The Question Of The Apocrypha

THE QUESTION OF THE APOCRYPHA
Both the Roman Catholic and the Greek Orthodox Church hold to the canonicity of the fourteen books of the Apocrypha. This is not to say that they have always held to the Apocrypha. No ecumenical council of church history ever recognized the canonicity of the Apocrypha until the Council of Trent in 1545. This was an obvious reaction to the Protestant Movement. The word “Apocrypha” literally describes that which has been “hidden from sight.” These “hidden books” were written after the time of the Maccabee Revolt (166 B.C.). The Roman Catholic Church prefers to use the term “Deuterocanonical” -- literally, “second canon,” as they also recognize that these books were not originally accepted as were the rest of the Bible. The Makeup of the Apocrypha The books of the Apocrypha were written during the 200 years prior to the birth of Christ. Nearly all of our copies of the Apocrypha are in Greek and most of it seems to have been originally penned in that language. They are made up of the following books:

Title|Brief Summary|
Esdras|Esdras (known as 3rd Esdras in the Vulgate which entitles Ezra and Nehemiah as 1&2 Esdras) relates the history of Israel from Josiah to Ezra. There is a 4th Esdras that was rejected at the Council of Trent.|
Tobit|Adventures of a Jewish family living in Assyria.|
Judith|Story of Judith's rescue of the Jews from the hands of an Assyrian Army.|
Additions to the book of Esther|A collection of Septuagint additions to the book of Esther.|
Wisdom of Solomon|Collection of proverbs; the latter part of the book contrasts Israel versus Egypt.|
Ecclesiasticus (Wisdom of Sirach)|A large collection of proverbs|
Baruch|Claims to be written by the servant of Jeremiah and consists of praises, prayers and promises.|
Story of Susanna|Story of Susanna who is accused of immorality but rescued by Daniel in Babylon.|
Song of the Three Children|Song of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo on the occasion of the fiery furnace.|
Bel and the Dragon|Adventures of Daniel in refusing to worship the idol of Bel or a living dragon which he kills.|
Prayer of Manasseh|King Manasseh in Babylon prays a prayer of repentance.|
1&2 Maccabees|Historical narratives of the Jewish War for Independence.| In addition to the Apocrypha is a much larger list of books known as the Pseudepigrapha — the “false writings.” Many of these were works of fiction, supposedly written by such authors as Adam and Eve, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, and many other famous persons of antiquity. All of these books were rejected by the apostolic and church fathers. Their Internal Testimony. Not a single of the books of the apocrypha make a claim to having divine authority. None of them were written by a prophet or made claim to prophetic authority. Most of the books of the Apocrypha are written anonymously. There are two notable exceptions:

Ecclesiasticus is written by Jeshua, son of Sirach of Jerusalem (Sir_50:27). According to a prologue that is affixed to it, the book was discovered in Egypt in 132 B.C. It makes no claim at inspiration.

Baruch claims to be written by the secretary of Jeremiah. It is filled with internal inconsistencies with the rest of the Bible (Nebuchadnezzar is said to be the king of the Assyrians). Of the other books, 1&2 Maccabees contain some of the most accurate history, although they make no claim at all to divine authority. In describing the cleansing of the Temple under Judas Maccabeus, we read the orders of Judas in which the stones of the altar should be put aside until a prophet should arise. So they tore down the altar, 46 and stored the stones in a convenient place on the temple hill until a prophet should come to tell what to do with them. (1Ma_4:45-46). The implication is that there was no prophet in the land in those days and no one who could proclaim the word of the Lord. The Testimony of the Talmud. The Talmud, consisting of the interpretations of the Jewish rabbis, states that after the latter prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, the Holy Spirit departed from Israel (Tractate Sanhedrin). The Greek Septuagint along with translations of the Hebrew Bible into Coptic, Ethiopic and later Syriac all contained at least portions of the Apocrypha. Even the original King James Version of 1611 contained the Apocrypha. The Testimony of the New Testament. The New Testament abounds with quotations from the Old Testament Scriptures. Yet quotations from the Apocrypha are notably lacking. That is not to say that the New Testament writers were unfamiliar with the Apocrypha. They often quoted from the Septuagint and, as we have noted, the Septuagint did contain the Apocrypha. We can therefore conclude that the writers of the New Testament deliberately avoided quoting from the Apocrypha.

God has spoken. He has made His Word known to man. He has set forth His message in the writings of the Scriptures. He has seen to it that His Word has been collected and recognized by His church.