Have you ever wondered Why Catholics have more books in the Bible?
A Catholic Bible has 73 books, while most Protestant Bibles have 66 books.
So, where did the difference come from?
Did the Catholic Church add seven books to the Bible?
Or did Protestants remove them?
The answer is more interesting than many people realize.
The Catholic Bible contains 46 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament. The Protestant Bible generally contains 39 Old Testament books and the same 27 New Testament books.
The seven books found in Catholic Bibles but not in most Protestant Bibles are:
- Tobit
- Judith
- Wisdom
- Sirach
- Baruch
- 1 Maccabees
- 2 Maccabees
Catholic Bibles also contain additional sections in Esther and Daniel.
These seven Old Testament books are commonly called the Deuterocanonical books.
Did Catholics Add These Books?
No.
This is one of the most important things to understand.
The Catholic Church does not teach that it invented seven new books and inserted them into the Bible.
These books were part of the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint.
The Septuagint was widely used among Greek-speaking Jews and early Christians.
In fact, many quotations from the Old Testament found in the New Testament reflect the wording of the Greek Scriptures.
So the story is not as simple as saying, “Catholics added seven books.”
The real question is:
Which collection of Old Testament books did the early Christians receive as Scripture?
What Is the Septuagint?
The Septuagint, often abbreviated as the LXX, was a Greek translation of Jewish Scriptures.
It was produced before the time of Jesus, beginning several centuries before Christianity.
Why was a Greek translation important?
By the time of Jesus, many Jews lived outside Judea and spoke Greek. As a result, Greek Scriptures became widely used throughout the ancient Mediterranean world.
The early Christian Church also used Greek extensively.
This matters because the Septuagint included the books that Catholics now call the Deuterocanonical books.
What Were the Deuterocanonical Books?
The word Deuterocanonical means something like “second canon.”
Catholics use this term to distinguish these books from the books whose canonical status was accepted earlier and more universally.
However, “second” does not mean “less inspired.”
The Catholic Church considers these books part of Sacred Scripture.
They contain stories, wisdom, prayers, historical accounts, and teachings that have been important to Jewish and Christian communities for centuries.
Why Are These Books Not in Most Protestant Bibles?
The difference became especially significant during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation.
Reformers such as Martin Luther questioned the canonical status of the seven books.
The books were not simply thrown away overnight. Instead, Protestant Bibles generally followed the Hebrew Old Testament collection for the Old Testament, while the Catholic Church continued to recognize the Deuterocanonical books as Scripture.
Many early Protestant Bibles actually printed these books in a separate section called the Apocrypha.
Over time, however, many Protestant publishers stopped including them.
As a result, most Protestant Bibles today contain 66 books.
What About the Jewish Bible?
This part can be confusing because the Jewish Bible does not have exactly the same arrangement as either the Catholic or Protestant Bible.
The Jewish Scriptures are known as the Tanakh.
They contain the same basic collection of 24 books traditionally counted in the Jewish canon, although the way the books are divided differs from the Protestant Old Testament.
For example, the Catholic and Protestant Bibles count Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, and the twelve minor prophets as separate books, while the Jewish arrangement groups some of these differently.
Therefore, comparing only the number of books can sometimes be misleading.
Did Jesus Use the Catholic Bible?
Jesus obviously did not carry a bound Catholic Bible as we know it today.
The Bible had not yet been compiled into one complete volume.
Jesus and the apostles lived within the world of Jewish Scripture and traditions.
The New Testament writers also quoted from different forms of Old Testament Scripture.
This is important because the early Church did not begin with a complete Christian Bible sitting on a table.
The Church first preached the Gospel, celebrated the Eucharist, baptized believers, and handed on the teachings of Christ.
The New Testament writings were produced within that Christian community.
The New Testament Came Later
This is something many people overlook.
The books of the New Testament were written after the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus.
The early Christians did not have a complete New Testament from the beginning.
Instead, they had the teachings of Jesus and the apostles, the Scriptures of Israel, and the life of the Christian community.
Over time, the writings of the apostles and their close companions were recognized as inspired Scripture.
Eventually, the Church formally recognized the collection of 27 New Testament books that Christians continue to use.
Interestingly, Catholics and Protestants agree on all 27 books of the New Testament.
The disagreement concerns the Old Testament.
When Did the Catholic Church Officially Define the 73 Books?
The Catholic Church had been using and recognizing these books long before the Protestant Reformation.
Important early Christian councils, including the Council of Rome in 382, the Synod of Hippo in 393, and the Councils of Carthage in 397 and 419, listed the books of Scripture in ways that correspond to the Catholic canon.
Later, the Council of Trent formally reaffirmed the Catholic canon in response to the disputes of the Reformation.
Therefore, it would be inaccurate to say that the Catholic Church suddenly added these seven books in the 1500s.
The Catholic Church’s position was already rooted in earlier Christian tradition.
Why Do Catholics Accept These Seven Books?
