Why was the book of Tobit removed from the Protestant Bible?
Discussion
50 comments
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Why should it be in there?
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It was never in. The core criteria for inclusion in the Canon of Scripture was apostolic authorship. Tobit doesn’t have it.
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Does it pass the test of canonicity?
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Because it contradicts the inspired scriptures.
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For starters, the Book of Tobit was never referenced in the New Testament. Probably this was because it’s more historical than theological (which also contains errors).
Secondly, there are passages that flat-out contradict the New Testament doctrine of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. For example, Tobit mentions that one can “earn” their salvation through works (see Tobit 12:9).
Based on these two examples alone, Tobit and the rest of the Apocrypha do not belong in the Canon of Scripture and, thus, part of the reason why it was omitted from the Protestant Bible.
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It wasn’t officially added until the council of trent, in response to the protestant reformation, but looselyheld prior too. You can read the early church writings on the assembly of the cannon and many used the same books we have in our Bible today, some included the deuterocanonical book(apocryphal books). As a rule of thumb you want the old testament books used in the Bible to be quoted in the new, reaffirming that the apostles saw them as scripture.
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The Protestant Bible used as its standard for the Old Testament is that of accepting the exact same books and translation as the Jews of the time were using. Jews at the time were using what they called the Masoretic Text. So Protestant Bibles have always translated their Old testaments from the Hebrew Masoretic Text rather then the Greek Septuagint Old Testametn that catholics used. The most recent translations use both of these and the Dead Sea Scrolls, but the primary text for Protestants is Hebrew Masoretic Text and the primary text for Catholics is Greek Septuagint.
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Because it was only almost a palindrome.
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Not only tobit but including the thirteen others all the books rejected is fourteen
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Tobit says almsgiving atones for sin. Its unscritural…
Tobit 12:9 For almsgiving delivers from death, and it will purge away every sin. Those who perform deeds of charity and of righteousness will have fulness of life;
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“Removed” assumes it should be there, it wasn’t accepted as scripture by the Jews at the time of Christ, and contradicts scripture, thus it was never added.
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Why did the Catholics add it in the 1530 council of Trent?
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I read the Aprocryphal books for devotional purpose only and some early christian Literature. In the field of biblical studies these books helps me understand the 400 silent years of the Bible such as book of Maccabees and background of early christianity. But not as the basis of theological foundation. Although, there are diverse theological emphasis in each book of the bible such as Romans and James, a careful exegesis however, will bring anyone into united conclusion. On contrary, these apocryphal books and Gnostics Gospels doesn’t only contradicts the Bible, Old and New Testament Theology, but theology itself. That’s why Jews and Cristians they canonize the scripture. In terms of Greek and Masoratic text, Greek speaking Jews and Gentiles used the Septuagint, while Jews used aramaic and probably Hebrew. The very reason why they primarily used Greek because it’s the common Language in Greco-Roman world and the best way to spread the gospel.
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Simply put, Tobit is not God-breathed or is not a divinely-inspired writing. Most serious Bible scholars and theologians have highlighted a number of historical and theological errors in Tobit. First, Tobit 1:15 incorrectly notes that Sennacherib was Shalmaneser’s son, rather than the son of Sargon II. Also, Tobit seems to imply that he was alive during the reign of Jeroboam I (about 930 B.C.), but at his death he was reported to be 117 years old. Theologically, Tobit asserts that almsgiving alone “will save you from death,” not, as Paul states in Galatians 2:15, that man is justified (saved) “by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.” And Jesus, in John 3:16, says that “whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Faith alone, therefore, not works or observing the Law, provides salvation.
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Not inspired. That’s all.
Not qualified. -
It was never in it. One quick way to know is that every OT book (except Esther & Song of Songs) has a quotation by a NT author. None of the Apocrypha does, including Tobit. They were never considered canonized by the Church Fathers but was later added by the Catholic Church.
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Noncanonical!
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Why is the sky blue and the grass green? Because God is a Seattle Seahawks fan???
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Firstly it is not recognised by the Jews. Secondly it contradicts the Gospels which says that no-one had ever been healed of blindness before. And then whole story line is just a complete nonsense.
I have read all of the non-cannonical OT books. All are okay reads. That one I would tear out and hang in the toilet! To me it verged on just satanic lies. -
Martin Luther opposed to including certain NT epistles in the German language and other bibles. He did not like the Epistles of James and Jude, the letter to the Hebrews, or the Book of Revelation and a few more i think. But wonder if he had authority to do it- in the sense that Luther chooses by himself alone and then the bishops not just bishop of the church canonised the books
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The top Canadian OT scholar is Dr. Craig Evans at Houston Baptist University. He says when he digs in Israel and they disover a Christian home from the early church, they find a full bible of our 66 books. Many of them also have the deuterocanonicals in their libraries but he points out they are never the same books and are never in the same order. In other words, the early church recognized the 66 books of our bible today because they had them all consistently but didn’t respect the deuterocanonical ones the same way, otherwise they would have owned them too.
