"The Greek word apocrypha, meaning “hidden,” was originally applied to books in Judaism that were unsuitable for public reading because of the esoteric nature of their content. Today, we use the word Apocrypha for the Old Testament books found in Catholic but not in Protestant Bibles.
During the period between 200 B.C. and A.D. 100, many books were written by Jewish authors.
Some of them found their way into the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, and were at times quoted in the same way as the books of the Old Testament. There is no evidence, however, that these books were ever regarded as canonical by the Jews. When after the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, the Jewish canon was more clearly defined, these works fell into disfavor in Judaism, and the term apocrypha came to mean “heretical” or “spurious.”
Catholic Bibles contain the following seven books not found in Protestant Bibles: Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, and Baruch. There are also a number of additions to the books of Esther and Daniel, as well as a letter of Jeremiah at the end of the Book of Baruch.
In the Book of Daniel, the additions are the Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Hebrews in chapter three. Two additional chapters are Susanna and the Judgment of Daniel (chap. 13) and Bel and the Dragon (chap. 14). Orthodox Bibles have three additional books (1 Esdras, Psalm 151, and 3 Maccabees).
The Apocrypha were first given canonical status by Greek-speaking Christians, who assumed that because they were included in the Septuagint, they were part of an “Alexandrian canon.” During the early Christian centuries, most Greek and Latin Church Fathers, such as Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Cyprian, cited the Apocrypha as Scripture, and local synods in Hippo (393) and Carthage (397) justified and authorized their use as Scripture. Only a few voices were raised in protest during that time. One of them was Jerome in the fourth century, who regarded them as non-canonical. In his Bible translation (the Vulgate), however, he included the Apocrypha in accordance with church practice, despite his reservations.
Protestants rejected the Apocrypha because they supported some of the false teachings of the Catholic Church:
(1) the dead can still pray: “Almighty Lord, God of Israel, hear the prayer of the dead of Israel, of the sons of those who have sinned against you” (Baruch 3:4);
(2) prayer for the dead: “For had he not expected the fallen to rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead” (2 Macc. 12:44);
(3) almsgiving delivers from eternal death and purges sin: “Almsgiving saves from death and purges every kind of sin” (Tobit 12:9);
(4) the doctrine of purgatory: “And having been a little chastised, they [the souls of the righteous] shall be greatly rewarded: for God proved them, and found them worthy for himself. As gold in the furnace hath he tried them, and received them as a burnt offering” (The Wisdom of Solomon 3:5, 6)."
Gerhard Pfandl
During the period between 200 B.C. and A.D. 100, many books were written by Jewish authors.
Catholic Bibles contain the following seven books not found in Protestant Bibles: Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, and Baruch. There are also a number of additions to the books of Esther and Daniel, as well as a letter of Jeremiah at the end of the Book of Baruch.
In the Book of Daniel, the additions are the Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Hebrews in chapter three. Two additional chapters are Susanna and the Judgment of Daniel (chap. 13) and Bel and the Dragon (chap. 14). Orthodox Bibles have three additional books (1 Esdras, Psalm 151, and 3 Maccabees).
The Apocrypha were first given canonical status by Greek-speaking Christians, who assumed that because they were included in the Septuagint, they were part of an “Alexandrian canon.” During the early Christian centuries, most Greek and Latin Church Fathers, such as Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Cyprian, cited the Apocrypha as Scripture, and local synods in Hippo (393) and Carthage (397) justified and authorized their use as Scripture. Only a few voices were raised in protest during that time. One of them was Jerome in the fourth century, who regarded them as non-canonical. In his Bible translation (the Vulgate), however, he included the Apocrypha in accordance with church practice, despite his reservations.
Protestants rejected the Apocrypha because they supported some of the false teachings of the Catholic Church:
(1) the dead can still pray: “Almighty Lord, God of Israel, hear the prayer of the dead of Israel, of the sons of those who have sinned against you” (Baruch 3:4);
(2) prayer for the dead: “For had he not expected the fallen to rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead” (2 Macc. 12:44);
(3) almsgiving delivers from eternal death and purges sin: “Almsgiving saves from death and purges every kind of sin” (Tobit 12:9);
(4) the doctrine of purgatory: “And having been a little chastised, they [the souls of the righteous] shall be greatly rewarded: for God proved them, and found them worthy for himself. As gold in the furnace hath he tried them, and received them as a burnt offering” (The Wisdom of Solomon 3:5, 6)."
Gerhard Pfandl
But though we, or an angel from heaven,
preach any other gospel unto you than that which
we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
Galatians 1:8
