Article
What Bible Do Eastern Orthodox Christians Use?
An Orthodox clergy answer says the longer canon, not the Apocrypha, includes Tobit, Judith, more of Esther and Daniel, Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, and the Prayer of Manasseh, from the Septuagint. The Catholic list is similar and does not count the Prayer of Manasseh.
On This Page
Eastern Orthodox Christians, in the Orthodox Church in America’s account, use a longer Old Testament than the Protestant Bible. The extra books are the ones that clergy answer calls the longer canon, found in the Septuagint and not in the rabbis’ Hebrew text. The Catholic canon is similar and is not the same list. This page quotes that answer and points to the books on this site. It does not decide the canon. The Catholic list is What Bible Do Catholics Use?. The class of books is How Was the Bible Canon Decided, and What Is the Apocrypha?.
Key Points
- An OCA clergy answer (1) says these books are known in the Orthodox Church as the “longer canon” rather than the “Apocrypha,” and that they “are accepted by Orthodox Christianity as canonical scripture.” The page prints “know” in that sentence. It is a clergy answer, not a synod.
- The books it names are Tobit, Judith, more chapters of Esther and Daniel, the Books of Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Baruch, and the Prayer of Manasseh. It says they are found only in the Septuagint, not in the Hebrew text of the rabbis.
- It says “a similar expanded canon of Scripture is used by the Roman Catholic Church.” What Bible Do Catholics Use? quotes the Catechism’s list: Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach, and Baruch. That Catholic list does not name the Prayer of Manasseh.
- The Anglican Article VI (4) reads the other books “for example of life and instruction of manners” and does not apply them to establish any doctrine. The sentence is quoted on the Catholic Bible page.
- The OCA psalm table (2) says the Orthodox Church uses the Septuagint, and that Septuagint psalm numbers differ from Hebrew numbers. Greek 9 is Hebrew 9 and 10. Greek 10–112 is Hebrew 11–113.
- The books that exist on this site are under /apocrypha, not under /bible. The King James text at /bible is the shorter Old Testament.
What the Clergy Answer Says
The Orthodox Church in America (1) page is a question about the books Protestant churches call the Apocrypha. The answer:
The Old Testament books to which you refer—know in the Orthodox Church as the “longer canon” rather than the “Apocrypha,” as they are known among the Protestants—are accepted by Orthodox Christianity as canonical scripture.
“Know” is the spelling on the page, where a reader expects “known.” The answer says these books “are found only in the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, but not in the Hebrew texts of the rabbis,” and that they “are considered by the Orthodox to be fully part of the Old Testament because they are part of the longer canon that was accepted from the beginning by the early Church.”
The page does not name one English publisher as the Orthodox Bible. It names the Septuagint and the longer canon. What Does the Eastern Orthodox Church Believe? is the wider confession, including that Jesus is God. That claim is not a question about which Old Testament books are in the list.
Which Books Are Named?
The answer’s list is: Tobit, Judith, more chapters of Esther and Daniel, the Books of Maccabees, the Book of the Wisdom of Solomon, the Book of Sirach, the Prophecy of Baruch, and the Prayer of Manasseh.
On this site those books that have pages are the King James Apocrypha, outside the 66-book Protestant canon: Tobit, Judith, the Rest of Esther, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Baruch, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, and the Prayer of Manasseh. The additions to Daniel on this site are the Song of the Three, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon. The OCA sentence says “more chapters of Esther and Daniel” and does not print those three titles. The pages are where this site’s King James text of those additions is.
The answer says “the Books of Maccabees” and does not number them. This site has 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees. It does not have 3 Maccabees, 4 Maccabees, or Psalm 151. How Was the Bible Canon Decided, and What Is the Apocrypha?
The Prayer of Manasseh is in the OCA list. On this site that book’s card says Catholics do not count it as canon. 1 Esdras and 2 Esdras are the same kind of card. The OCA answer fetched here does not name 1 Esdras or 2 Esdras.
How This Compares With the Catholic List
The clergy answer says a similar expanded canon is used by the Roman Catholic Church. What Bible Do Catholics Use? quotes Catechism 120 (3): the Old Testament list there includes Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, and Baruch. It does not name the Prayer of Manasseh. The Catechism’s count is 46 Old Testament books, or 45 if Jeremiah and Lamentations are one book, and 27 New Testament books.
The likeness the OCA page states is the expanded canon. The difference the two lists show, in the texts already quoted on the Catholic page and here, is the Prayer of Manasseh: named in the OCA answer, not named in the Catechism’s list. The Catholic page also quotes the Council of Trent’s decree on the canon. This page does not repeat that decree.
