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APOCRYPHA
APOCRYPHA
(A·poc'ry·pha).
The Greek word a·po'kry·phos is used in its original sense in three Bible texts as referring to things “carefully concealed.” (Mr 4:22; Lu 8:17; Col 2:3) As applied to writings, it originally referred to those not read publicly, hence “concealed” from others. Later, however, the word took on the meaning of spurious or uncanonical, and today is used most commonly to refer to the additional writings declared part of the Bible canon by the Roman Catholic Church at the Council of Trent (1546). Catholic writers refer to these books as deuterocanonical, meaning “of the second (or later) canon,” as distinguished from protocanonical.
These additional writings are Tobit, Judith, Wisdom (of Solomon), Ecclesiasticus (not Ecclesiastes), Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees, supplements to Esther, and three additions to Daniel: The Song of the Three Holy Children, Susanna and the Elders, and The Destruction of Bel and the Dragon. The exact time of their being written is uncertain, but the evidence points to a time no earlier than the second or third century B.C.E.
Evidence Against Canonicity. While in some cases they have certain historical value, any claim for canonicity on the part of these writings is without any solid foundation. The evidence points to a closing of the Hebrew canon following the writing of the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Malachi in the fifth century B.C.E. The Apocryphal writings were never included in the Jewish canon of inspired Scriptures and do not form part of it today.
The first-century Jewish historian Josephus shows the recognition given only to those few books (of the Hebrew canon) viewed as sacred, stating: “We do not possess myriads of inconsistent books, conflicting with each other. Our books, those which are justly accredited, are but two and twenty [the equivalent of the 39 books of the Hebrew Scriptures according to modern division], and contain the record of all time.” He thereafter clearly shows an awareness of the existence of Apocryphal books and their exclusion from the Hebrew canon by adding: “From Artaxerxes to our own time the complete history has been written, but has not been deemed worthy of equal credit with the earlier records, because of the failure of the exact succession of the prophets.”—Against Apion, I, 38, 41 (8).
Inclusion in “Septuagint.” Arguments in favor of the canonicity of the writings generally revolve around the fact that these Apocryphal writings are to be found in many early copies of the Greek Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, which translation was begun in Egypt about 280 B.C.E. However, since no original copies of the Septuagint are extant, it cannot be stated categorically that the Apocryphal books were originally included in that work. Many, perhaps most, of the Apocryphal writings were admittedly written after the commencement of the translation work of the Septuagint and so were obviously not on the original list of books selected for translation by the translating body. At best, then, they could rate only as accretions to that work.
Additionally, while the Greek-speaking Jews of Alexandria eventually inserted such Apocryphal writings into the Greek Septuagint and apparently viewed them as part of an enlarged canon of sacred writings, the statement by Josephus quoted earlier shows that they were never brought into the Jerusalem or Palestinian canon and were, at the most, viewed as only secondary writings and not of divine origin. Thus, the Jewish Council of Jamnia (about 90 C.E.) specifically excluded all such writings from the Hebrew canon.
The need for giving due consideration to the Jewish stand in this matter is clearly stated by the apostle Paul at Romans 3:1, 2.
Additional ancient testimony. One of the chief external evidences against the canonicity of the Apocrypha is the fact that none of the Christian Bible writers quoted from these books. While this of itself is not conclusive, inasmuch as their writings are also lacking in quotations from a few books recognized as canonical, such as Esther, Ecclesiastes, and The Song of Solomon, yet the fact that not one of the writings of the Apocrypha is quoted even once is certainly significant.
Not without weight also is the fact that leading Bible scholars and “church fathers” of the first centuries of the Common Era, on the whole, gave the Apocrypha an inferior position. Origen, of the early third century C.E., as a result of careful investigation made such a distinction between these writings and those of the true canon. Athanasius, Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Amphilocius, all of the fourth century C.E., prepared catalogs listing the sacred writings in accord with the Hebrew canon and either ignored these additional writings or placed them in a secondary class.
Jerome, who is described as “the best Hebrew scholar” of the early church and who completed the Latin Vulgate in 405 C.E., took a definite stand against such Apocryphal books and was the first, in fact, to use the word “Apocrypha” explicitly in the sense of noncanonical as referring to these writings. Thus, in his prologue to the books of Samuel and Kings, Jerome lists the inspired books of the Hebrew Scriptures in harmony with the Hebrew canon (in which the 39 books are grouped as 22) and then says: “Thus there are twenty-two books . . . This prologue of the Scriptures can serve as a fortified approach to all the books which we translate from the Hebrew into Latin; so that we may know that whatever is beyond these must be put in the apocrypha.” In writing to a lady named Laeta on the education of her daughter, Jerome counseled: “Let her avoid all the apocryphal books, and if she ever wishes to read them, not for the truth of their doctrines but out of respect for their wondrous tales, let her realize that they are not really written by those to whom they are ascribed, that there are many faulty elements in them, and that it requires great skill to look for gold in mud.”—Select Letters, CVII.
Differing Catholic views. The trend toward including these additional writings as canonical was primarily initiated by Augustine (354-430 C.E.), although even he in later works acknowledged that there was a definite distinction between the books of the Hebrew canon and such “outside books.” However, the Catholic Church, following Augustine’s lead, included such additional writings in the canon of sacred books determined by the Council of Carthage in 397 C.E. It was, however, not until as late as 1546 C.E., at the Council of Trent, that the Roman Catholic Church definitely confirmed its acceptance of these additions into its catalog of Bible books, and this action was deemed necessary because, even within the church, opinion was still divided over these writings. John Wycliffe, the Roman Catholic priest and scholar who, with the subsequent help of Nicholas of Hereford, in the 14th century made the first translation of the Bible into English, did not include the Apocrypha in his work, and the preface to this translation declared such writings to be “without authority of belief.” Dominican Cardinal Cajetan, foremost Catholic theologian of his time (1469-1534 C.E.) and called by Clement VII the “lamp of the Church,” also differentiated between the books of the true Hebrew canon and the Apocryphal works, appealing to the writings of Jerome as an authority.
It is to be noted as well that the Council of Trent did not accept all the writings previously approved by the earlier Council of Carthage but dropped three of these: the Prayer of Manasses and 1 and 2 Esdras (not the 1 and 2 Esdras that, in the Catholic Douay Bible, correspond with Ezra and Nehemiah). Thus, these three writings that had appeared for over 1,100 years in the approved Latin Vulgate were now excluded.
