Explanation: Why Catholic Bibles Are Bigger

[mdgspencer]

see

https://www.reddit.com/r/Catholicism/comments/gwz7fu/catholic_bible_vs_protestant_bible

“Can someone point me to a good source or explain why the 73 books in the Catholic Bible is correct opposed to the 66 books used in the Protestant bible?” the person who began this discussion asked.

 

[bpd_stl]

No sarcasm intended : this argument/debate is as old as the 16th century. There’s plenty of solid info out there, particularly on the CA main site. A little Google-fu will also yield good results.

The short answer for the impatient: the various Protestant churches take as their source for the 66 books stemming from the Masoretic Text, which originated during & after Christianity became established in the Roman Empire. The Catholics & Orthodox rely on earlier translations of the Hebrew Scriptures (primarily the LXX & Peshitta) that pre-date the Masoretic Text. The Jews didn’t officially set their canon of scripture until after Christianity became widespread…which is represented in the Masoretic Text.

 

[Cathoholic]

Can someone point me to a good source or explain why the 73 books in the Catholic Bible is correct opposed to the 66 books used in the Protestant bible?”

Authority.