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Protocanonical books
 
 
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The Protocanonical books are those books of the Old Testament
Old Testament

In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christianity Bible Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions....
 which were coextensive with the Hebrew Bible
Tanakh

The Tanakh is the Bible used in Judaism. The name "Tanakh" is a Hebrew language Acronym and initialism formed from the initial Hebrew alphabet of the Tanakh's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim - hence TaNaKh....
 and which have always been considered canonical
Biblical canon

A Biblical canon or canon of scripture is a list or set of Bible books considered to be authoritative as scripture by a particular religious community, generally in Judaism or Christianity....
 by almost all Christians throughout history. The term protocanonical is often used to contrast these books to the deuterocanonical books
Deuterocanonical books

"Deuterocanonical books" is a term used since the sixteenth century in the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Christianity to describe certain books and passages of the Christian Old Testament that are not part of the Jewish Bible....
 or apocrypha
Biblical apocrypha

The biblical apocrypha are Books of the Bible published in an edition of the Bible whose Biblical canon the publisher either rejects or doubts....
, which "were sometimes doubted" in the early church.

e books are typically 39 in number in most English bibles.






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The Protocanonical books are those books of the Old Testament
Old Testament

In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christianity Bible Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions....
 which were coextensive with the Hebrew Bible
Tanakh

The Tanakh is the Bible used in Judaism. The name "Tanakh" is a Hebrew language Acronym and initialism formed from the initial Hebrew alphabet of the Tanakh's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim - hence TaNaKh....
 and which have always been considered canonical
Biblical canon

A Biblical canon or canon of scripture is a list or set of Bible books considered to be authoritative as scripture by a particular religious community, generally in Judaism or Christianity....
 by almost all Christians throughout history. The term protocanonical is often used to contrast these books to the deuterocanonical books
Deuterocanonical books

"Deuterocanonical books" is a term used since the sixteenth century in the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Christianity to describe certain books and passages of the Christian Old Testament that are not part of the Jewish Bible....
 or apocrypha
Biblical apocrypha

The biblical apocrypha are Books of the Bible published in an edition of the Bible whose Biblical canon the publisher either rejects or doubts....
, which "were sometimes doubted" in the early church.

Enumeration

These books are typically 39 in number in most English bibles. Based on the Jewish tradition of the Tanakh
Tanakh

The Tanakh is the Bible used in Judaism. The name "Tanakh" is a Hebrew language Acronym and initialism formed from the initial Hebrew alphabet of the Tanakh's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim - hence TaNaKh....
, these same books may be counted as 24 books, counting the twelve minor prophets
Minor prophet

A minor prophet is one of the writings in the Twelve Prophets section of the Hebrew Bible, also known to Christians as the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament....
 together as one book, one book each for 1 and 2 Samuel
Books of Samuel

The Books of Samuel are part of the Tanakh and also of the Christianity Old Testament. The work was originally written in Hebrew language, and the Book of Samuel originally formed a single text, as they are often considered today in Hebrew bibles....
, 1 and 2 Kings
Books of Kings

The Books of Kings are a part of Judaism's Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. They were originally written in Hebrew language and were later included by Christianity as part of the Old Testament....
, and 1 and 2 Chronicles
Books of Chronicles

LocationIn the masoretic text, Chronicles is part of the third part of the Tanakh, namely Ketuvim . In most printed versions it is the last book in Ketuvim ....
, as well as a single book for Ezra
Book of Ezra

The Book of Ezra is a book of the Bible in the Old Testament and Hebrew language Tanakh. It is the record of events occurring at the close of the Babylonian captivity....
 and Nehemiah
Book of Nehemiah

The Book of Nehemiah is a book of the Hebrew Bible, historically regarded as a Ezra-Nehemiah of the Book of Ezra, and is sometimes called the second book of Ezra....
. In his prologues, Jerome
Jerome

Saint Jerome was a Christian priest and Christian apologetics best known for translating the Vulgate. He is recognized by the Catholic Church as a canonized saint and Doctor of the Church, and his version of the Bible is still an important text in Catholicism....
  counted the same content as 22 books, combining Jeremiah
Book of Jeremiah

The Book of Jeremiah, or Jeremiah , is part of the Hebrew Bible, Judaism's Tanakh, and later became a part of Christianity's Old Testament....
 with Lamentations
Book of Lamentations

The Book of Lamentations is a book of the Bible Old Testament and Judaism Tanakh. It is traditionally read by the Jewish people on Tisha B'Av, the fast day that commemorates the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem....
 and Judges
Book of Judges

