Bible Basics part 2-- The Difference Between Catholic and Protestant Bibles and the new Hebrew Canon of 2nd Century A.D.

The Old Testament was written over the course of approximately 1000 years.   The stories in the Bible were handed down orally before the written word. Most of the Old Testament was written at the time of the Babylonian Exile.  The collection of the books of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) are divided into three parts:

     1.  The Law (TORAH) which are the first five books of the Bible also known as the Pentateuch:  Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

     2. The Prophets (Nevi'im) consisting of the "former prophets" (the historic books running from Joshua to Kings) and the "latter prophets," (the prophetic books from Isaiah to Malachi).

     3. The Writings (Kethubim) [Kethuvim] Psalms, Wisdom Literature, (such as Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Job) prophetic writings, (such as Lamentations and Daniel) and Historical books, (such as Ezra, Nehemiah, 1 & 2 Chronicles, and Esther).

This collection of books in the Jewish Cannon is called the TaNaK shorthand for Torah (Law) Nebi'im (Prophets), and Ketubim (Writings).

The Law and the Prophets sections of the Bible were accepted in First Century A.D. Judaism (the time of Jesus Christ), but the Writings were more loosely accepted.  Jesus referred to this third group as "The Psalms." (Luke 24:44)  The Essenes, a first century sect of Judaism, had an even more broader collection of sacred books which includes Tobit, Sirach, parts of Baruch (known as the Letter of Jeremiah), and other ancient (non-biblical) writings such as Jubilees and 1 Enoch.

In the third and second century B.C., The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scripture)  was widely used, especially by the Jews of the Diaspora.  (Dispersed Jews who were exiled from the kingdoms of Israel by Assyrian forces (721 B.C.) and from Judah as Babylonian captives (587 B.C.) who never returned to their homeland.)  The Septuagint contained 39 protocanonical books (First canon--books of the Bible accepted early into the biblical canon without serious controversy) as well as seven deuterocanonical books (Second canon--books and passages of the Christian Old Testament that are not part of the Hebrew Canon which was formed at the end of the first century A.D.) .  The Scriptures Jesus  and the Jews of his time used were the Septuagint.  As a matter of fact, two thirds of the Old Testament passages that are quoted in the New Testament are from the Septuagint.  The Catholic Church (called Christians at that time) had already been in existence and using the Septuagint Scriptures in its teachings, preachings, and worship for almost 60 years, just as the Apostles had done.  The Septuagint was embraced by Jesus and his Apostles which is why the Roman Catholic Church clings to that version of the Old Testament.   

In 90 A.D.,  the Hebrew Canon was formed, after the Council of Jaminia, by remaining Jews from Palestine who survived the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 A.D.  This was the first time the Jews settled on an official canon.  Debate continued on whether some of these books belonged, (Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes) well into the second century A.D. By the end of that century, a definitive Hebrew Canon (TaNaK) consisting of only 39 books  was formed and they had to follow this criteria:
1. The books had to conform to the TORAH
2.They could not have been written after the time of Ezra ~400B.C. (Ezra led a group of Jewish Exiles living in Babylonia back to Jerusalem after the captivity, where he reintroduced the TORAH in Jerusalem.)

3.The Books had to be written in Hebrew, and inside Palestine.

At the Reformation, the Protestants chose to use the Hebrew Canon as the source for their Old Testament breaking away from the Roman Catholic Old Testament.

The 7 extra Septuagint books found in the Roman Catholic Old Testament are often called Apocrypha (Greek for "hidden, deep, obscure") by Protestants. However the newer term, deuterocanonical, is coming into use so as to not confuse them with other books such as Jubilees and  Enoch  that are not found in any contemporary canon and are called Pseudepigrapha by Protestants and Apocrypha by Roman Catholics.

This table clarifies the 3 different Canons and the Books they contain. 

Jewish TaNaK (Hebrew Canon)	Protestant Bibles (Hebrew Canon + New Testament)	Roman Catholic Bibles (Greek Canon + New Testament)
TORAH (PENTATEUCH)	PENTATEUCH	PENTATEUCH
Genesis	Genesis	Genesis
Exodus	Exodus	Exodus
Leviticus	Leviticus	Leviticus
Numbers	Numbers	Numbers
Deuteronomy	Deuteronomy	Deuteronomy
NEBI’IM (PROPHETS)	HISTORICAL BOOKS	HISTORICAL BOOKS
Former Prophets	Joshua	Joshua
Joshua	Judges	Judges
Judges	Ruth	Ruth
1-2 Samuel	1-2 Samuel	1-2 Samuel
1-2 Kings	1-2 Kings	1-2 Kings
Latter Prophets	1-2 Chronicles	1-2 Chronicles
Isaiah	Ezra-Nehemiah	Ezra-Nehemiah
Jeremiah		Tobit
Ezekiel		Judith
The Twelve (Hosea – Malachi)	Esther	Esther + Additions
		1-2 Maccabees
KETUBIM (WRITINGS)	WISDOM BOOKS	WISDOM BOOKS
Psalms	Job	Job
Proverbs	Psalms	Psalms
Job	Proverbs	Proverbs
Song of Songs	Ecclesiastes	Ecclesiastes
Ruth	Song of Solomon	Song of Songs
Lamentations		Wisdom (of Solomon)
Ecclesiastes		Wisdom of Ben Sira (Sirach/Ecclesiasticus)
Esther	PROPHETS	PROPHETS
Daniel	Isaiah	Isaiah
Ezra-Nehemiah	Jeremiah	Jeremiah
1-2 Chronicles	Lamentations	Lamentations
		Baruch
	Ezekiel	Ezekiel
	Daniel	Daniel + additions
	The Twelve (Hosea – Malachi)	The Twelve (Hosea – Malachi)
	NEW TESTAMENT (27 BOOKS)	NEW TESTAMENT (27 BOOKS)

Aside from the difference in the makeup of the 3 Canons, there are also many different translations; each newer one improving on the previous older translations.  For example, The New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) (Catholic) went back to the original languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek) that the books were written in to make its translation.  It also took into account a greater understanding of the history, culture, and language of the Near East as well as being faithful to the original text and to contemporary American English.  There are many excellent translations out there aside from the NABRE, for example, the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) (Protestant) from the Revised Standard Version of the King James Version (KJV) of 1611; the Jerusalem Bible (French Catholic Bible translated into English); and the New English Bible, NEB not based on the KJV but a new translation based on the original languages and which also has a new revision (REB).

The revisions mentioned above are all examples of ecumenical cooperation, where the translation committees consist of Catholic and Protestant scholars working together.

The many varieties of translations make it easier for believers to find a bible that fits their needs as far as language and opening one's heart to new insights about God's presence in their lives.  Reading different translations opens up our wonder of God's works and his WORD.  In my own Bible studies, when someone would read a verse from another translation, we would find it opening up more meaning and better understanding of the Word of God to the whole group.  Through the ages, God has spoken to us in "partial and various ways," but God's Word has always remained "living and effective" (Heb1:1; 4:12).  Whichever Bible Translation we use, when we read devoutly with prayer, we will always be filled with the awesomeness of God and his Good News:

"The WORD became flesh and made his dwelling among us" (JN 1:14).

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