The missing books of the bible catholic education resource. Written in geez an ancient dead language of ethiopia its nearly 800 years older than the king. The first edition of the king james version of the bible included the apocryphal ie, deuterocanonical books. The books in question, which are wrongly termed the apocrypha not authentic by protestants, are called the deuterocanonical second canon books by catholics. However, many protestant versions of the bible today will state, king james version with apocrypha.
There is no evidence of a greater alexandrian canon. The syrian nestorian church has only 22 books in the new testament while the ethiopian church has 8 extra. Why did martin luther take 7 books out of the bible. That translation, completed in 1611, and the bibles published for the use of the clergy and the church members until late in the 19th century, contained 80 books. Why does the roman catholic church accept the books of the. Why protestants reject 7 books of the bible the short. These books were present in the christian bible for almost 1500 years and were present in the greek translation of the scripture called the septuagint, used by christ and the apostles. The protestant bible is missing several books from the original bible assembled in 364 ad by the council of laodicea. The 7 books removed from protestant bibles are known by catholics as the deuterocanonical books as opposed to the protocanonical books that are not in. The seven books which compose the protestant apocrypha, first published as such in luthers bible 1534 are considered canonical old testament books by the catholic church, affirmed by the council of rome ad 382 and later reaffirmed by the council of trent. In early protestant bibles, the deuterocanonical books had been placed together in a separate section between the old and new testaments. Asked in the bible, bible statistics and history, old. Some protestants believe that the catholic church added 7 books to the bible at the council of trent in response to luthers reformation, but that couldnt be further from the truth. Missing books and invisible churches catholic answers.
Why the catholic bible has 7 more books than the protestant bible. I have heard that the reason why these 7 books are not even in the hebrew bible is because the development of the cannon of the christian bible started. Every book that god intended to be in the bible is in the bible. Such bibles comprise 39 books of the old testament according to the jewish hebrew bible canon, known especially to nonprotestants as the protocanonical books and 27 books of the new testament for a total of 66 books. We saw in our last discussion part one that the catholic church was the instrument used by the holy spirit to clarify and define the canon of scripture. The ethiopian bible includes the books of enoch, esdras, buruch and all 3 books of meqabyan. Baruch, judith, wisdom, ecclesiasticussirach, 1 and 2 maccabees, and tobit. They remained in the appendix of protestant bibles until about 1826, and then they were removed altogether. If the bible is the inspired word of god, by what right did the protestant church remove 7 books of the original bible. Bible omits these 7 books, you follow martin luther t he first protestant reformer a man who wanted to throw out even more books j ames, esther, revelation, and who deliberately added the word alone to sacred scripture in his german translation of romans 3. There has been much disagreement over the years as to which books constitute the apocrypha, and indeed the list of books has changed over time. These books were part of a greek translation of the bible known as the septuagint. Gary michuta is an expert on the canon of scripture, especially in regards to the deuterocanonical books, what the protestants call the. There are three main categories of books that some say belong in scripture.
This includes the coverdale bible in 1535, matthews bible in 1537, taverners bible in 1539, the geneva bible in 1539, and the great bible in 1560. The protestant bible and catholic bible are not the same book. There are no lost books of the bible, or books that were taken out of the bible, or books missing from the bible. Anomalies in the lost books the anomalies found in the lost books by category. Removed from the bible by the protestant church in the 1800s king james. The seven books that protestant tradition does not retain are 1st and 2nd maccabees, baruch, tobit, judith, the wisdom of solomon, and sirach. At this point in the debate, go ahead and inform them that in 2 macabees 12. The books of the old testament apocrypha are included in many nonroman catholic bible translations. Nov 11, 2014 now, so how did we get from the original catholic bible that has 73 books to the protestants bible that is missing 7 books.
The masoretic text did not include the seven deuterocanonical books and formed the basis for their exclusion in the protestant old testament. Seven books of the bible, all in the old testament, are accepted by roman catholics. With jeromes position no longer tenable, protestantism really doesnt have a historical leg to stand on in regards to their ot canon. This book of mormon verse makes the claim that many plain and precious truths would be lost from the bible. The early protestant reformers of the 16th century also adapted a shorter, 66book canon of scripture. By comparison, the books of the catholic bible include all 66 in the previous list plus seven extra books.
So why does the catholic bible have 73 books, while the protestant bible has only 66 books. The protestant church generally does not believe these books are inspired and therefore canonical, that is authoritative and deserving to be a part of the bible as the word of god. You can also type in some shortened forms for the names of the books. Anomalies in the lost books the lost books of the bible contain the same aerial anomalies, beings and people flying up into the sky, and enigmatic events as the king james bible. The books of the apocrypha are also known as the deuterocanonical books.
