apocrypha
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What does the word 'apocrypha' mean?
The word "apocrypha" comes from the Greek word apokryptein, meaning "to hide away." In biblical literature, it refers to writings of questionable authenticity that fall outside the accepted canon of scripture. These works were initially valued, then tolerated, and ultimately excluded.
The term has broadened to include any writings of dubious authority. Within Judeo-Christian biblical texts, "apocryphal" works exist at different levels of uncertainty. Those labeled apocrypha per se are not considered divinely inspired but are deemed worthy of study. Pseudepigrapha are falsely attributed to biblical figures, while deuterocanonical works are accepted in some canons but not all.
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What are the biblical apocrypha?
The biblical apocrypha are works outside the accepted canon of scripture. The word apocrypha comes from the Greek apokryptein, meaning "to hide away".
In its broadest sense, apocrypha refers to writings of dubious authority. In Judeo-Christian biblical writings, the Old Testament apocrypha includes books accepted in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches but not in the Jewish Bible or Protestant churches. The New Testament apocrypha are pseudepigraphal works, often from groups declared heretical, and include acts, gospels, epistles, apocalypses, and wisdom books.
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Why are some books called apocryphal and not included in all Bibles?
Apocryphal books aren't universally included in all Bibles due to debates over their authenticity and inspiration. The word apocrypha (Greek for "to hide away") initially denoted prized esoteric writings but later came to mean works of dubious authority.
Differing views on the Old Testament canon led to the exclusion of some books from the Jewish and Protestant canons, while they were included in the Septuagint and Vulgate. Martin Luther's Bible edition of 1534 labeled them "Apocrypha," deeming them edifying but not equal to sacred Scripture. The Council of Trent (1546) affirmed the canonical status of the entire Latin Vulgate Bible in response to Protestant views. These books, though part of the Old Testament Apocrypha, were eventually excluded from public and private reading as the canon developed.
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Which religious traditions accept or reject the apocrypha, and why?
The term Apocrypha refers to biblical writings outside an accepted canon of scripture. Acceptance and rejection of these writings vary across religious traditions.
The Roman Catholic Church dogmatically affirms that the entire Latin Vulgate enjoys equal canonical status. The Greek Orthodox Church has expressly designated several apocryphal works as canonical.
Protestants deny Old Testament canonical status to all books not in the Hebrew Bible. Article VI of the Thirty-nine Articles of religion of the Church of England explicitly denies their value for establishing doctrine, though admitting they should be read for their didactic worth.
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Can you name some famous apocryphal books and what they are about?
Apocryphal books are works outside the accepted biblical canon, viewed with varying authority. Here are a few examples:
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Book of Judith: Tells the story of Judith, a Jewish widow, who saves her city by beheading the Assyrian general Holofernes.
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Book of Baruch: Purportedly written by Jeremiah's secretary, this book is a compilation of texts including prayers, poems, and consolations.
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Tobit: A religious folktale about Tobit, a pious Jew, who becomes blind but is later healed, and his son Tobias.
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Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men: Prayers of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who praised God after being placed in a fiery furnace.
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How has the apocrypha influenced art, literature, or religious beliefs over time?
The Apocrypha, a collection of texts excluded from the Hebrew Bible but present in the Greek Septuagint, has exerted influence across art, literature, and religious beliefs.
Influence on Art and Literature
The weakening of ecclesiastical control during the Renaissance allowed artists to depict religious narratives with greater realism. Stories found in the Apocrypha, like those in the Book of Tobit and Susanna and the Elders, contain motifs represented in other cultures and traditions.
Influence on Religious Beliefs
The Apocrypha consists of Jewish literature written during the intertestamental period, which the Roman Catholic Church regards as deuterocanonical works. While these books were once considered canonical in the early church, they are not scripturally accepted by all denominations. During the Reformation, Protestant churches returned to the Jewish canon, deeming the Catholic deuterocanonical works as apocryphal or non-canonical.
