he Apocrypha, meaning "hidden books," are fifteen compositions included in the Greek and Latin translation traditions of the Bible. Twelve of them remain part of the canon of the Catholic church. During the Protestant Reformation these books were removed from the canon and are not now part of the official Bible of Protestant churches. In the face of Protestant opposition to the inclusion of the apocryphal books, the Roman Catholic Council of Trent held in 1546 reaffirmed their official status and called them the "deuterocanonical" books. The following is a list of the books of the Protestant apocrypha. An asterisk marks the apocryphal books which are not canonical for Roman Catholics.
* 1 Esdras (= Roman Catholic 3 Esdras or Greek Ezra)
* 2 Esdras (= Roman Catholic 4 Esdras or Ezra Apocalypse)
Tobit
Judith
Additions to the Book of Esther
Wisdom of Solomon
Ecclesiasticus, or the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach
Baruch
Letter of Jeremiah
Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men
Susanna
Bel and the Dragon
* Prayer of Manasseh
1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees
The Apocrypha are included on disc.
The apocryphal books contain a wealth of evidence for the character of Judaism both in Palestine and in the Dispersion during the post-Hebrew Bible period.
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The Archangel Leaving the Family of Tobias, by Rembrandt (1606-1669)
The archangel Raphael leaves Tobias, the son of Tobit, and Sarah his bride after their marriage. See the book of Tobit in the Apocrypha.
1637, Musée du Louvre, Paris -- WebMuseum, Paris
See also Tobias and the Angel, by Filippino Lippi (1457-1504) -- CGFA |
A small sampling of the Apocrypha should display how these books continue the literary and theological traditions of the Hebrew Bible, while at the same time adding their own twists.
The book of Ecclesiasticus stands in the tradition of Hebrew wisdom literature. It was written in Hebrew between 200 and 175 B.C.E. by a sage who lived in Jerusalem. He was thoroughly immersed in Torah, the priesthood and temple, and worshiping God. As a shrewd observer of life in Palestine, especially the pressures on Jews to become more "modern" after the model of Greek culture, he set about urging his fellows to remain true to their religious traditions. It seems he wrote his book to be a collection of wisdom and learning that could serve the Jews as a guide for living, making unnecessary a move to Greek philosophy.
10 Look to generations of long ago and see: Who believed in YHWH and came to shame? 11 Or who stood in fear of him and was abandoned? Or who called on him and he ignored him? 12 For compassionate and merciful is YHWH. He forgives sins and saves in time of trouble. (2:10-12)
Ecclesiasticus is very much like the book of Proverbs in the way it contains aphorisms and maxims and aims to give moral guidance.
21 My son, watch your time well; guard yourself from evil, and to yourself bring no shame. (4:21)
5 A sweet mouth multiplies love, and gracious lips inspire peace. (6:5)
The two books of Maccabees contain accounts of the events surrounding the attempted suppression of Judaism in Palestine in the second century B.C.E. 1 Maccabees was written around 100 B.C.E. by a Palestinian Jew who remains nameless. In describing the deliverance of the Jews through the family of Mattathias, he models his accounts of these heroes on Israel's ancient champions, the Judges, Samuel and David.
The dominating conflict at the center of 1 Maccabees is between the representatives of Greek culture, the Seleucids under the direction of their king Antiochus Epiphanes, and adherents of traditional Jewish culture. The conflict came to a head when Antiochus deliberately vandalized the temple in Jerusalem and made it a capital offense to practice Judaism.
54 The king set up the outrageous abomination upon the altar of burnt offerings, and in surrounding Judean cities they built pagan altars. 55 They also burnt incense at the doors of houses and in the streets. 56 Any Torah scrolls they found they tore up and burned. 57 Whoever was found in possession of a scroll of the covenant and whoever observed the torah was condemned to death by royal decree. 60 Women who had allowed the circumcision of their children were put to death, as per the decree, 61 with the babies hung from their necks. Their families and those who had done the circumcising were also killed. (1:54-56, 61-62)
The events recorded here occurred in December of 167 B.C.E. Antiochus IV Epiphanes erected a statue of Zeus in the holiest part of the temple and slaughtered pigs in sacrifice. He deliberately provoked the Jews and tried to goad them into giving up their religion. It did not work.
The family of a pious Jew named Mattathias, led especially by his zealous son Judas, who was nicknamed the Maccabee (probably meaning "the hammer"), instigated a revolt of Torah observant Jews. The Maccabean revolt was bloody and determined, and after more than three years of struggle succeeded in displacing the Hellenizing forces from the temple mount. After ritually purifying the temple and fighting further battles, the family of Mattathias established local Jewish rule again over a Jewish-Palestinian state. This rule lasted until 63 B.C.E. when the Roman empire took control of Palestine.
