The Apocrypha is a collection of ancient Christian books in the Bible. They were not included in the Hebrew canon, but they were considered authoritative by Jews and Christians until the 18th century. A number of them have much shorter texts, or are in English translations only, but all are listed below here with their appropriate Biblical passages and references to their Biblical context.
Apocrypha is a name for a body of literature of the Old Testament. It includes historical books and legendary material, as well as some prose works by Jews that have been included in the Christian Old Testament. The common word(s) derived from apocryphal include “apocryphry” (a place where an apocryphary book is kept) and “apocryphism”.
How Many Books Are In The Apocrypha
The Complete 54-Book Apocrypha is the definitive collection of non-Gnostic apocrypha, pseudepigrapha, and other extra-biblical works from the earliest centuries, including Catholic and Orthodox Deuterocanon material, all three of the books of Enoch, Jasher, Jubilees, the Aramaic Book of Giants, the testaments, apocalypses, New Testament-era works, the Apostolic Fathers, and much more. 76 complete and unabridged works, presented as 54 books, are included in this exhaustive collection of apocrypha by Covenant Press.
Complete List of Works Included in The Complete 54-Book Apocrypha
Old Testament Apocrypha (Deuterocanon)
Old Testament Pseudepigrapha
New Testament Apocrypha
Extra-Biblical Works
These are just a few of the 76 complete and unabridged works included in The Complete 54-Book Apocrypha by Covenant Press. Whether you are a scholar, a theologian, or simply a curious reader, this exhaustive collection offers a wealth of insights into the early centuries of Christianity and the texts that were influential but ultimately left out of the official canon.
What Books Are in the Apocrypha?
Different scholars included different apocryphal books in their Bible translations before the official list we have today, which was ratified by several Roman Catholic councils and appeared in the King James Bible. The list is as follows:
- · The First Book of Esdras
- · The Second Book of Esdras
- · The Book of Tobit
- · The Book of Judith
· Additions to the Book of Esther
- · The Book of Wisdom
- · The Book of Sirach
- · The Book of Baruch
- · The Epistle of Jeremiah
· Additions to the Book of Daniel
- · The Prayer of Manasses
· The Additional Psalm
- · The First Book of Maccabees
- · The Second Book of Maccabees
- · The Third Book of Maccabees
- · The Fourth Book of Maccabees
Apocryphal Books of The Bible
Most of these books have separate storylines and characters from the other books of the Bible. For example, the books of the Maccabees come after the Old Testament canon and describe the Maccabees revolting against empires that controlled Israel.
Three of these books are sections of text included in the Septuagint as part of biblical texts but not in earlier versions: Additions to Esther, Additions to Daniel, and the Additional Psalm.
Additions to the Book of Esther are extra scenes in the story of Esther, including Esther giving a long dramatic prayer to God before she goes to see the king, and her fainting when she goes to see King Xerxes.
The Additions to the Book of Daniel are three extra stories about Daniel:
· The Prayer of Azariah describes Azariah (also known as Abednego), one of the three men sent into the fiery, entering the furnace and saying a prayer to God. Eventually, all three of the men join in a single prayer, where they exhort all creation to praise the Lord.
· Susanna and the Elders is about a married woman named Susanna being approached by two elders who try to seduce her, then when Susanna cries out they claim she was with another man. Daniel appears at her trial and tricks the elders into contradicting their testimony.
· Daniel and the Dragon (sometimes called the Book of Bel) describes King Nebuchadnezzar worshipping an idol named Bel and a dragon kept in a temple. Daniel cleverly shows that temple priests are actually eating all the offerings being left to Bel and shows the dragon is not a god by feeding it food that makes it explode.
The Additional Psalm (sometimes called Psalm 151) is a psalm that doesn’t appear in earlier translations of the Psalms.
Depending on which Bible translation you read which included the Apocrypha, these additions may be printed separately from Esther, Daniel, and the Psalms, or they may be published within those books. Some versions, such as the Catholic Living Bible, print them within the books but use italics or a different font to set them apart.
How and When Was Scripture Canonized?
There are a number of councils throughout early church history where church leaders discussed what books were divinely inspired and part of the Old Testament or the New Testament. While the alleged “later Gospels” (or Gnostic Gospels) were consistently rejected and not included in the New Testament, a variety of councils, perhaps most notably the Council of Hippo in 393, included apocryphal books in the Old Testament.