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apocrypha, (from Greek apokryptein, “to hide away”), in biblical literature, works outside an accepted canon of scripture. The history of the term’s usage indicates that it referred to a body of esoteric writings that were at first prized, later tolerated, and finally excluded. In its broadest sense apocrypha has come to mean any writings of dubious authority. A brief treatment of apocrypha follows. For full treatment, see biblical literature: Apocryphal writings.
There are several levels of dubiety within the general concept of apocryphal works in Judeo-Christian biblical writings. Apocrypha per se are outside the canon, not considered divinely inspired but regarded as worthy of study by the faithful. Pseudepigrapha are spurious works ostensibly written by a biblical figure. Deuterocanonical works are those that are accepted in one canon but not in all.
At the time when Greek was the common spoken language in the Mediterranean region, the Old Testament—the Hebrew Bible—was incomprehensible to most of the population. For this reason, Jewish scholars produced the Septuagint, a translation of the Old Testament books from various Hebrew texts, along with fragments in Aramaic, into Greek. That version incorporated a number of works that later, non-Hellenistic Jewish scholarship at the Council of Jamnia (ad 90) identified as being outside the authentic Hebrew canon. The Talmud separates these works as Sefarim Hizonim (Extraneous Books).
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The Septuagint was an important basis for St. Jerome’s translation of the Old Testament into Latin for the Vulgate Bible; and, although he had doubts about the authenticity of some of the apocryphal works that it contained (he was the first to employ the word apocrypha in the sense of “noncanonical”), he was overruled, and most of them were included in the Vulgate. On April 8, 1546, the Council of Trent declared the canonicity of nearly the entire Vulgate, excluding only the Third and Fourth Books of Maccabees, the Prayer of Manasseh, Psalm 151, and the First and Second Books of Esdras. Eastern Christendom, meanwhile, had accepted some of the Old Testament apocrypha—Tobit, Judith, the Wisdom of Solomon, and Ecclesiasticus (Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach)—but rejected the rest.
The other apocryphal writings, canonical only to Roman Catholicism, with an exception or two, include the Book of Baruch (a prophet) and the Letter of Jeremiah (often the sixth chapter of Baruch); the First and Second Books of Maccabees; several stories from Daniel, namely, the Song of the Three, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon; and extensive portions of the Book of Esther.
Old Testament pseudepigrapha are extremely numerous and offer accounts of patriarchs and events, attributed to various biblical personages from Adam to Zechariah. Some of the most significant of these works are the Ascension of Isaiah, the Assumption of Moses, the Life of Adam and Eve, the First and Second Books of Enoch, the Book of Jubilees, the Letter of Aristeas, and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs.
All the New Testament apocrypha are pseudepigraphal, and most of them fall into the categories of acts, gospels, and epistles, though there are a number of apocalypses and some can be characterized as wisdom books. The apocryphal acts purport to relate the lives or careers of various biblical figures, including most of the apostles; the epistles, gospels, and others are ascribed to such figures. Some relate encounters and events in mystical language and describe arcane rituals. Most of these works arose from sects that had been or would be declared heretical, such as, importantly, the Gnostics. Some of them argued against various heresies, and a few appear to have been neutral efforts to popularize the life of some saint or other early leader of the church, including a number of women. In the early decades of Christianity no orthodoxy had been established, and various parties or factions were vying for ascendancy and regularity in the young church. All sought through their writings, as through their preaching and missions, to win believers. In this setting virtually all works advocating beliefs that later became heretical were destined to denunciation and destruction.
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In addition to apocryphal works per se, the New Testament includes a number of works and fragments that are described by a second meaning of the term deuterocanonical: “added later.” The Letter to the Hebrews attributed to Paul, who died before it was written, is one of these; others are the letters of James, Peter (II), John (II and III), and Jude, and the Revelation to John. Fragments include Mark 16:9–20, Luke 22:43–44, and John 7:53 and 8:1–11. All are included in the Roman canon and are accepted by the Eastern Church and most Protestant churches.
Heretical movements such as Gnosticism and Montanism spawned a great body of New Testament pseudepigrapha. The existence of such purported scriptures lent great impetus to the process of canonization in the young and orthodox Christian Church. See also various apocryphal works cited above.