The Bible: APOCRYPHA | Why do some Bibles omit 7 books?
The books of the Christian Scriptures of the Old Testament and New Testament were canonized as the complete Biblical Canon in 382 in the Council of Rome.1 This decision was ratified by the councils at Hippo (393), Carthage (397, 419), II Nicea (787), Florence (1442), and Trent (1546).2 This canon of Scriptures was recognized by all Christians until Martin Luther started the Protestant reformation in 1517.3
The Deuterocanonical books
Protestants decided not to include what are called the deuterocanonical books (they refer to them as apocrypha) of 1 and 2 Maccabees, Sirach, Wisdom, Baruch, Tobit, and Judith.4 Protestants state this is because the Jewish Canon did not include these books and the Catholic Church added them, however this is both true and false. Although the Septuagint was not an official Jewish Canon of Scriptures, it contains the deuterocanonical texts and was the most popular Old Testament compilation among the Jews. It was not until 132AD that a Rabbi proposed a Canon of Hebrew Scriptures that omitted the deuterocanonical books found in the Septuagint due to the time they were written. The Rabbi was Akiba, who rejected Jesus as the Messiah, and promoted a second Jewish revolution under the pretense of the “messiah” who turned out to be false.5
Ultimately, the decision for the Jewish people to remove the deuterocanonical texts from their Scriptures was due to a Rabbi who showed his poor ability to judge who is the Messiah in rejecting Jesus and declaring someone else the Messiah that turned out to be a false messiah. It is fair to assume that he also was not suited for determining which writings were divinely inspired. The Protestants ultimately went against the Catholic Church’s Canon which was determined by the Church Fathers who had received teachings from their predecessors and ultimately from the Apostles.
So, the Protestants are correct that these books are not part of the Jewish Canon but they are incorrect in assuming the Catholic Church added them. These books were originally part of the Jewish Scriptures and the Church Fathers reviewed all the Scriptures through the lens of the full revelation of faith paired with Apostolic teaching and Tradition.
I will note that even some of the early Church Fathers disagreed on the deuterocanonical books, however they ultimately conceded to the authority of the Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ (Evert 2000). To quote Saint Augustine, “We have no other assurance that the books of Moses, the four Gospels, and the other books are the true word of God, but by the canon of the Catholic Church.”
Conclusion
We too must trust the canon of the Catholic Church that was determined by the Church Fathers, those same men who received Apostolic teachings from their predecessors, teachings which came from the Apostles themselves. These men were strongly informed Apostolic teachings and truths, and they were much more qualified than us to determine the Canon of the Sacred Scriptures.
After this understanding, we are move onto the next post, which Bible do we choose? After all there are various translations and versions.
References
12024. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press.pg21
2 Evert, Jason. 2000. “How to Defend the Deuterocanonicals.” Catholic Answers. September 1. Accessed October 27, 2025. https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/how-to-defend-the-deuterocanonicals.
3 HISTORY.com Editors. n.d. “Martin Luther and the 95 Theses.” HISTORY. Accessed October 27, 2025. https://www.history.com/articles/martin-luther-and-the-95-theses.
4 Evert, Jason. 2000. “How to Defend the Deuterocanonicals.” Catholic Answers. September 1. Accessed October 27, 2025. https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/how-to-defend-the-deuterocanonicals.
5 Michuta, Gary. 2016. “The False Prophet and the Deuterocanon.” Catholic Answers. October 27. Accessed October 27, 2025. https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/the-false-prophet-and-the-deuterocanon.
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