Internal evidence. The internal evidence of these Apocryphal writings weighs even more heavily against their canonicity than does the external. They are completely lacking in the prophetic element. Their contents and teachings at times contradict those of the canonical books and are also contradictory within themselves. They are rife with historical and geographic inaccuracies and anachronisms. The writers in some cases are guilty of dishonesty in falsely representing their works as those of earlier inspired writers. They show themselves to be under pagan Greek influence, and at times resort to an extravagance of language and literary style wholly foreign to the inspired Scriptures. Two of the writers imply that they were not inspired. (See the Prologue to Ecclesiasticus; 2 Maccabees 2:24-32; 15:38-40, Dy.) Thus, it may be said that the best evidence against the canonicity of the Apocrypha is the Apocrypha itself. A consideration of the individual books here follows:
Tobit (Tobias). The account of a pious Jew of the tribe of Naphtali who is deported to Nineveh and who becomes blinded by having bird’s dung fall in both of his eyes. He sends his son, Tobias, to Media to collect a debt, and Tobias is led by an angel, impersonating a human, to Ecbatana (Rages). En route he acquires the heart, liver, and gall of a fish. He encounters a widow who, though married seven times, remains a virgin because of each husband’s having been killed on the marriage night by Asmodeus, the evil spirit. Encouraged by the angel, Tobias marries the widowed virgin, and by burning the fish’s heart and liver, he drives away the demon. Upon returning home he restores his father’s sight by use of the gall of the fish.
The story was probably written originally in Aramaic and is estimated to be of about the third century B.C.E. It is obviously not inspired by God because of the superstition and error found in the narrative. Among the inaccuracies it contains is this: The account states that in his youth Tobit saw the revolt of the northern tribes, which occurred in 997 B.C.E. after Solomon’s death (Tobit 1:4, 5, JB), also that he was later deported to Nineveh with the tribe of Naphtali, in 740 B.C.E. (Tobias 1:11-13, Dy) That would mean that he lived more than 257 years. Yet Tobias 14:1-3 (Dy) says he was 102 years old at the time of his death.
Judith. This is the account of a beautiful Jewish widow of the city of “Bethulia.” Nebuchadnezzar sends his officer Holofernes on a campaign to the W to destroy all worship except that of Nebuchadnezzar himself. The Jews are besieged in Bethulia, but Judith pretends to be a traitoress to the Jews’ cause and is admitted to the camp of Holofernes, where she gives him a false report of the conditions in the city. At a feast, in which Holofernes becomes drunk, she is able to behead him with his own sword and then return to Bethulia with his head. The following morning the enemy camp is thrown into confusion, and the Jews gain complete victory.
As the Catholic translation The Jerusalem Bible comments in its Introduction to the Books of Tobit, Judith and Esther: “The book of Judith in particular shows a bland indifference to history and geography.” Among the inconsistencies pointed out in that introduction is this: The events are stated as occurring during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, who is called the king “who reigned over the Assyrians in the great city of Nineveh.” (Judith 1:1, 7 [1:5, 10, Dy]) The introduction and footnotes of this translation point out that Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylonia and never reigned in Nineveh, since Nineveh had been destroyed earlier by Nebuchadnezzar’s father Nabopolassar.
Concerning the traveling itinerary of the army of Holofernes, this Introduction states that it is “a geographical impossibility.” The Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Vol. 1, p. 76) comments: “The story is frank fiction—otherwise its inexactitudes would be incredible.”—Edited by J. D. Douglas, 1980.
The book is thought to have been written in Palestine during the Greek period toward the end of the second century or the start of the first century B.C.E. It is believed to have been originally written in Hebrew.
Additions to the Book of Esther. These form six additional passages. Preceding the first chapter in some ancient Greek and Latin texts (but Es 11:2–12:6 in Dy) is the first portion, of 17 verses, presenting a dream of Mordecai and his exposing a conspiracy against the king. Following 3:13 (but 13:1-7 in Dy) the second addition presents the text of the king’s edict against the Jews. At the close of chapter 4 (but 13:8–14:19 in Dy) prayers by Mordecai and Esther are related as the third addition. The fourth is made to follow 5:2 (but 15:1-19 in Dy) and recounts Esther’s audience with the king. The fifth comes after 8:12 (but 16:1-24 in Dy) and consists of the king’s edict allowing the Jews to defend themselves. At the close of the book (but 10:4–11:1 in Dy) the dream presented in the Apocryphal introduction is interpreted.
The placement of these additions varies in different translations, some placing them all at the end of the book (as did Jerome in his translation) and others interspersing them throughout the canonical text.
In the first of these Apocryphal sections Mordecai is presented as having been among the captives taken by Nebuchadnezzar, in 617 B.C.E., and as being an important man in the king’s court in the second year of Ahasuerus (Gr. says Artaxerxes) over a century later. This statement that Mordecai occupied such an important position so early in the king’s reign contradicts the canonical part of Esther. The Apocryphal additions are believed to be the work of an Egyptian Jew and to have been written during the second century B.C.E.
Wisdom (of Solomon). This is a treatise extolling the benefits to those seeking divine wisdom. Wisdom is personified as a celestial woman, and Solomon’s prayer for wisdom is included in the text. The latter part reviews the history from Adam to the conquest of Canaan, drawing upon it for examples of blessings for wisdom and calamities for lack of it. The folly of image worship is discussed.
Though not mentioning him directly by name, in certain texts the book presents Solomon as its author. (Wisdom 9:7, 8, 12) But the book cites passages from Bible books written centuries after Solomon’s death (c. 998 B.C.E.) and does so from the Greek Septuagint, which began to be translated about 280 B.C.E. The writer is believed to have been a Jew in Alexandria, Egypt, who wrote about the middle of the first century B.C.E.
The writer manifests a strong reliance on Greek philosophy. He employs Platonic terminology in advancing the doctrine of the immortality of the human soul. (Wisdom 2:23; 3:2, 4) Other pagan concepts presented are the preexistence of human souls and the view of the body as an impediment or hindrance to the soul. (8:19, 20; 9:15) The presentation of the historical events from Adam to Moses is embellished with many fanciful details, often at variance with the canonical record.
While some reference works endeavor to show certain correspondencies between passages from this Apocryphal writing and the later works of the Christian Greek Scriptures, the similarity is often slight and, even where somewhat stronger, would not indicate any drawing upon this Apocryphal work by the Christian writers but, rather, their drawing upon the canonical Hebrew Scriptures, which the Apocryphal writer also employed.
Ecclesiasticus. This book, also called The Wisdom of Jesus, the Son of Sirach, has the distinction of being the longest of the Apocryphal books and the only one whose author is known, Jesus ben-Sirach of Jerusalem. The writer expounds upon the nature of wisdom and its application for a successful life. Observance of the Law is strongly emphasized. Counsel on many areas of social conduct and daily life is given, including comments on table manners, dreams, and travel. The concluding portion contains a review of important personages of Israel, ending with the high priest Simon II.
Contradicting Paul’s statement at Romans 5:12-19, which places the responsibility for sin upon Adam, Ecclesiasticus says: “From the woman came the beginning of sin, and by her we all die.” (25:33, Dy) The writer also prefers “any wickedness, but the wickedness of a woman.”—25:19, Dy.
