KNOWING THE BIBLE
Read and pray: "When you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears will hear a word behind you, saying: This is the way, walk in it." (Isaiah 30:21)
B. The New Testament
Since the year 397, after the recognition of the books of the New Testament at the Council of Carthage, the books and the sequence of the New Testament became what we have today.
VII. THE APOCRYPHAL BOOKS¹
A. They Were Not in the Bible Initially
There are fourteen apocryphal books that were not included in the Bible. Some thought that these fourteen books had been included in the Old Testament before the translation of the Old Testament into Greek, called the Septuagint, in 277 B.C. But we can verify from various historical records that such a statement is incorrect.
1. The Proof of Josephus
The Jewish historian, Josephus, an authority on the subject (born in the year 37 of the Christian era), said: "We [the Jews] are not like the Greeks, who have many books that contradict one another. We have only twenty-two books, including the writings of the past, duly recognized as divine. After so long a time, no one has ever dared to add, remove, or alter these books."
This proves that even in the time of Josephus (1st century of the Christian era), the Old Testament had only twenty-two books, without the additional fourteen apocryphal books. Therefore, to claim that the Old Testament contained the apocryphal books before 277 B.C. is not correct.
2. The Proof of Cyril
There was, in Jerusalem, a scholar named Cyril, born in the year 315 A.D., who said: "Please, read the Holy Scripture, the twenty-two books of the Old Testament, which were translated by the seventy-two." This shows that even in 315 A.D., the scholarly authorities among the Jews still recognized that their Old Testament had only twenty-two books.
His words also clearly prove that in the translation of the Septuagint (Cyril referred to the seventy-two, the number of scholars who translated the Septuagint. Historians are not clear whether it was seventy or seventy-two.) the fourteen apocryphal books of the Old Testament were not included.
3. The Proof of the Lord Jesus and the Apostles
The Lord Jesus and the apostles frequently quoted the Old Testament. If the fourteen apocryphal books had been among the books of the Old Testament, the Lord and the apostles would have quoted them.
However, we do not find even a single quotation from the apocryphal books. This proves that, in the time of the Lord Jesus and the apostles, these books were not in the Old Testament.
B. They Were Added to the Vatican Manuscript
Among the manuscripts of the Bible considered the oldest in the world, one is kept in the Vatican, the residence of the Roman Catholic Pope. This manuscript is called Codex Vaticanus, or Vatican Manuscript.
According to historians, this manuscript was completed in the fourth century of the Christian era and, in the Old Testament portion, which was the Septuagint version, the fourteen apocryphal books were included. They must have been added after the year 315.
It may have been the disagreement about this addition that led the Eastern Greek Orthodox Church to convene a council in Laodicea, in the year 361, to officially denounce these fourteen apocryphal books. They also prohibited the use of these apocryphal books in the church. This proves that, even up to 361, there was still a major issue over whether these apocryphal books should or should not be included in the Canon of Scripture.
C. The Recognition by the Roman Catholic Church
It was only on April 8, 1546, that the Roman Catholic Church convened a council, in the city of Trent, directly under the leadership of the Pope, to affirm the authority of these fourteen apocryphal books. From that time on, these apocryphal books have been in the Roman Catholic Bible. This proves that, until the 16th century, not even the Roman Catholic Church officially recognized these apocryphal books as canonical.
Although this matter was settled at the Council of Trent by the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutherans solemnly denied that these apocryphal books were divinely inspired. In 1646, more than one hundred and fifty Protestant Bible scholars published the "Westminster Confession", which also declared that the apocryphal books had no divine authority and were equal to any other human composition.
For now, we must be clear that the complete Bible consists of thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and twenty-seven books of the New Testament. The fourteen apocryphal books were arbitrarily added by the Roman Catholic Church and are not trustworthy. Moreover, the content of the apocryphal books includes ridiculous historical anecdotes. It is impossible to discover some of the authors or the date and place where these books were written. For this reason, they have no canonical value.
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¹ Apocryphal: A work whose authenticity is not proven
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