Welcome to Ask the Church, our series where we attempt to answer your questions about theology, church practice, or worship in under five minutes.
Today’s question is about the Apocrypha. We were asked to give a beginner’s guide to reading or studying the Apocrypha. It’s a great question, because for many people, the Apocrypha probably feels like this foreign body of texts you don’t know what to do with.
For those who may not be familiar, the Apocrypha refers to a group of books written in Greek by Jewish authors in the centuries immediately preceding the birth of Christ. The word “Apocrypha” means “hidden,” and the books were called hidden in a certain sense because they weren’t read in worship—or at least some Christians thought that!
Another name for these books is the Deuterocanon, which I think is actually more helpful. Deuterocanon means “second canon,” like a second-tier Old Testament. I want to talk a little about their history and why we should read them. But first, I want to answer the question: A beginner’s guide to reading or studying the Apocrypha. The basic answer is: read them.
We ought to read these books, if for no other reason than that they are a vital part of the Jewish people's heritage—a reflection of what it means to live and struggle as the people of God in the world. These books contain historical accounts that illuminate the context of the New Testament (cf. John 10:22; 1 Maccabees 4:36–59 (RSV); 2 Maccabees 10:1–8 (RSV)), wisdom literature (e.g., Sirach, Wisdom of Solomon), and various writings that can be helpful to us.
Some of you may know that the Apocrypha—or the Deuterocanon—is regarded in the Anglican Articles of Religion as worth reading. But there’s an important distinction: the Articles affirm that these books are beneficial for life and morals—that is, for learning how to live faithfully as God’s people—but not for establishing doctrine (cf. Article VI).
The reason we don’t use them to establish doctrine is because they have generally been considered a sort of second-tier Scripture—part of the heritage of God’s people, but not necessarily divinely inspired in the same way.
This dispute goes back to the Early Church. These books were written in Greek rather than Hebrew, and that’s at the root of the question. They were part of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. The Apostles and early churches that read Scripture in Greek would have had these books in their copies. That’s why there are New Testament allusions to these texts (for example, Hebrews 11:35 seems to allude to 2 Maccabees 7 (RSV)).
As an aside, it may surprise some of you to know that the original King James Version of the Bible included these books. They were always considered to be a part of the Old Testament, but a subclass of it.
The reason they weren’t understood to be fully inspired is because they weren’t included in the original Hebrew manuscripts. This led to a debate in the Early Church—particularly between St. Jerome, who lived in Bethlehem and translated the Scriptures into Latin, and St. Augustine, the great Bishop of Hippo.
The argument centered on whether a text must be written in Hebrew to be considered fully inspired and part of the Old Testament. Jerome said yes: if it wasn’t in Hebrew, it didn’t carry the same authority. Augustine, reading in Greek and lacking the ability to read Hebrew, had a higher view of the Deuterocanon because those books were included in the Greek copies of Scripture, with which he was most familiar.
But even those who believed the books should be read in church—who did not consider them “Apocrypha” in the hidden sense—still historically regarded them as second-tier Scripture.
The Anglican Church has largely followed St. Jerome’s position: because these books were not part of the original Hebrew Scriptures, they are not considered inspired in the same way. However, they remain valuable for understanding Jewish history and for growing in wisdom as the people of God. They just aren’t used to establish doctrine.
That said, I strongly encourage you to read them. They teach us a great deal about the time of Christ, provide background for the Gospels, and help us understand Jewish thought and theology. They offer vivid examples of God’s people striving to remain faithful.
So the basic advice is this: go read them. Get a copy of the ESV Bible with the Apocrypha, or find them online. Start with the book of Judith—a powerful story about a faithful Jewish heroine who saves her people because of her belief in God. Or dive into the books of Maccabees, which recount the reestablishment of the Jewish kingdom in the 2nd century BC. These stories will encourage you, they will strengthen your faith, and they are great for Christians to read.
I hope this helps. If you have more questions, feel free to email them to me at steven@incarnationrichmond.org.
And now, go in the grace of our God.