Old Testament Apocrypha

Old Testament Apocrypha (also called Deuterocanonical books) are books found in the Greek Septuagint but not in the Hebrew Bible. They are included in the Old Testament by Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians but are rejected as canonical Scripture by Protestants and Jews.

Martin Luther said “Apocrypha: These books are not held equal to the Sacred Scriptures, and yet are useful and good for reading.”.

Apocrypha was removed from the Bible in the 19th century to save printing and distribution costs.

List of Old Testament Apocryphal Books

Canonical for the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church:

Tobit

Judith

Baruch including the Letter of Jeremiah (Baruch chapter 6)

Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus)

1 Maccabees

2 Maccabees

Wisdom

Canonical only for the Eastern Orthodox Church:

Prayer of Manasseh

1 Esdras

2 Esdras

3 Maccabees

4 Maccabees

Psalm 151

Views on the Apocrypha before the Protestant Reformation

Jerome said that books not found in the Hebrew Bible were not part of the true Bible canon.

Contradictions between OT Apocrypha books and Bible

Salvation

For alms delivereth from death, and the same is that which purgeth away sins, and maketh to find mercy and life everlasting. Tobit 12:9

This implies salvation is by works.

For it is by God's grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God's gift, so that no one can boast about it. Ephesians 2:8-9

This implies salvation is by faith, not works.

External links

Jewish Approach to Old Testament Apocrypha