Why do Catholic Bibles have 73 books while Protestant Bibles contain only 66—and who removed the seven Deuterocanonical books? In this detailed biblical and historical discussion, Sam Shamoun explains the origins of the Catholic Bible canon, the Protestant Bible, the Apocrypha, and the Deuterocanonical books. He examines how the early Church recognized the canon of Scripture and why the Council of Florence affirmed the 73-book Bible before the Protestant Reformation.
Sam Shamoun explores why Martin Luther questioned books such as First and Second Maccabees, Tobit, Ben Sira, and the Letter of Jeremiah. Sam Shamoun explains how teachings such as prayer for the dead, atonement for the dead, forgiveness after death, and the resurrection created serious problems for Martin Luther’s objections to Catholic doctrine. He also discusses Saint Jerome, the Latin Vulgate, the Jewish canon, Rabbi Akiva, and why later Jewish rejection of these books does not prove that they were never accepted by Jews.
The conversation also examines the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered near the Qumran caves, where ancient Hebrew and Aramaic copies of Deuterocanonical writings were found. These discoveries demonstrate that Jewish communities before and during the time of Christ read books such as Tobit and Ben Sira. Sam Shamoun connects this evidence to Hanukkah, Judas Maccabees, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the purification of the Jerusalem Temple, and Jesus Christ’s observance of the Feast of Dedication in John 10:22–23.
Finally, Sam Shamoun walks through Second Maccabees 12:39–45, where Judas Maccabees prays and provides a sin offering for fallen Jewish soldiers so they may be delivered from sin at the resurrection. Sam Shamoun explains why Protestant Bibles—including early editions of the King James Bible and Martin Luther’s German Bible—continued to contain the Apocrypha for centuries, and why Bible societies eventually removed these books from many Protestant editions.
⏱️ Timestamps
0:00 Leaving prosperity teaching and searching for biblical truth
1:41 Why do Protestants have 66 books and Catholics have 73?
2:47 Martin Luther and the Deuterocanonical books
4:01 The Dead Sea Scrolls and ancient Jewish Scripture
5:32 Rabbi Akiva and the Jewish rejection of the Apocrypha
7:28 Saint Jerome, Church authority, and Martin Luther
8:07 Hanukkah, the Maccabees, and Jesus Christ
9:46 Second Maccabees 12 and prayers for fallen soldiers
13:20 Why prayer and atonement for the dead troubled Martin Luther
15:15 Martin Luther’s doubts about New Testament books
⚠️ Important Disclaimer
I am not Sam Shamoun. This channel edits and shares clips from his teachings with permission in order to make his content more accessible and help spread the Word of God. All credit for the teaching belongs to Sam Shamoun.
