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Why Do Catholic Bibles Have More Books?

· 9 min read

Catholic Bibles have more books because they include seven Old Testament writings—Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach and Baruch—plus longer forms of Esther and Daniel. These came to the early church through the Greek Old Testament, while Protestants later followed the shorter Hebrew canon kept by Jewish communities. Below you will find what these books are, how the canons drifted apart, how Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christians each understand them, and what all three still share.

What are the extra books in the Catholic Bible?

A Catholic Bible has 73 books and most Protestant Bibles have 66. The difference lies entirely in the Old Testament, because all three major traditions share the same 27-book New Testament. Catholics call the additional writings the deuterocanonical books, meaning “of the second canon.” The word does not signal lesser value. It means their place in the list was debated longer and settled later.

The seven books are Tobit, Judith, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, Wisdom (often called the Wisdom of Solomon), Sirach (also called Ecclesiasticus) and Baruch, which usually includes the Letter of Jeremiah as its sixth chapter. Catholic Bibles also contain extra passages in Esther and Daniel. In Daniel these are the Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men, the story of Susanna, and the story of Bel and the Dragon.

Protestants usually call these writings the Apocrypha. The two labels overlap rather than match exactly, because Protestant editions of the Apocrypha often also include 1 and 2 Esdras and the Prayer of Manasseh, and each name reflects a different conviction about the books’ status.

Where did these books come from?

Before Jesus, many Jews lived outside the land of Israel and spoke Greek. Over several generations, starting in the third century BC, the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek. That collection is known as the Septuagint. Greek-speaking Jewish communities used it alongside other religious writings from the centuries just before Christ, and the books now called deuterocanonical circulated with it. Some of them were first written in Hebrew or Aramaic and some in Greek.

Jesus said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

Luke 24:44–45 · BSB

What, then, is the advantage of being a Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much in every way. First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.

Romans 3:1–2 · BSB

Jewish teachers eventually recognized a narrower set of books, the ones preserved in Hebrew, as Scripture. This became the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, and it holds the same contents as the Protestant Old Testament, arranged and counted differently. Scholars debate exactly when and how the Jewish list was finalized. The older idea of a single decisive council at Jamnia around AD 90 is now widely doubted. What is clear is that by the early centuries of the church, the Hebrew list and the wider Greek collection were not identical.

The New Testament itself speaks of Israel’s Scriptures as a recognized body, which is part of why Christians have cared so much about getting the list right.

How did the early church treat the deuterocanonical books?

Most early Christians read the Old Testament in Greek, so they met these books as part of their Bible. Many church writers quoted them with respect, and they were read in worship. Opinions still varied. Some teachers, aware of the Hebrew list, separated the books read in church from those used to settle doctrine.

Two figures from around AD 400 show the range. Jerome, who translated the Bible into Latin, preferred the Hebrew canon and described the extra books in his prefaces as outside it, though his translation work still came to include them in the Latin Bible. Augustine accepted the wider collection, and regional councils in North Africa at Hippo (393) and Carthage (397) issued lists that included it. The Council of Florence in 1442 affirmed the same list. For roughly a thousand years, most Western Bibles contained these books without much dispute.

Does the New Testament quote the deuterocanonical books?

No New Testament writer quotes a deuterocanonical book by name. Many readers do hear echoes of them, and one connection is fairly direct: John’s Gospel names a feast that only 1 and 2 Maccabees explain.

At that time the Feast of Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple courts in Solomon’s Colonnade.

John 10:22–23 · BSB

Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused their release, so that they might gain a better resurrection.

Hebrews 11:35 · BSB

That does not settle whether 1 and 2 Maccabees are Scripture. It does show that the events they describe shaped the world Jesus lived in.

The Letter to the Hebrews also seems to recall the martyrs of 2 Maccabees 7 in its list of the faithful. Catholics and Orthodox see such echoes as signs of how familiar and valued these books were. Protestants note that being known or alluded to is different from being received as Scripture, and the New Testament does the same with other writings that no tradition counts as canonical.

What happened to these books at the Reformation?

In the sixteenth century, reformers wanted to rest doctrine on what they judged the surest foundation. Many concluded that the Old Testament should match the Hebrew books, and they appealed to Jerome for support. Martin Luther’s 1534 Bible edition still printed the deuterocanonical books, but he gathered them into a separate section between the Testaments. He described them as useful and good to read, though not equal to Scripture.

