APOCRYPHA
What Is the Significance of the Apocrypha?
This word originally meant "hidden things," suggesting a special body of information reserved for a select group. Eventually, it came to signify a collection of fourteen or fifteen books, some of which are included in some editions of the English Bible—especially the versions distributed under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Roman Church subscribes to the idea that several apocryphal books are inspired by God and thus should be embraced within the sacred Canon. These are Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, I and II Maccabees, and fragments of Daniel and Esther.
The evidence is against acknowledging these books as inspired.
The Roman Church subscribes to the idea that several apocryphal books are inspired by God and thus should be embraced within the sacred Canon. These are Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, I and II Maccabees, and fragments of Daniel and Esther.
The evidence is against acknowledging these books as inspired.
- These works were not in the Hebrew Old Testament.
- They were produced between those eras in which inspired Testaments were given (i.e., in the inter-testament period; see Josephus, Against Apion 1.8).
- Neither Jesus nor the apostles regarded these documents as inspired by God.
- The books make no claim of inspiration.
- They contain numerous inaccuracies and contradictions.
- The moral tone of the books is far below that of the Bible.
While they provide some interesting historical data of the inter-biblical period, they are not products of divine inspiration.