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The Vatican desperately needs the Apocrypha in the Bible to support some of her man made doctrine. Example no biblical support in the Old and New Teatament about the Doctrine of Purgatory thats why they will use the apocrypha to support their man made doctrines
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There is no standard Protestant Bible.
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I have a better one: why was it included in the Catholic Bible?
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It was never accepted by church as canonized to begin with.
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It’s not in the Jewish Canon of the Holy scriptures
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not inspired by the holy spirit and teachers wrong doctrine,hope that helps.
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It wasn’t removed. It was never in.
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1John 2:19
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. -
How many Catholics actually do good works starting with the example given by the actions of priests and nuns?
All that has been uncovered for over a thousand years has been sexual immorality, abuse, colonization, slavery, homosexuality, child abuse, etc
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can you please share from the book of Tobit, if there are any extra Teachings we have missed from the existing protestants Bible that will be of value to our spirituality and faith in Jesus Christ?
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21 reasons why the Apocrypha is not inspired:
The Roman Catholic Church did not officially canonize the Apocrypha until the Council of Trent (1546 AD). This was in part because the Apocrypha contained material which supported certain Catholic doctrines, such as purgatory, praying for the dead, and the treasury of merit.
Not one of them is in the Hebrew language, which was alone used by the inspired historians and poets of the Old Testament.
Not one of the writers lays any claim to inspiration.
These books were never acknowledged as sacred Scriptures by the Jewish Church, and therefore were never sanctioned by our Lord.
They were not allowed a place among the sacred books, during the first four centuries of the Christian Church.
They contain fabulous statements, and statements which contradict not only the canonical Scriptures, but themselves; as when, in the two Books of Maccabees, Antiochus Epiphanes is made to die three different deaths in as many different places.
The Apocrypha inculcates doctrines at variance with the Bible, such as prayers for the dead and sinless perfection.
And the day following Judas came with his company, to take away the bodies of them that were slain, and to bury them with their kinsmen, in the sepulchers of their fathers. And they found under the coats of the slain some of the donaries of the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbiddeth to the Jews: so that all plainly saw, that for this cause they were slain. Then they all blessed the just judgment of the Lord, who had discovered the things that were hidden. And so betaking themselves to prayers, they besought him, that the sin which had been committed might be forgotten. But the most valiant Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves from sin, forasmuch as they saw before their eyes what had happened, because of the sins of those that were slain. And making a gathering, he sent twelve thousand drachmas of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection, (For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead,) And because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with godliness, had great grace laid up for them. It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins. (2 Maccabees 12:39-46)
The apocrypha contains offensive materials unbecoming of God’s authorship.
Ecclesiasticus 25:19 Any iniquity is insignificant compared to a wife’s iniquity.
Ecclesiasticus 25:24 From a woman sin had its beginning. Because of her we all die.
Ecclesiasticus 22:3 It is a disgrace to be the father of an undisciplined, and the birth of a daughter is a loss.
It teaches immoral practices, such as lying, suicide, assassination and magical incantation.
The apocryphal books themselves make reference to what we call the Silent 400 years, where there was no prophets of God to write inspired materials.
And they laid up the stones in the mountain of the temple in a convenient place, till there should come a prophet, and give answer concerning them. (1 Maccabees 4:46)
And there was a great tribulation in Israel, such as was not since the day, that there was no prophet seen in Israel. (1 Maccabees 9:27)
And that the Jews, and their priests, had consented that he should be their prince, and high priest for ever, till there should arise a faithful prophet. (1 Maccabees 14:41)
Josephus rejected the apocryphal books as inspired and this reflected Jewish thought at the time of Jesus
“From Artexerxes to our own time the complete history has been written but has not been deemed worthy of equal credit with the earlier records because of the failure of the exact succession of the prophets.” … “We have not an innumerable multitude of books among us, disagreeing from and contradicting one another, but only twenty-two books, which contain the records of all the past times; which are justly believed to be divine…”(Flavius Josephus, Against Apion 1:8)
The Manual of Discipline in the Dead Sea Scrolls rejected the apocrypha as inspired.
The Council of Jamnia held the same view rejected the apocrypha as inspired.