The book was originally written in Hebrew in the early part of the second century B.C.E. Quotations from it are found in the Jewish Talmud.
Baruch (Including the Epistle of Jeremias). The first five chapters of the book are made to appear as though they were written by Jeremiah’s friend and scribe, Baruch; the sixth chapter is presented as a letter written by Jeremiah (Jeremias) himself. The book relates the expressions of repentance and prayers for relief on the part of the exiled Jews in Babylon, exhortations to follow wisdom, encouragement to hope in the promise of deliverance, and the denunciation of Babylonish idolatry.
Baruch is represented as being in Babylon (Baruch 1:1, 2), whereas the Bible record shows he went to Egypt, as did Jeremiah, and there is no evidence that Baruch was ever in Babylon. (Jer 43:5-7) Contrary to Jeremiah’s prophecy that the desolation of Judah during the Babylonian exile would last 70 years (Jer 25:11, 12; 29:10), Baruch 6:2 tells the Jews that they will be in Babylon for seven generations and then experience release.
Jerome, in his preface to the book of Jeremiah, states: “I have not thought it worth while to translate the book of Baruch.” The introduction to the book in The Jerusalem Bible (p. 1128) suggests that sections of the composition may have been written as late as the second or first century B.C.E.; hence by an author (or authors) other than Baruch. The original language was probably Hebrew.
The Song of the Three Holy Children. This addition to Daniel is made to follow Daniel 3:23. It consists of 67 verses presenting a prayer supposedly uttered by Azariah within the fiery furnace, followed by an account of an angel’s putting out the fiery blaze, and finally a song sung by the three Hebrews inside the furnace. The song is quite similar to Psalm 148. Its references to the temple, priests, and cherubim, however, do not fit the time to which it alleges to conform. It may have been originally written in Hebrew and is considered to be of the first century B.C.E.
Susanna and the Elders. This short story relates an incident in the life of the beautiful wife of Joakim, a wealthy Jew in Babylon. While bathing, Susanna is approached by two Jewish elders who urge her to commit adultery with them and, upon her refusal, frame a false charge against her. At the trial she is sentenced to die, but youthful Daniel adroitly exposes the two elders, and Susanna is cleared of the charge. The original language is uncertain. It is considered to have been written during the first century B.C.E. In the Greek Septuagint it was placed before the canonical book of Daniel, and in the Latin Vulgate it was placed after it. Some versions include it as a 13th chapter of Daniel.
The Destruction of Bel and the Dragon. This is a third addition to Daniel, some versions placing it as a 14th chapter. In the account King Cyrus requires of Daniel that he worship an idol of the god Bel. By sprinkling ashes on the floor of the temple and thus detecting footprints, Daniel proves that the food supposedly eaten by the idol is really consumed by the pagan priests and their families. The priests are killed, and Daniel smashes the idol. Daniel is asked by the king to worship a living dragon. Daniel destroys the dragon but is thrown into the lions’ den by the enraged populace. During the seven days of his confinement, an angel picks up Habakkuk by his hair and carries him and a bowl of stew from Judea to Babylon to provide Daniel with food. Habakkuk is then returned to Judea, Daniel is released from the den, and his opponents are thrown in and devoured. This addition is also considered to be from the first century B.C.E. These additions to Daniel are referred to in The Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Vol. 1, p. 76) as “pious legendary embroidery.”
First Maccabees. A historical account of the Jewish struggle for independence during the second century B.C.E., from the beginning of Antiochus Epiphanes’ reign (175 B.C.E.) to the death of Simon Maccabaeus (c. 134 B.C.E.). It deals particularly with the exploits of priest Mattathias and his sons, Judas, Jonathan, and Simon, in their battles with the Syrians.
This is the most valuable of the Apocryphal works because of the historical information it supplies for this period. However, as The Jewish Encyclopedia (1976, Vol. VIII, p. 243) comments, in it “history is written from the human standpoint.” Like the other Apocryphal works, it did not form part of the inspired Hebrew canon. It was evidently written in Hebrew about the latter part of the second century B.C.E.
Second Maccabees. Though placed after First Maccabees, this account relates to part of the same time period (c. 180 B.C.E. to 160 B.C.E.) but was not written by the author of First Maccabees. The writer presents the book as a summary of the previous works of a certain Jason of Cyrene. It describes the persecutions of the Jews under Antiochus Epiphanes, the plundering of the temple, and its subsequent rededication.
The account represents Jeremiah, at the destruction of Jerusalem, as carrying the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant to a cave in the mountain from which Moses viewed the land of Canaan. (2 Maccabees 2:1-16) The tabernacle had, of course, been replaced by the temple some 420 years previously.
Various texts are employed in Catholic dogma as support for doctrines such as punishment after death (2 Maccabees 6:26), intercession by the saints (15:12-16), and the propriety of prayers for the dead (12:41-46, Dy).
In its Introduction to the Books of Maccabees, The Jerusalem Bible says concerning Second Maccabees: “The style is that of hellenistic writers, though not of the best: at times it is turgid, frequently pompous.” The writer of Second Maccabees makes no pretense of writing under divine inspiration and devotes part of the second chapter to justifying his choice of the particular method used in handling the subject material. (2 Maccabees 2:24-32, JB) He concludes his work by saying: “Here, then, I will make an end of writing; if it has been done workmanly, and in historian’s fashion, none better pleased than I; if it is of little merit, I must be humoured none the less.”—2 Maccabees 15:38, 39, Kx.
The book was evidently written in Greek sometime between 134 B.C.E. and the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.
Later Apocryphal Works. Particularly from the second century C.E. forward there has developed an immense body of writings making claim to divine inspiration and canonicity and pretending to relate to the Christian faith. Frequently referred to as the “Apocryphal New Testament,” these writings represent efforts at imitating the Gospels, Acts, letters, and the revelations contained in the canonical books of the Christian Greek Scriptures. A large number of these are known only through fragments extant or by quotations from them or allusions to them by other writers.
These writings manifest an attempt to provide information that the inspired writings deliberately omit, such as the activities and events relating to Jesus’ life from his early childhood on up to the time of his baptism, or an effort to manufacture support for doctrines or traditions that find no basis in the Bible or are in contradiction to it. Thus the so-called Gospel of Thomas and the Protevangelium of James are filled with fanciful accounts of miracles supposedly wrought by Jesus in his childhood. But the whole effect of the picture they draw of him is to cause Jesus to appear as a capricious and petulant child endowed with impressive powers. (Compare the genuine account at Lu 2:51, 52.) The Apocryphal “Acts,” such as the “Acts of Paul” and the “Acts of Peter,” lay heavy stress on complete abstinence from sexual relations and even depict the apostles as urging women to separate from their husbands, thus contradicting Paul’s authentic counsel at 1 Corinthians 7.
