Question:
Dear Greg,
When
Jerome did his Vulgate translation of the Bible it included the apocryphal
books. Was this version considered
inspired?
Dave
Answer: Dear Dave,
Inclusion
of the Apocrypha in what is considered to be the inspired text of the Bible is
one of the differences between Catholicism and Protestantism—with the
exception of Anglicans. In the
Vulgate, Jerome actually distinguished between the 66 books we know as inspired
and those of the apocrypha, between what he called the libri
ecclesiastici and the libri canonici.
In spite of not wanting the apocryphal books in the Vulgate, Jerome was
overruled by the Council of Carthage (397).
The Council of Trent (1548) reiterated the decision of
In
Christ,