Did you know? “The apocrypha“

Compiled by James Matola The Apocrypha

AApocrypha is a term coined in the fifth century by Saint Jerome, referring to the books that were accepted by the church as part of the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek version of the Old Testament, and which were not included in the Hebrew Bible. Those books are Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Tobit, Wisdom of Jesus the son of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Baruch, and 1 and 2 Maccabees. Nevertheless, in some lists, fifteen apocryphal books appeared in the following order: 1 Ezra, 2 Ezra, Tobit, Judith, additional to the Book of Esther, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, Letter of Jeremiah, the Prayer of Azariah (Abed-Nego), song of the Three Holy Children (an additional to Daniel 3), Story of Susanna (Daniel 13, added to the text known by the Hebrews), Bel and the Dragon (an additional to Daniel 14), Prayer of Manasseh, and 1 and 2 Maccabees.

When Were the Apocryphal Books Written?

The majority of the Apocryphal works date back to the Intertestamental period. Nevertheless, although Jews never accepted them as part of the Old Testament, there were some controversies about their inspired value. Finally, in the Fourth Session of the Council of Trent, in April 3, 1546, the Apocryphal writings were put on an equal level as the other inspired books of the Bible and the Catholic world even today recognizes them as inspired.

Why Were the Apocryphal Books Not Accepted as Inspired?

There are some reasons for excluding them from the Scripture: a. God’s messages in the Old Testament were trusted to the Jews, and the original Hebrew Bible does not include the Apocryphal (Romans 3:2) b. There is no concluding evidence that some of them were originally in Hebrew, probably, they were written in Greek, a language not used by the Hebrew, until the Canon was closed. c. The Old Testament, in the way Protestants have established it, was accepted as inspired in the Hebrew Canon. The Jews never officially approved the apocryphal additions to the LXX. Moreover, they have been completely rejected by them throughout the ages. d. There is a meaningful silence about those writings in the New Testament. Neither Jesus nor the Apostles quoted any of them. e. Sometimes, the writers deny the inspiration of these books and confess the lack of prophetic gift of their authors (1 Maccabees 4:36; 9:27; 2 Maccabees 15:38-40). f. They promote doctrines contrary to the Bible teachings: magic arts (Tobit5:5-6), cleansing of sins through the giving of alms (Tobit 12:8-9), an Angel tells a lie (Tobit 5:1114), prayers for the dead (2 Maccabees 12:4346), the existence of purgatory (Wisdom 3:14), predestination and luck (Wisdom 8:19-20).

What Is the Use of the Apocryphal Books?

The Apocrypha are excellent sources that shows some aspects of the Jewish life and thinking during the Intertestamental period. They present the literary genre, the Apocalyptic, that is the bridge between both Testaments and that, eventually, will influence the way of thinking of some of the New Testament writers. Such information is very important in the study of specific element in the Intertestamental literature. The Apocrypha have their place in history and ancient literature, but they are not the word of God and must not be included in the Old Testament; it would be better if they were edited separately to prevent confusion about their inspired value.

Excerpted from: Alejandro Medina V., Como estudiar la Biblia (Nampa: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 2011), pp. 103-109.

1. Methuselah was the oldest man at 969 yrs old (Gen 5:27). 2. Six other people also lived 900 yrs: (Adam 930 yrs old: Gen 5:5); (Seth 912 yrs old: Gen 5:8); (Enos [Enosh] 905 yrs old: Gen 5:11); (Cainan [Kenan] 910 yrs old: Gen 5:14); (Jared 962 yrs old: Gen 5:20); (Noah 950 yrs old: Gen 9:29) 3. Seven people committed suicide in the Bible: (Zimri: 1 Kin 16:18); (Judas: Mt 27:35); (Abimelech: Judg 9:53-54); (Ahithophel: 2 Sam 17:23); (Samson: Judg 16:25-30); (Saul: 1 Sam 31:4-5, 1 Chr 10:4-5); (Saul’s armorbearer: 1 Sam 31:5, 1 Chr 10:5). 4. There are 10 places where people were raised from the dead in the Bible: Elijah raised the widow’s son (1 Kin 17:1724); Elisha raised the Shunammites son (2 Kin 4:18-37); A dead man came to life when his body was set on the dead bones of Elisha (2 Kin 13:20-21); Jesus raised a widow’s son (Lk 7:11-15); Jesus raised the daughter of Jarius (Lk 8:41-42,49-56); Jesus raised Lazarus (Jn 11:1-46); Jesus was resurrected (Mt 28)(Mk 16)(Lk 24)(Jn 20-21); Many dead saints came out of their graves after Jesus’ resurrection (Mt 27:51-53); Peter raised Tabitha (Dorcas) (Acts 9:36-51); Paul raised

Eutychus (Acts 20:9-12). 5. James was the first apostle martyred (Acts 12:1-2). 6. There is no verse in the Bible stating men and women publicly danced with one another. 7. The time period of the book of Genesis spans more time than all of the rest of the

Bible combined. 8. Word for word, Luke wrote more of the

New Testament than Paul. 9. Approximately 6 of the false gods were female: (Annammelech: 2 Kin 7:31), (Asherah: Judg 6:25,26,28,30), (Ashtoreth: 1 Kin 11:5,33), (Diana/Artemis: Acts 19:24,2728,34-35), (Queen of Heaven/Ishtar: Jer 7:18, Jer 44:17-19,25), (Succoth Benoth: 2 Kin 17:30). 10. God rained down large stones from Heaven on some of Israel’s enemies (Josh 10:11). 11. Psalm 111 is an example of an acrostic psalm. Each line begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet from beginning to end (22 letters). Other examples of acrostics can be found in Psalms 9,10,25,34,37,112,119,145. 12. Rachel was a shepherdess (Gen 29:9). 13. Standing near the cross as Jesus was dying were 4 women; 3 of them were named Mary (Jn 19:25). 13. Jesus Christ developed “hematidrosis” in the Garden of Gethsemane. Only Luke, the physician, mentions the incidence. 14. Wives for Isaac (Gen 24:11-67), Jacob (Gen 29:1-29), and Moses (Ex 2:15-21) were found at wells. JesusAlive.cc