In popular history, the earliest known canon of Old Testament books is the Septuagint. The Septuagint was translated from Hebrew to Greek by seventy (hence Septuagint, commonly abbreviated LXX) scholars for Alexander’s Great Library in Egypt around the year 300 BC. Supposedly, the scholars were commissioned by Alexander the Great to collect the writings of all the major religions of the time. The Septuagint contains the Old Testament books shared by all Christians along with the Deuterocanonical books used by Orthodox & Catholics, and traditional Protestants.
Numerous Christians have difficulties with the Deuterocanonical Books, being unsure whether these books are part of Scripture or not. The Orthodox and Catholic Churches acknowledge these books, yet the Protestant Churches do not.
The existence of Deuterocanonical books in the Qumran scrolls (Dead Sea scrolls) goes a long way in proving their authenticity. Scholars note that both “scriptural” texts and secular texts were included together, and that the vast variety of texts found amongst these scrolls gives the impression that there was very little distinction between a closed canon and all other texts.
The Deuterocanonical Books in the Early Church
“In the first century the Christian Bible had simply been the Old Testament (read in the Septuagint version). Authority resided in this scripture and in the words of the Lord, which long circulated in oral tradition, as is apparent in the letter of Clement to the Corinthians.” (The Early Church, Henry Chadwick, p 42). The LXX version was also used by the authors of the New Testament. Most scholars date the New Testament books to various dates between 75 AD and about 150 AD depending on the book. The authors of scripture, writing in Greek, cite the Septuagint version of Old Testament books since the Septuagint was in Greek.
As the Christian Church grew and started separating from Judaism, the Jews also began to codify a set of books that were inspired. (Either in response to Christianity or divisions between the different Jewish schools.) In “The Early Church” Henry Chadwick points out that it was only after Christian appeals to the Septuagint became embarrassing that more literal (to the Hebrew) translations became favoured by the Greek synagogue (p 12). Some rabbis even denounced the making of the Septuagint as a sin like the worship of the golden calf!
It was in these early years of Church formation that the two distinct Old Testaments were codified.
The Deuterocanonical Books are:
- The Book of Tobit,
- Judith,
- 1 and 2 Maccabees,
- Baruch,
- Wisdom of Solomon,
- Wisdom of Sirach,
- the prayer of Manasseh, and
- additions to the Books of Esther and Daniel.
These books were removed from the Bible during the Reformation (16th century). The one who removed these books was Martin Luther counting on the Hebrew Jewish canonised scripture “the Masoretic” released around the 9th -10th century, who first removed these books to the appendix of the Bible and subsequently removed them from the Bible. He also tried to remove several books from the New Testament, such as The Epistle to the Hebrews, the Epistle of James, and the Revelation of John (see episode 10 of the “Introduction to the Bible” podcast by ‘”Ancient Faith Ministries”).
What are arguments against the authenticity of the Deuterocanonical Books?
Argument 1:
The Deuterocanonical Books are not included in the list of books organized by Ezra the Priest in the library of Nehemiah. As Ezra had collected all books acknowledged as scripture, and he did not include the Deuterocanonical Books, these books are not supposed to be in the Old Testament Canon.
Refutation: The information about the library of Nehemiah is, interestingly, only mentioned in the deuterocanonical book 2 Maccabees (2 Maccabees 2:13). Therefore, this argument is invalid, as one cannot reject the Deuterocanonical Books based on information exclusively found in the Deuterocanonical Books.
Another point is that the Israelites were divided back then, consisting of roughly three groups: Jews in Jerusalem, Jews in exile, and Jews returning home from exile. Furthermore, not all books were written prior to Ezra; some books, such as Sirach, were written after the time of Ezra and were written in other cities, such as Jerusalem. As back then there were no databases, it was practically impossible for Ezra to collect Scripture from over the whole world. This, however, does not mean that Ezra purposely rejected these books; he simply did not know of their existence or they were not even written by then.
Argument 2:
The average Bible does not contain the Deuterocanonical Books, therefore they are not important (enough) as they are not included in most Bibles.
Refutation: That the average Bible does not contain these books does not mean they are not part of Scripture. For instance, if I were to remove books from the Bible and copy my Bible numerous times, would that mean that the books that I removed are not part of scripture? Of course not. More importantly, Orthodox and Catholic Bibles do contain the Deuterocanonical Books.
Furthermore, ancient copies of the Old Testament also contain the Deuterocanonical Books, such as the Septuagint (3rd c. BC), the Peshitta (2-4th c. AD), and the Vulgate (4th c. AD). The copy that does not contain the Deuterocanonical Books is the Masoretic Text (10th c. AD), which is a Jewish religious book. In addition, Bibles prior to the 16th century all contained the Deuterocanonical Books, as the “controversy” only started during the Reformation.
What are arguments in favour of the authenticity of the Deuterocanonical Books?
Argument 1:
The Biblical Canon had been discussed and confirmed over the course of several councils of religious leaders.
The Biblical Canon has been discussed during several councils, such as the Council of Laodicea in 363 (NPNF, series 2, Vol. 14, pp. 126-160), the Council of Hippo in 393, the Councils of Carthage in 397 (B. Westcott, General Survey of the History of the Canon of the New Testament, pp. 440, 541–42), and 419 (NPNF, series 2, Vol. 14, pp. 438–510). During these councils, the Deuterocanonical Books were mentioned to be 1) part of Scripture and 2) to have the same authenticity as the rest of Scripture. For instance, Canon 59 of the Council of Laodicea mentions: “No psalms composed by private individuals nor any uncanonical books may be read in the church, but only the Canonical Books of the Old and New Testaments,” and Canon 60 lists the Deuterocanonical Books as part of the Old Testament Canon (NPNF, series 2, Vol. 14, pp. 438–510).
