The Apocryphal Books Of The Catholic Bible
There are more books in the Catholic Bible
than there are in the Protestant Bible. Why is that?
The Protestant Old Testament, which contains
39 books, comes from the Palestinian Canon - which (as the name would
indicate) is the set of scriptures which originated from Palestine and
which were recognized by the Jews. The Catholic Old Testament, however,
derives its books from the Alexandrian Canon - the Greek listing of
Old Testament books, which was supposedly drawn up in Alexandria, Egypt.
Along with the 39 books of the Palestinian Canon, the Alexandrian Canon
contains 14 or 15 additional books that are collectively known as the
"apocrypha," which simply means "hidden."
Of these 14 or 15 books, three are not included
in the Catholic Bible. Also, some of these apocryphal books have been
made into a single book, such as Baruch and the Letter of Jeremiah.
Still others were simply tagged onto the books of the Palestinian or
Hebrew Canon. For example, the apocryphal book called Bel and the Dragon
was made into the fourteenth chapter of the Book of Daniel. This explains
why there are only seven additional books listed in the Catholic Old
Testament.
Now, there are many reasons why these apocryphal
books are not part of our Bible. Let me mention just a few. First of
all, they contain teachings that are clearly unbiblical - for example,
they encourage prayers for the dead, teach salvation by works, and they
even include an account where God is shown to be assisting someone in
a lie. Second, there have been a number of authoritative testimonies
against the acceptance of these books, including those from the Jewish
scholars of Jamnia, as well as many of the church fathers and scholars,
like Athanasius and Jerome. And, of course, these books were never directly
quoted by Jesus or by any of the New Testament writers. Finally, it's
important to note that even the Catholic church itself didn't canonize
them until the Council of Trent, after the Reformation began.
In conclusion, while these apocryphal books
do give us some insight about the events that occurred during the period
between the Old and New Testaments, they are definitely not the Word
of God. So, it is very important for all of us to recognize that there
is a vast distinction between the apocrypha, or the "hidden books,"
and the Canon of Scripture.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
We have available a bibliography
of recommended readings on the subject of the apocryphal writings of
the Old and New Testaments (DA120/$0.25). A short but helpful discussion
can be found in Norman L. Geisler and William E. Nix, A General Introduction
to the Bible (Moody Press), 264-275 (B112/$35). For a more detailed
treatment, see Bruce Metzger, An Introduction to the Apocrypha (Oxford)
(SB820/$17). These resources are available through CRI. For shipping
and handling information, please refer to our Resource Listing. To place
a credit card order, call toll-free (888) 7000-CRI. To receive a free
copy of our Resource Listing, fax us at (714) 858-6111 or write us with
your request at P.O. Box 7000, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688-7000.
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