How Protestant Confessions Speak of the Same Books
What Bible Do Catholics Use? quotes Westminster, the Belgic Confession, and the Anglican Article VI. Westminster’s Old Testament list does not name Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, or Maccabees. Article VI says the other books, “as Hierome saith,” are read “for example of life and instruction of manners,” and “it doth not apply them to establish any doctrine.” The OCA answer says the same books are canonical scripture, and it refuses the label Apocrypha for them. The two sentences are the disagreement. This page does not decide it.
The King James Version is the English text at /bible. That Old Testament matches the shorter list. The longer books are at /apocrypha, with the note that they are not part of the 66-book Protestant canon, and that Catholic and Orthodox churches receive the deuterocanonical books. The Prayer of Manasseh, 1 Esdras, and 2 Esdras carry the further note that Catholics do not count those three as canon.
Why the Psalm Numbers Differ
The OCA outline of Septuagint numbering (2) says: “The Orthodox Church uses primarily translations from the Greek version of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint rather than translations from the Hebrew editions.” It says the Septuagint “is the version of the Old Testament used in the many quotations of the Old Testament found in the New Testament,” and that “the numbering of the Psalms in the Septuagint differs from that found in Psalters and Bibles translated from the Hebrew.”
The page’s table, which it calls a summary, sets the numbers this way. Greek 1–8 is Hebrew 1–8. Greek 9 is Hebrew 9 and 10. Greek 10–112 is Hebrew 11–113. Greek 113 is Hebrew 114 and 115. Greek 114 is Hebrew 116:1–9. Greek 115 is Hebrew 116:10–19. Greek 116–145 is Hebrew 117–146. Greek 146 is Hebrew 147:1–11. Greek 147 is Hebrew 147:12–20. Greek 148–150 is Hebrew 148–150. A psalm cited from an Orthodox service may therefore carry the Greek number. The King James psalms on this site follow the Hebrew numbering. Psalm 23 is the Hebrew number.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Difference Between the Orthodox Bible and the Catholic Bible?
The OCA answer says the Catholic canon is a similar expanded canon. The Catechism’s list, quoted on What Bible Do Catholics Use?, names Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, and 1 and 2 Maccabees. The OCA answer also names the Prayer of Manasseh and more chapters of Esther and Daniel. The Catholic page is the place those two lists are set beside Trent.
What Is the Difference Between the Orthodox Bible and the Protestant Bible?
The OCA answer calls the books the longer canon and accepts them as canonical scripture. Protestant confessions quoted on the Catholic Bible page call the class Apocrypha and do not use those books to establish doctrine. The shorter Old Testament is the one at /bible.
Do Eastern Orthodox Christians Use the Septuagint?
The canon answer says the extra books are found only in the Septuagint, not in the rabbis’ Hebrew text. The psalm page says the Orthodox Church uses primarily translations from the Septuagint. Both pages are Orthodox Church in America pages. The canon page is a clergy answer. The psalm page is a liturgical outline. Neither is a synod.
Does the Orthodox Bible Include the Apocrypha?
The clergy answer rejects that name for these books and says “longer canon.” The books it lists are the ones linked above, on the Apocrypha shelf of this site, because that is where the King James printing of those books lives. The shelf’s note says Catholic and Orthodox churches receive the deuterocanonical books, and that the books are not part of the 66-book Protestant canon.
The Churches on This Site
References
- Canon of Scripture, Questions and Answers (A clergy question-and-answer on the Orthodox Church in America website, not a synodal definition. The page prints know where known is expected.)
- Septuagint Numbering of the Psalms (Orthodox Church in America. A table of Greek and Hebrew psalm numbers. The page is a liturgical outline, not a synod.)
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 120 (English text on the Holy See’s website. The Old Testament list is quoted on What Bible Do Catholics Use?)
- Articles of Religion, Article VI (Church of England. The other books are read for example of life and are not applied to establish any doctrine. Quoted on What Bible Do Catholics Use?)
See Also
- How Was the Bible Canon Decided, and What Is the Apocrypha? — Trent receives the longer Old Testament and anathematizes refusal. Westminster says the books called Apocrypha are no part of the canon. The Catechism says the Church discerned the list by Tradition.
- What Bible Do Catholics Use? — The Catechism’s canon has 46 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books. Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, and the books of Maccabees are in that Old Testament.
- What Does the Bible Say About Predestination? — Romans, Ephesians, and Acts say God predestined and ordained. Other verses say God wills all to be saved. Westminster, Dort, the Remonstrance, the Catechism, Article XVII, and an Orthodox essay read those lines differently. The page does not decide.
- Can Eastern Orthodox Priests Marry? — An Orthodox clergy answer says a married man may be ordained deacon or priest, once, and may not marry after ordination. The OCA’s Trullo essay says bishops are celibate. Catholic Canon 277 binds clerics to celibacy. Anglican Article XXXII says priests may marry.
- Can You Lose Your Salvation? What Each Church Teaches About "Once Saved, Always Saved" — Can a Christian lose salvation? Official teaching from Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Reformed, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, and other churches, with the King James verses each side cites.