During the fourth century, the most notable objection to the Apocrypha came from St. Jerome when he was translating the Septuagint into Latin. While comparing the Septuagint with earlier Hebrew manuscripts, Jerome concluded there was a problem with the Apocrypha and advised against considering them as Scripture. Others disagreed, and the Council of Rome in 382 included the Apocrypha in its list of canonical Scripture. The Council of Trent (which took place over multiple meetings from 1545 and 1563) reiterated that the Roman Catholic Church considered the Apocrypha to be canonical Scripture.
When the Protestant Reformation took place, Martin Luther released his German Bible translation with the Apocrypha as a separate section. Luther apparently believed the Apocrypha “are not considered equal to the Holy Scriptures but are useful and good to read.” Most Protestant denominations (including high church denominations like the Church of England) have agreed with this stance. There are a variety of minor denominations (such as the Ethiopian Orthodox Church) which have their own opinions about the matter, some holding individual apocryphal (or pseudepigraphical) works as Scripture.
Why Do We Reject the Apocrypha as Canon?
There are a number of reasons why different scholars have described the Apocrypha as not being part of the Scripture canon. Here are five of the clearest and simplest reasons:
- Not enough manuscript evidence. One important question scholars ask when analyzing the Scripture canon is if books have a line of tradition backing them. So, if we find these additions to Esther, Daniel, and the Psalms aren’t just in the Septuagint but in many or all of the earlier Hebrew copies of those books, then we could call the additions canonical. What we see instead is that those additions appear in the Septuagint, but not in earlier Hebrew copies of Esther, Daniel, or the Psalms. Thus, we don’t have the manuscript evidence to make good historical cases for these additions as Scripture.
- The canon was closed already. While scholars debate when exactly the Jews considered the Old Testament to be closed, there’s consensus that they believed at some juncture prophecy stopped, and the apocryphal books were written after that period. For example, when Jewish historian Josephus talks about the Hebrew Bible in Against Apion, he says “Although such long ages have now passed, no one has ventured neither to add, or to remove, or to alter a syllable.” Neither he nor his contemporaries include apocryphal books in their lists or descriptions of the Old Testament canon. For them, the Apocrypha were interesting books, but not divinely inspired.
- Tonal shifts. Some of these books are written in ways that don’t fit with the canonical texts. For example, Carey A. Moore notes in an article for the Encyclopedia of Jewish Women that the additional scenes about Esther feel like “high drama” added by a later writer. The characterization of Esther in these scenes doesn’t fit the rest of the narrative, nor does the style. That strongly suggests that these additions to Esther are later bits tacked on by someone else.
- Thematic problems. Many of these works have themes or messages that don’t fit with the rest of Scripture. For example, the Book of Wisdom describes the soul as good but the body as bad, “a weight upon the soul” (Wisdom 9:15), and the Book of Tobit says that people can be saved by giving alms (Tobit 12:9). Two of the additions to Daniel seem to focus on human cleverness without God—he tricks liars into showing their perjury, he kills a dragon by feeding it food it can’t handle, he and shows that priests are stealing food by putting down ashes so they leave footprints. The emphasis is on Daniel being clever, without him giving glory to God for his giftedness. He comes across as just being a naturally smart guy who gets places on his own steam. The canonical book of Daniel describes Daniel and his friends as wise, but it focuses on God providing surprising help for them in tough situations and giving Daniel visions.
- Lack of apostolic evidence. One important consideration about canonical Scripture is whether Jesus or the Apostles quoted from certain books and described them as Scripture. Jesus quoted or referred to Old Testament books many times (such as his discussions about the law in the Sermon the Mount), he doesn’t quote the Apocrypha. Paul and other Apostles referred to and quoted the Old Testament many times too, but none of them quote the Apocrypha or describe them as Scripture. The closest we get to that is Jude referencing ideas from another set of books labeled the Pseudepigrapha.
What Are The 14 Apocrypha Books
The Old Testament Apocrypha consists of eleven or twelve writings, depending upon how they are divided, that make up part of the Old Testament Scripture of the Roman Catholic Church. Some of these writings are complete books while others are additions to existing books.
Other ancient Christian communities, such as the Greek Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, not only accept these writings as canonical, they add three additional writings to the Old Testament. These writings constitute three separate books.
Because these works are believed to be Holy Scripture by millions of professing Christians, it is important that we have some understanding of the contents of the various writings which make up the Old Testament Apocrypha.
We can summarize the contents of these works as follows:
- The Book of Tobit
The Book of Tobit was likely composed in the second century B.C. The author is unknown. It is named after its main character. The book tells the story about a man named Tobit who was taken captive to Nineveh in 721 B.C. along with the northern kingdom of Israel. While in Nineveh, Tobit rose to prominence in the Assyrian government. However, he eventually lost his position as well as his wealth. Through all of this, Tobit still continued to live a righteous life before God. To add to his problems, Tobit was blinded by an accident. Because of this and the other problems he was enduring, Tobit asked the Lord to allow him to die.
