Thoughts on the Deuterocanon

What is the Deuterocanon?

Before delving into the definition of the deuterocanon, it might first be beneficial to define the protocanon. The term protocanon refers to the first canon, that is, the collection of books that are recognized and agreed upon by virtually all aspects of Christianity. These books make up the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament in virtually any Protestant Bible you pick up. There is little to no doubt that these books comprise the written Word of Yahweh. These books span the history of all time, past present and future, starting with the creation event (Genesis) and end in the ultimate glory of Yashua’s second coming (Revelation).

The deuterocanon, however, is something entirely different. The deuterocanon is a collection of books that are not generally agreed upon by most major denominations, and their authenticity of being the inspired word of Yahweh is often called into question.

The books that comprise the deuterocanon come from a variety of sources. Some of them were found with the Dead Sea Scrolls along with several books of the Tanakh. Many of then were contained within the Septuagint along side the commonly accepted books of today. Others still have been preserved only in the canons of other cultures, such as I Enoch or II Baruch.

The writings contained within the deuterocanon are generally not read by any Protestants, and are not contained within the Protestant Bible (the basis of the previously mentioned protocanon), despite the fact that there are many quotes from deuterocanonical works within the protocanon.

The purpose of this article

My point in writing this article is not to convince you that the writings of the deuterocanon are the 100% inspired word of Yahweh.

My point however is to enable you with enough understanding to make that decision for yourself, regardless of which way your convictions ultimately lead you.

I would like to perform a critical examination of the evidence, put it all in layman’s terms, and allow you to decide for yourself the verdict of the deuterocanon.

Common objections to the deuterocanonical books

Objection 1: “The Jews didn’t accept it as part of the Tanakh.”
Rebuttal 1: This same council of Jews in the late first century also did not accept the New Testament. Their primary reason for the rejection of the deuterocanonical books was that they were unaware of any original Hebrew manuscripts, although there is sufficient evidence to suggest that many (if not all) books of the deuterocanon were originally written in Hebrew.

Objection 2: “The early church fathers rejected the deuterocanonical books.”
Rebuttal 2: If by “early church fathers” you mean the council of Laodicea, you are correct. However, the council of Laodicea also in one of their canons omitted Revelation from the New Testament, and included the Baruch and the Letter of Jeremiah in the Old Testament. This council of fallen men also demanded that all “good Christians” worship YHWH on Sunday instead of Saturday, so as to separate themselves from Judaism. This practice was never sanctioned by YHWH, and unfortunately, continues to this day in many denominations.

Objection 3: “Only the Catholics accept the extra books. We’re not Catholic, so we don’t need them.”
Rebuttal 3: Not true! The Eastern Orthadox church accepts the same canon as the Roman Catholic church. In fact, many international churches accept deuterocanonical books, such as:

The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthadox churches accept: Tobit Judith 1 Maccabees 2 Maccabees Wisdom Sirach Baruch Letter of Jeremiah Additions to Daniel Additions to Esther The Slavonic Orthadox church accepts: 1 Esdras 3 Maccabees Prayer of Manasseh Psalm 151 The Georgian Orthadox church accepts: 4 Maccabees 2 Esdras The Ethiopian Orthadox church accepts: Apocalypse of Ezra Jubilees 1 Enoch 1-3 Meqabyan 4 Baruch The Syriac Peshitta contains: Psalms 152–155 2 Baruch Letter of Baruch * Other works of interest: 1-2 Adam and Eve Jasher 2 Enoch Haggadah The Thanksgiving Psalms The Psalms of Solomon The Odes of Solomon Some of the books considered to be New Testament deuterocanon: Shepherd of Hermas 1 and 2 Clement 3 Corinthians Laodiceans Epistle of Barnabas

Objection 4: “None of the New Testament writers quote from the deuterocanon, so it wasn’t inspired.”
Rebuttal 4: First of all, who laid the ground rule that for a book to be accepted, it must be quoted by the New Testament? If that is the case, we may as well throw out Ruth, Song of Songs, Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Secondly, the assumption that the books of the deuterocanon were not quoted in the New Testament is entirely incorrect. For example, Paul indirectly quotes from the Wisdom, Sirach, and Baruch numerous times just in one book (Romans), and Jude directly quotes 1 Enoch twice. James has many thoughts that would seem to be borrowed at least in part from Sirach.

Objection 5: “God promised to preserve His Word. Those books aren’t in my Bible, so they aren’t inspired.”
Rebuttal 5: Yahweh did promise to preserve His Word in Psalm 12:6-7. He promised, in fact, to preserve it forever. But let’s not deceive ourselves. He did state in any way that this promise to preserve it meant that His perfect, inerrant Word would be found only in the English translation of the Scriptures. The bottom line is that Yahweh did preserve His Word with incredible accuracy. I am suggesting that, as a possibility, Yahweh’s preserved Word includes these books that many refuse to read or lend credibility to simply based on the teachings of others.

Things to consider that show support for the deuterocanon

Many of the books we read now were at one time considered deuterocanonical works. These books are: Hebrews, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, James, Jude, and Revelation. Imagine if these books were considered deuterocanonical today- the religious world would be in an absolute uproar! My point in this being that if these great writings of Yahweh’s Word were at one time considered questionable, and now they are openly accepted, what other books have been wrongfully called into question?

Among the topic of the New Testament deuterocanon, many ancient Bibles do contain additional books, for instance, the Shepherd of Hermas, 1 Clement, 3 Corinthians, and Laodiceans.

As I have previously stated in my Rebuttal to Objection 4, the New Testament does make mention of or borrows thoughts from the deuterocanon. This is not an all inclusive list by any means, but rather, a brief set of examples:

John 1:3 “All things were made by Him (the Word of Yahweh); and without Him was not any thing made that was made.” Wisdom 9:1 “O God of my fathers, and Lord of mercy, who hast made all things with Thy Word,” Acts 10:34-35 “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him.” Romans 2:11 “For there is no respect of persons with God.” Sirach 35:12 “Do not think to corrupt with gifts; for such He will not receive: and trust not to unrighteous sacrifices; for the Lord is judge, and with Him is no respect of persons.” Romans 1:20-21 “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Wisdom 13:1,5 “Surely vain are all men by nature, who are ignorant of God, and could not out of the good things that are seen know him that is: neither by considering the works did they acknowledge the Workmaster;” “For by the greatness and beauty of the creatures proportionably the Maker of them is seen.” I Corinthians 10:20-21 “But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.” Baruch 4:7-8 “For ye provoked Him that made you by sacrificing unto devils, and not to God. Ye have forgotten the everlasting God, that brought you up; and ye have grieved Jerusalem, that nursed you.” Jude 1:14-15 “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” 1 Enoch 1:9 “And behold! He cometh with ten thousands of His holy ones To execute judgement upon all, And to destroy all the ungodly: And to convict all flesh Of all the works of their ungodliness which they have ungodly committed, And of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

A warning against wolves in sheep’s clothing

Make no mistake about this: I do not in any way advocate the acceptance of any work of gnosticism. Unfortunately, many of the deuterocanonical writings of the New Testament are lumped in together with the gnostic writings. Upon examination of the contens of the gnostic writings, it is easy to see that they are completely contrary to Yahweh’s Word.

In fact, this same standard should be held for all deuterocanonical writings. In Acts 17:10-11, The Berean brethren were praised for diligently searching and researching the Scriptures, even daily, to establish true doctrine. I urge us to do the same when studying the deuterocanon, studying to show ourselves approved, and rightly dividing the Word of Yah.