Commenting on such postapostolic Apocryphal writings, The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (Vol. 1, p. 166) states: “Many of them are trivial, some are highly theatrical, some are disgusting, even loathsome.” (Edited by G. A. Buttrick, 1962) Funk and Wagnalls New Standard Bible Dictionary (1936, p. 56) comments: “They have been the fruitful source of sacred legends and ecclesiastical traditions. It is to these books that we must look for the origin of some of the dogmas of the Roman Catholic Church.”
Just as the earlier Apocryphal writings were excluded from among the accepted pre-Christian Hebrew Scriptures, so also these later Apocryphal writings were not accepted as inspired nor included as canonical in the earliest collections or catalogs of the Christian Greek Scriptures.—See CANON.
Apocrypha
Pseudepigrapha
New Testament
Apocrypha
Gospels
Acts
Writings
Apocalypse
Church Fathers
Related Literature
and Sites
Links to Related Sites
The Works of Josephus
Philo of Alexandria
Old Testament Apocrypha
Connect to the Internet and click on these links.
1. 1 Esdras
2. 1 Maccabees
3. 2 Esdras (a.k.a 4 Ezra)
4. 2 Maccabees
5. 3 Maccabees
6. 4 Ezra (a.ka. 2 Esdras)
7. 4 Maccabees
8. Baruch
9. Bel and the Dragon (addition to Daniel)
10. Daniel and Susanna (addition to Daniel)
11. Esther, Additions to
12. Judith
13. Letter of Jeremiah
14. Prayer of Azariah (addition to Daniel)
15. Prayer of Manasseh, The
16. Psalm 151
17. Sirach
18. Tobit
19. Wisdom of Solomon, The
The Christian Apocrypha constitute a loosely defined collection of early Christian texts which are similar in style and content to the books of the New Testament but which were not included in either the New Testament itself or the Apostolic Fathers. The Christian Apocrypha include a wide range of genres: gospels, apostolic acts, letters, apocalypses, martyrdoms, and saint's lives. The surviving texts date from the second century and later, but some contain much older traditions. They were written in a variety of ancient languages and often survive only in fragments or in translations into other languages. Recent scholarship has been concerned with the reconstruction of the texts and tracing their development over time. Other scholars have attempted to mine these works for information on popular Christianity in the early centuries.
What is the Apocrypha?
The term "apocrypha" was coined by the fifth-century biblical scholar St. Jerome and refers to the biblical books included as part of the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Old Testament), but not included in the Hebrew Bible.
Several works ranging from the fourth century B.C.E. to New Testament times are considered apocryphal--including Judith, the Wisdom of Solomon, Tobit, Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus), Baruch, First and Second Maccabees, the two Books of Esdras, various additions to the Book of Esther (10:4-10), the Book of Daniel (3:24-90;13;14), and the Prayer of Manasseh.
The apocrypha have been variously included and omitted from bibles over the course of the centuries. Protestant churches generally exclude the apocrypha (though the King James version of 1611 included them). The Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches include all of the apocrypha (except for the books of Esdras and the Prayer of Manasseh), but refer to them as "deuterocanonical" books. In this context, the term "apocrypha" generally refers to writings entirely outside of the biblical canon and not considered inspired (such as the Gospel of Thomas). These same books are referred to by Protestants as the "pseudoepigrapha."
Archive Notes
A wide range of texts -- some showing Gnostic tendancy or influence -- survived within the Christian tradition outside of the New Testiment canon. This section of the library offers a large collection of these documents. Note that texts discovered in the Nag Hammadi collection are listed in the Nag Hammadi Library section, and are not included here. Texts of a primarily Gnostic character are cataloged in the Gnostic Scriptures and Fragments section of the Library
Although this is a fairly comprehensive catalog of texts, several additional documents not presented here can be found at the Noncanonical Homepage.
Apocryphal Acts
• The Acts of Andrew
• The Acts and Martyrdom of Andrew
• The Acts of Andrew and Matthew
• The Acts of Barnabas
• The Acts of John
• The Acts of John the Theologian
• The Acts and Martyrdom of Matthew
• The Martyrdom of Matthew
• The Acts of Paul
• The Acts of Peter
• The Acts of Peter and Andrew
• The Acts of Peter and Paul
• The Acts of Philip
• The Acts of Thomas
• The Consummation of Thomas
Apocalyptic Texts
• The Revelation of John the Theologian
• The Revelation of Paul
• The Apocalypse of Peter (Traditional - Not NHL)
• The Revelation of Stephen
• The Apocalypse of Thomas
• The Apocalypse of the Virgin
Apocryphal Gospels
• The Infancy Gospel of Thomas: Greek Text A
• The Infancy Gospel of Thomas: Greek Text B
• The Infancy Gospel of Thomas: Latin Text
• A Compilation of the Thomas Texts (c. 5th Century)
• An Arabic Infancy Gospel
• The Gospel of James
• The Gospel of the Nativity of Mary
• The Gospel of Mary of Bethany (or Magdalene)
• The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew
• The Gospel of Nicodemos (The Acts of Pilate)
• The Gospel of Bartholomew
• The Gospel of Peter
• The Gospel of the Lord by Marcion
• The Secret Gospel of Mark
Other Early Christian Writings
• Didache.
• The Shepherd of Hermas
• The Epistles of Jesus Christ and Abgarus, King of Edessa.
• Ephraim of Syria`s The Pearl: Seven Hymns on the Faith.
• Ephraim of Syria`s Hymn Against Bar-Daisan.
• The Epistle of the Apostles.
• The Teachings of Addeus the Apostle.
Deuterocanonical Apocrypha Index
Jump to Contents
The Apocrypha refer to texts which are left out of officially sanctioned versions ('canon') of the Bible. The term means 'things hidden away,' which implies secret or esoteric literature. However, none of these texts were ever considered secret.
In some Protestant Bibles, they are placed between the New and Old Testament. In the Roman Catholic Bibles the books are interspersed with the rest of the text. In this case they are also called 'Deuterocanonical', which means 'books added to the canon'. The books on this page are all Deuterocanonical.
Jerome rejected the Deuterocanonical books when he was translating the Bible into Latin circa 450 CE, (see the Vulgate). This was because no Hebrew version of these texts could be found, even though they were present in the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint). However, they eventually were accepted by the Church, and remained part of the Bible. Protestants rejected these books during the Reformation as lacking divine authority. They either excised them completely or placed them in a third section of the Bible. The Roman Catholic Council of Trent, on the other hand, declared in 1546 that the Deuterocanonical books were indeed divine.
With one exception, all of these books are considered 'Old Testament'. The apocryphal New Testament 'Letter of Paul to the Laodiceans', was once incorporated in many versions of the Bible. However Laodiceans is now considered just a pastiche of other Epistles, and is omitted from contemporary Bibles.
