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T h e F a t h e r s K n o w B e s t
OLD TESTAMENT CANON
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This Rock
Volume 4, Number 10
 October 1993 
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DURING the Reformation, for largely doctrinal
reasons Protestants removed seven books from the Old Testament (1
and 2 Maccabees, Sirach, Wisdom, Baruch, Tobit, and Judith) and parts
of two others (Daniel and Esther), even though these books had been
regarded as canonical since the beginning of Church history.
As Protestant Church historian J. N. D. Kelly writes, "It
should be observed that the Old Testament thus admitted as authoritative
in the Church was somewhat bulkier and more comprehensive [than the
Protestant Bible] . . . It always included, though with varying degrees
of recognition, the so-called apocrypha or deuterocanonical books"
(Early Christian Doctrines, 53).
Below we give patristic quotations from each of the deuterocanonical
books. Notice how the Fathers quoted these books along with the protocanonicals.
Also included are the earliest official canon lists. For the sake
of brevity these are not given in full. When the canon lists cited
here are given in full, they include all the books and
only the books found in the modern Catholic Bible.
(Note: Some books of the Bible have gone under more than one name.
Sirach is also known as Ecclesiasticus, 1 and 2 Chronicles as 1 and
2 Paralipomenon, Ezra and Nehemiah as 1 and 2 Esdras, and 1 and 2
Samuel with 1 and 2 Kings as 1, 2, 3, and 4 Kings--that is, 1
and 2 Samuel are named 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Kings are named
3 and 4 Kings. This confusing nomenclature is explained more fully
in Catholic Bible commentaries.)
The Didache
"You shall not waver with regard to your decisions
[Sir. 1:28]. Do not be someone who stretches out his hands to receive
but withdraws them when it comes to giving [Sir. 4:31]" (Didache
4:5 [ca. A.D. 70]).
Pseudo-Barnabas
"Since, therefore, [Christ] was about to be manifested
and to suffer in the flesh, his suffering was foreshown. For the prophet
speaks against evil, `Woe to their soul, because they have counseled
an evil counsel against themselves' [Isa. 3:9], saying, `Let us bind
the righteous man because he is displeasing to us' [Wis. 2:12.]"
(Epistle of Barnabas 6:7 [ca. A.D. 75]).
Clement
"By the word of his might [God] established all
things, and by his word he can overthrow them. `Who shall say to him,
"What have you done?" or who shall resist the power of his
strength?' [Wis. 12:12]" (Epistle to the Corinthians
27:5 [ca. A.D. 80]).
Polycarp
"Stand fast, therefore, in these things, and
follow the example of the Lord, being firm and unchangeable in the
faith, loving the brotherhood [1 Pet. 2:17]. . . . When you can do
good, defer it not, because `alms delivers from death' [Tob. 4:10,
12:9]. Be all of you subject to one another [1 Pet. 5:5], having your
conduct blameless among the Gentiles [1 Pet. 2:12], and the Lord may
not be blasphemed through you. But woe to him by whom the name of
the Lord is blasphemed [Isa 52:5]!" (Epistle to the Philadelphians
10 [ca. A.D. 135]).
Irenaeus
"Those . . . who are believed to be presbyters
by many, but serve their own lusts and do not place the fear of God
supreme in their hearts, but conduct themselves with contempt toward
others and are puffed up with the pride of holding the chief seat
[Matt. 23:6] and work evil deeds in secret, saying `No man sees us,'
shall be convicted by the Word, who does not judge after outward appearance,
nor looks upon the countenance, but the heart; and they shall hear
those words to be found in Daniel the prophet: `O you seed of Canaan
and not of Judah, beauty has deceived you and lust perverted your
heart' [Dan. 13:56]. You that have grown old in wicked days, now your
sins which you have committed before have come to light, for you have
pronounced false judgments and have been accustomed to condemn the
innocent and to let the guilty go free, although the Lord says, `You
shall not slay the innocent and the righteous' [Dan. 13:52, citing
Ex. 23:7]" (Against Heresies 4:26:3 [ca. A.D. 190]; Dan.
