Saturday, September 6, 2014

Why do some Catholic Bibles have more than 5 books labeled as Pentateuch

I found some answers here http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?p=12313283  Here are a few of the answers: 

 The EIGHT books of the Pentateuch??? Per my NAB

Actually this is not a misprint.

The original NAB translators decided to do this on the basis that many early Greek manuscripts actually include Joshua, Judges, and Ruth as part of the Pentateuch.

Since the Greek Septuagint collection of books defined the accepted canon of the early Church, the original NAB defined its table of contents by this earliest Christian list.

When the NABRE was produced, the translators decided to follow the older (and original) Jewish descriptions, limiting the Pentateuch to the Five Books of Moses or the Torah.

Some scholars still prefer the Greek definition of books, even though technically the "pente" in the Greek word "Pentateuch" means "five."

The reason for this preference among some is that Joshua is considered a continuation of Deuteronomy. Judges picks up the story where the book of Joshua leaves off and Ruth immediately follows setting the stage for the "real" history of Israel under the rule of its kings. The books are seen by many not as mere history as they are setting the stage for the great David dynasty story.

So again it's not a misprint, just a change in editorial direction as how to present the books in the table of contents.

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