Sarah Mitchell
The Bible is a holy book for Christians and is considered to be the inspired word of God. It is divided into the Old and New Testaments, with the New Testament containing 27 books that are accepted by all Christians. However, there are three major divisions within Christianity: Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant, and they differ in organizational details such as the contents of their Bibles. The number of books in the Bible varies across these sects, with Catholics believing in 73 books, Orthodox believing in 76 or more, and Protestants believing in 66 books. The differences in the number of books arise from the different canons followed by each sect, with the Catholic Bible containing deuterocanonical books that are considered secondary, and the Orthodox Bible containing additional books such as Prayer of Manaseh, I Esdras, II Esdras, III Maccabees, IV Maccabees, and an additional psalm, Psalm 151. These variations in the Bible's content highlight the diverse interpretations and traditions within Christianity.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of books | Catholics: 73; Orthodox: 76+; Protestants: 66 |
| Deuterocanonicals | Catholics: Included and called "deuterocanonical"; Protestants: Not included and called "apocrypha"; Orthodox: Included and called "deutero-canon" or given a "second-tier" status |
| Definition of "canon" | Canonical: Approved for reading at the liturgy; Apocryphal: Not approved for reading at the liturgy |
| Biblical canon | Catholics: Defined and exact; Eastern Orthodox: Fluid, varies between churches |
| Biblical translation | Catholics: Revised Standard Version; Orthodox: Septuagint, King James Version, Revised Standard Version |
| Biblical inspiration | Catholics: Inspiration and canonical status are legally defined; Eastern Orthodox: More fluid understanding, canonical means acceptable to be read in liturgy |
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What You'll Learn
Eastern Orthodox Church and the Bible
The Bible is the most sacred text of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. However, it is viewed differently from the Bible in Western Christian traditions. For Eastern Orthodox Christians, the Bible is a community text, or "the book of the Church", and is not interpreted according to individual understanding but in the light of church traditions. The church is seen as the source of the Bible's authority.
The Eastern Orthodox Church adheres to the first official Biblical canon of 73 books, as reaffirmed at the Council of Carthage in AD 419. This is the same canon that the Roman Catholic Church affirms. In addition to these 73 books, Orthodox Christians also include 1 Esdras, 3 Maccabees, and the Prayer of Manasseh. Protestant Bibles, on the other hand, contain only 66 books, and they consider the extra books in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles to be "apocrypha". Thus, an Orthodox Christian will typically use editions of the Bible that contain at least the 73 books found in the Roman Catholic biblical canon.
There is no standard Bible for Orthodox Christians, but the most commonly used editions include the Orthodox Study Bible (OSB), the Revised Standard Version (RSV), the New King James Version (NKJV), and the King James Version (KJV). The OSB, published in 2008, uses the NKJV for the New Testament and the St. Athanasius Academy Septuagint (SAAS) for the Old Testament. The Eastern Orthodox Church uses the Septuagint (LXX) as the basis for its Old Testament translations, which is considered a more reliable translation than the Masoretic text. The LXX is a Greek translation of the Torah, or Pentateuch, made by Jewish scholars in the 3rd century BC. The Byzantine Text-Type is the basis for the New Testament text, and the particular variant considered most authoritative is the Patriarchal Text, published by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1904 for ecclesiastical use.
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Catholic Church and the Bible
The Bible is a collection of writings that serve as the moral and spiritual foundation for Christianity and its various denominations. The Bible is regarded as the inspired word of God, a divine account of God's design for humanity's salvation through the Incarnation of the Logos in Jesus Christ. It is considered a living monument, transcending its historical and literary significance.
The Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, two prominent branches of Christianity, have distinct relationships with the Bible. While they share a significant portion of the Biblical canon, there are some differences in the books they include. The Eastern Orthodox Church does not possess a formal, universally approved Biblical canon. Instead, it exhibits some variation among its churches regarding which books are considered canonical, or acceptable for liturgical use. This fluid approach is similar to that of ancient Judaism.
In contrast, the Catholic Church draws a sharper line between canonical and non-canonical texts. The Catholic Bible is believed to comprise 73 books, including enlarged sections for Esther and Daniel. These additional books are referred to as "deuterocanonical," indicating their secondary status within the Catholic Old Testament. The deuterocanonical books were once present in Protestant Bibles under the label of "Apocrypha" but were later omitted during the Protestant Reformation due to their secondary nature and lack of direct divine inspiration.
The Eastern Orthodox Bible typically includes all the books of the Catholic Bible but may also feature additional texts such as the Prayer of Manasseh, I Esdras, II Esdras, III Maccabees, IV Maccabees, Odes (prayers or psalms), and Psalm 151. These extra books are subject to regional variations within the Orthodox Church, which lacks the centralized authority of the Catholic Church.
Despite these differences, both the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches share a profound reverence for the Bible as a sacred text. They recognize its central role in revealing God's truth and conveying His message to humanity. The Bible is not merely a historical or literary artifact but a living testament to God's will and design for salvation.
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Protestant Bibles
Some Protestants use Bibles that include 14 additional books in a separate section known as the Apocrypha, bringing the total number of books to 80. These books are not considered canonical by Protestants but are included as useful for reading and devotional use. The Apocrypha was first published as a separate intertestamental section in Luther's Bible of 1534. Early modern English Bibles often contained this section, but printed English Bibles increasingly omitted it following the first publication of the King James Bible in 1611.
