Old Testament Apocrypha

-return to blog- • -return to wiki-

Books that are not canonical.

The books of the Apocrypha were not in the Hebrew Bible but were in the Greek Septuagint, despite church fathers like Melito, Origen, Epiphanius, and Jerome not considering them inspired.

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. The Canon of the Old Testament by R. T. Beckwith. Pages 62.)

The Nature of Old Testament Apocryphal Books

Many parts of books, letters, "gospels," apocalypses, and so on were written in the style of the Old Testament books during the Intertestamental Period. Many were anonymous, but some were presented under the name of a familiar Old Testament figure or member of the Christian church. Much of it was the result of religious and political ferment as the Jews felt their faith and very existence threatened by the pagan influence of Hellenistic Greek culture then the oppression of the invading Roman forces.

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. Old Testament and New Testament Apocrypha by R. K. Harrison, Page 79.)

Some closely approximated counterparts in the canonical Scriptures and were likely venerated by the Jews and later by Christians as equal.

Not all apocryphal books made deceptive claims of inspiration. Some were books of traditions of both Judaism and primitive Christianity, sometimes embellished with legends and unhistorical narratives. Christians recognized the canonicity of the Gospels and Epistles and Old Testament but also enjoyed reading supposed activities of Jesus and his followers, martyrdoms, revelations, and spiritual teachings. Others were unhistorical and downright bizarre.

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. Old Testament and New Testament Apocrypha by R. K. Harrison, Page 82-84.)

Esoteric Apocrypha

By the end of the first century A.D., a clear distinction was made in Jewish circles between writings for the general public and works only for the knowledgeable and initiated. 2 Esdras references 70 noncanonical books written after the Old Testament canon.

And the Highest also gave understanding to the five men, and they wrote the wonderful visions of the night that were told, which otherwise would have been beyond their understanding and knowledge. But at night they ate bread. As for me, I spake in the day, and I held not my tongue by night. In forty days they wrote two hundred and four books. And it came to pass, when the forty days were fulfilled, that the Highest spake, saying, The first that thou hast written publish openly, that the worthy and unworthy may read it: But keep the seventy last, that thou mayest deliver them only to such as be wise among the people: For in them is the spring of understanding, the fountain of wisdom, and the stream of knowledge. - 2 Esdras 14:42-47

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. Old Testament and New Testament Apocrypha by R. K. Harrison, Page 84.)

History

The Apocrypha was known to the church since the beginning, but the further back one goes, the more rarely are they treated as inspired.

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. The Canon of the Old Testament by R. T. Beckwith. Pages 63.)

Many parts of books, letters, "gospels," apocalypses, and so on were written in the style of the Old Testament books during the Intertestamental Period. The earliest OT apocryphal works may have been written as early as the end of the 4th century B.C., but the majority appeared from the 2nd century B.C. onward.

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. Old Testament and New Testament Apocrypha by R. K. Harrison, Page 82-84.)

Christ acknowledges the Jewish Scriptures and accepts the three sections of the canon and the traditional order of its books, but he did not refer to the Apocrypha. The only apparent references within the New Testament are in Jude: The Assumption of Moses in Jude 1:9 (Origen mentioned the book was extant in his time and contained this account between Michael and the devil and he supposed this is the source of this verse, but the book is lost to time. (https://www.gotquestions.org/Michael-Satan-Moses.html)) and Enoch in Jude 1:14. References do not mark the source as divinely inspired, though.

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. The Canon of the Old Testament by R. T. Beckwith. Pages 63.)

In the patristic period, the inspiration of the Apocrypha of the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate was uncertain.

Jerome urged that apocryphal books found only in the Septuagint and Latin Bibles are not God-breathed Scripture and cannot establish doctrine.

When the Hebrew Bible began to be translated into Greek in Egypt during the reign of Ptolemy II (285-246 B.C.), the scholars included a number of books that were outside the generally accepted canon but still had a bearing upon Jewish history and society. This reflected the contemporary attitude in Palestine where, as the Dead Sea scrolls show, many people made little serious attempt to separate canonical writings from other forms of religious literature.

Augustine considered the Apocrypha to be of equal authority with the other writings of the canonical Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. At the Council of Trent (1546), that became the official Roman Catholic teaching, despite dissension from Jerome's supporters.

Protestants, the Church of England, and the Lutheran Church generally follow the tradition set by Jerome. The Church of England does include it in its lectionary as an example of life.

The Eastern Orthodox Church was divided but has recently tended more to the Protestant side.

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. Pages 4, 52, 84-85.)

List of Books in the Apocrypha

Deuterocanonical Books (as opposed to the rest of the Bible, called the proto-canonical books)

(United States Conference of Catholic Bishops - Books of the Bible - https://bible.usccb.org/bible)

Orthodox

(Saint Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary - The Old Testament Apocrypha - https://www.stots.edu/article/The+Old+Testament+Apocrypha)

List of Apocryphal Books

While the Dead Sea Scrolls cannot be regarded as apocryphal, some passages are apocalyptic: The Manual of Discipline 3:13-4:26, the War Scroll (1QM) 1:15-19, and the New Jerusalem (5Q15). Some scholars have interpreted parts of the Copper Scroll (3Q15) apocalyptically, but most writers simply regard the material as a list of concealed treasure.

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. Old Testament and New Testament Apocrypha by R. K. Harrison, Page 82.)

Books regarded as "outside the canon" by the Jews

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. Old Testament and New Testament Apocrypha by R. K. Harrison, Page 86.)

Apocryphal books in the Septuagint

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. Old Testament and New Testament Apocrypha by R. K. Harrison, Page 86.)