Tobit then remembered that he had deposited a large sum of money in Media. The story goes on to tell about how Tobit sent his son Tobias to retrieve the family treasure. The traveling companion of Tobias on this journey was the angel Raphael (although his identity was unknown to either Tobit or Tobias). On the way to Media, when he was bathing, Tobias was attacked by a large fish. The fish was killed. Raphael then told Tobias to remove the heart and lung from the fish because it would make “useful medicine.”
At the same time Tobit was asking the Lord to take his life, there was a woman in Media named Sarah who was also requesting to die. She had lost seven husbands; each on the night of their honeymoon! A demon named Asmodeus had entered into their bedchamber and killed each one of these men. Thus, Sarah wished to die.
When Tobias arrived in Media, he was urged by Raphael to marry Sarah. Instead of becoming the eighth victim of the demon, Tobias used the liver and heart of the dead fish to drive the demon from their bedchamber.
When Tobias and Sarah returned to Nineveh, he used part of the fish to rub onto the eyes of his blind father. At that moment, Tobit was cured from his blindness. Raphael then revealed his true identity to Tobit; he was an angel sent by God to answer Tobit’s prayer. This led Tobit to praise the Lord for answering his prayer. The story ends with Tobit telling Tobias and Sarah to leave Nineveh because the Lord was going to judge the wicked city.
The book seems to have been written to teach the Jews how to act properly toward God even in the midst of tragedy. There are a number of obvious historical and geographical errors in this book that make it historically impossible. As noted, legendary elements are also found in this story.
- The Book of Judith
The Book of Judith is the work of an unknown author in the second century B.C. This story has its setting, however, during the time of the Babylonian captivity. Judith is the account of a Jewish woman who saves her people by killing an enemy leader. There does not seem to be any historical basis for this story. The book contains a number of historical and chronological errors. In fact, Judith begins with a couple of obvious historical errors. It says:
It was the twelfth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled over the Assyrians in the great city of Nineveh. In those days Arphaxad ruled over the Medes in Ecbatana. (Judith 1:1 NRSV)
Nebuchadnezzar was the ruler of the Babylonians, not the Assyrians. Furthermore, he ruled in Babylon ? not Nineveh. These are grave historical errors that show the legendary character of this book.
In fact, the New American Bible, a Roman Catholic translation, makes the following admission concerning the Book of Judith:
Any attempt to read this book directly against the backdrop of Jewish history in relation to the empires of the world is bound to fail. (Prologue to Judith)
What this simply means is that the entire account of the Book of Judith is fictional.
There is a more serious problem. According to the Book of Judith, God assists Judith in telling a number of lies. Judith lies to the Assyrians by saying that she is hiding from her people. Once she has gained their trust, she is able to kill their leader by her deceit. This is a serious problem. The Bible never gives any justification for someone telling a lie. Yet, the entire success of Judith is based upon her untruths. This is certainly not consistent with the rest of the teaching of Scripture. This is a further reason to reject Judith as Holy Scripture.
- The Additions to Esther
The biblical story of Esther is given a number of additions in the Old Testament Apocrypha. These stories seem to have been written with the idea of including them with the canonical Book of Esther. The author is unknown. In fact, the additions may have been written at different times by different authors. The additions are usually dated in the 2nd or 1st century B.C.
Most of these additions were probably originally written in Greek, though some of them may indicate they are a translation from Hebrew. The fact that parts were originally composed in Greek is another testimony to its late date because the canonical Book of Esther was written entirely in Hebrew.
These additions contain the following: the record of the dream of Mordecai; an edict of Artaxerxes; prayers from Esther and Mordecai; an account of Esther before the king; a counter edict of Artaxerxes, and an epilogue. There is no historical basis for any of them.
In the dream that Mordecai supposedly had, he saw two dragons which were representing coming conflict. It was only later that Mordecai understood that one of the dragons was representing Haman, the high-ranking official in the Persian government who, according to the canonical Book of Esther, plotted to destroy the Jewish people. The second dragon in the dream was actually Mordecai himself. It was he who was instrumental in saving the Jews from annihilation. This, of course, was with the help of his adopted daughter, Queen Esther, the wife of the King.
Interestingly, the additions to Esther add something to the story that the biblical Book of Esther does not; prayers to God. The Book of Esther is well-known for the fact that the name of God is never once mentioned in the Book. Nor do we find a reference to prayer. The additions of Esther make up for this by adding prayers of both Esther and Mordecai. In fact, in the additions to Esther there are over fifty references to God. These additions are added to the Book of Esther in Roman Catholic translations (Esther 10:4-16:24) while Protestants print them as a separate book or writing.