Why do catholic bibles have seven more books than protestant. If you happen to be conversing with a protestant who believes that the deuterocanonical books 7 books missing from the protestant bible are part of the bible, then consider yourself blessed. The protestant bible is made up of 66 books, martin luther found the teachings in seven books of the old testament problematic as well as some in the new testament. The catholic bible has 7 more books than the protestant bible. They also removed the greek manuscripts from the books of esther. It is not the catholics that removed the books it was the protestant. These books are tobit, judith, wisdom, sirach, baruch, i and ii maccabees, and esther. The roman catholic bible contains seven books that do not appear in most protestant bibles. For example, for a book called stephen with 8 chapters, you would type steven 8. Many protestant bibles have been printed with the old testament apocrypha. The ethiopian bible is the oldest and most complete bible on earth.
The canon of scripture is the list of 73 books that belong to the bible. The council of trent, reacting to the protestant reformers, repeated the canon of florence in the decree on sacred books and on traditions to be received 1546 and decreed that these books were to be treated with equal devotion and reverence. Seven books of the bible, all in the old testament, are accepted by roman catholics and eastern orthodox, but are not accepted by jews or protestants. How to defend the deuterocanonicals catholic answers. Tobit, judith, baruch, wisdom, sirach, 1 and 2 maccabees, and parts of esther and daniel. The catholic bible contains all the books that have traditionally been accepted by christians since the canon of scripture was recognized by the synod of rome in 382. A protestant bible is a christian bible whose translation or revision was produced by protestants. Protestant bibles comprise 39 books of the old testament according to the jewish hebrew bible canon, known especially to nonprotestants as the protocanonical books and the 27 books of the new testament for a total of 66 books. The missing books you refer to in the kjv are most likely the apocryphal books which are generally not found in any protestant translation.
In the history of the compilation of the catholic bible and the protestant bible. There are seven books in the catholic bible baruch, judith, 1 and 2 maccabees, sirach, tobit and wisdom that are not included in the. Please read the following quote, then do your best to persuade me that the bible should have only 66 books. Tabias, judith, wisdom, ecclesiastics, baruch, and first and second maccabees. They have a large chunk of truth but not the fullness of the truth in the church founded by jesus christ. Written in geez an ancient dead language of ethiopia its nearly 800 years older than the king james version and contains over 100 books compared to 66 of the protestant bible. Martin luther removed multiple books from the old testament. The seven books are the apocrypha dueterocanonical books from the original latin vulgate. Why did protestants cut out 7 books from the bible. Aug 19, 2016 why protestants reject 7 books of the bible the short answer by steve ray on august 19, 2016 gary michuta is an expert on the canon of scripture, especially in regards to the deuterocanonical books, what the protestants call the apocrypha.
Did you know that martin luther removed seven books from the old testament out of the protestant bible. Why the catholic bible has 7 more books than the protestant bible common misunderstanding. Any good catholic bookshop has a normal catholic bible that has all these books. I have heard that the reason why these 7 books are not even in the hebrew bible is because the development of the cannon of the christian bible started before the official hebew bible was put together. There are 7 books of the old testament missing from the bible protestants use.
Mar 01, 2002 that protestant bibles are, in fact, missing books that had been accepted in the canon of scripture. Protestant bibles included the apocrypha until the mid 1800s, and the king james version was originally published with the apocrypha. The old testament apocrypha consists of eleven or twelve books, depending. Apr 09, 2014 protestants, catholics, and most orthodox agree now that the new testament should consist at least of the 27 books matthew through revelationapocalypse that the catholic church determined were canonical, but the protestant old testament is lacking 7 entire books, 3 chapters of daniel and 6 chapters of esther, leaving them with 66 incomplete. Gary michuta is an expert on the canon of scripture, especially in regards to the deuterocanonical books, what the protestants call the apocrypha. That protestant bibles are, in fact, missing books that had been accepted in the canon of scripture. Names of protestant bible books and number of chapters. The british and foreign bible society decided in 1827 to remove these books from further publications and labeled these books apocryphal. Jun 18, 2012 there are 7 books of the old testament missing from the bible protestant s use. I have a question about the 7 missing books from the protestant bible. You can read his book why catholic bibles are bigger to see what i mean. As most, if not all, of you know, there is a 7 book difference between the catholic bible and the protestant bible.
