What Is the Apocrypha? Why Catholic Bibles Have 73 Books

You may have had this experience: someone quotes a verse and you cannot find it in your Bible; or you see the words "Apocrypha" or "deuterocanon" and are not sure what they mean. The Apocrypha is a set of books written between the Old and New Testaments, received as scripture by some churches and excluded by others.

Which books are they

The usual list runs: Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees, plus additions to Esther and Daniel (the Song of the Three, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon). Catholic Bibles carry seven books and two sets of additions, giving 73 in total; Orthodox Bibles carry more still.

Why Protestant Bibles leave them out

At the Reformation the reformers adopted the Hebrew canon — the 39 books the Jewish community itself recognised. The Apocrypha survives mostly in Greek and was never part of that canon. The reformers also pointed to teaching in these books that sits awkwardly with the New Testament, such as prayer for the dead and almsgiving that atones.

Why Catholic Bibles include them

The early church leaned heavily on the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament — which contained these books. So from very early on many church fathers cited them the way they cited scripture. The Council of Trent formally defined them in 1546 as "deuterocanonical", meaning a second stage of canon rather than second-rate books.

Did Jesus or the apostles quote them?

There is no place in the New Testament that quotes the Apocrypha with a formula like "it is written". Hebrews 11:35 — "others were tortured, not accepting deliverance" — is usually read as an allusion to the martyrdoms in 2 Maccabees, and Jude quotes 1 Enoch, which is not even in the Apocrypha. The writers clearly knew this literature; they did not cite it the way they cited the Old Testament.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.2 Timothy 3:16 (KJV)

Is it worth reading?

Yes, if you are clear about what it is. It is valuable history. 1 Maccabees records the Maccabean revolt and the origin of the Feast of Dedication — the festival John 10:22 places Jesus at — which is the crucial background to the four centuries between Malachi and Matthew. Luther printed the Apocrypha in an appendix with a note: not equal to scripture, but useful and good to read.

Will this come up when you read with others?

It will, and it need not become an argument. If someone is using a Catholic Bible the book count and some chapter numbering will differ — knowing that in advance saves confusion in a study group. What matters more: the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments are recognised across every Christian tradition, and the gospel is entirely contained in them.

To see how the canon came together, read 2 Timothy 3 in the BiblePro app, then use AI search to trace every "it is written" in the New Testament and see what the apostles were actually quoting. And do look for a local church to read alongside others.