- The Wisdom of Solomon (the Book of Wisdom)
This work was probably composed in Greek about 100 B.C. The author is not the famous King Solomon of the Bible, as the title suggests. However, at times, the author of this work speaks as the person of Solomon. Hence, the name: the Wisdom of Solomon. The fact that this work was written in Greek, rather than Hebrew, further demonstrates that King Solomon was not the author.
Basically, the work elaborates on the teachings about wisdom found in two of Solomon’s works ? Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. The teachings resemble Greek thought more than Hebrew thought.
There is a passage from the Book of the Wisdom of Solomon that sheds light upon the taunting of Christ at His crucifixion. It reads:
Let us see if his words are true, and let us test what will happen at the end of his life; for if the righteous man is God’s child, he will help him, and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries. Let us test him with insult and torture, so that we may find out how gentle he is, and make trial of his forbearance. Let us condemn him to a shameful death. (The Wisdom of Solomon 2:17-20 NRSV)
This gives us some insight concerning what those who were at Jesus’ crucifixion were saying to Him. They assumed if Jesus was righteous, then God would deliver Him from His unjust death on the cross. However, they did not realize that the death of Christ had an even greater purpose; He was dying for the sins of the world.
- Sirach, the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach (the Book of Ecclesiasticus)
This work has a number of different names. The Greek title is “Sirach” or “The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach.” In some Greek and Latin manuscripts of this work, there is the title Liber Ecclesiasticus. This is Latin for “Church Book.” It was given this name because many in the church made extensive use of its teachings.
While this book is usually dated about 180 B.C., it could have been written earlier. The work was originally written in Hebrew and then later translated into Greek by the grandson of the author. He also added his own preface to the work.
The author was a sage who used the Book of Proverbs as a model for his work. This work was held in high esteem among Jews and Christians. For example, John Bunyan, the author of “A Pilgrims Progress,” testified that a passage from the Book of Ecclesiasticus gave him much comfort during a time of need. The passage reads:
Consider the generations of old and see: has anyone trusted in the Lord and been disappointed? Or has anyone persevered in the fear of the Lord and been forsaken? Or has anyone called upon him and been neglected? For the Lord is compassionate and merciful; he forgives sins and saves in time of distress. (Ecclesiasticus 2:10,11 NRSV)
While this passage does not teach anything new about the Lord, it certainly summarizes biblical truth.
Among other things, the Book of Ecclesiasticus does provide us with valuable insights about the existence and extent of the Old Testament canon. The writer cites every book of the Old Testament either directly, or indirectly, with the possible exception of the Book of Ruth. Furthermore, he makes a clear distinction between his writings and those of Holy Scripture.
Thus, Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus, is helpful in that it lets us know that a canon of Scripture existed in 200 B.C. Furthermore, it is helpful in determining the exact contents of this canon.
- Baruch
This book was written as a series of addresses to the Jews who were exiled in Babylon. Most likely it was originally written in Hebrew in the second or first century B.C. The style of writing is different in the five major sections of this book. The first and last are written in prose but the middle three are written as poetry. Baruch is unique among the books of the Old Testament Apocrypha in that its style is similar to that of the Old Testament prophets; it has the ancient prophetic fire!
It seems that the work was intended to instruct these exiled Israelites as to how to make their annual pilgrimage back to Jerusalem. The author, at least in the first part of the work, is supposedly the same Baruch who was Jeremiah’s scribe. However, since it was written centuries after the time of Baruch, the work is a pseudepigraphical work or a false writing.
- The Letter of Jeremiah
This work consists of one chapter that is sometimes added to the Book of Baruch (as Baruch chapter six). Sometimes the letter of Jeremiah is placed on its own. That fact that this is sometimes added to Baruch is why we say the Old Testament Apocrypha of the Roman Catholic Church consists of a total of six or seven books; depending upon how they are divided.
The work is basically an attack upon idolatry. It shows that they have no power over anyone. Jeremiah the prophet supposedly wrote this letter to the Jews who were about to be taken into captivity by the Babylonians. However, there is no evidence that this letter was actually written by Jeremiah.
A copy of the Letter of Jeremiah has been found in cave seven among the Dead Sea Scrolls. All of the fragments found in this cave were written in Greek. This may suggest that the original language of the letter was not Hebrew, but rather Greek. Since Jeremiah would not have written in the Greek language, this is further evidence that this work did not come from the biblical prophet. However, there are those who argue that the Greek fragments are translations from the original Hebrew. The letter of Jeremiah is usually dated somewhere in the fourth century B.C.
