Difference between revisions of "Apocrypha"
(added links to essays "A Defense of the Protestant position on the Apocrypha" and "Why Luther and the Protestant Reformers Removed Books From the Bible") |
(some rewrite; included Martin Luther's list of the New Testament books he deemed "apocryphal"; also links listing OT Pseudepigrapha and NT Apocrypha) |
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The '''Apocrypha''' refers to books of the Bible that are not considered part of the Biblical Canon - precisely which books varies between denominations. | The '''Apocrypha''' refers to books of the Bible that are not considered part of the Biblical Canon - precisely which books varies between denominations. | ||
| − | The Protestant canon was formulated by [[Martin Luther]], the Catholic by the [[Council of Trent]]. | + | The Protestant canon of 66 books was originally formulated by [[Martin Luther]], the [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] definitive final canon of 73 books was retained "as read by the Church" by the [[Council of Trent]]. This canon was listed by the [[Council of Chalcedon|Fourth Council of Chalcedon (451)]]. The Catholic Bible includes 27 books of the New Testament and 46 books "with all their parts" from the ancient [[Septuagint]] as used by the apostles and the early Christian church and included in [[Jerome]]'s [[Vulgate]] translation as part of the [[Old Testament]] and accepts those books as scripture. For some time the [[King James Bible]] contained those books deemed as apocryphal books in a separate section, between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The [[Episcopal Church]] includes the books of the Apocrypha in the cycle of scripture readings in its services, but holds that the apocryphal books are useful for study and [[edification]], but not for doctrine. Most Protestant churches do not use the Apocrypha as scripture at all. |
| − | Books apocryphal to the Protestant canon include: | + | Books apocryphal to the Protestant canon include (''titles as listed in 1881 Bibles''): |
| − | *[[1 Esdras]] | + | *[[1 Esdras|I Esdras]] |
| − | *[[2 Esdras]] | + | *[[2 Esdras|II Esdras]] |
| − | *[[Book of Baruch]] | + | *[[Book of Baruch|Baruch]] |
| − | **[[Epistle of Jeremiah]] is sometimes included with the Book of Baruch | + | **[[Epistle of Jeremiah]] is sometimes included with the Book of Baruch as chapter 6 |
| − | *[[Book of Tobit]] | + | *[[Book of Tobit|Tobit]] |
| − | *[[Book of Judith]] | + | *[[Book of Judith|Judith]] |
| − | *[[Book of Wisdom]] | + | *[[Book of Wisdom|The Wisdom of Solomon]] |
| − | *[[Ecclesiasticus]] | + | *[[Book of Sirach|The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, or, Ecclesiasticus]] |
| − | *[[Prayer of Manasseh]] | + | *[[Prayer of Manasseh|The Prayer of Manasses, king of Judah, when he was holden captive in Babylon]] |
| − | *[[ | + | *The rest of the Chapters of the book of Esther, which are found neither in the Hebrew, nor in the Chaldee (chapters 10:4—16:1-24) |
| − | *[[ | + | *[[The Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children|The Song of the Three Holy Children]]"<small>Which followeth in the third Chapter of Daniel after this place—''fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.'' That which followeth is not in the Hebrew, to wit, ''and they walked....'' unto these words, ''Then Nebuchadnezzar...'' verse 24.</small>" (62 verses) |
| − | * | + | *[[Story of Susanna|The History of Susanna]] "<small>set apart from the Beginning of ''Daniel'', because it is not in the Hebrew, as neither the Narration of ''Bel and the Dragon''</small>" |
| − | * | + | *[[Bel and the Dragon|The History of the Destruction of Bel and the Dragon, cut off from the end of Daniel]] |
| − | + | *[[1 Maccabees|First Book of the Maccabees]] | |
| − | **[[ | + | *[[2 Maccabees|Second Book of the Maccabees]] |
| − | **[[ | + | |