The Book of Judges is a Books of the Bible originally written in Hebrew language. It appears in the Tanakh and in the Christian Old Testament. Its title refers to its contents; it contains the history of Biblical judges , who helped rule and guide the ancient Israelites, and of their times....
 with Ruth
Book of Ruth

The Book of Ruth is one of the books of the Ketuvim of the Tanakh and of the Historical Books of the Old Testament. It is a rather short book, in both Judaism and Christianity scripture, consisting of only four chapters....
. The list given in Codex Hierosolymitanus
Codex Hierosolymitanus

Codex Hierosolymitanus is an 11th-century Greek manuscript, written by an unknown scribe named Leo, who dated it 1056. Its designation of "Jerusalem" recalls its place of discovery by Philotheos Bryennios in 1873 at the library of the patriarch of Jerusalem, where it remains in the monastery of the Holy Sepulchre, see also Church of the Holy...
 numbers the same books at 27.

These enumerations were sometimes given a numerological significance. The 22-book enumeration was said to represent the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet
Hebrew alphabet

The Hebrew alphabet consists of 22 letters used for writing the Hebrew language. Five of these letters have a different form when appearing as the last letter in a word....
; the 5 double books (Judges
Book of Judges

The Book of Judges is a Books of the Bible originally written in Hebrew language. It appears in the Tanakh and in the Christian Old Testament. Its title refers to its contents; it contains the history of Biblical judges , who helped rule and guide the ancient Israelites, and of their times....
/Ruth
Book of Ruth

The Book of Ruth is one of the books of the Ketuvim of the Tanakh and of the Historical Books of the Old Testament. It is a rather short book, in both Judaism and Christianity scripture, consisting of only four chapters....
, 1/2 Samuel
Books of Samuel

The Books of Samuel are part of the Tanakh and also of the Christianity Old Testament. The work was originally written in Hebrew language, and the Book of Samuel originally formed a single text, as they are often considered today in Hebrew bibles....
, 1/2 Kings
Books of Kings

The Books of Kings are a part of Judaism's Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. They were originally written in Hebrew language and were later included by Christianity as part of the Old Testament....
, 1/2 Chronicles
Books of Chronicles

LocationIn the masoretic text, Chronicles is part of the third part of the Tanakh, namely Ketuvim . In most printed versions it is the last book in Ketuvim ....
, Ezra
Book of Ezra

The Book of Ezra is a book of the Bible in the Old Testament and Hebrew language Tanakh. It is the record of events occurring at the close of the Babylonian captivity....
/Nehemiah
Book of Nehemiah

The Book of Nehemiah is a book of the Hebrew Bible, historically regarded as a Ezra-Nehemiah of the Book of Ezra, and is sometimes called the second book of Ezra....
, and Jeremiah
Book of Jeremiah

The Book of Jeremiah, or Jeremiah , is part of the Hebrew Bible, Judaism's Tanakh, and later became a part of Christianity's Old Testament....
/Lamentations
Book of Lamentations

The Book of Lamentations is a book of the Bible Old Testament and Judaism Tanakh. It is traditionally read by the Jewish people on Tisha B'Av, the fast day that commemorates the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem....
) representing the five Hebrew letters that have double forms, chaph, mem, nun, phe, and sade. The 24-book enumeration was said to be represented by the 24 elders who throw their crowns before the Lamb
Lamb of God

Lamb of God is one of the titles given to Jesus in the New Testament and consequently in the Christian tradition. It refers to Jesus' role as a sacrificial lamb atoning for the sins of man in Christian theology, harkening back to ancient Temple in Jerusalem sacrifices in which a domestic sheep was slain during the passover , the blood was s...
 in the Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation

The Book of Revelation, also called Revelation to John, Apocalypse of John , and Revelation of Jesus Christ is the last Biblical canon of the New Testament in the Christian Bible....
. The 27-book enumeration balances one-for-one the 27 canonical books of the New Testament
New Testament

The New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christianity Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
.

Controversy

The protocanonical books were widely but not universally accepted by Christians as being in the canon. Athanasius omitted Esther
Book of Esther

The Book of Esther is one of the books of the Ketuvim of the Tanakh and of the Historical Books of the Old Testament. The Book of Esther or the Megillah is the basis for the Jewish celebration of Purim....
  from his list. He may have been following an early 22-book Jewish canon, possibly the same one mentioned but not specified by Josephus
Josephus

Josephus , also known as Yosef Ben Matityahu and, after he became a Roman citizenship, as Titus Flavius Josephus, was a first-century Jewish historian and apologist of priestly and royal ancestry who survived and recorded the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70....
. Theodore of Mopsuestia
Theodore of Mopsuestia