Even gutenbergs bible was published in more than one volume. These books had been around a long time, but never accepted as true scripture by anyone. The books not officially recognized by the protestant church include as complete books are tobit, judith, 1 maccabees, 2 maccabees, wisdom of solomon, sirach, and baruch. In the course of time, the terms canon and canonical came to be applied to the catalogue or list of sacred books distinguished and honored as belonging to gods inspired word. Martin luther, without any authority whatsoever, removed those seven books and placed them in an appendix during the reformation. Which books are missing from the protestant bible answers. That since the catholic old testament contains seven more books than protestant bibles, the catholic church must have added later to justify doctrines that jesus did not teach. And some protestant hymnals, maybe many, include excerpts from one or another of the seven books. Why protestants reject 7 books of the bible the short answer by steve ray on august 19, 2016 gary michuta is an expert on the canon of scripture, especially in regards to the deuterocanonical books, what the protestants call the apocrypha. The earliest writings of the bible were likely composed in the 10th century b. The deuterocanonical books from the greek meaning belonging to the second canon are books and passages considered by the catholic church, the eastern orthodox church, the oriental orthodox churches and the assyrian church of the east to be canonical books of the old testament but which are considered noncanonical by protestant denominations.
The books in question the catholic bible has seven books and parts of two others in the old testament that are not found in protestant bibles 1. They were removed by men who were rebelling against the original church. Catholics refer to these books as the deutercanonical 2 books while protestants refer to them as apocryphal3 books. First of all, i have heard that these 7 books are not in the hebrew bible. What are the 7 books from the catholic bible that are not. The truth about the apocrypha and the lost books of the bible.
Why do catholics have 7 extra books in their bible. Protestants offer various explanations to explain why they reject the deuterocanonical books as scripture. The protestant bible consists of 66 books which are considered to be divinely inspired. The missing books you refer to in the kjv are most likely the apocryphal books which are generally not found in any protestant translation nasb, nas, niv, rsv, etc. Tobit, judith, 1 maccabees, 2 maccabees, wisdom, baruch, sirach eccleiasticus. Add 27 books of the new testament to each for the total. Why do catholic bibles have seven more books than protestant bibles. Jan 31, 20 why do catholic bibles have seven more books than protestant bibles. After jesus resurrection from the dead, there were many writings about him. However, the apocrypha was considered less important, and bible publishers eventually dropped it from most protestant editions. Perhaps one of the best kept secrets of the modern protestant church is that the bible used by that body is not the original king james bible. Why is the protestant bible smaller youre missing some books. Why did martin luther remove seven 7 books from the.
The missing parts of the king james bible the lost books. They are tobit, judith, 1 maccabees, 2 maccabees, wisdom of solomon, ecclesiasticus and baruch. These include 1 and 2 maccabees, judith, tobit, baruch, sirach, and wisdom, and additions to the books of esther and daniel. Why protestants reject 7 books of the bible the short answer. Why did the vatican remove 14 books from the bible in 1684. Are the 7 missing books of the protestant bible quoted in the new testament. Old testament apocryphal writings the term apocrypha comes from a greek word meaning. Jul 07, 2006 please read the following quote, then do your best to persuade me that the bible should have only 66 books. The apocrypha consists of a set of books written between approximately 400 b. It is true that the protestant bible is like the jewish old testament in that neither includes the apocryphal books, however, they often have been included in old and big protestant editions placed between the old and new testaments. Type the name of the bible book followed by the number of chapters in the book. Now, so how did we get from the original catholic bible that has 73 books to the protestants bible that is missing 7 books.
The books that comprise scripture were not canonized until centuries after christ. Some protestants use bibles which also include 14 additional books in a. The catholic bible has seven books and parts of two others in the old testament that are not found in protestant bibles. There are seven 7 books in the catholic bible that are not in the protestants bible. The doctrine of sola scriptura prohibits anyone from adding to or deleting from the bible, but protestants have, in fact, deleted seven entire books. These books are included in a listing called the appocrypha which the prostant church doesnt recognize because of certain. I highly recommend the book o tobit as an inspiration and comforting book. The protestants reject these books as holy scripture for the following reasons. What are the seven books missing from the protestant bible. Well for centuries, before the advent of the printing press, the bible was hand written and maintained by the catholic church. The ethiopic bible contains 81 books in its old testament, while the orthodox bible has 51 books, compared to the protestant bible, such as the king james, which has 39 books. The additional books in the catholic bible are found in the old. Enoch, the seventh from adam, prophesied about these men. In todays world, with few exceptions, when new churches are formed they use the same bible.
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