What is The Catholic Bible?
The Catholic Bible is the collection of scriptures recognized by the Catholic Church as authoritative and divinely inspired. It consists of 73 books, divided into the Old Testament (46 books) and the New Testament (27 books). It includes the Deuterocanonical books, which are excluded from most Protestant Bibles.
Key Features of the Catholic Bible:
- Old Testament:
○ Contains books from the Hebrew Scriptures and additional texts found in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament.
○ Includes the Deuterocanonical books, such as Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Baruch, and 1&2 Maccabees, along with additions to Daniel and Esther.
- New Testament:
○ The same 27 books as found in Protestant and Orthodox Bibles, including the Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Revelation.
Differences from the Protestant Bible:
- Deuterocanonical Books:
○ These are recognized as canonical by Catholics but considered Apocrypha by Protestants.
- Canon Formation:
○ The Catholic canon was formally affirmed at the Council of Trent (1545-1563) in response to the Protestant Reformation, though the list had been accepted in practice since the early Church.
- Use of the Vulgate:
○ The Latin Vulgate, translated by St. Jerome, was historically the Catholic Church’s official Bible and remains influential, though modern translations like the New American Bible are widely used today.
Written by AI. A more correct, God given, explanation can be found here.