Theodore the Interpreter , was bishop of Mopsuestia from 392 to 428 AD. He is also known as Theodore of Antioch, from the place of his birth and presbyterate....
 omitted Song of Songs
Song of songs

Song of Songs is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. It may also refer to:In music:*Song of songs , the debut album by David and the Giants...
, Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes is a book of the Hebrew Bible. The English name derives from the Greek language translation of the Hebrew #Title.The main speaker in the book, identified by the name or title Qohelet, introduces himself as "son of David, and king in Jerusalem." The work consists of personal or autobiographic matter, at times expressed in aph...
, Job
Book of Job

The Book of Job is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job , his trials at the hands of Satan, his theological discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, and finally a response from God....
, and Ezra-Nehemiah
Esdras

Esdras is a Greco-Latin language variation of the name of the Ezra. It is still often used to refer to several books of Bible associated with the scribe....
 to obtain a listing of 22 books. Most famously, Marcion rejected all of the protocanonical books, preferring a Bible
Bible

The Bible is the central religious text of Judaism and Christianity. The exact Books of the Bible is dependent on the religious traditions of specific denominations....
 consisting only of a restricted New Testament
New Testament

The New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christianity Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
.

List

The list of protocanonical books is Genesis
Genesis

Genesis or Breishit is the first book of the Bible used by Judaism and Christianity, and the first of five books of the Pentateuch or Torah....
, Exodus
Exodus

Exodus is the second book of the Jewish Torah and of the Christian Old Testament. It tells how Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt and through the wilderness to the Mountain of God Sinai....
, Leviticus
Leviticus

Leviticus is third book of the Torah , the name given in Judaism to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible .Leviticus contains laws and priestly rituals, but in a wider sense is about the working out of Covenant set out in Genesis and Exodus - what is seen in the Torah as the consequences of entering into a special relationship with God...
, Numbers
Book of Numbers

The Book of Numbers, , is the fourth book of the Torah, the Tanakh, and the Old Testament. In the Greek language Septuagint it is called Arithmoi, or Numbers....
, Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. In form it is a set of three sermons delivered by Moses reviewing the previous forty years of wandering in the wilderness; its central element is a detailed law-code by which the Children of Israel are to live in the Promised Land....
, Joshua
Book of Joshua

The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in both the Hebrew Tanakh and the Old Testament of the Christianity Bible. This book stands as the first in the Former Prophets covering the history of Kingdom of Israel from the possession of the Promised Land to the Babylonian Captivity....
, Judges
Book of Judges

The Book of Judges is a Books of the Bible originally written in Hebrew language. It appears in the Tanakh and in the Christian Old Testament. Its title refers to its contents; it contains the history of Biblical judges , who helped rule and guide the ancient Israelites, and of their times....
, Ruth
Book of Ruth

The Book of Ruth is one of the books of the Ketuvim of the Tanakh and of the Historical Books of the Old Testament. It is a rather short book, in both Judaism and Christianity scripture, consisting of only four chapters....
, 1–2 Samuel
Books of Samuel

The Books of Samuel are part of the Tanakh and also of the Christianity Old Testament. The work was originally written in Hebrew language, and the Book of Samuel originally formed a single text, as they are often considered today in Hebrew bibles....
, 1–2 Kings
Books of Kings

The Books of Kings are a part of Judaism's Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. They were originally written in Hebrew language and were later included by Christianity as part of the Old Testament....
, 1–2 Chronicles
Books of Chronicles

LocationIn the masoretic text, Chronicles is part of the third part of the Tanakh, namely Ketuvim . In most printed versions it is the last book in Ketuvim ....
, Ezra
Book of Ezra

The Book of Ezra is a book of the Bible in the Old Testament and Hebrew language Tanakh. It is the record of events occurring at the close of the Babylonian captivity....
, Nehemiah
Book of Nehemiah

The Book of Nehemiah is a book of the Hebrew Bible, historically regarded as a Ezra-Nehemiah of the Book of Ezra, and is sometimes called the second book of Ezra....
, Esther
Book of Esther

The Book of Esther is one of the books of the Ketuvim of the Tanakh and of the Historical Books of the Old Testament. The Book of Esther or the Megillah is the basis for the Jewish celebration of Purim....
, Job
Book of Job

The Book of Job is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job , his trials at the hands of Satan, his theological discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, and finally a response from God....
, Psalms
Psalms

Psalms is a book of the Hebrew Bible , included in the collected works known as the "Writings" or Ketuvim....
, Proverbs
Book of Proverbs

