Which books belong to the Old Testament?
a passage states it a passage rules it out
Common ground
These are affirmed by more than one position, so a passage saying only this counts for none of them.
- The books of the Hebrew canon are Scripture (all positions)
- The 27 books of the New Testament are Scripture (all positions)
- Quoting Wisdom or Sirach as wise or edifying without calling it Scripture
Hebrew canon only
Reformed BaptistThe books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration, are no part of the canon of the ScriptureWestminster Confession of Faith, 1.3 (1646)
What sets it apart: The passage limits the Old Testament to the Hebrew books (such as a count of 22 or 24 books) and puts Wisdom, Sirach, Tobit, Judith and Maccabees outside Scripture.
Formally defined: Westminster Confession (1646)
No early passage in the library states it yet.
Read for example of life, not for doctrine
Anglican LutheranAnd the other Books (as Hierome saith) the Church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners; but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrineThirty-Nine Articles, Article VI (1571)
What sets it apart: The passage says these books are read in church or to learners but are not used to prove doctrine.
Formally defined: Thirty-Nine Articles, Article VI (1563/1571)
No early passage in the library states it yet.
Wider canon as full Scripture
Catholic OrthodoxTobias, Judith, Esther, Job, the Davidical Psalter, consisting of a hundred and fifty psalms; the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Canticle of Canticles, Wisdom, EcclesiasticusCouncil of Trent, Session 4 (1546)
What sets it apart: The passage lists these books among the canonical Scriptures, or cites them with full scriptural authority to prove doctrine.
Formally defined: Councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397), local; Council of Trent (1546); Synod of Jerusalem (1672)
No early passage in the library states it yet.
Every deciding passage, earliest first
Origen of Alexandria, c. 254
You objected that I used Susanna as if unaware some call it uncanonical. I answer from the wider fact: in many holy books we find more or less than the Hebrews transmit — in Job and elsewhere verses stand with us that are absent there, and the church’s edification has long received these books. Still I do not refuse to search the Jewish copies; I refuse to move the ancient landmarks set for the churches.
- Rules out: Hebrew canon only