There are many other apocryphal books, which do not fall into the 'Deuterocanonical' category, such as the many additional New Testament Gospels, and the apocalyptic book of Enoch. Some of these can be found in the Apocrypha section.
First Book of Esdras
Second Book of Esdras
Tobias
Judith
Additions to Esther
Wisdom
Baruch
Epistle of Jeremiah
Book of Susanna
The Book of Bel and the Dragon
Prayer of Manasseh
First Book of Macabees
Second Book of Macabees
Sirach
Prayer of Azariah
Paul to the Laodiceans
[from the Catholic Encyclopedia
Etymologically, the derivation of Apocrypha is very simple, being from the Greek apokryphos, hidden, and corresponding to the neuter plural of the adjective. The use of the singular, "Apocryphon", is both legitimate and convenient, when referring to a single work. When we would attempt to seize the literary sense attaching to the word, the task is not so easy. It has been employed in various ways by early patristic writers, who have sometimes entirely lost sight of the etymology. Thus it has the connotation "uncanonical" with some of them. St. Jerome evidently applied the term to all quasi-scriptural books which in his estimation lay outside the canon of the Bible, and the Protestant Reformers, following Jerome's catalogue of Old Testament Scriptures -- one which was at once erroneous and singular among the Fathers of the Church -- applied the title Apocrypha to the excess of the Catholic canon of the Old Testament over that of the Jews. Naturally, Catholics refuse to admit such a denomination, and we employ "deuterocanonical" to designate this literature, which non-Catholics conventionally and improperly know as the "Apocrypha". (See CANON OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.)
The original and proper
I. APOCRYPHA OF JEWISH ORIGIN
Ancient literature, especially in the Orient, used methods much more free and elastic than those permitted by our modern and Occidental culture. Pseudographic composition was in vogue among the Jews in the two centuries before Christ and for some time later. The attribution of a great name of the distant past to a book by its real author, who thus effaced his own personality, was, in some cases at least, a mere literary fiction which deceived no one except the ignorant. This holds good for the so-called "Wisdom of Solomon", written in Greek and belonging to the Church's sacred canon. In other cases, where the assumed name did not stand as a symbol of a type of a certain kind of literature, the intention was not without a degree of at least objective literary dishonesty.
(1) Jewish Apocalypses
The most important and valuable of the extant Jewish apocrypha are those which have a large apocalyptic element; that is, which profess to contain visions and revelations of the unseen world and the Messianic future. Jewish apocalyptic literature is a theme which deserves and has increasingly received the attention of all interested in the development of the religious thought of Israel, that body of concepts and tendencies in which are fixed the roots of the great doctrinal principles of Christianity itself, just as its Divine Founder took His temporal generation from the stock of orthodox Judaism. The Jewish apocalypses furnish the completing links in the progress of Jewish theology and fill what would otherwise be a gap, though a small one, between the advanced stage marked by the deuterocanonical books and its full maturity in the time of Our Lord; a maturity so relatively perfect that Jesus could suppose as existing in the popular consciousness, without teaching de novo, the doctrines of future retribution, the resurrection of the body, and the existence, nature, and office of angels. Jewish apocalyptic writing is an attempt to supply the place of prophecy, which had been dead for centuries, and it has its roots in the sacred oracles of Israel. Hebrew prophecy on its human side had its springs, its occasions, and immediate objects in the present; the prophets were inspired men who found matter for comfort as well as rebuke and warning in the actual conditions of Israel's theocratic life. But when ages had elapsed, and the glowing Messianic promises of the prophets had not been realized; when the Jewish people had chafed, not through two or three, but many generations, under the bitter yoke of foreign masters or the constantly repeated pressure of heathen states, reflecting and fervent spirits, finding no hope in the actual order of things, looked away from earth and fixed their vision on another and ideal world where God's justice would reign unthwarted, to the everlasting glory of Israel both as a nation and in its faithful individuals, and unto the utter destruction and endless torment of the Gentile oppressors and the unrighteous. Apocalyptic literature was both a message of comfort and an effort to solve the problems of the sufferings of the just and the apparent hopelessness of a fulfilment of the prophecies of Israel's sovereignty on earth. But the inevitable consequence of the apocalyptic distrust of everything present was its assumption of the guise of the remote and classic past; in other words, its pseudonymous character. Naturally basing itself upon the Pentateuch and the Prophets, it clothed itself fictitiously with the authority of a patriarch or prophet who was made to reveal the transcendent future. But in their effort to adjust this future to the history that lay within their ken the apocalyptic writers unfolded also a philosophy of the origin and progress of mundane things. A wider view of world-politics and a comprehensive cosmological speculation are among the distinctive traits of Jewish apocalyptic. The Book of Daniel is the one book of the Old Testament to which the non-inspired apocalypses bear the closest affinity, and it evidently furnished ideas to several of the latter. An apocalyptic element existing in the prophets, in Zacharias (i-vi), in Tobias (Tobias, xiii), can be traced back to the visions of Ezechiel which form the prototype of apocalyptic; all this had its influence upon the new literature. Messianism of course plays an important part in apocalyptic eschatology and the idea of the Messias in certain books received a very high development. But even when it is transcendent and mystic it is intensely, almost fanatically, national, and surrounded by fanciful and often extravagant accessories. It lacks the universal outlook of some of the prophets, especially the Deutero-Isaias, and is far from having a uniform and consistent physiognomy. Sometimes the Messianic realm is placed upon the transfigured earth, centering in a new Jerusalem; in other works it is lifted into the Heavens; in some books the Messias is wanting or is apparently merely human, while the Parables of Henoch with their pre-existent Messias mark the highest point of development of the Messianic concept to be found in the whole range of Hebrew literature.
(a) The Book of Henoch (Ethiopic)
See the separate article under this title.