| + | Martin Luther pronounced as "apocryphal" these books of the New Testament: <ref>[http://www.onearthasinheaven.com/cathbible.html The Reasons Why the Catholic Bible is not Accepted by Modern Churches]<br/>[http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Bible/Text/Canon/wilkgren.html Luther and "New Testament Apocrypha"]<br/>[http://www.ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/DEUTEROS.HTM Defending the Deuterocanonicals]</ref> | ||
| + | *[[Hebrews]] | ||
| + | *[[James]] "''an epistle of straw''" | ||
| + | *[[Jude]] | ||
| + | *[[Revelation]] | ||
| + | He removed these 4 from the New Testament and placed them in an appendix to the Bible as "Apocrypha" along with the 7 books he removed from the Old Testament. Later, he revised his opinion of them and included them among the New Testament books as "useful", but excluded from the Old Testament the 7 remaining books and parts of other books he had originally removed as "apocryphal". | ||
Western [[art]] and [[theology]] continued to make reference to Apocryphal subjects long after they were deemed apocryphal. For example: | Western [[art]] and [[theology]] continued to make reference to Apocryphal subjects long after they were deemed apocryphal. For example: | ||
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* the [[archangel]] [[Raphael]] is known from the book of Tobit. | * the [[archangel]] [[Raphael]] is known from the book of Tobit. | ||
| − | There are also a number of | + | There are also a number of books which are not included in the Catholic Bible either, which are part of the [[Orthodox Church|Orthodox canon]], 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras, Prayer of Manasseh, Psalm 151, 3 Maccabees, and the appended 4 Maccabees. Other apocryphal works are called "[[pseudepigrapha]]". These include, for example, the [[Book of Enoch]] and the [[Book of Jubilees]] and the [[Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs]] from the Old Testament period. The "Apostolic Fathers" include the [[Didache]] and the [[Epistles of Ignatius]] and the [[Shepherd of Hermas]] from the early 2nd century. The later [[Gnostic]] writings and gospels such as the [[Gospel of Thomas]], found hidden in the abandoned monastery library at [[Nag Hammadi]] in Egypt, were written after the New Testament period. These books were of disputed status in the early Church as to whether they were scriptural or not, and were not included by the regional Third Council of Chalcedon and by the later General Council of Trent in the list of canonical scriptures. The Early Church fathers were concerned only with books relevant to the Christian faith, books which concerned salvation and growing in the Lord, following the oral tradition of the apostles ([http://biblehub.com/multi/2_thessalonians/2-15.htm 2 Thessalonians 2:15]). |
| + | |||
| + | == References == | ||
| + | {{reflist}} | ||
== External links == | == External links == | ||
| + | *[http://www.holyhome.nl/ot%20pseudepigrapha.pdf The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha] (Wesley Center Online) | ||
| + | *[http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/apocrypha.html New Testament Apocrypha: Early Christian Writings] | ||
*See essay: [http://www.jiminger.com/Jim/apocrypha.html "A Defense of the Protestant position on the Apocrypha", by Jim Carroll.] (Presbyterian) —jiminger.com. | *See essay: [http://www.jiminger.com/Jim/apocrypha.html "A Defense of the Protestant position on the Apocrypha", by Jim Carroll.] (Presbyterian) —jiminger.com. | ||
*See essay: [http://theorthodoxchurch.info/blog/ocrc/2009/06/the-orthodox-bible/ "Why Luther and the Protestant Reformers Removed Books From the Bible"] —''when the page comes up with photo-image of Orthodox Study Bible, scroll down to the essay immediately below it.'' | *See essay: [http://theorthodoxchurch.info/blog/ocrc/2009/06/the-orthodox-bible/ "Why Luther and the Protestant Reformers Removed Books From the Bible"] —''when the page comes up with photo-image of Orthodox Study Bible, scroll down to the essay immediately below it.'' | ||
Revision as of 08:09, December 12, 2014
The Apocrypha refers to books of the Bible that are not considered part of the Biblical Canon - precisely which books varies between denominations.