They debated the canonicity of a few books (e.g., Ecclesiastes), but they changed nothing and never proclaimed themselves to be authoritative determiners of the Old Testament canon. “The books which they decided to acknowledge as canonical were already generally accepted, although questions had been raised about them. Those which they refused to admit had never been included. They did not expel from the canon any book which had previously been admitted. ‘The Council of Jamnia was the confirming of public opinion, not the forming of it.'” (F. F. Bruce, The Books and Parchments [Old Tappan, NJ.: Fleming H. Revell, 1963], p. 98])
Although it was occasionally quoted in early church writings, it was nowhere accepted in a canon. Melito (AD 170) and Origen rejected the Apocrypha, (Eccl. Hist. VI. 25, Eusebius) as does the Muratorian Canon.
Jerome vigorously resisted including the Apocrypha in his Latin Vulgate Version (400 AD), but was overruled. As a result, the standard Roman Catholic Bible throughout the medieval period contained it. Thus, it gradually came to be revered by the average clergyman. Still, many medieval Catholic scholars realized that it was not inspired.
The terms “protocanonical” and “deuterocanonical” are used by Catholics to signify respectively those books of Scripture that were received by the entire Church from the beginning as inspired, and those whose inspiration came to be recognized later, after the matter had been disputed by certain Fathers and local churches.
Pope Damasus (366-384) authorized Jerome to translate the Latin Vulgate. The Council of Carthage declared this translation as “the infallible and authentic Bible.” Jerome was the first to describe the extra 7 Old Testament books as the “Apocrypha” (doubtful authenticity). Needless to say, Jerome’s Latin Vulgate did not include the Apocrypha.
Cyril (born about A.D. 315) – “Read the divine Scriptures – namely, the 22 books of the Old Testament which the 72 interpreters translated” (the Septuagint)
The apocrypha wasn’t included at first in the Septuagint, but was appended by the Alexandrian Jews, and was not listed in any of the catalogues of the inspired books till the 4th century
Hilary (bishop of Poictiers, 350 A.D.) rejected the apocrypha (Prologue to the Psalms, Sec. 15)
Epiphanius (the great opposer of heresy, 360 A.D.) rejected them all. Referring to Wisdom of Solomon & book of Jesus Sirach, he said “These indeed are useful books & profitable, but they are not placed in the number of the canonical.” -
It’s not there in the Bible , how could remove something which is not there
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It was written during the 400 yrs. of silence between the NT and the OT.
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It’s not biblical. Demons are not expelled with bad odor, but by the power of GOD.
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Robert Russell, Because the book of Tobit and the other six books that the catholics added, Weren’t in the original Hebrew scrolls or canon, The Old Teastament Canon was cloesed before those books were found.
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Is this the new attack? ???, this is the third post asking the same question about a different book. You guys aren’t very original are you? Before you know it you guys will be asking why every book in the library of Congress were left out. ???
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It was NEVER in there!
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When was there an official cannon in the first place
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It was not removed, it was added after the reformation, and that’s only the Catholic Cannon.
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Some questions that may help the discussion. Did the Holy Spirit inspire a prophet to write Tobit? If so, which prophet? Does anything in Tobit contradict anything else the Holy Spirit inspired a prophet to write? Does Tobit point to the coming of Messiah? If so, where? Do any prophets refer to Tobit? Does Jesus refer to Tobit? Do the apostles refer to Tobit? Do apostolic fathers refer to Tobit? If so, which ones and where in their writings? Are they within one or two generations from the apostles? Did they refer to Tobit as God inspired or an interesting read? How did Jewish leaders prior to and after the time of Christ deal with Tobit? There are other questions we can ask, but these may help to begin. Thanks!
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Many books were left out and not counted as SCRIPTURE, this doesn’t mean they r not good books but the early church fathers if they did not connect to Christ or the apostles they were not Scripture!!!
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1. Condones the use of magic
Tobit 6:5-7, “Then the angel said to him: Take out the entrails of this fish, and lay up his heart, and his gall, and his liver for thee: for these are necessary for useful medicines. 6 And when he had done so, he roasted the flesh thereof, and they took it with them in the way: the rest they salted as much as might serve them, till they came to Rages the city of the Medes. 7 Then Tobias asked the angel, and said to him: I beseech thee, brother Azarias, tell me what remedies are these things good for, which thou hast bid me keep of the fish? 8 And the angel, answering, said to him: If thou put a little piece of its heart upon coals, the smoke thereof driveth away all kind of devils, either from man or from woman, so that they come no more to them.”Is it true that the smoke from a fish’s heart, when burned, drives away evil spirits? Of course not. Such a superstitious teaching has no place in the word of God.
2. Teaches that forgiveness of sins is by human effort.
Salvation by works:Tobit 4:11, “For alms deliver from all sin, and from death, and will not suffer the soul to go into darkness.”
Tobit 12:9, “For alms delivereth from death, and the same is that which purgeth away sins, and maketh to find mercy and life everlasting.”