(b) Assumption of Moses
Origen, "De Principiis", III, ii, 1, names the Assumption of Moses -- Analepsis Mouseos -- as the book cited by the Epistle of Jude, 9, where there is an allusion to a dispute between Michael and Satan over the body of Moses. Aside from a few other brief references in patristic literature, nothing more was known of this apocryphon until the Latin manuscript containing a long portion of it was discovered by Ceriani in the Ambrosian Library, at Milan, and published by him in 1861. Its identity with the ancient work is established by a quotation from the latter in the Acts of the Nicene Council. The book purports to be a series of predictions delivered in written form to the safe-keeping of Josue (Joshua) by Moses when the latter, in view of his approaching death, appointed Josue as his successor. The ostensible purpose of these deliverances is to confirm the Mosaic laws and the admonitions in Deuteronomy. The entire history of Israel is outlined. In a vehement and glowing style the book delineates under its prophetic guise the impiety of Israel's Hasmonean rulers and Sadducean priests. The historical allusions come down to the reign of an insolent monarch who is plainly Herod the Great, and a powerful ruler who shall come from the West and subjugate the people -- a reference to the punitive expedition of Quintilius Varus, 4 B.C. But the Messias will intervene and execute Divine wrath upon the enemies of the nation, and a cataclysm of nature, which is depicted with truly apocalyptic sublimity, will forerun the beginning of the new era. Strangely there is no mention of a resurrection or a judgment of individuals. The book then returns to the doings of Moses and Josue. The manuscript breaks off abruptly at chapter xii, and the portion cited by Jude must have belonged to the lost conclusion. This apocalypse has with solid reasons been assigned to the early years after Herod's death, between 4 B.C. and A.D. 10. It is evident that neither of Herod's sons, Philip and Antipas, had yet reigned thirty-four years, since the writer, hazarding a prediction that proved false, says that the sons should enjoy shorter reigns than their father. Thus the latest possible date of composition is fixed at A.D. 30. The author was a Jew, and in all likelihood a Palestinian one. He belonged neither to the Pharisees of the type of Christ's epoch, nor to the Sadducees, since he excoriates both alike. He must have been either a Zealot, that is an ultra-Nationalist and Messianist, or a fervid Essene. He wrote in Hebrew or Aramaic. The Latin text is translated from a Greek version.
(c) Book of the Secrets of Henoch (Slavonic Henoch)
In 1892 attention was called to Slavonic manuscripts which on examination proved to contain another Henoch book differing entirely from the Ethiopic compilation. "The Book of the Secrets of Henoch" contains passages which satisfy allusions of Origen to which there is nothing corresponding in the Ethiopic Henoch. The same may be said about citations in the "Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs". Internal evidence shows that the new Henoch was composed by an Alexandrian Jew about the beginning of our Era, and in Greek. The work is sharply marked off from the older book by the absence of a Messias and the want of reference to a resurrection of the dead. It mingles many bizarre details concerning the celestial realm, the angels, and stars, with advanced ideas on man's destiny, moral excellence, and the punishment of sin. The patriarch is taken up through the seven heavens to the very throne of the Eternal. Some of the details throw interesting light on various obscure allusions in the Bible, such as the superimposed heavens, the presence of evil powers "in heavenly places", Ezechiel's strange creatures full of eyes.
(d) Fourth Book of Esdras
The personage serving as the screen of the real author of this book is Esdras (Ezra), the priest-scribe and leader among the Israelites who returned from Babylonia, to Jerusalem. The fact that two canonical books are associated with his name, together with a genuine literary power, a profoundly religious spirit pervading Fourth Esdras, and some Messianic points of contact with the Gospels combined to win for it an acceptance among Christians unequalled by any other apocryphon. Both Greek and Latin Fathers cite it as prophetical, while some, as Ambrose, were ardent admirers of it. Jerome alone is positively unfavourable. Notwithstanding this widespread reverence for it in early times, it is a remarkable fact that the book never got a foothold in the canon or liturgy of the Church. Nevertheless, all through the Middle Ages it maintained an intermediate position between canonical and merely human compositions, and even after the Council of Trent, together with Third Esdras, was placed in the appendix to the official edition of the Vulgate. Besides the original Greek text, which has not survived, the book has appeared in Latin, Syriac, Armenian, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions. The first and last two chapters of the Latin translation do not exist in the Oriental ones and have been added by a Christian hand. And yet there need be no hesitation in relegating the Fourth Book of Esdras to the ranks of the apocrypha. Not to insist on the allusion to the Book of Daniel in xii, 11, the date given in the first version (iii, 1) is erroneous, and the whole tenor and character of the work places it in the age of apocalyptic literature. The dominant critical dating assigns it to a Jew writing in the reign of Domitian, A.D. 81-96. Certainly it was composed some time before A.D. 218, since it is expressly quoted by Clement of Alexandria. The original text, iii-xiv, is of one piece and the work of a single author. The motive of the book is the problem lying heavily upon Jewish patriots after the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. The outlook was most dark and the national life seemed utterly extinguished. In consequence, a sad and anxious spirit pervades the work, and the writer, using the guise of Esdras lamenting over the ruin of the first city and temple, insistently seeks to penetrate the reasons of God's apparent abandonment of His people and the non-fulfilment of His promises. The author would learn the future of his nation. His interest is centered in the latter; the universalism of the book is attenuated. The apocalypse is composed of seven visions. The Messianism of Fourth Esdras suffers from the discouragement of the era and is influenced by the changed conditions produced by the advent of Christianity. Its Messias is mortal, and his reign merely one of happiness upon earth. Likewise the eschatology labours with two conflicting elements: the redemption of all Israel and the small number of the elect. All mankind sinned with Adam. The Fourth Book of Esdras is sometimes called by non-Catholics Second Esdras, as they apply the Hebrew form, Ezra, to the canonical books.
(e) Apocalypse of Baruch
For a long time a Latin fragment, chapters lxxviii-lxxxvii, of this pseudograph had been known. In 1866 a complete Syriac text was discovered by Monsignor Ceriani, whose researches in the Ambrosian Library of Milan have so enriched the field of ancient literature. The Syriac is a translation from the Greek; the original was written in Hebrew. There is a close relation between this apocalypse and that of Fourth Esdras, but critics are divided over the question, which has influenced the other. The probabilities favour the hypothesis that the Baruch apocryphon is an imitation of that of Esdras and therefore later. The approximate dates assigned to it range between A.D. 50 and 117. The "Apocalypse of Baruch" is a somewhat artificial production, without the originality and force of Fourth Esdras. It deals in part with the same problems, viz., the sufferings of the theocratic people, and their ultimate triumph over their oppressors. When certain passages are freed from evident Christian interpolations, its Messianism in general is earthly, but in the latter part of the book the Messias's realm tends unmistakably towards a more spiritual conception. As in Fourth Esdras, sin is traced to the disobedience of Adam. Greater importance is attached to the law than in the related composition, and the points of contact with the New Testament are more striking. The author was a Pharisee, but one who, while adopting a distinctly Jewish view, was probably acquainted with the Christian Scriptures and freely laid them under contribution. Some recent students of the "Apocalypse of Baruch" have seen in it a composite work, but the majority of critics hold with better reason to its unity. The book is lengthy. It speaks in the person of Baruch, the secretary of Jeremias. It opens with a palpable error of chronology. Baruch announces the doom of the city and temple of Jerusalem of the Babylonian epoch. However, not the Chaldeans, but angels, will bring about the destruction. Another and pre-existent Holy City is reserved by God, since the world cannot exist without a Jerusalem. The artificiality and tediousness of the apocalypse are redeemed by a singular breadth of view and elevation of doctrine, with the limitation noted.