The Book of Proverbs is a book of the Hebrew Bible , included in the collected works known as the "Writings" or Ketuvim....
, Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes is a book of the Hebrew Bible. The English name derives from the Greek language translation of the Hebrew #Title.The main speaker in the book, identified by the name or title Qohelet, introduces himself as "son of David, and king in Jerusalem." The work consists of personal or autobiographic matter, at times expressed in aph...
, Song of Solomon
Song of Solomon

The Song of Songs , is a book of the Hebrew Bible—Tanakh or Old Testament—one of the five The Five Scrolls . It is also known as the Song of Solomon or as Canticles, the latter from the shortened and anglicized Vulgate title Canticum Canticorum, "Song of Songs" in Latin language....
, Isaiah
Book of Isaiah

The Book of Isaiah is a book of the Bible traditionally attributed to the Prophet Isaiah, who lived in the second half of the 8th century BC. In the first 39 chapters, Isaiah prophesies doom for a sinful Judah and for all the nations of the world that oppose God....
, Jeremiah
Book of Jeremiah

The Book of Jeremiah, or Jeremiah , is part of the Hebrew Bible, Judaism's Tanakh, and later became a part of Christianity's Old Testament....
, Lamentations
Book of Lamentations

The Book of Lamentations is a book of the Bible Old Testament and Judaism Tanakh. It is traditionally read by the Jewish people on Tisha B'Av, the fast day that commemorates the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem....
, Ezekiel
Book of Ezekiel

The Book of Ezekiel is a book of the Hebrew Bible named after the prophet Ezekiel....
, Daniel
Book of Daniel

The Book of Daniel is a book in both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Originally written in Hebrew language and Aramaic language, it is set during the Babylonian Captivity, a period when Jews were deported and exiled to Babylon following the Siege of Jerusalem of 597 BC....
, Hosea
Book of Hosea

The Book of Hosea is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible and of the Christian Old Testament. It stands first in order among what are known as the twelve Minor Prophets....
, Joel
Book of Joel

The Book of Joel is part of the Jewish Tanakh, and also the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Joel is part of a group of twelve prophetic books known as the Minor Prophets or simply as The Twelve; the distinction 'minor' indicates the short length of the text in relation to the larger prophetic texts known as the "Major Prophets"....
, Amos
Book of Amos

The Book of Amos is one of the books of the Nevi'im and of the Christian Old Testament. Amos is one of the minor prophets.Amos was the first biblical prophet whose words were recorded in a book, an older contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah....
, Obadiah
Book of Obadiah

The Book of Obadiah is found in both the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, where it is the shortest book, only one chapter long....
, Jonah
Book of Jonah

In the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Jonah is the fifth book in a series of books called the Minor Prophets. Unlike other prophetic books however, this book is not a record of a prophet?s words toward Israel....
, Micah
Book of Micah

The Book of Micah is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament, traditionally attributed to Micah ....
, Nahum
Book of Nahum

The book of Nahum is a book in the Bible's Old Testament and Judaism Tanakh. It stands seventh in order among what are known as the twelve Minor Prophets....
, Habakkuk
Book of Habakkuk

The Book of Habakkuk is the eighth book of the 12 minor prophets of the Hebrew Bible. It is attributed to the prophet Habakkuk, and was probably composed in the late 7th century BCE....
, Zephaniah
Book of Zephaniah

The superscription of the Book of Zephaniah attributes its authorship to ?Zephaniah son of Cushi son of Gedaliah son of Amariah son of Hezekiah, in the days of King Josiah son of Amon of Kingdom of Judah? ....
, Haggai
Book of Haggai

The Book of Haggai is a book of the Tanakh and of the Old Testament, written by the prophet Haggai. It was written in 520 BCE some 18 years after Cyrus had conquered Babylon and issued a decree in 538 BCE allowing the captive Jews to return to Judea....
, Zechariah
Book of Zechariah

The Book of Zechariah is a book of the Bible Old Testament and Jewish Tanakh attributed to the prophet Zechariah ....
, and Malachi
Book of Malachi

Malachi is a book of the Bible Old Testament and Judaism Tanakh, written by the prophet Malachi. Possibly this is not the name of the author, since Malachi means 'my messenger' or 'my angel' in Hebrew language....
.

New Testament

By analogy with the early and broad acceptance of the Hebrew scriptural texts, the term protocanonical is also sometimes used to describe those books of the New Testament
New Testament

The New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christianity Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
 which were more widely accepted by the early Church than some of the other 27 books recognized today by almost all Christians
Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
. For more information concerning the development of the New Testament canon, see the article Biblical canon
Biblical canon

A Biblical canon or canon of scripture is a list or set of Bible books considered to be authoritative as scripture by a particular religious community, generally in Judaism or Christianity....
.