Deuterocanonical books facts for kids

The term Deuterocanonical books comes from Greek words meaning "second canon". These books are parts of the Bible that are used by some Christian churches. The main churches that use them are the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches.

These books were first written in Greek language between 250 and 50 BC. They are not part of the Jewish Tanakh, also known as the Hebrew Bible. This is because the original language of the Jewish scriptures is Hebrew, not Greek.

Some of the books that Catholics consider deuterocanonical include:

• The Book of Tobit
• The Book of Judith
• The First Book of Maccabees (also called 1 Maccabees)
• The Second Book of Maccabees (also called 2 Maccabees)
• The Wisdom of Solomon (also called The Book of Wisdom)
• The Book of Sirach (also called Ecclesiasticus)
• The Book of Baruch, which includes the Letter of Jeremiah as its last part

You might also notice that the Book of Daniel and the Book of Esther are longer in Catholic Bibles. This is because they have extra stories that are not found in other Bibles.

Most Protestant Christian churches have a different view. They do not believe that the deuterocanonical books were inspired by God. They often call these books the Apocrypha. Martin Luther, a key figure in the Protestant Reformation, thought these books were good to read. However, John Calvin, another important reformer, studied them but did not think they should be part of the Bible itself.

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  Copies of the Luther Bible include the deuterocanonical books as an intertestamental section between the Old Testament and New Testament; they are termed the "Apocrypha" in Christian Churches having their origins in the Reformation.

See also

Learn more about the Bible.

• Bible
• Old Testament
• New Testament