13 is not in the Protestant Bible).
Irenaeus
"Jeremiah the prophet has pointed out that as
many believers as God has prepared for this purpose, to multiply those
left on the earth, should both be under the rule of the saints and
to minister to this [new] Jerusalem and that [his] kingdom shall be
in it, saying, `Look around Jerusalem toward the east and behold the
joy which comes to you from God himself. Behold, your sons whom you
have sent forth shall come: They shall come in a band from the east
to the west. . . . God shall go before with you in the light of his
splendor, with the mercy and righteousness which proceed from him'
[Bar. 4:36-5:9]" (ibid. 5:35:1 [ca. A.D. 190]; Baruch was often
reckoned as part of Jeremiah, as it is here).
Hippolytus
"What is narrated here [in the story of Susannah]
happened at a later time, although it is placed at the front of the
book [of Daniel], for it was a custom with the writers to narrate
many things in an inverted order in their writings. . . . [W]e ought
to give heed, beloved, fearing lest anyone be overtaken in any transgression
and risk the loss of his soul, knowing as we do that God is the judge
of all and the Word himself is the eye which nothing that is done
in the world escapes. Therefore, always watchful in heart and pure
in life, let us imitate Susannah" (Commentary on Daniel
6 [A.D. 204]; the story of Susannah [Dan. 13] is not in the Protestant
Bible).
Cyprian
"So Daniel, too, when he was required to worship
the idol Bel, which the people and the king then worshipped, in asserting
the honor of his God, broke forth with full faith and freedom, saying,
`I worship nothing but the Lord my God, who created the heaven and
the earth' [Dan. 14:5]" (Epistles 55:5 [A.D. 252]; Dan.
14 is not in the Protestant Bible).
Cyprian
"In Genesis [it says], `And God tested Abraham
and said to him, "Take your only son whom you love, Isaac, and
go to the high land and offer him there as a burnt offering . . .
"...' [Gen 22:1-2] ... Of this same thing in the Wisdom
of Solomon [it says], `Although in the sight of men they suffered
torments, their hope is full of immortality . . .' [Wis. 3:4]. Of
this same thing in the Maccabees [it says], `Was not Abraham found
faithful when tested, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness' "
[1 Macc. 2:52; see Jas. 2:21-23] (Treatises 7:3:15 [A.D. 248]).
Council of Rome
"Now indeed we must treat of the divine Scriptures,
what the universal Catholic Church accepts and what she ought to shun.
The order of the Old Testament begins here: Genesis, one book; Exodus,
one book; Leviticus, one book; Numbers, one book; Deuteronomy, one
book; Joshua [Son of] Nave, one book; Judges, one book; Ruth, one
book; Kings, four books [that is, 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings];
Paralipomenon [Chronicles], two books; Psalms, one book; Solomon,
three books: Proverbs, one book; Ecclesiastes, one book; Canticle
of Canticles, one book; likewise Wisdom, one book; Ecclesiasticus,
one book . . . . Likewise the order of the historical [books]: Job,
one book; Tobit, one book; Esdras, two books [Ezra and Nehemiah];
Esther, one book; Judith, one book; Maccabees, two books" (Decree
of Pope Damasus [A.D. 382]).
Council of Hippo
"[It has been decided] that besides the canonical
Scriptures nothing be read in church under the name of divine Scripture.
But the canonical Scriptures are as follows: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua the Son of Nun, Judges, Ruth, the Kings,
four books, the Chronicles, two books, Job, the Psalter, the five
books of Solomon, the twelve books of the Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Daniel, Ezekiel, Tobit, Judith, Esther, Ezra, two books, Maccabees,
two books . . ." (canon 36 [A.D. 393]).
Augustine
"The whole canon of the Scriptures, however,
in which we say that consideration is to be applied, is contained
in these books: the five of Moses . . . and one book of Joshua [Son
of] Nave, one of Judges; one little book which is called Ruth . .
. then the four of Kingdoms, and the two of Paralipomenon . . . .
