Introduction to the Apocrypha

Abstract

The Apocrypha or deuterocanonical texts of the Bible were Jewish texts that were included in Christian Old Testaments over and above the books of the Jewish Bible, although in the ancient period both the Jewish canon and the Bibles of the various Christian churches were in flux. Thus the authority of these extra books, as well as the decision about which books would be so included, has also varied enormously. The Apocrypha have been continuously debated by Christian authors over the centuries, and Jewish authors from the Middle Ages on have re-introduced some of the books of the Apocrypha into Jewish religious culture. Also, in addition to the extra books of the Catholic and Orthodox churches, considered here are the less well known books of the Ethiopic, Syriac (Peshitta), Armenian, and Coptic Bibles. The books of the various Apocrypha’s and the problems associated with them are introduced in these categories: novellas, historical texts, wisdom texts, apocalypses, and psalms, prayers, and odes. Important themes central to Jewish identity in the Greek and Roman periods that appear in these works are treated. The role that these texts have continued to play in Christian and in some cases Jewish tradition is noted, along with some examples of the figures of the texts in art.