Catholics accept the Deuterocanonical books because they were received as Scripture within the Church’s tradition and were included in the biblical collection used by many early Christians.
The Church believes that Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition belong together.
The Bible did not appear out of nowhere.
It was written, preserved, read, proclaimed, and handed on within the community of God’s people.
For Catholics, the Church’s recognition of the biblical canon is therefore closely connected with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
What Can We Learn from These Books?
The Deuterocanonical books contain many beautiful teachings.
Tobit
Tobit tells a story of faith, family, prayer, charity, and God’s guidance.
It also contains a beautiful example of a family trying to remain faithful to God during difficult circumstances.
Judith
Judith tells the story of a courageous woman who trusts God and acts bravely to protect her people.
Her story highlights courage, faith, and dependence on God.
Wisdom
The Book of Wisdom reflects deeply on righteousness, eternal life, wisdom, and the destiny of the human person.
It contains teachings that have been treasured in Christian spirituality.
Sirach
Sirach is filled with practical wisdom about friendship, speech, family life, humility, discipline, and the fear of the Lord.
It can feel surprisingly relevant to everyday life.
Baruch
Baruch contains prayers, reflections, and encouragement for God’s people during a time of difficulty.
Its message calls people back to wisdom and faithfulness.
1 Maccabees
1 Maccabees provides an important historical account of the Jewish struggle to defend their faith and religious freedom.
It gives readers a glimpse into a difficult period in Jewish history.
2 Maccabees
2 Maccabees focuses more strongly on faith, martyrdom, resurrection, and hope in eternal life.
It also contains one of the passages Catholics point to when explaining the practice of praying for the dead.
What Does 2 Maccabees Say About Praying for the Dead?
One reason the Deuterocanonical books are important in Catholic teaching is that they contain passages supporting beliefs that became significant in Christian tradition.
In 2 Maccabees 12:44–45, prayers and sacrifices are offered for those who have died.
The passage expresses hope that the dead can benefit from this act of faith.
This is one reason Catholics often refer to 2 Maccabees when explaining the practice of praying for the dead.
It does not mean that Catholics believe the dead can be saved without God’s grace.
Rather, it fits with the Catholic understanding that the Church can pray for those who have died in God’s friendship.
What About Purgatory?
Catholics also connect some teachings in the Deuterocanonical books with the doctrine of Purgatory.
The Catholic Church teaches that those who die in God’s grace and friendship but still need purification undergo that purification before entering the fullness of Heaven.
The word “Purgatory” does not appear in the Bible.
However, Catholics understand the doctrine through Scripture as a whole and through Sacred Tradition.
The Deuterocanonical books are one part of that biblical foundation.
Why Does This Matter?
The difference between Catholic and Protestant Bibles is not simply about seven extra books.
It raises a deeper question:
Who has the authority to determine which books belong in the Bible?
The Bible itself does not contain a table of contents saying:
“These are the books that belong in Scripture.”
The canon had to be recognized by the Christian community.
Catholics believe the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, played an important role in recognizing and preserving the canon of Scripture.
That is why Catholicism speaks about Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition together.
Did Catholics Change the Bible?
No.
The Catholic Church did not decide centuries after Jesus to create seven new books.
These books were already part of the Greek Old Testament used by many early Christians and were included in biblical lists accepted in the early Church.
The Protestant Reformation later resulted in a different Old Testament canon for most Protestant communities.
Therefore, the difference is better understood as a difference in which ancient collection of Old Testament books is recognized as canonical.
Why Do Catholics Have 73 Books?
The simple answer is:
Catholics have 73 books because the Catholic Church recognizes 46 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament as inspired Scripture.
The seven additional Old Testament books are Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, 1 Maccabees, and 2 Maccabees, along with additional passages in Esther and Daniel.
These books have a long history in the Christian tradition.
Catholics therefore do not see them as “extra books” that were added for convenience.
They are part of the Catholic Bible because the Church recognizes them as Sacred Scripture.
Catholic and Protestant Bibles: A Simple Comparison
| Bible | Old Testament | New Testament | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catholic Bible | 46 | 27 | 73 |
| Most Protestant Bibles | 39 | 27 | 66 |
The difference is therefore found in the Old Testament, not the New Testament.
A Final Thought
The Bible is not simply a book that dropped from Heaven as one complete volume.
It is a collection of sacred writings that were inspired by God and handed on through God’s people.
The Catholic Church believes that the Holy Spirit guided the Church in recognizing the books that belong to Sacred Scripture.
So when someone asks, “Why does the Catholic Bible have more books?”, the answer is not that Catholics simply added seven books.
Rather, Catholics have preserved a broader Old Testament canon that has roots in the ancient Greek Scriptures and in the early Christian tradition.
The Catholic Bible contains 73 books, and every one of them is treasured as part of God’s written Word.
The goal is not simply to count the books.
The goal is to open them, read them, pray with them, and allow God’s Word to lead us closer to Him.