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I. What is the Apocrypha?
For many the Apocrypha is a collection of books that have
been added to the Bible because (it is assumed) these books support
some false doctrine. Such a perspective, however is not balanced. Far
from being a threat to our faith, the Apocrypha is a witness to the
faith of God’s People living in the third and second centuries before
Jesus. The works called “Apocrypha” come from Palestine or Egypt.
The language of the Apocrypha is Hebrew with some being written in
Greek and some possibly in Aramaic. A list of the Apocrypha and a one
line “snap shot” of their theme follows:
1) Tobit: Better is Almsgiving with Justice (p.1)
2) Judith: God saves Israel through a Widow (p. 14)
3) Additions to Esther: The Aid of the All-Seeing God and Savior (p.
27)
4) Wisdom of Solomon: The Righteous will live Forever (p. 38)
5) Sirach/Ben Sira: All Wisdom come from Doing the Word of God (p. 58)
6) Baruch: Return with Tenfold Zeal to the Lord (p. 114)
7) Letter of Jeremiah: They are Idols, not Gods, Do not Fear Them (p.
119)
8) Additions to Daniel: Let Them Know That You Alone are God (p. 121)
9) 1 Maccabees: The Family through Which Deliverance Was Given (p.
127)
10) 2 Maccabees: There is Some Power of God about this Place (p. 156)
11) 1 Esdras: Leave to us a Root and a Name (p. 178)
12) Prayer of Manasseh: The God of those who Repent, The God of Mercy
(p. 192)
13) Psalm 151: He Made Me Shepherd of His Flock (p. 193)
14) 3 Maccabees: Blessed Be the Deliverer of Israel (p. 194)
15) 2 Esdras: The Mighty One Has Not Forgotten Us (p. 204)
16) 4 Maccabees: Noble is the Contest (p. 234)
II. Value in Studying the Apocrypha
Whether one accepts the Apocrypha as canonical Scripture is almost to
miss the point in the value of this body of literature. Of course
many Christians around the world, and down through the ages, certainly
regard these texts as Scripture. This is simply a fact of history.
Others (after the Protestant Reformation, 1517-1560) have rejected the
Scriptural status of these books but remained unwilling to cast them
aside as “ordinary” or “mundane” or “useless.” Rather many of these
texts remained part of the devotional life of Protestant Christians
and even part of worship. What follow are four “good” reasons for
reading the Apocrypha as a Christian.
A first reason that motivates us to study these books
is that they shed considerable light on the faith of God’s People
“Between the Testaments.” This was a period of intense growth
intellectually and spiritually for God’s People and it was also a time
of intense hardship. Lots of questions, lots of thinking, lots of
theology was fashioned during this time that has a direct impact on
our understanding of Jesus and the early Church. The exaltation of
the Torah was in many ways a result of persecution and 1 and 2
Maccabees floods the Gospels (as well as Galatians) with light. The
development of notions about demons, angels, afterlife (both heaven
and hell) is seen in the Apocrypha. The personification of Wisdom
(which provides John and the early Church with language to talk about
the Son’s relationship to the Father) is greatly developed in this
literature. Much more could be said here.
A second compelling reason for studying the Apocrypha
is that the authors of the NT are themselves familiar with these texts
and thus our knowledge of them enhances our understanding of the NT.
The NT authors refer to these writings in a variety of ways just like
they do the Hebrew Bible. They make allusions through themes and
stories. They borrow words and phrases and at times they directly
quote these materials. An example of the latter would be Jude verse
14 quoting the Apocryphal writing 1 Enoch 1.10.
A third reason (valued more by some than others) for
studying these writings is that they were formative for early
Christian theologians, preachers and ordinary folk. They
constitute the shared “heritage” of Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox,
Slovonic and Coptic branches of Christianity. The only exposure some
of these Christians had to stories like Daniel or Esther were from the
Septuagint (for centuries). Some of the “formative” influence I
speak of can be demonstrated with Hebrews and the Wisdom of Solomon.