[T]here are also others too, of a different order . . . such as Job
and Tobit and Esther and Judith and the two books of Maccabees, and
the two of Esdras . . . . Then there are the Prophets, in which there
is one book of the Psalms of David, and three of Solomon. . . . But
as to those two books, one of which is entitled Wisdom and the other
of which is entitled Ecclesiasticus and which are called `of Solomon'
because of a certain similarity to his books, it is held most certainly
that they were written by Jesus Sirach. They must, however, be accounted
among the prophetic books, because of the authority which is deservedly
accredited to them" (On Christian Instruction 2:8:13
[ca. A.D. 395]).
Augustine
"God converted [King Assuerus] and turned the
latter's indignation into gentleness [Es. 15:11]" (On the
Grace of Christ and Original Sin 1:24:25 [A.D. 418]; this passage
is not in the Protestant Bible).
Augustine
"We read in the books of the Maccabees [2 Macc.
12:43] that sacrifice was offered for the dead. But even if it were
found nowhere in the Old Testament writings, the authority of the
Catholic Church which is clear on this point is of no small weight,
where in the prayers of the priest poured forth to the Lord God at
his altar the commendation of the dead has its place" (On
the Care That Should be Taken for the Dead 1:3 [A.D. 421]).
Council of Carthage
"[It has been decided] that nothing except the
canonical Scriptures should be read in the Church under the name of
the divine Scriptures. But the canonical Scriptures are: Genesis,
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, four
books of Kings, Paralipomenon, two books, Job, the Psalter of David,
five books of Solomon [Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom,
Sirach], twelve books of the Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel,
Tobit, Judith, Esther, two books of Esdras, two books of the Maccabees
. . ." (canon 47 [A.D. 397]).
Apostolic Constitutions
"Now women also prophesied. Of old, Miriam the
sister of Moses and Aaron [Ex. 15:20], and after her, Deborah [Judges.
4:4], and after these Huldah [2 Kgs. 22:14] and Judith [Judith 8],
the former under Josiah and the latter under Darius" (Apostolic
Constitutions 8:2 [ca. A.D. 400]).
Jerome
"What sin have I committed if I follow the judgment
of the churches? But he who brings charges against me for relating
[in my preface to the book of Daniel] the objections that the Hebrews
are wont to raise against the story of Susannah [Dan. 13], the Song
of the Three Children [Dan. 3:24-90], and the story of Bel and the
Dragon [Dan. 14], which are not found in the Hebrew volume, proves
that he is just a foolish sycophant. I was not relating my own personal
views, but rather the remarks that they are wont to make against us.
If I did not reply to their views in my preface, in the interest of
brevity, lest it seem that I was composing not a preface, but a book,
I believe I added promptly the remark, for I said, `This is not the
time to discuss such matters' " (Against Rufinius 11:33
[A.D. 401]).
Innocent I
"A brief addition shows what books really are
received in the canon. These are the things of which you desired to
be informed verbally: of Moses, five books, that is, of Genesis, of
Exodus, of Leviticus, of Numbers, of Deuteronomy, and Joshua, of Judges,
one book, of Kings, four books, and also Ruth, of the Prophets, sixteen
books, of Solomon, five books, the Psalms. Likewise of the histories,
Job, one book, of Tobit, one book, Esther, one, Judith, one, of the
Maccabees, two, of Esdras, two, Paralipomenon, two books . . ."
(To Exuperius 7 [A.D. 405]).
African Code
"[It has been decided] that besides the canonical
Scriptures nothing be read in church under the name of divine Scripture.
But the canonical Scriptures are as follows: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua the Son of Nun, Judges, Ruth, the Kings,
four books, the Chronicles, two books, Job, the Psalter, the five
books of Solomon, the twelve books of the Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Daniel, Ezekiel, Tobit, Judith, Esther, Ezra, two books, Maccabees,
two books . . . Let this be sent to our brother and fellow bishop,
[Pope] Boniface, and to the other bishops of those parts, that they
may confirm this canon, of these are the things which we have received
from our fathers to be read in church" (canon 24 [A.D. 419]).
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