Kam Siu wrote: |
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Hi, guys —
In the Catholic Bible, there are 46 books in the Old Testament while in the Protestant Bible there were 39 books.
- When were the 46 books (confirmed/agreed on) in the Old Testament?
I did a number of searches in the web and could not find the answer.
Thank you very much!
Kam Siu
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| { When were the 46 books in the Old Testament of the Catholic Bible (confirmed/agreed on)? } |
Eric replied:
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Kam,
The canon of the Old Testament has varied over time, but the deuterocanonical books — the books between 39 and 46, the extra seven, and parts of two more — go back to at least the Council of Carthage around the turn of the 5th century.
That's about the time that they were "agreed upon", although they weren't infallibly declared until the Council of Trent (1551), in response to the Reformation (although they were discussed, non-infallibly, at the Council of Florence around 1442).
I will note that the Eastern Orthodox, who separated from Rome in the centuries after 1054, have an even larger canon than Catholics, so one has to qualify that "agreement".
Eric
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Kam replied:
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Hi Eric,
Thank you very much.
- Do you have other evidence that shows the books of the Bible were agreed on, around the fifth century?
- And, do you have any other documents or artifacts that can proof or indicate the deuterocanonical books were "agreed upon" from the fifth century?
Thanks,
Kam
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Eric replied:
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Hi Kam,
Sounds like you want a deep-dive into this.
If you want a thorough treatment of the history of the deuterocanonical books, I recommend:
If you want a more general treatment of the history of the Bible, read:
The Bible Is A Catholic Book by Jimmy Akin
- Does this work for you, or do you need more targeted, precise information?
Eric
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Kam replied:
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Hi Eric,
Thank you very much.
I think this will be a good start for me.
Regards,
Kam
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