The Protestant canon of 66 books was originally formulated by Martin Luther, the Catholic definitive final canon of 73 books was retained "as read by the Church" by the Council of Trent. This canon was listed by the Fourth Council of Chalcedon (451). The Catholic Bible includes 27 books of the New Testament and 46 books "with all their parts" from the ancient Septuagint as used by the apostles and the early Christian church and included in Jerome's Vulgate translation as part of the Old Testament and accepts those books as scripture. For some time the King James Bible contained those books deemed as apocryphal books in a separate section, between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Episcopal Church includes the books of the Apocrypha in the cycle of scripture readings in its services, but holds that the apocryphal books are useful for study and edification, but not for doctrine. Most Protestant churches do not use the Apocrypha as scripture at all.
Books apocryphal to the Protestant canon include (titles as listed in 1881 Bibles):
- I Esdras
- II Esdras
- Baruch
- Epistle of Jeremiah is sometimes included with the Book of Baruch as chapter 6
- Tobit
- Judith
- The Wisdom of Solomon
- The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, or, Ecclesiasticus
- The Prayer of Manasses, king of Judah, when he was holden captive in Babylon
- The rest of the Chapters of the book of Esther, which are found neither in the Hebrew, nor in the Chaldee (chapters 10:4—16:1-24)
- The Song of the Three Holy Children"Which followeth in the third Chapter of Daniel after this place—fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. That which followeth is not in the Hebrew, to wit, and they walked.... unto these words, Then Nebuchadnezzar... verse 24." (62 verses)
- The History of Susanna "set apart from the Beginning of Daniel, because it is not in the Hebrew, as neither the Narration of Bel and the Dragon"
- The History of the Destruction of Bel and the Dragon, cut off from the end of Daniel
- First Book of the Maccabees
- Second Book of the Maccabees
Martin Luther pronounced as "apocryphal" these books of the New Testament: [1]
- Hebrews
- James "an epistle of straw"
- Jude
- Revelation
He removed these 4 from the New Testament and placed them in an appendix to the Bible as "Apocrypha" along with the 7 books he removed from the Old Testament. Later, he revised his opinion of them and included them among the New Testament books as "useful", but excluded from the Old Testament the 7 remaining books and parts of other books he had originally removed as "apocryphal".
Western art and theology continued to make reference to Apocryphal subjects long after they were deemed apocryphal. For example:
- the story of Judith and Holophernes was a popular subject for painters
- Handel wrote an opera, Judas Maccabeus based on the books of Maccabees
- the four cardinal virtues are taken from a verse in the book of Wisdom
- the archangel Raphael is known from the book of Tobit.
There are also a number of books which are not included in the Catholic Bible either, which are part of the Orthodox canon, 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras, Prayer of Manasseh, Psalm 151, 3 Maccabees, and the appended 4 Maccabees. Other apocryphal works are called "pseudepigrapha". These include, for example, the Book of Enoch and the Book of Jubilees and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs from the Old Testament period. The "Apostolic Fathers" include the Didache and the Epistles of Ignatius and the Shepherd of Hermas from the early 2nd century. The later Gnostic writings and gospels such as the Gospel of Thomas, found hidden in the abandoned monastery library at Nag Hammadi in Egypt, were written after the New Testament period. These books were of disputed status in the early Church as to whether they were scriptural or not, and were not included by the regional Third Council of Chalcedon and by the later General Council of Trent in the list of canonical scriptures. The Early Church fathers were concerned only with books relevant to the Christian faith, books which concerned salvation and growing in the Lord, following the oral tradition of the apostles (2 Thessalonians 2:15).
References
External links
- The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (Wesley Center Online)
- New Testament Apocrypha: Early Christian Writings
- See essay: "A Defense of the Protestant position on the Apocrypha", by Jim Carroll. (Presbyterian) —jiminger.com.
- See essay: "Why Luther and the Protestant Reformers Removed Books From the Bible" —when the page comes up with photo-image of Orthodox Study Bible, scroll down to the essay immediately below it.