- The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men
These are actually two separate works. Azariah is the Hebrew name of one of the three young men whom King Nebuchadnezzar threw into the fiery furnace for not bowing to the king’s golden image. Azariah’s prayer is an acknowledgment that the Babylonians captivity was God’s divine justice against Israel. He then prays that God will save him and his two friends from the flames of the fiery furnace.
God responds to this prayer by sending His angel into the furnace with them. This causes the three young men to sing to the Lord. They sing of the great acts of God among the Jewish people as well as in all the earth. In doing so, these three young men give thanks for their deliverance from the fiery furnace. These two works are usually thought to have been written about 160 B.C. Since these events in the Book of Daniel take place around 550 B.C, there is no evidence whatsoever for the authenticity of either of these works. In Roman Catholic translations, these two portions are added to Daniel 3 (Daniel 3:23-90), while in Protestant translations they are separate works.
- Susanna
This is a beautiful story. It tells how Daniel saved a woman named Susanna from death. Two elders falsely accused her of immorality. As she was being led away to execution, she cried out to God. At that moment young Daniel appeared. He separated the two accusers and compared their stories. When he found that they did not match, they were executed instead of Susanna. Daniel was considered a hero from that day forward. While this story is well-written and has been considered one of the best short stories in all literature, it has no historical basis whatsoever.
Add to this the fact that this work was originally written in Greek. Twice during this short story we find a play on words that will work in Greek but will not work in Hebrew. This testifies to the late date of the writing. The Book of Daniel was written in Hebrew and Aramaic with no part originally composed in Greek. The story of Susanna is added as a thirteenth chapter to Daniel in Roman Catholic translations which Protestants print as a separate work.
- Bel and the Dragon (Bel and the Snake)
Bel and the Dragon, or Bel and the Snake, consists of two short stories. These two account ridicule idolatry and show how the gods of Babylon are without power.
The first story describes the Babylonian god called Bel. It reveals how Daniel showed the king that Bel was just a human-made idol without any real existence or substance. The king told Daniel that Bel was real because he ate the food that the priests left for him each night. However, Daniel showed the king that Bel did not eat the food that was left for him each night ? rather the priests of Bel and their families came in through a secret door and ate the food left for the idol. When the king discovered this hoax, he put the priests and their families to death. The idol was then handed over to Daniel for destruction.
In the second story, Daniel asked permission of the king to kill the dragon they were worshipping. He said:
But give me permission, O king, and I will kill the dragon without sword or club. The king said, “I give you permission.” Then Daniel took pitch, fat, and hair, and boiled them together and made cakes, which he fed to the dragon. The dragon ate them, and burst open. Then Daniel said, “See what you have been worshiping!” (Bel and the Dragon 1:26-27 NRSV)
The Babylonians then became upset because Daniel had destroyed two of their idols. They convinced the king to throw Daniel into a den of lions. The story concludes by showing that God protected Daniel from the lions during the six days that he was in the den. On the seventh day, the king arrived at the lions den to find Daniel safe:
On the seventh day the king came to mourn for Daniel. When he came to the den he looked in, and there sat Daniel! The king shouted with a loud voice, “You are great, O Lord, the God of Daniel, and there is no other besides you!” Then he pulled Daniel out, and threw into the den those who had attempted his destruction, and they were instantly eaten before his eyes. (Bel and the Dragon 1:41-42 NRSV)
These stories are without any historical basis. They were probably written in Hebrew about 150 B.C. Bel and the Dragon is added to the Book of Daniel as Daniel chapter fourteen in Roman Catholic translations and as a separate work in Protestant translations.
- First Maccabees (100 B.C.)
First Maccabees is an account of the struggles of the Jewish nation from 175 B.C. to 135 B.C. This was the era in which the Jews of Palestine fought for and gained their national independence. First Maccabees was written to give us a history of the nation during this turbulent time. Indeed, some of the parts of First Maccabees are genuinely historical and are extremely helpful in understanding the history of that period. However, it also contains historical errors and parts that are anachronistic.
Though the work is called “Maccabees,” this name is only applied to one character in the Book; Judas Maccabaeus; the “hammer.” Judas was the third son of Mattathias; a priest who led a revolt against the Seleucid kings who were persecuting the Jews.
In First Maccabees, Judas is the one credited with overthrowing these enemies of Israel. In doing so, he cleansed the temple which had been defiled. As a result of the temple being cleansed and rededicated, the “Festival of Lights,” or Hanukkah, was established. According to First Maccabees, this feast was to be perpetually celebrated by the Jews.