(f) The Apocalypse of Abraham
The Apocalypse of Abraham has recently been translated from Slavonic into German. It relates the circumstances of Abraham's conversions and the visions thereupon accorded him. His guide in the a celestial realms is Jael, an angel distinct from God, but possessing divine powers in certain regards. The work has affinities with Fourth Esdras and the "Apocalypse of Baruch". The origin of evil is explained by man's free will. The Elect, or Messias, will gather the dispersed tribes, but God alone will punish the enemies of Israel. Particularism and the transcendence of the last cosmic stage are the notes of this apocalypse. Its data, however, are so vague that it is impossible to fix the time of its composition.
(g) The Apocalypse of Daniel
The Apocalypse of Daniel is the work of a Persian Jew of the twelfth century, and is unique in foretelling two Messiases: one, the son of Joseph (Christ), whose career ends in his failure and death; the other the son of David, who will liberate Israel and reign on earth gloriously.
(2) Legendary Apocrypha of Jewish Origin
(a) Book of Jubilees or Little Genesis
Epiphanius, Jerome, and others quote a work under the title "The Jubilees" or "The Little Genesis". St. Jerome testifies that the original was in Hebrew. It is cited by Byzantine authors down to the twelfth century. After that we hear no more of it until it was found in an Ethiopic manuscript in the last century. A considerable Latin fragment has also been recovered. The Book of the Jubilees is the narrative of Genesis amplified and embellished by a Jew of the Pharisee period. It professes to be a revelation given to Moses by the "Angel of the Face". There is a very systematic chronology according to the years, weeks of years, and jubilees. A patriarchal origin is ascribed to the great Jewish feasts. The angelology is highly developed, but the writer disbelieved in the resurrection of the body. The observance of the Law is insisted on. It is hard to fix either the date or the religious circle in which the work arose. Jerusalem and the Temple still stood, and the Book of Henoch is quoted. As for the lowest date, the book is employed by the Jewish portion of the "Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs". Estimates vary between 135 B.C. and A.D. 60. Among the lost Jewish apocrypha, the one worthy of special notice here is;
(b) The Book of Jannes and Mambres
II Timothy, iii, 8, applies these names to the Egyptian magicians who reproduced some of the wonders wrought by Moses. The names are not found in the Old Testament. Origen remarks that St. Paul does not quote "from public writings but from a sacred book which is called Jannes and Mambres". The names were known to Pliny, and figure in the Talmudic traditions. Recently R. James in the "Journal of Theological Studies", 1901, II, 572-577, claims to have found a fragment of this lost apocryphon in Latin and Old English versions.
(c) Third Book of Esdras
This is also styled by non-Catholics the First Book of Esdras, since they give to the first canonical Esdrine writing the Hebrew form Ezra. Third Esdras is one of the three uncanonical books appended to the official edition of the Vulgate. It exists in two of the oldest codices of the Septuagint, viz., Vaticanus and Alexandrinus, where it precedes the canonical Esdras. The same is true of manuscripts of the Old Latin and other versions. Third Esdras enjoyed exceptional favour in the early ages of the Church, being quoted as Scripture with implicit faith by the leading Greek and Latin Fathers (See Cornely, Introductio Generalis, I, 201). St. Jerome, however, the great minimizer of sacred literature, rejected it as apocryphal, and thenceforward its standing was impaired. The book in fact is made up for the most part of materials taken from the inspired books of Paralipomenon, Esdras, and Nehemias, put together, however, in great chronological confusion. We must suppose that it was subsequent to the above Scriptures, since it was evidently composed in Greek and by an Alexandrian Jew. The only original part of the work is chapters iii-v, 6. This recounts a contest between three young Hebrews of the bodyguard of King Darius, each striving to formulate the wisest saying. The victory is awarded to Zorobabel (Zerubbabel), who defends Truth as the strongest force, and the audience shouts: "Great is Truth and powerful above all things!" (Magna est veritas et proevalebit.) The date of composition is not ascertainable except within very wide limits. These are on one side c. 300 B.C., the latest time assigned to Paralipomenon-Esdras-Nehemias, and on the other, c. A.D. 100, the era of Josephus, who employed Third Esdras. There is greater likelihood that the composition took place before our Era.
(d) Third Book of Machabees
Third Book of Machabees is the title given to a short narrative which is found in the Alexandrine codex of the Septuagint version and various private manuscripts. It gives an account of an attempted desecration of the Temple at Jerusalem by the Egyptian king, Ptolemy IV (Philopator) after his victory over Antiochus the Great at Raphia, 217 B.C., and the miraculous frustration of his endeavour to wreak vengeance upon the Egyptian Jews through a massacre with elephants. This apocryphon abounds in absurdities and psychological impossibilities, and is a very weak piece of fiction written in Greek by an Alexandrian Jew, and probably designed to encourage its countrymen in the midst of persecutions. It rests on no ascertainable historical fact, but apparently is an extravagant and varying version of the occurrence related by Josephus, "Against Apion", 1I, 5. The date cannot be determined. Since the book shows acquaintance with the Greek additions to Daniel, it cannot be earlier than the first century B.C., and could scarcely have found such favour among Christians if composed later than the first century after Christ. The Syrian Church was the first to give it a friendly reception, presumably on the strength of its mention in the Apostolic Constitutions. Later, Third Machabees was admitted into the canon of the Greek Church, but seems never to have been known to the Latins.
(3) Apocryphal Psalms and Prayers
(a) Psalms of Solomon
This is a collection of eighteen psalms composed in Hebrew, and, as is commonly agreed, by a Pharisee of Palestine, about the time of Pompey's capture of Jerusalem, 63 B.C. The collection makes no pretensions to authorship by Solomon, and therefore is not, strictly speaking, apocryphal. The name of the wise king became associated with it later and doubtless was the means of preserving it. The spirit of these psalms is one of great moral earnestness and righteousness, but it is the righteousness of the Pharisees, consisting in the observance of the legal traditions and ceremonial law. The Hasmonean dynasty and the Sadducees are denounced. A Messianic deliverer is looked for, but he is to be merely human. He will reign by holiness and justice, and not by the sword. Free will and the resurrection are taught. The Psalms of Solomon are of value in illustrating the religious views and attitudes of the Pharisees in the age of Our Lord. The manuscripts of the Septuagint contain at the end of the canonical Psalter a short psalm (cli), which, however, is "outside the number", i.e. of the Psalms. Its title reads: "This psalm was written by David himself in addition to the number, when he had fought with Goliath." It is based on various passages in the Old Testament, and there is no evidence that it was ever written in Hebrew.
