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The Apocryphal Books (DEUTEROCANONICAL BOOKS) Generally speaking, this collection
of books is known by Protestants as ‘The Apocrypha’, and is known by
Catholics as ‘The Deuterocanonicals’.
It is a collection of diverse Hebrew literature, written between about
300 BC and AD 70. These books were not
part of the 39 books that made up the original Hebrew Scriptures (our Old
Testament), and were never considered by the Jewish people of the time to be
Sacred Scripture. However, they were
well known to many Jewish people, and were still greatly valued because of
the high moral teaching portrayed in the various stories, myths and legends. When the Hebrew Scriptures were
first translated into Greek, many of these Hebrew stories were incorporated
into the Greek translation (the Septuagint), and so became familiar to the
early Greek-speaking Christians as well as the Jews. These stories were integrated throughout
the Old Testament and gradually came to be accepted by many as part of the
Scriptures. However, there had always
been much debate about whether these extra books really belonged with the
Holy Scriptures. In AD 70 when Jerusalem and the
Temple were destroyed by the Romans, and at a time when the early Christian
church was expanding at an astonishing rate, the Jewish community felt that
its culture was again under threat, and in a bid to permanently secure their
Jewish identity, the Canon of Scripture was closed, which meant that nothing
more was to be added. The original Hebrew Scriptures were
accepted and affirmed as Sacred Scripture, but these additional books (that
were only found in the Greek Septuagint) were rejected. However, the early Christians, who had only
ever used the Greek Septuagint, continued to assume that all the writings
were of equal value. In the 4th Century AD a Latin
translator, Eusebius Jerome, was commissioned to make the first translation
of the Scriptures into Latin. This
became known as the ‘Vulgate’ or ‘Peoples’ Bible’ (the word ‘vulgar’ at that
time meant ‘common’ or ‘popular’).
Although Jerome retained these extra writings, he realised they were different, that they were only found
in the Greek translations, and were not
part of the authoritative Hebrew texts.
So he collected them together and placed them separately between the
Old and New Testaments, and called them ‘The Apocrypha’, a Greek term meaning
‘hidden’. Still the debate continued, and the
Western Catholic Church re-integrated these books back in amongst the Old
Testament. In the 16th century,
although many Protestant Reformers tried to exclude them again, in 1534 the
great Reformer, Martin Luther, surprisingly included the Apocrypha in his
German translation of the Bible, but kept it separate, as Jerome had done,
and placed the writings in a group together between the Old and New
Testaments. Martin Luther’s comment on
the Apocrypha was: ‘These are books, which are not held equal
to the Sacred Scriptures and yet are useful and good for reading.’ It is interesting to note that the
New Testament authors quote extensively from the Old Testament, and many
times they use the Septuagint version, but none of them make a direct quote
from any of the apocryphal books. Catholics and many Orthodox
Christians still retain some of these extra writings throughout the Old
Testament section of their Bibles. But
they are now classified as ‘Deuterocanonical’ books (the Greek word
‘deuteros’ means ‘second’), signifying that they are not regarded with the
same significance as the ‘Protocanonical’ books, which are the original
Hebrew Scriptures. However, even among
Christians who do not accept the Apocrypha as Scripture, there are many who
see the value of these books from a literary point of view, and value them as
an excellent insight into the historical and cultural situation that existed
during the last two hundred years that led to the time of Christ. (For an intriguing insight into the
astonishing influence the Apocrypha has had on the course of history, click
the right-hand button at the end of this page, and enjoy the surprise.) Books of the Apocrypha 1. The First Book of Esdras Esdras is the Greek name for
Ezra. The book is another version of
the accounts given in 2 Chronicles Chapters 35 to 36; Ezra; and Nehemiah
Chapters 6 to 8. These Apocryphal
versions vary in detail and order, and have additions and omissions. 2. The Second Book of Esdras Classified as apocalyptic writing,
this is an account of a series of seven visions supposedly given to Ezra by
the angel Uriel. The writing deals
with the problems of evil, suffering, persecution, end times, judgement and
the new world. 3. Tobit
A romantic tale about a pious man
called Tobit who became blind. The story
is derived from ancient folklore, and was written to preserve 4. Judith A fictitious story (and historically
inaccurate) about a woman who dramatically rescues her nation by killing
Holofernes, an Assyrian general. 5. Additions to the Book of Esther These are six passages found in the
Greek Septuagint, but not in the original Hebrew account. 6. The Wisdom of Solomon A poem using borrowed Greek
philosophy, by an unknown author, designed to encourage a love of wisdom. 7. Sirach or The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of
Sirach
(Ecclesiasticus) A wisdom book designed to encourage
the notion that wisdom is to be found in 8. Baruch
A collection of four short
discourses. Baruch was the name of the
prophet Jeremiah’s secretary. Although
this writing is attributed to him, it was not actually written until the
first or second century BC. 9. The Letter of Jeremiah This is sometimes presented as
Chapter 6 of Baruch. It was written in
300 BC. It is in the form of a letter,
and urges people who live under foreign powers not to worship false idols. 10. The Additions to the Book of Daniel
The three young men are
the Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who were thrown into the fiery furnace by
Nebuchadnezzar. (Abednego’s Hebrew
name was Azariah.)
Beautiful and virtuous
Susanna is falsely accused of adultery, and is rescued, cleared and
vindicated by Daniel who displays great wisdom by his cross-examination of
her accusers.
Two very short
stories. The first: Daniel reveals the
falseness of the idol Bel. The second:
Daniel destroys a dragon which the Babylonians worshipped as a god. This story involves Daniel being thrown
into a lion’s den. 11. The Prayer of Manasseh A prayer of repentance. Supposedly the prayer of the wicked king
Manasseh as he repented. (See 2
Chronicles 33:11-13; 33:18-19) The
writing has been dated around the 1st century BC. 12. The First Book of the Maccabees A description of the events in the
Maccabean revolt that overthrew Antiochus Epiphanes – historically reasonably
accurate. 13. The Second Book of the Maccabees Another account of the same
period. A condensed version of a lost
five-volume history by Jason of Cyrene.
This book concentrates more on theology than historical detail. 14. The Third Book of the Maccabees Not the same period of history as 1
& 2 Maccabees. This story depicts
events in the late 3rd century BC when Jews, living in 15. The Fourth Book of the Maccabees A discussion using borrowed Greek
philosophy to show that emotion should be ruled by Godly reason. The argument uses characters and stories
from the Maccabean times. 16. Psalm 151 The psalm describes David killing Goliath
and then being chosen by God to be king.
The psalm is attributed to David, but in fact was not actually written
until 3rd century BC, and therefore was not part of the original Psalter. PS: Don’t forget to click the link and read
about the astonishing influence the Apocrypha has had on several significant
bits of human history! |
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Schematic Diagram Click Here |
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Back to overview of
the Click Here |
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Amazing influence of
the Apocrypha Click Here |
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