What About the Apocrypha?
We do not have the “annals of the kings of Judah,” but we do have ancient Hebrew writings that are not part of what the Protestant church regards as the Bible. These writings are the Apocrypha and come down to us from the ancient Hebrews. Jewish writers since the first century, notably the historian Josephus, made it clear that these books were not authoritative, nor deemed inspired.
The Greek Alexandrian Canon seems to include the Apocrypha. Ancient copies of the Greek Old Testament found in Alexandria, Egypt, include the apocryphal books. This does not mean Alexandrian Jews believed these books inspired. Our Bibles contain introductory articles, notes, and guides that we do not consider to be part of the Word of God. We cannot be sure how the Alexandrian Jews regarded the apocryphal books, but we know for certain that Palestinian Jews regarded them simply as edifying literature.
The Roman Catholic Church declared eleven of the fourteen apocryphal books to be canonical. This was stated at the Council of Trent in the 1500s and again at the First Vatican Council in the nineteenth century. While these decisions are in error, it is unfortunate that Protestants have totally disregarded the Apocrypha. The Protestant Reformers, while declaring that the apocryphal books were not inspired as God’s revelation, still maintained their value as literature. They provide the closest view we have of the period between Malachi and John the Baptist. Many Reformers believed that, apart from the Scripture, the Apocrypha contains our most important body of literature.
Nowhere does the New Testament quote the Apocrypha. Some of its teachings and miracle stories are questionable. The Apocrypha clearly is uninspired literature, but Christians should be familiar with it.
Sproul, R.C., Before the Face of God: A Daily Guide for Living from the Old Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books) 1994.