(b) Prayer of Manasses (Manasseh)
A beautiful Penitential prayer put in the mouth of Manasses, King of Juda, who carried idolatrous abominations so far. The composition is based on II Paralipomenon, xxxiii, 11-13, which states that Manasses was carried captive to Babylon and there repented; while the same source (18) refers to his prayer as recorded in certain chronicles which are lost. Learned opinion differs as to whether the prayer which has come down to us was written in Hebrew or Greek. Several ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint contain it as an appendix to the Psalter. It is also incorporated in the ancient so-called Apostolic Constitutions. In editions of the Vulgate antedating the Council of Trent it was placed after the books of Paralipomenon. The Clementine Vulgate relegated it to the appendix, where it is still to be found in reprints of the standard text. The prayer breathes a Christian spirit, and it is not entirely certain that it is really of Jewish origin.
(4) Jewish Philosophy
(a) Fourth Book of Machabees
This is a short philosophical treatise on the supremacy of pious reason, that is reason regulated by divine law, which for the author is the Mosaic Law. In setting up reason as the master of human passion, the author was distinctly influenced by Stoic philosophy. >From it also he derived his four cardinal virtues: prudence, righteousness (or justice), fortitude, temperance; phronesis, dikaiosyne, andreia, sophrosyne, and it was through Fourth Machabees that this category was appropriated by early Christian ascetical writers. The second part of the book exhibits the sufferings of Eleazar and the seven Machabean brothers as examples of the dominion of pious reason. The aim of the Hellenistic Jewish author was to inculcate devotion to the Law. He is unknown. The work was erroneously ascribed to Josephus by Eusebius and others. It appears to have been produced before the fall of Jerusalem, but its date is a matter of conjecture
table of contents
the first book of esdras
the second book of esdras
the greek additions to esther
the first book of the maccabees
the second book of the maccabees
the book of tobit
the book of judith
the wisdom of solomon
the book of sirach (or ecclesiasticus)
the book of baruch
the epistle (or letter) of jeremiah
the book of susanna (in daniel)
the prayer of azariah
the prayer of manasseh
bel and the dragon (in daniel)
biblebooks.zip
table of contents University of Maryland
the first book of esdras
the second book of esdras
the greek additions to esther
the first book of the maccabees
the second book of the maccabees
the book of tobit
the book of judith
the wisdom of solomon
the book of sirach (or ecclesiasticus)
the book of baruch
the epistle (or letter) of jeremiah
the book of susanna (in daniel)
the prayer of azariah
the prayer of manasseh
bel and the dragon (in daniel)
The Bible, Revised Standard Version
Old and New Testaments, with the Apocrypha
The Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia
"The Apocrypha" includes 15 books, all but one of which are Jewish in origin and found in the Septuagint (parts of 2 Esdras are possibly Christian and Latin in origin). Influenced by the Jewish canon of the OT, the custom arose of making the Apocrypha a separate section in the Protestant Bible, or sometimes even of omitting them entirely.
The Catholic view, expressed as a doctrine of faith at the Council of Trent, is that 12 of these 15 works (in a different enumeration, however) are canonical Scripture; they are called the Deuterocanonical Books. The three books of the Protestant Apocrypha that are not accepted by Catholics are 1-2 Esdras and the Prayer
Again you did not adequately document sources, just a lot of verbiage and white space. Also, you forgot to mention that your own church’s Council of Carthage, 397 A.D. did NOT dispute the Jewish Canon for the old testament.
Hi rbalone
As usual you error and this time you use a long and interesting ‘walk through history’ to do it rather than your usual boring long excerpts from self-serving Catholic sources to do it. However, you conclusion is as usual fallacious.
Let’s assume for a moment that the Synod of Hippo and the Council of Florence did state the same catalogue as the Council of Trent that in no way makes the deuterocanonical inspired books of the Bible. It is well admitted that the authors of these books are unknown except for one and in that case the author is known and he was not inspired. In the remainder they either claim to be by authors who did not write them or give no author. Also, their authors ‘borrowed’ scripture from the inspired canonical scriptures and included it in their writings to add an air of legitimacy to their uninspired writings. Many Catholic writers instead of denouncing this fraud and deceit used these ‘stolen scriptures’ contained in the uninspired deuterocanonical books to claim that Jesus, the Apostles, and the Disciples of Christ quoted from these uninspired deuterocanonical books as they did the canonical; and this is an outright deception and fraud.
Let’s face it Jesus (Jeshua or YHWH saves) was born a Jew as were all the Apostles. In fact the Apostle Paul had been a high ranking Jew before becoming a follower of Jesus (Jeshua or YHWH saves); therefore, the Bible canon they would have recognized would have been the Jewish canon. This means all the quotes made by them and recorded in the New Testament were from the Jewish canon; this is further shown by the fact that none of the Pharisees or Sadducees ever challenged them on their quotes as they would if they had been from uninspired deuterocanonical books.
You state, “It seems strange to me that the Reformers would adopt the “Jewish canon” and reject the “Christian canon,” but they did.” However, what you call the “Christian canon” was not that at all, but the peculiar canon adopted by an apostate church and some of her breakaway groups. Let’s face it, for the Old Testament the Jews knew better than anyone else which books were inspired, hence canonical, and which books were uninspired, hence deuterocanonical and not trustworthy. The ultimate reality is not whether this group or that group accepted what book, but what books were inspired and Jesus (Jeshua or YHWH saves) well knew and he went with the so called Jewish canon.
Likewise you forgot to mention that your own church’s Council of Carthage, 257 A.D. did NOT dispute the Jewish Canon for the old testament.
Therefore, Now we ratchet forward over a millennium years into the future to the year 1545 A.D. and look what we encounter; Bible tinkering to add none canonical books to the Bible by the Council of Trent, 1545 & 1563 A.D., by an apostate church with much blood quilt on its hands. Of course you will maintain that this catalogue was officially accepted at the Synod of Hippo and the Council of Florence; however, if this was truly the case there would have been no reason for the Council of Trent to issue a formal decree. At this council they even had the audacity to accept deuterocanonical books into their, the church’s, Bible which were never recognized by the Jews in their canon of inspired books can you imagine that in direct contradiction to the word of Almighty God (YHWH) recorded under inspiration by the apostle John,.” 18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Revelation 22:18-19 AV), what blasphemy. This could very drastically negatively impact the eternal lives of all their members.
Boy, let this be a warning to get out of her, a real wake-up call, “ And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” (Revelation 18:4 AV).
There is little doubt the apostles knew very well which documents written during their time were authentic and which were not, The OT scrolls and parchments were placed in the order of the canon by Ezra the scribe and priest. The NT was compiled into its original canonical order by the Apostle John.
Your friend Iris
There is little doubt the apostles knew very well which documents written during their time were authentic and which were not, rballone.
The OT scrolls and parchments were placed in the order of the canon by Ezra the scribe and priest. The NT was compiled into its original canonical order by the Apostle John.
From the original manuscripts during that time, there were 49 books in the canon. After the LXX (Septuagint) was then translated from Hebrew to Greek by the Hebrew priests. Later, Jerome was commissioned by the E