Hi! I'm real ignorant so if this is a dumb question feel free to ignore this. But I just found out that the Catholic Bible has 7 more books than the Protestant one? (I was raised Methodist so this was a big shock to me) And I was just wondering what those 7 books are? Where they are and what they're about and stuff. Thanks!
Well, yeah. There are seven more books, and the reasons behind why this is is complicated from a theology/archeology perspective, but simple from a historical perspective (Martin Luther revived fourth century discourse). In addition, Daniel and Esther are longer in the Catholic Bible compared to the Protestant Bible. I'm gonna run through each book with a little bit of what it is.
Tobit: the first of the novellas. Our main man, Tobit, is a holy man who undergoes many trials at the beginning, culminating in him being blinded. After this, his son, Tobias, gets sent off to retrieve some money from Media that Tobit remembered. Hes accompanied by the archangel Raphel, in disguise as a man. Meanwhile in Media, a young woman, Sarah, has just had her seventh would be husband die on her. She has a demon thing going on, where the demon will kill anyone who tries to marry her. Tobit and Raphael, after some fishing shenanigans in which various fish parts are acquired, arrive on the scene. Raphel, literal wingman, tells Tobias "Dude, you could totally marry Sarah, who is totally awesome. I'm gonna set you up and everything!" And Tobias says "Dude, the demon thing already killed seven men. I would prefer not to" Raphel: "She will please your dad. You can use some of the fish guts to drive away the demon by burning them, since they're rank. Then pray to God. You got this." Fish guts are burned, prayer is offered to God, and the happy couple is finally wed. Meanwhile, Sarah's dad got the rest of the household to dig a grave for Tobias, so that's quickly filled in. Then Sarah, Tobias, and Raphel go home, the remaining fish guts are used to restore Tobit's sight, Raphel gives some advice and then reveals himself to be an angel, and leaves. Tobit is happy and dies in peace. Tobias dies of old age in the epilogue. This story is referenced in the Gospels, when the Sadduces approach Jesus and ask him about a woman who has been married seven times, and all her husbands died.
Judith: another one of the novellas, our main hero is Judith, a Jewish widow. At the beginning theres a long war campaign sum up, which basically amounts to Holofernes is the toughest dude around. He eventually wages war against Israel. The end result is the Israelites are surrounded. The Israelites are surrounded, and Judith says "1. God will deliver us, 2. Let me and my maid go through the city, and God will deliver Israel through me" Judith prays, heads out, and manages to get an audience with Holofernes (she is a very pretty lady). She talks with Holofernes, and in her monologue uses a lot of wriggly ambiguous language, so Holofernes thinks she is talking about Nebecennezzer when she is talking about God. Holofernes is pleased by this, so he invites Judith to dinner. Judith then beheads Holofernes, and takes his head and goes back home. Judith shows his head, comes up with a good battle plan, the enemies are destroyed, and the Israelites celebrate.
1 Macabees: an independent account of the attempted suppression of Judaism in the second century BC (175-134 BC). The main character is Judas, son of Mattias, head of the revolution. It is classified as a novella.
2 Macabees: Covers the same rebellion, from 180-161 BC. Much like the Gospels tell the same story different ways, 1 and 2 Macabees tell the same historical events from different perspectives. It is also classified as a novella.
Wisdom: written in 50 BC, it's a poetic exhortation to live a holy life. Its classified as a book of Wisdom/poetry. Some of the language in Wisdom is echoed in the New Testament. Wisdom 2:24 "but by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who are allied with him experience it" mirrors Paul's "sin entered the world, and death through sin"
Ben Sira: another book of wisdom, Ben Sira is another exhortation to live a holy life. Most of the book is moral instruction, but the last bit is about the heroes of Israel, gratitude to God, and an invitation for the unschooled to find true wisdom.
Baruch: a book of prophecy, its addressed to King Jechoniah (in Babylon). It can be divided into four parts: 1. The Letter to Jerusalem, filling in on the history, and guilt/deliverance, 2. Praise of Wisdom, 3. Baruch's poem of consolation, 4. Letter of Jeremiah, which is "don't worship Babylonian gods". John Calvin thought that Baruch should be in the Protestant Bible instead of Esther
And, since I think it's important since the books differ:
Esther: first off, its classified as a novella. It's an entirely different read in the Catholic bible, beginning with Mordecai's dream and an assasination attempt on the king. Then the banquet and deposition of Vashti. From there it follows roughly the same plot, but also contains prayers of Mordecai and Esther, official documents, etc. God is mentioned a lot in the Catholic version compared to the Protestant version.
Daniel: Chapter 3 has an awesome prayer in it, spanning from verse 24 to verse 90. It is very long, and a good read if you have the time. Daniel 13 and 14 have two short stories in them to cap off the book. The first is of Susana, who had two elders attempt to assault her. In retaliation, the elders falsely accuse Susanna of trying to seduce them. Susanna asks God to intervene, and a boy Daniel reveals the lie. The two elders are then killed. The second one is Bel and the Dragon, wherein one Daniel calls out the king for worshipping Bel, a false idol. The king says "no, he clearly eats and drinks the sacrifices I lay out for him" Daniel says "you're wrong" and the king says "prove it, or you'll die." So the king offered his sacrifices, and Daniel had ashes spread across the room, before it was sealed. Turns out, the priests of Bel would sneak into the chamber through a secret entrance and eat everything, which was proved by the footprints left by the ashes. The priests revealed this, and then they were killed. Then there was a dragon the Babylonians worshipped, and Daniel killed with some pitch, fat, and hair cakes (after getting permission from the king). From here Daniel gets thrown into the lion's den, Habbakkuk brings him a meal, and Daniel is brought out alive. The people who tried to kill him are then thrown into the lion's den.
IIRC the reason there are less books in Protestant Bibles is because of language. See, the Catholic tradition going back as far as the the time of Jesus/ the Apostles accepted the Scriptural books written in both Hebrew AND Greek. Later Jewish canon was reformed to only accept books originally written in Hebrew, and this was the canon adopted by the Protestant reformers.
For clarification, you mean in the old testament right? The new testament was in Greek
Also, thank you for the explanation. I didn't know that part
Yes, I meant the Old Testament. Thanks for clarifying; I forgot to specify.























