Special Subgroups of Bibles:
Note: all these subgroups of Bibles come in vast arrays of types as described in the other parts of this series of posts.
For clarification before we talk about the subgroups, while the Apocrypha and Deuterocanonical material are mentioned below, a more in-depth discussion of these will be done in a separate post dealing with the canon of Scripture. For now, to help with understanding the material below, the Apocrypha and Deuterocanonical material are items written between 400 BC and 50 BC, thus after the Old Testament and before the New Testament.
The Protestant churches do not count them as inspired material and thus are not part of the cannon of Scripture or included in editions of most Bibles. Many Anglican churches count them as worthy of use and include them in their editions of the Bible even though they are not held as inspired as the traditional 66 books. Catholics hold to the inspiration of 7 of the books known as the Deuterocanonical books. They are included in Catholic Bibles.
The Apocrypha and Deuterocanonical material should not be confused with another group of texts known as Gnostic works. These are mostly from the third and fourth century AD which were falsely claimed to be written by famous biblical figures such as Peter, or Thomas. These writings are also known as Pseudepigrapha material; works falsely attributed to famous persons from the Bible to lend that person’s authority to the work. Examples of this would be the Gospel of Judas, Acts of Thomas, the Acts of John, the Gospel of Andrew, the Gospel of Peter, or the Epistle to the Laodiceans attributed to Paul. These are not accepted works by any significant Christian Church.
Protestant Bible: The most common English Bible we come across because of the popularity and influence of Protestantism in the United States. It Contains the 66 books of the Bible. The Old Testament has 39 books which includes 17 historical books, five books of poetry, and 17 books of prophecy. It’s New Testament has 27 books which includes the 4 gospels, Acts, the 21 letters (13 by Paul), and the book of Revelation.
Anglican Bible: A British translation such as the Revised English Bible or a modified version of another translation. It will contain the 66 books of the Protestant Bible. While for the most part, it is similar to the main version, changes would be made to agree with British spelling, grammar and to use the British system of measures. The 14 books of the Apocrypha are usually added.
Catholic Bibles: These are translations done specifically for the Catholic Church such as the New American Bible or the New Jerusalem Bible. This group also includes “Catholic” versions of mainstream translation such as the English Standard Version Catholic Edition which includes the Deuterocanonical material. Catholic Bibles include 73 books, seven more than the Protestant Bible, and includes additions to the books of Daniel and Esther. The additional books, which the Council of Trent (1545 – 1563) approved, include Tobit, Judith, Baruch, Sirach, Wisdom of Solomon, and First and Second Maccabees.
Until recently (1960’s) Catholic translations were made exclusively from the Latin Vulgate (a translation of the Bible from the original languages into Latin in the fifth century). Catholic translators are now permitted to consult the Greek and Hebrew text but are required to lean heavily on the Vulgate.
Jewish Scripture: Also known as the Tanakh, this collection of Holy Scripture includes the 5 books of Moses, 8 books of prophecy, and the 11 books of writing, which include books of poetry such as Psalms, Proverbs, and Song of Songs. While a Jewish Scripture has the same material as the Protestant Old Testament, the material is arranged in a different order and some books are combined so the total count of books is different.
One arrangement has a count of 24 books: Law – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy; Prophets: Former Prophets – Joshua, Judges, Samuel (one book), Kings (one book); Later Prophets – Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, The Book of the Twelve Prophets (AKA Minor Prophets) the 12 smaller prophetic books; Writings – Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah (treated as one book), Chronicles (one book). The other arrangement has a count of 22, same as above but Ruth is included with Judges and Lamentations with Jeremiah.
For clarity, it should be noted generally, the term “Torah” is used of the five books of Moses, also known as the “Pentateuch”. “Torah” has also been used for the whole of what would be the Protestant Old Testament. A Jewish Bible would not include the Apocryphal books or the Christian New Testament.
Greek Orthodox Bible aka Eastern Orthodox: This Bible is the largest of any of the subgroups, including the 66 books of the Protestant Bible, the Apocryphal book, and the Deuterocanonical material. Orthodox Bibles include First and Second Esdras, the Prayer of Manasseh, Third and Fourth Maccabees, and Psalm 151.
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