As the Deuterocanonical Books were highly used by the Church Fathers, one can come to the conclusion that these were truly a part of Scripture. The Council of Carthage mentioned the Biblical Canon of the Old and New Testament, and this list contained the Deuterocanonical Books. Even though most acts of this council have been lost, they are cited in the acts of the Council of Hippo.
Furthermore, Canon 24 of the 2nd Council of Carthage listed the Deuterocanonical Books as part of the Old Testament Canon.
Argument 2:
Church Fathers listed the Deuterocanonical Books as part of their Biblical Canon.
Several Church Fathers explicitly mentioned the Deuterocanonical Books in their Biblical Canons, such as Melito of Sardis (Eusebius of Caesarea: Ecclesiastical History, Book 4.26.12-14), Athanasius of Alexandria (373 AD) (Festal Epistle, 39), Cyril of Jerusalem (386 AD) (Catechetical Lectures, Lecture 4.33-37), Gregorius Nazianzus (390 AD) (Hymns, Hymn 1.1), Amphilochius of Iconium (403 AD) (see his work “Lambics to Seleucus”), Epiphanius of Salamis (403 AD) (see his work “On the Weights and Measures, 49”), Augustine of Hippo (420 AD) (see his work “Retractions, 2.2-3”), and Innocent I of Rome (417 AD) (see his Epistle to Exsuperius, 7). In addition, Church Fathers often cited Deuterocanonical Books in their works, and they never objected to the authenticity of the Deuterocanonical Books.
Significant Church Fathers cited the Deuterocanonical Books in multiple instances, such as Athanasius of Alexandria (373 AD), Basil of Caesarea (379 AD), Gregory Nazianzus (390 AD), John Chrysostom (407 AD), and Cyril of Alexandria (444 AD). Also, the Apostolic Fathers cited the Deuterocanonical Books, such as Clement of Rome (1st c. AD), Polycarp of Smyrna (2nd c. AD), and Didache (2nd c. AD).
Noteworthy is that several Church Fathers counted the books of the Old Testament as 22, symbolising the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. This did not mean, however, that these Fathers did not acknowledge all books of the Old Testament; rather, they used another counting method. The counting method that they used grouped the twelve minor prophets as one book, and books such as Samuel, Chronicles, and Kings were not numbered as 1 and 2. Church Fathers who used this method to count books from the Old Testament were Hilary of Poitiers (367 AD) (see his “Prologue to the Psalms, 15”), Athanasius of Alexandria (Festal Letters, Letter 39), Gregory Nazianzus (Poems, Book 1, Section 1, 12), Origen of Alexandria (254 AD) (Eusebius of Caesarea. Ecclesiastical History, Book 6.25), Jerome of Stridon (420 AD) (see his Letter to Paulinus, 6-8), and Cyril of Jerusalem (Catechetical Lectures, Lecture 4.35).
Argument 3:
The New Testament and Jesus Himself quoted several times from the Deuterocanonical Books.
Let’s look at some examples:
Jesus quoted Sirach 26:7 when He stated that “you will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16,20).
Jesus said, “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.” (Matthew 6:7) while the Book of Sirach states that “Do not babble in the assembly of the elders, and do not repeat yourself when you pray.” (Sirach 7:14)
Matthew mentions that the people who were observing the crucifixion said, “He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.” (Matthew 27:43) and the Book of Wisdom prophesied that He, referring to Jesus, “boasts that God is his father. Let us see if his words are true.” (Wisdom 2:15,16)
Jesus said: “And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise” (Luke 6:31), while Tobit states, “Do to no one what you yourself hate” (Tobit 4:15)
Jesus quoted from Tobit 4: “Give alms from your possessions. Do not turn your face away from any of the poor, so that God’s face will not be turned away from you. Give in proportion to what you own. If you have great wealth, give alms out of your abundance; if you have but little, do not be afraid to give alms even of that little. You will be storing up a goodly treasure for yourself against the day of adversity. For almsgiving delivers from death and keeps one from entering into darkness. Almsgiving is a worthy offering in the sight of the Most High for all who practice it” (Tobit 4:7-11)
Paul’s epistle to the Romans: “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counsellor?” (Romans 11:34), while in the Book of Wisdom: “For who can learn the counsel of God? Or who can discern what the Lord wills?” (Wisdom 9:13)
Paul instructs the believers that “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7) found in Sirach 35:11: “With every gift, show a cheerful face, and dedicate your tithe with gladness.” (Sirach 35:11)
Paul also wrote on Jesus as the Wisdom of God, that He “who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3). Solomon wrote on the Wisdom of God that “she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness” (Wisdom 7:26)
In the Gospel of St John, we find the following: “But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near” (John 7:2). This is a festival exclusively mentioned in second Maccabees. “And they kept eight days with joy, after the manner of the feast of the tabernacles, remembering that not long before they had kept the feast of the tabernacles when they were in the mountains, and in dens like wild beasts.” (2 Maccabees 10:6)
Conclusion:
As you can see, not only are the Deuterocanonical Books authentic, but they should also carry the same authority as the other books that form the Biblical canon today.
Very nice article