The Bible contains sixty-six books: thirty-nine books in the Old Testament and twenty-seven books in the New Testament. This is the Protestant canon, and it represents the clearest and most defensible collection of books that bear the marks of inspired Scripture. Other traditions include additional writings, but the sixty-six books stand apart because of their prophetic and apostolic authority, doctrinal unity, covenantal recognition, and enduring reception by the people of God.1
The Old Testament canon consists of the books received in the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh). Although Jewish tradition counts these books differently, the content corresponds to the thirty-nine books found in Protestant Old Testaments. The Jewish arrangement often groups books differently, such as combining Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, and the Twelve Minor Prophets, but the substance is the same. This Hebrew canon is the foundation for the Protestant Old Testament.2
The New Testament canon consists of twenty-seven apostolic books: the four Gospels, Acts, thirteen letters of Paul, Hebrews, the General Epistles, and Revelation. These writings were recognized because they were connected to the apostles, faithfully proclaimed the apostolic gospel, and were received by the churches as authoritative. The Church did not create their authority; it recognized the authority they already possessed as apostolic Scripture.3
One of the strongest arguments for the sixty-six-book canon is the distinction between the Hebrew Scriptures and later Jewish writings. The Apocrypha arose largely in the period after the Old Testament prophetic era. While these books can be historically useful, they were not received into the Hebrew Bible. Josephus describes a limited collection of sacred writings and indicates that later books did not possess equal authority because the succession of prophets had ceased.4
Jesus and the apostles also confirm the authority of the Hebrew Scriptures. Jesus refers to the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms as the Scriptures that testify to Him. He treats the Old Testament as a unified and authoritative body of divine revelation. The New Testament repeatedly quotes the Hebrew Scriptures with formulas such as “it is written,” but it never clearly quotes the Apocrypha as Scripture in this way.5
The claim that “there are many Bibles with different numbers of books, so no one can know the true canon” is overstated. Differences exist, but differences do not eliminate evidence. The sixty-six-book canon is not an arbitrary Protestant reduction. It reflects the Hebrew canon of the Old Testament and the apostolic canon of the New Testament. The additional books in Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions have a more disputed reception history.
The Apocrypha fails to meet the same standards as the protocanonical books. It lacks universal Jewish reception, lacks clear prophetic confirmation, and was disputed by major Christian teachers. Jerome, for example, defended the Hebrew canon and denied that apocryphal books should be used to establish doctrine. The Reformers followed this older distinction rather than inventing a new canon.6
The New Testament canon also developed around apostolic authority. A book had to be written by an apostle or a close associate of the apostles, agree with the rule of faith, and be widely received by the churches. By the fourth century, the twenty-seven-book New Testament was clearly recognized in Athanasius’ Festal Letter and later confirmed in regional councils.7
The sixty-six books also display theological unity. From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture presents one redemptive story centered on creation, fall, covenant, promise, Christ, atonement, resurrection, and final restoration. This unity does not prove the canon by itself, but it confirms the coherence of the received books and distinguishes them from later writings that often contain speculative expansions or doctrinal problems.
The existence of many apocryphal and pseudepigraphal books is actually an argument for careful canon recognition, not for expanding the Bible indiscriminately. If every ancient religious writing were treated as a possible biblical book, the canon would become unstable and incoherent. The Church needed discernment precisely because extremely numerous writings claimed religious authority without good warrant.
The sixty-six-book canon is therefore not merely a denominational preference. It is grounded in the Hebrew Scriptures received by Israel and the apostolic writings received by the early Church. The Bible is not an open-ended library of religious literature. It is the inspired collection of books God gave through prophets and apostles.
So how many books are really in the Bible? The most defensible answer is sixty-six. These books alone possess the clearest marks of canonical authority and form the sufficient rule of faith and practice for the Church.
The word “canon” means a rule, standard, or measuring line. Applied to Scripture, it refers to the collection of writings that function as the Church’s authoritative rule of faith. The canon is therefore not simply a table of contents. It is a theological claim about which books are God-breathed and binding on the people of God. This is why the difference between sixty-six books and larger canons matters.
The thirty-nine-book Old Testament is not a rejection of Jewish history between Malachi and Matthew. It is a recognition that the Hebrew Scriptures possess a distinct covenantal authority. The Apocrypha may explain many developments in Jewish life after the exile, but it does not stand on the same level as Moses, the Prophets, and the Writings. The Old Testament canon was not determined by what was interesting about Jewish history, but by what was received as the word of God.
The twenty-seven-book New Testament likewise rests on the apostolic foundation. The apostles were uniquely commissioned witnesses of Christ’s resurrection and authorized teachers of the New Covenant. Books that arose later, even when devotional or popular, could not simply be added to the apostolic foundation. This is why later gospels and acts were rejected even when they attracted attention in some communities.
The sixty-six books also provide a closed and coherent covenantal structure. The Old Testament prepares for Christ through promise, law, prophecy, wisdom, and kingdom history. The New Testament announces Christ’s fulfillment through gospel, apostolic witness, church instruction, and final hope. Adding disputed books as doctrinal authorities risks confusing this structure and weakening the clarity of the canon.
Related Reading
- What Is the Apocrypha?
- Is the Apocrypha Scripture?
- What Is the Deuterocanon?
- How Many Apocryphal Books Are There?
- About Apocrypha.com
Frequently Asked Questions
How many books are in the Bible?
The Protestant Bible contains sixty-six books: thirty-nine in the Old Testament and twenty-seven in the New Testament.
Why do Catholic Bibles have more books?
Catholic Bibles include deuterocanonical books that Protestants classify as Apocrypha.
Why do Protestants accept only sixty-six books?
Because these books correspond directly to the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament) and apostolic New Testament canon. The sixty-six books are determined by 1. prophetic and apostolic authority, 2. theological and doctrinal consistency, and 3. universal acceptance in the Church.
Did Protestants remove books from the Bible?
Protestants rejected the canonical status of disputed books rather than removing universally accepted Scripture. The apocryphal books have been disputed since the earliest centuries, long before the Reformation.
What is the protocanon?
The protocanon refers to books universally recognized as Scripture, unlike disputed deuterocanonical writings.
How many books are in the New Testament?
There are twenty-seven books in the New Testament, and this number is universally recognized.
How many books are in the Old Testament?
The Protestant Old Testament contains thirty-nine books corresponding to the Hebrew Bible, although Catholic and Orthodox Christians add several additional books that are not part of the Hebrew Bible.
Can the canon still grow?
No. The canon is tied to the completed prophetic and apostolic foundation. The account of the history of the world begins in Genesis and ends in Revelation. Genesis is the beginning, Revelation is the end, and nothing can be taken away or added to what is an already complete revelation from God to mankind.
Footnotes
1. F. F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 19–27, 117–269.
2. Roger T. Beckwith, The Old Testament Canon of the New Testament Church (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1985), 21–44.
3. Michael J. Kruger, Canon Revisited, 161–203.
4. Josephus, Against Apion 1.37–43.
5. Luke 24:44; Beckwith, Old Testament Canon, 110–34.
6. Jerome, “Prologue to the Books of Solomon,” 492–93.
7. Athanasius, Festal Letter 39; Bruce, Canon of Scripture, 208–30.
