What Scripture says
Jesus refers to the Hebrew Scriptures as “the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44, ESV), and Paul says the Jews “were entrusted with the oracles of God” (Romans 3:2). The New Testament quotes or alludes to almost every book of the Hebrew Bible. It never quotes the Apocrypha with “it is written” or another formula for Scripture.
The New Testament does seem to echo some of these books:
- Hebrews 11:35 (“some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life”) probably alludes to the martyrs of 2 Maccabees 7.
- John 10:22 mentions the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah), which comes from the events of 1 Maccabees.
- Some scholars see echoes of Wisdom of Solomon in Romans 1 and Hebrews 1:3 (see 3B.3).
What the evidence says
History
What the Apocrypha are
The books Protestants call the Apocrypha and Catholics call the deuterocanonical (“second canon”) books are Jewish writings from roughly 300 BC to AD 100. Catholic Bibles include seven of them, plus additions to Esther and Daniel:
- Tobit and Judith, devotional stories (3B.1, 3B.2)
- Wisdom of Solomon and Sirach, wisdom books (3B.3, 3B.4)
- Baruch, with the Letter of Jeremiah (3B.5)
- 1 and 2 Maccabees, histories of the Jewish revolt (3B.6, 3B.7)
- Additions to Esther and Daniel (3B.8)
Orthodox churches include a few more, such as 1 Esdras and 3 Maccabees (3B.9).
The case for the Protestant (Hebrew) canon
- Judaism never included them. Josephus (c. AD 95) lists 22 books matching the Hebrew Bible and says no prophet had written since the Persian period. Rabbinic Judaism agreed.
- They admit prophecy had ceased. 1 Maccabees says there was great distress “such as had not been since the time that prophets ceased to appear among them” (1 Maccabees 9:27, also 4:46 and 14:41).
- Jesus and the apostles never quote them as Scripture.
- Early lists. Melito of Sardis (c. AD 170) travelled to the east to learn the exact Old Testament books; his list, preserved by Eusebius, matches the Hebrew canon (though it omits Esther). Origen and Athanasius gave similar lists, though Athanasius recommended some apocryphal books as useful for new believers.
- Jerome (c. AD 400), who translated the Bible into Latin and learned Hebrew from Jewish teachers, argued for the Hebrew canon and called the other books useful for edification but not for establishing doctrine.
The case for the Catholic and Orthodox canon
- The Septuagint. Many early Christians used the Greek Old Testament, which included these books, and the New Testament writers often quote it.
- Early Christian use. Many church fathers quoted these books as Scripture, including Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Irenaeus and Cyprian.
- Councils. The regional councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397), which listed the New Testament books, also included the deuterocanonical books in the Old Testament.
- Augustine accepted them, and they were read in church for centuries.
- The Jewish canon may not have been closed in Jesus’ day, Catholic scholars argue, so the church wasn’t bound by later rabbinic decisions.
The Reformation and Trent
Protestants followed Jerome and the Hebrew canon. Luther translated the Apocrypha but printed them in a separate section, describing them as books “not held equal to the Holy Scriptures, and yet profitable and good to read.” The original 1611 King James Version also included them in a separate section. In response, the Catholic Council of Trent (1546) declared them fully canonical, with an anathema on those who rejected them.
| Tradition | Old Testament books | Status of the Apocrypha |
|---|---|---|
| Judaism | 24 (counted as 39 by Christians) | Not Scripture |
| Protestant | 39 | Useful reading, not Scripture |
| Catholic | 46 | Scripture (“deuterocanonical”) |
| Orthodox | 49 or more, varying | Scripture or honoured reading |
Where they meet
Protestants follow the canon Jesus and the apostles appear to have used: the Hebrew Bible. Catholics and Orthodox follow the long practice of the church, which read these books in worship from early on. Both sides draw on real history, and both honour these books, whether as Scripture or as valuable reading.
What’s still open
- Whether the Hebrew canon was fully closed in Jesus’ day.
- How much weight to give the early church’s use of the Septuagint.
- Some doctrines are affected, such as prayers for the dead (2 Maccabees 12:43–45; see 3B.7 and 8.12).
Bottom line
Catholics and Orthodox include books like Tobit and Maccabees. Protestants follow the Hebrew canon: Jesus never quotes these books, and 1 Maccabees itself notes there was no prophet then. The traditions still disagree, so this is rated Debated.