The King James Bible (KJV) is one of the most widely read and influential versions of the Bible, particularly in the English-speaking world. Commissioned by King James I of England in 1604 and first published in 1611, it was intended to unify the Christian Church in England by providing a common version of the Scriptures. The KJV has had a profound impact on Christianity and Western literature, but questions have arisen about its origins, including the number of books that may have been removed from earlier biblical texts.
One of the most common misunderstandings surrounding the King James Bible is the claim that King James “removed” books from the Bible. In fact, the truth is more complex. The KJV was based on earlier English translations and the biblical manuscripts that were available at the time. The Bible was not a single unified text, and different Christian traditions had slightly different collections of books. Some books were omitted from the King James Bible due to historical and theological reasons, but they were not “removed” by King James himself in the way that many assume.
In this article, we will examine how many books were included in the King James Bible, what happened to the books that were left out, and why some Christian traditions include books that the KJV does not. We will explore the historical context behind these changes and the various versions of the Bible throughout history.
The Canon of the Bible
Before diving into the specific books in question, it is essential to understand what is meant by the “canon” of the Bible. The term “canon” refers to the official list of books that are considered inspired and authoritative in a given religious tradition. The canon was not universally agreed upon by all Christian communities in the early centuries of the Church. Different churches included different books in their versions of the Bible, depending on their theological beliefs and the manuscripts they had access to.
The Old Testament, for example, contains 39 books in the Protestant canon, which is the version followed by the Church of England and other Protestant denominations. The Roman Catholic Church, however, includes several additional books in its Old Testament canon, known as the “Deuterocanonical” books. These are books that were included in the Greek Septuagint (the Old Testament translation into Greek), but were not part of the Hebrew Bible.
The King James Bible and the Apocrypha
When King James commissioned the translation of the Bible into English, he used the Textus Receptus (a Greek manuscript of the New Testament) and the Masoretic Text (a Hebrew manuscript of the Old Testament) as the basis for the translation. However, the King James Bible was not the first English translation of the Bible. Previous translations, such as the Tyndale Bible and the Great Bible, had included additional books and sections, especially those found in the Greek Septuagint.
In the early editions of the King James Bible, the books known as the “Apocrypha” were included. The Apocrypha is a collection of books that were part of the Old Testament in the Septuagint but were not considered canonical by the Jewish tradition. These books were accepted by the Roman Catholic Church but were rejected by many Protestant reformers. The Apocrypha includes books such as Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Baruch, and additional sections of Esther and Daniel.
Although the Apocryphal books were included in the original King James Bible, they were placed in a separate section between the Old and New Testaments. The inclusion of these books was not without controversy, as many Protestant Reformers, including Martin Luther, had rejected them as non-canonical. In later editions of the King James Bible, the Apocrypha was removed entirely, reflecting the growing Protestant resistance to these texts.
The Removal of the Apocrypha
The most notable “removal” of books from the King James Bible occurred when the Apocrypha was excluded in subsequent editions after the first 1611 publication. The King James translators were commissioned to translate the Bible based on the belief that the books of the Bible should be the ones considered inspired by God, and the Apocryphal books did not meet this criterion in the view of many Protestant reformers.
In 1629, a royal edition of the King James Bible was published without the Apocrypha, and over time, other editions followed suit. The removal of the Apocrypha was not an official decision by King James himself but rather a shift in the Protestant attitude toward these books. By the late 17th century, most Protestant Bibles had adopted the format of excluding the Apocrypha, and it has remained that way in most Protestant translations ever since.
Interestingly, many of the Apocryphal books are still included in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles. The Catholic Church considers these books as part of the canonical Scriptures, citing their inclusion in the Septuagint and their use in the early Church. For instance, the books of Tobit, Judith, and 1 and 2 Maccabees are important for understanding Jewish history, and the book of Wisdom is often cited in Catholic theology.
The Historical Context of the Removal
The removal of the Apocryphal books from the King James Bible is part of a larger historical context of the Protestant Reformation. The Reformers, including figures like Martin Luther and John Calvin, were intent on returning to what they considered the “pure” Scripture—those books that were universally accepted by the early Church and had clear theological significance. They rejected any books that did not have strong, historical backing or that were not universally accepted in the ancient Christian Church.
For Protestants, the books in the Apocrypha were seen as either not inspired or as of secondary importance. For example, the book of 1 Maccabees contains a historical narrative about the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid Empire, but it was not regarded as divinely inspired in the same way as books like Isaiah or Psalms. Similarly, the book of Tobit is a moral tale that was thought to be valuable but not inspired Scripture.
The decision to exclude the Apocrypha in later editions of the King James Bible was thus part of the ongoing debates about which books should be included in the Christian Bible. This issue has persisted for centuries, with Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox traditions each having their own view on the matter.
Conclusion
While King James I did not personally “remove” any books from the Bible, the King James Bible did exclude certain books that were once part of earlier translations. Most notably, the Apocrypha—books that were included in the Greek Septuagint but were not considered canonical by the Hebrew Bible—was removed in later editions of the KJV. This decision was driven by the Protestant Reformation’s emphasis on returning to what Reformers saw as the “pure” and inspired Scriptures, which did not include the Apocrypha.
Today, the King James Bible is revered for its beauty, its historical significance, and its role in shaping the English-speaking Christian world. While it does not contain the Apocrypha, many Christians still find spiritual value in these books. For Catholics and Orthodox Christians, the Apocryphal books remain an integral part of their biblical tradition. Thus, the debate over the “missing” books of the King James Bible continues to be a point of theological distinction between different Christian denominations.
In the end, understanding the history and context of the Bible’s canon is essential for grasping how different Christian traditions have viewed the Scriptures and why certain books were included or excluded.
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