as authoritative Scripture is indeed divinely inspired.

Have you ever read any of the apocryphal books? What did you learn?