Jump to The early Church commonly used the Septuagint There was no single bound Christian Bible at the beginning Why Protestant Bibles are shorter Why exact totals vary Read them as Scripture
Open an Orthodox Bible beside most Protestant Bibles and the tables of contents will not match.
The New Testament is the same collection of twenty-seven books. The principal difference lies in the Old Testament, where Orthodox editions include books such as Tobit, Judith, the Wisdom of Solomon, the Wisdom of Sirach, and the Maccabean books, along with additional material in Esther and Daniel.
Were these books added later?
The history is more complicated than that question suggests.
The early Church commonly used the Septuagint
The Septuagint is the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, produced over time in the centuries before Christ. Greek was widely spoken throughout the eastern Mediterranean, and the Septuagint became the scriptural world of many Jews and the early Church.
New Testament writers frequently quote Old Testament wording found in the Greek Septuagint. Early Christians preached, prayed, and argued from these Greek Scriptures.
The collections preserved in Septuagint manuscripts include writings not found in the later standard Jewish Hebrew collection that stands behind most Protestant Old Testaments.
There was no single bound Christian Bible at the beginning
The first Christians did not carry identical printed volumes with finalized tables of contents. Scriptural books circulated separately or in collections. Different local churches knew and used somewhat different sets of texts while the boundaries of the canon became clear over time.
The Church did not discover an inspired table of contents inside one of the books. She received the Scriptures through worship, teaching, episcopal oversight, and the discernment of the Christian community across generations.
This is true of the New Testament as well. The Church had to distinguish apostolic writings from many other texts that claimed Christian authority.
Why Protestant Bibles are shorter
During the Reformation, Protestant scholars increasingly preferred the books found in the Jewish Hebrew canon for the Old Testament. The other books were often placed in a separate section labelled Apocrypha and were eventually omitted from many Protestant editions.
Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians retained the wider collection inherited through the ancient Church, although their precise Old Testament lists and terminology are not identical.
Orthodox writers may call these books Anagignoskomena—books appointed to be read—or use the Western term Deuterocanonical. Calling them “the Apocrypha” can cause confusion because that word may suggest they are hidden, false, or entirely outside Scripture.
Why exact totals vary
People often ask how many books are in the Orthodox Bible and expect one universal number.
The answer can vary slightly because Orthodox local traditions differ in the inclusion or placement of texts such as 3 Maccabees, 4 Maccabees, Psalm 151, and 2 Esdras. Books may also be divided and named differently. A number without an explanation can therefore create more confusion than clarity.
The important point is not that Orthodoxy possesses a secret alternate Bible. It is that the Orthodox Old Testament follows the Church’s reception of the Septuagint tradition rather than limiting itself to the shorter Protestant collection.
Read them as Scripture
These books should not be treated merely as ammunition in an argument about canon.
The Wisdom of Solomon proclaims God’s righteousness and immortality. Sirach trains the reader in practical wisdom. Tobit tells of faithfulness, mercy, marriage, and providence. The Maccabean books bear witness to courage, martyrdom, and hope in resurrection.
The question is not only why these books are present.
It is whether we will read them now that we have found them.
A note. These articles explain what the Orthodox Church teaches and why. They are not spiritual direction. Anything touching your own rule of prayer, fasting or confession belongs with your priest or spiritual father, who knows you and your circumstances.
- Canon of Scripture, Orthodox Church in America
- Old Testament History, Orthodox Church in America
- The Bible, Orthodox Church in America
- The Orthodox Study Bible: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today’s World (Thomas Nelson, 2008), ISBN 978-0-7180-0359-3
One passage. One week with it.
Words for the Narrow Way takes a single saying of Christ and gives it seven days — the passage in full, what the Greek is doing, how the Fathers read it, and one practice small enough to actually do.