Westminster Confession on Canon of the Old Testament
66 books — Apocrypha useful but not Scripture
The books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration, are no part of the canon of the Scripture; and therefore are of no authority in the Church of God, nor to be any otherwise approved, or made use of, than other human writings.
THE POSITION
WCF 1.2 lists the books by name - thirty-nine Old Testament, twenty-seven New - and closes the list with 'All which are given by inspiration of God, to be the rule of faith and life.' 1.3 then rules on the Apocrypha directly and negatively. The ground given is not ecclesiastical decision but the books' own character: they are 'not being of divine inspiration', and the canon is treated as recognised rather than conferred.
27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself.
13 OTHERS HOLD THIS
ABOUT THIS FIGURE
The confessional standard of English-speaking Presbyterianism, completed by the Westminster Assembly in 1646 and adopted with its Scripture proofs. This entry rests on the 1646 text from the manuscript of Cornelius Burges as edited by S. W. Carruthers (1937) for chapters 1-24, and on the 1647 text for chapters 25-33; the Assembly's own proof texts attached to each paragraph supply every reference below.
Cite this page
"Westminster Confession on Canon of the Old Testament", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/westminster/ot-canon (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/westminster/ot-canon).