What Is the Apocrypha — In Biblical Context

The Biblical Context

The Apocrypha is a collection of approximately fifteen books and additions to biblical books that were written during the intertestamental period — between the close of the Old Testament canon and the beginning of the New Testament era. These books include 1 and 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Additions to Esther, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus (Sirach), Baruch, Letter of Jeremiah, Prayer of Azariah, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, Prayer of Manasseh, and 1 and 2 Maccabees. The word 'Apocrypha' comes from the Greek apokryphos, meaning 'hidden' or 'secret.' The term was originally used by Jerome in the fifth century to describe books whose origin and authority were uncertain — not openly read in the churches but valued for private edification. The history of the Apocrypha's reception is complex. The Greek Septuagint included these books, and early Christians who used the Septuagint naturally read them alongside the Old Testament. Many Church Fathers, including Augustine, accepted them as Scripture. At the Council of Trent in 1546, the Roman Catholic Church officially declared most of the Apocryphal books to be deuterocanonical — a 'second canon' of inspired Scripture. However, the Reformers rejected the Apocrypha as canonical Scripture for several reasons. First, the books were not part of the Hebrew canon accepted by Palestinian Jews. Jesus and the apostles recognized a threefold canon of Law, Prophets, and Writings, which did not include the Apocrypha. Second, the books were not written in Hebrew (with a few partial exceptions) and were produced after the prophetic period had ended. Third, they contain theological teachings inconsistent with the rest of Scripture, including the practice of prayers for the dead and the possibility of earning merit through works. Fourth, they do not claim divine inspiration as the prophetic books do. Fifth, the Jewish community at Jamnia and afterward did not accept them as Scripture. The Reformers did not destroy or ignore the Apocrypha. Luther included the books in his German Bible, placing them between the Old and New Testaments with the note that they were 'useful and good to read' but not on the same level as Scripture. The Church of England's Thirty-Nine Articles stated that the Apocrypha was read 'for example of life and instruction of manners' but not used 'to establish any doctrine.' Most Protestant Bibles today omit the Apocrypha entirely, though it is included in some study editions. The Apocrypha's value lies in its historical and devotional usefulness, not in its divine authority. The books provide valuable background for the intertestamental period, describe the Maccabean revolt against Syrian oppression, preserve Jewish wisdom literature, and illustrate the piety of Second Temple Judaism. But they are not the inspired Word of God and cannot establish doctrine or correct the canonical Scriptures. The Protestant position affirms that the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the complete, sufficient, and final revelation of God's will. The Apocrypha, while interesting and sometimes edifying, belongs to the category of useful religious literature, not to the canon of Holy Scripture.

Where It Sits in Scripture

Supporting Passages