Hebrews uses concepts drawn from Wisdom to elaborate on the identity
of Jesus and his relationship to God the Father. The italicized words
show the correspondence:
“In these last days [God] has spoken to us by a Son, whom
he appointed heir
of all things, through whom he also created the worlds, He is the
reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being,
and he sustains all things
by his powerful word” (Hebrews 1.2-3).
Wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me . . .
[Wisdom] is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of
the glory of
the almighty . . .
She is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of God, and
an image of his
Goodness . . .
She is an initiate in the knowledge of God
and an associate in his works.” (Wisdom 7.22, 25-26; 8.4)
The Hebrew Writer has “paraphrased” and reworded the
description of Wisdom so it now describes the nature and work of the
Son, not only as he was experienced in the flesh but also before the
Incarnation. To close this section I will quote from David deSilva’s
work on the Apocrypha on the value of reading these works:
“I would also emphasize at this point, however, that the value of the
Old Testament Apocrypha is not merely historical. These texts have
not only
informed people of faith but also have inspired them throughout the
millennia.
. . . these texts add fuel to the fire in the soul sparked by God in
the face of
adversity, the commitment to choose obedience to God over succumbing
to the
passions or weaknesses of the flesh, the experience of God’s
forgiveness and expectation of God’s deliverance – all these are
strengthened by these texts, which one could approach with confidence
at least as the best devotional literature to have withstood the test
of time.” (Introducing the Apocrypha, pp. 40-41).
III. The Apocrypha in the History of
the English Bible
In this section we can hardly trace the history of the
English Bible with any satisfaction; but we would be remiss to
overlook this material all together. The Apocrypha has been a part of
almost every major English Bible since the first one in 1384. Here is
a list of the translations and their date:
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John Wycliff (1384). The first English Bible (based on
Latin Vulgate)
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Myles Coverdale. First complete printed Bible.
Based largely on William Tyndale’s work and published in 1535.
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John Rogers Bible known as “Matthew’s Bible” of 1537.
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The Great Bible of 1539. This was the first
“authorized” version.
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The Geneva Bible of 1560. This is the Bible of Shakespeare and the
“Pilgrims.” The Geneva Bible places “The Prayer of Manasseh” after
Chronicles. Rarely in the history of English has there been an
“anti-Catholic” work like the Geneva Bible, yet it contains these
words about the Apocrypha:
“These books that follow in order after the Prophets unto the New
Testament, are called Apocrypha; that is books, which were not
received by common consent to be read and expounded in the Church,
neither served to prove any point of Christian religion . . . but as
books proceeding from godly men, were received to be read for
advancement and furtherance of the knowledge of the history, and for
the instruction of godly manners: which books declare that at all
times God had an especial care of his Church and left them not utterly
destitute of teachers and means to confirm them in the hope of the
promised Messiah, and also witness that those calamities that God sent
to his Church, were according to his providence . . .” (Preface to
Apocrypha, quoted in Bruce M. Metzger, An Introduction to the
Apocrypha, p. 187).
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The Bishops Bible of 1568.
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The King James Version of 1611. The KJV directs
readers of the NT to the
pages of the Apocrypha eleven times in its marginal notes:
Matt. 6.7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sirach 7.16
Matt. 23.37 . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Esdras 1.30
Matt. 27.43 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wisdom 2.15, 16
Luke 6.31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tobit 4.16
Luke 14.13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tobit 4.7
John 10.22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Maccabees 4.59
Romans 9.21 . . . . . . . . . . . . Wisdom 15.7
Romans 11.34 . . . . . . . . . . . Wisdom 9.13
2 Cor. 9.7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sirach 35.9
Hebrews 1.3 . . . . . . . . . . . . Wisdom 7.26
Hebrews 11.35 . . . . . . . . . . 2 Maccabees 7.7
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Revised Version/American Standard Version of 1881/1901
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Revised Standard Version of 1946.
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New Revised Standard Version of 1989.
The Apocrypha is available today in the following modern English
versions: New American Bible, Jerusalem Bible, New Jerusalem Bible,
Today’s English Version, The New English Bible, Revised English Bible, as well as the classic
King James Version.
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