(Much of this material comes from the Christian Courier website, an article entitled: Is the Apocrypha Inspired by God? Written by Wayne Jackson.)
WHAT ARE THE APOCRYPHAL BOOKS?
The word “apocrypha” means hidden. Books that were not considered to be canonical (a part of the Bible), became known as the apocryphal books. Seven of these books are found within the Old Testament of the Catholic Bible. These include the following: Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, and 1 and 2 Maccabees. These books were accepted as being a part of the Bible at the Council of Trent in 1546, Others, that are not in the Catholic Bible include the following: 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras, The Rest of Esther, Song of the Three Holy Children, History of Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, and the Prayer of Manasseh. Sometimes these books are also referred to as the “Disputed Books.”
REASONS FOR REJECTING THE APOCRYPHAL BOOKS
- They were never a part of the Hebrew Old Testament. No record of them appearing with the OT books occurred until they began to be inserted into later renditions of the Septuagint (a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible).
- These books are not appealed to by some of the earliest church historians. Philo did not make mention of them, though he quoted extensively from the OT (writing in Alexandria from 20 B.C. – 50 A.D). Josephus rejected these books (A.D. 37-95). Neither Origen nor Tertullian recognized these books (3rd century A.D.) There is evidence that some use of them began to be made in religious services by the 5th century A.D. (But this is really more of a liability to their inclusion as Scripture.) By presenting these things we are not saying that the historical record settles the matter, but it does seem to be quite telling.
- The books were all written during the “Silent Period” of God’s revelation. By “Silent Period,” we mean the period of time between the OT and the NT. As the prophet Malachi closes the OT revelation he states: “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction” (4:4-6). “Elijah” is a clear reference to the coming of John the Baptizer (see Mt. 11:14; Lk. 1:17). Implied is that there will be no revelation until that time.
- Neither Jesus nor any writer of the NT quotes a single time from the Apocryphal Books, though they do quote from 35 of the 39 OT books.
- The Apocryphal Books never make a single claim to be inspired by God, whereas the OT
- books we have make statements like: “Thus says the Lord.” In fact, brother Wayne Jackson pointed out that one of these books actually claims not be inspired: “Ye are intreated therefore to read with favour and attention, and to pardon us, if in any parts of what we have laboured to interpret, we may seem to fail in some of the phrases.” (This is from the prologue of the Ecclesiasticus.)
- The style of writing is not on or near the level of the other books which are considered to be Scripture.
ERRORS FOUND IN THE APOCRYPHAL BOOKS
- According to Jeremiah 43:6-7, Jeremiah and Baruch were taken to Egypt, but Baruch 1:1-2 has them in Babylon at the same time.
- The book of 2 Maccabees has Antiochus Epiphanes dying two different ways (compare 2 Mac. 1:13-16 with 2 Mac. 9:19-29).
- Tobit is said to have lived 158 years (Tobit 14:11), yet it says that he was alive when Jeroboam revolted against Jerusalem (931 B.C.) and still around when the Assyrians invaded Israel (around 722-721 B.C.). This would make him about 210 years old!
FALSE DOCTRINE IN THE APOCRYPHAL BOOKS
- The book Wisdom of Solomon teaches the preexistence of the soul. “Now I was a goodly child, and a good soul fell to my lot; Nay rather, being good, I came into a body undefiled” (8:19-20).
- 2 Maccabees 12:45 teaches praying for the dead: “Wherefore he made the propitiation for them that had died, that they might be released from their sins” (2 Maccabees 12:45). This is used by Catholics regarding praying for release from purgatory.
- Tobit 12:9 teaches that one may purge sins through giving. “It is better to give alms than to lay up gold: alms doth deliver from death, and it shall purge away all sin” (Tobit 12:9).
- Tobit 6:1-17 teaches that magical potions can drive away demons.
Daren Schroeder