We know from Scripture that alms (money or food given to the poor or needy as charity) does not purge our sins. The blood of Christ is what cleanses us – not money or food given to poor people. “But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin,” (1 John 1:7). -
The roman Catholic heresy included Jewish history book that the Jews never counted as Canon, AS Canon.
‘Removing is’ as you state, is just remving what was wrongly included. -
It was never in it in the first place ! Dah !
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Canonical .. Deuterocononical .. Apocrypha .. Pseudepigrapha .. what does it matter? It matters because of something Jesus said to Satan – “But Jesus answered him, saying, ‘It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’” (Luke 4:4). If Tobit is God’s Word, then we need to live by it. How can we know if Tobit is God’s written Word? “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.” (Hebrews 1:1-2) Which prophet wrote Tobit or any of the Apocrypha? Was Tobit or any of the Apocrypha written during the lifetimes of Old Testament prophets? When was Tobit written? Jesus and His Apostles never quoted from Tobit. Jude, the half brother of Jesus, quoted once from Enoch, but never gave the book the elevation of Scripture (e.g. as in “thus says the Lord,” “Scripture says”). Both books, Enoch and Tobit, introduce named angelic creatures who are not mentioned in the Hebrew Old Testament or Christian New Testament. Raphael’s involvement with Tobit, Tobias and Sarah opens many interpretations about angelic involvement in human life and history, if true. Raphael’s involvement during the time of Noah and what it says about the archangels Gabriel and Michael’s involvement during that time raise many questions about interpreting what happened to the human race during the years leading up to the Flood. Enoch introduces us to evil supernatural beings named Azâzêl and Semjâzâ and a supernatural group called the “Watchers.” The writer of Enoch has the archangel Uriel speaking to Lamech, Noah’s father, telling him to warn his son to hide himself because of the approaching deluge God was going to send upon the earth. All of these events involving archangels during the years leading up to Noah building the Ark and God sending the Flood seem to be of the kind of importance that Moses would have included some mention of them in the Book of Genesis, if it were true. Tobit is a historical romance. It covers some interesting aspects of Jewish life (e.g. temple worship, importance of prayer, paying tithes, giving alms to the poor, and marrying only within the Jewish faith), but does that make it the inspired Word of God? Why is it not referenced anywhere in the Hebrew Bible or New Testament? God certainly knew the effort Jews and Christians would make in trying to determine the authenticity of Tobit, so why didn’t He include something about it in the Old or New Testament writings that would call it Scripture? Because Jesus said we should live by every word of God, I want to know what writings are the Word of God. Please be specific in your evidence for Tobit and any other Apocryphal writings. Thank you.
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Because is was not Gods inspired word
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Did not follow scarlet thread of redemption
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The Apocrypha also contains demonstrable historical errors. We can cite a number of examples.
The Age Of Tobit When He Died Is A Contradiction
For example, Tobit was supposedly alive when Jeroboam staged his revolt in 931 B.C.I, Tobit, walked in the ways of truth and righteousness all the days of my life. I performed many acts of charity for my kindred and my people who had gone with me in exile to Nineveh in the land of the Assyrians. When I was in my own country, in the land of Israel, while I was still a young man, the whole tribe of my ancestor Naphtali deserted the house of David and Jerusalem. This city had been chosen from among all the tribes of Israel, where all the tribes of Israel should offer sacrifice and where the temple, the dwelling of God, had been consecrated and established for all generations forever. All my kindred and our ancestral house of Naphtali sacrificed to the calf that King Jeroboam of Israel had erected in Dan and on all the mountains of Galilee (Tobit 1:3-5).
Yet the text says that Tobit was still alive when the Assyrians captured the northern kingdom of Israel in 721 B.C. This means that he lived over two hundred years!
However, the Book of Tobit says he lived only 112 years.So ended Tobit’s words of praise. Tobit died in peace when he was one hundred twelve years old, and was buried with great honor in Nineveh (Tobit 14:1,2).
This is an obvious contradiction. Those who believe in an inerrant Scripture cannot accept the Apocrypha as God’s Word.
Errors In The Book Of Judith
Another example can be found in the opening verse of the Book of Judith.It was the twelfth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled over the Assyrians in the great city of Nineveh. In those days Arphaxad ruled over the Medes in Ecbatana (Judith 1:1).
There are two historical errors in this verse. Nebuchadnezzar was the ruler of the Babylonians, not the Assyrians, and he ruled from Babylon, not Nineveh.
It Is Not Possible To Defend The Historical Accuracy Of The Apocrypha
While it is possible for Bible scholars, using the most up-to-date archaeological knowledge, to defend the historical accuracy of the books of the Bible, it is not possible to argue for the historical accuracy of the books of the Apocrypha. Many of them have demonstrable errors that cannot be reconciled.
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