The Catholic Church answered at the Council of Trent in 1546. It formally defined the canon as including these books, fully equal with the rest of the Old Testament. Catholics see this as confirming what the church had long received, not as adding something new.

Protestant churches took different paths. The Church of England said in its Thirty-Nine Articles that these books could be read for example of life and instruction, but not used to establish doctrine. Early English Protestant Bibles often printed them in a separate section. The Westminster Confession of 1646 declared them not part of Scripture. In the nineteenth century, major Bible societies stopped printing them, and most Protestant Bibles have left them out ever since.

Why does the difference matter?

For daily faith, the core story is shared. Creation, the covenant with Abraham, the Exodus, the prophets, the Psalms and the whole New Testament appear in every Christian Bible. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus do not depend on any of the disputed books.

Some teachings, though, are tied to these books. 2 Maccabees 12 describes prayers and an offering for soldiers who had died. Catholics and Orthodox see in it support for praying for the dead, and Catholics connect it with their teaching on purgatory. Protestants who do not accept the book as Scripture do not draw that teaching from it. Those Protestants who reject prayer for the dead or purgatory hold that the rest of Scripture does not support them.

Behind the specific doctrines lies a deeper question about who recognizes the canon and how. Catholics and Orthodox emphasize the church’s long reception and its councils. Protestants emphasize the Hebrew Scriptures entrusted to Israel and the practice of Jesus and the apostles. Each side has thoughtful reasons, and knowing them helps Christians speak with each other honestly rather than past each other.

Do Orthodox Bibles have even more books?

Yes. Eastern Orthodox Bibles, which follow the Greek Old Testament tradition, usually include everything in the Catholic Bible plus a few more writings. These include 1 Esdras, 3 Maccabees, the Prayer of Manasseh and Psalm 151, and 4 Maccabees often appears in an appendix. The Synod of Jerusalem in 1672 affirmed the deuterocanonical books shared with Catholics against Protestant views. Orthodox Christians often speak of the wider group as books worthy to be read, and their exact standing has been discussed within Orthodoxy.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has the broadest canon of all. It includes books such as 1 Enoch and Jubilees. So the question is less “who added books?” than “which ancient list did each community receive and keep?”

What do all Christians believe about Scripture?

Despite the different lists, Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christians agree that God speaks through Scripture to form his people. They also agree that Scripture is meant to change how they live, not just to be argued about.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 · BSB

That shared conviction is a good place to stand. Christians can hold their own tradition’s canon with confidence and still treat others’ Bibles with respect and curiosity.

How can I start reading the deuterocanonical books?

If you have never read a deuterocanonical book, try one short passage with an open mind. Tobit is a warm family story about prayer, kindness and trust. Wisdom 3 is a beautiful reflection on hope for the righteous after death. Sirach reads much like Proverbs. Many Catholic Bibles and some Protestant study Bibles include these books, and Protestant editions often print them in a separate Apocrypha section.

Then read John 10:22–30 and notice where Jesus stands and what he says about his sheep. Close with a short prayer in your own words. Thank God for the gift of Scripture, and ask for wisdom to read it humbly alongside Christians whose Bibles look a little different from yours.

Questions people ask

Can a Protestant read a Catholic Bible, or a Catholic read a Protestant one?

Yes. The books the two Bibles share are the same books, and the main difference is that a Catholic Bible also contains the seven deuterocanonical writings and the longer Esther and Daniel. Some churches recommend particular translations for study or worship, so it can help to ask your own pastor or parish which they suggest.

Are the deuterocanonical books the same as the Gnostic gospels?

No. The deuterocanonical books are Jewish writings, mostly from the centuries before Jesus, that sit in the Old Testament of Catholic and Orthodox Bibles. Gnostic gospels, such as the Gospel of Thomas, are later writings about Jesus that no major Christian tradition includes in its Bible.

Is the Book of Enoch part of the Catholic Bible?

No. 1 Enoch is not in Catholic, Protestant or most Orthodox Bibles, though the Ethiopian Orthodox Church includes it. The Letter of Jude refers to a saying connected with Enoch, but referring to a writing is not the same as treating it as Scripture.

Are the deuterocanonical books read at Catholic Mass?

Yes. The Catholic lectionary includes readings from books such as Wisdom, Sirach and 2 Maccabees, read alongside other Old Testament passages. Orthodox services also draw on some of these books, and some Anglican lectionaries include occasional readings from them.

Written with AI help and reviewed by Miguel Ridruejo Mendoza before publishing. Bible quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), which is in the public domain. How we write.

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