The exclusion of the deuterocanonical books from Protestant Bibles can be traced back to the Protestant Reformation led by Martin Luther, who decided to switch to the Hebrew version of the Old Testament, which excluded the seven books found in the Greek version. These seven books, known as the Apocrypha, were considered secondary writings not inspired by God and were written after the last Old Testament prophet, Malachi. Luther also wanted to remove Hebrews, James, Jude, and potentially Revelation from the New Testament, but this was too radical for his followers.
The first proto-Protestant Bible translation was Wycliffe's Bible, which appeared in the late 14th century in Middle English. Other early Protestant Bibles include the Hussite Bible (c. 1416), the Coverdale Bible (1535), Matthew's Bible (1537), the Great Bible (1539), the Geneva Bible (1560), the Bishop's Bible (1568), and the King James Version (1611).
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The Bible's development
The Bible is a collection of ancient texts that have been compiled over centuries to form what is known today as the Holy Bible, a sacred text for Christians. The Bible is divided into two main parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is a collection of Hebrew and Aramaic texts that were written and compiled before the birth of Jesus Christ, while the New Testament is a collection of Greek texts that were written and compiled after the birth of Jesus Christ.
The development of the Bible can be traced back to the early days of Christianity, when the followers of Jesus Christ began to spread his teachings and message throughout the world. As the Christian church grew and spread, there was a need to compile and organize the various texts and writings that were being used by different Christian communities. Over time, these texts were collected, edited, and organized into what became known as the Bible.
One of the earliest collections of biblical texts is known as the Septuagint, which is a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible that was created in the 3rd century B.C. by Jews in Egypt. This collection included many of the books that are now found in the Orthodox Old Testament, such as the Prayer of Manasseh, I Esdras, II Esdras, III Maccabees, IV Maccabees, and others.
However, it's important to note that the process of canonization, or the official recognition of which books belong in the Bible, was a lengthy and complex one. In the early days of Christianity, there was no universal agreement on which books should be included in the Bible, and different communities and churches had their own collections of texts. It wasn't until the 4th century A.D. that the Catholic Church began to standardize the biblical canon, with the formation of the Latin Vulgate, which became the standard Bible for the Western Church.
Even after the standardization of the biblical canon by the Catholic Church, there were still variations and differences that emerged between the Bibles used by different Christian denominations, such as the Orthodox Church and the Protestant Church. For example, the Orthodox Bible typically includes more books than the Catholic or Protestant Bibles, with the exact number varying depending on the specific Orthodox tradition. These additional books are often referred to as "deuterocanonical" books, which means "secondary canon" and are considered to be inspired texts that are not necessarily suitable for public reading during liturgy.
Today, while there may still be some minor differences in the specific books included in different versions of the Bible used by various Christian denominations, the core message and teachings of Jesus Christ remain consistent across these variations.
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Bible translations
The Bible has been translated into over 1,300 languages and dialects, and its words, thoughts, and personalities have been the subject of controversial discussion and debate for centuries, both in its original language and in translation. The Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. These are the original languages of the Holy Bible from which all translations have been derived.
The Bible canon—both Old and New Testaments—was set in a series of Church Councils, beginning with the Council of Carthage in 397 and ending with the 7th Ecumenical Council in 787. These canons included the deuterocanon, or "second canon" (sometimes referred to as "Apocrypha") from the very beginning. After the schism between East and West in 1054, some minor differences developed between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox canons.
The Eastern Orthodox Church officially uses the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament translated from Hebrew into Greek in the 3rd century BC. The Septuagint contains additional books that are not found in the Hebrew Bible, such as 3 and 4 Maccabees. The modern Eastern Orthodox Church does not possess a formal, universally approved Biblical canon, and there is some confusion among Eastern Orthodox Christians as to which books constitute the canon of the Bible.
Catholics believe that the Bible should contain 73 books plus enlarged sections for Esther and Daniel. These additional books are called "deuterocanonical," meaning "secondary holy writings." Protestants do not include these books in their Old Testament and refer to them as "Apocrypha."
Orthodox Christians believe that the Bible should contain 76 or more books. The Orthodox Bible contains the same books as the Catholic Bible, plus additional texts such as the Prayer of Manaseh, I Esdras, II Esdras, III Maccabees, IV Maccabees, Odes (prayers or psalms), and Psalm 151.
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Frequently asked questions
There are differences between the Bibles used by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church.
The Eastern Orthodox Church uses the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament translated from Hebrew into Greek in the 3rd century B.C. The Catholic Church adopted the Revised Standard Version in 1966, with the addition of the "Apocrypha".
The "Apocrypha" are books that are not in the Bible. They are considered secondary writings and are not inspired by God.
Catholics believe the Bible should contain 73 books, plus enlarged sections for Esther and Daniel.
The Orthodox Bible has the same books as the Catholic Bible, plus it can contain the Prayer of Manaseh, I Esdras, II Esdras, III Maccabees, IV Maccabees, Odes (prayers or psalms), and an additional psalm, Psalm 151.
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