The Apocryphal Books
©by David Cloud
This article is posted with permission, from Way Of Life Literature . This article
is from the O' Timothy Computer Library by David Cloud. It is an excellent resource for
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The word apocrypha is derived from the Greek abscondita, which
historically identified writings which had an obscure origin or which were heretical. In
the Talmud the Jewish rabbis used this word to describe works which were not canonical
Scripture. The term has come to be applied particularly to the 15 books added to the Roman
Catholic Bible but ordinarily rejected by non-Catholics. These were written during the two
hundred years preceding and one hundred years following Christ's birth. The Roman Catholic
Church considers most of these writings to be part of the inspired Scripture. In 1546 the
Council of Trent decreed that the canon of the O.T. should include them (except the Prayer
of Manasseh and I and II Esdras) ... the decree pronounces an anathema upon anyone who
"does not accept as sacred and canonical the aforesaid books in their entirety and
with all their parts" (The Oxford Annotated Apocrypha, pp. x,xv).
The Council of Trent was an attempt by the Catholic Church to counteract the Protestant
Reformation with its battle cry of "faith alone" and "Scripture
alone." By adding the Apocrypha to the canon of Scripture, the Catholic Church, in
effect, rendered the rest of the Bible impotent. "The books named in the decree [of
Trent] include the apocryphal Old Testament books, and placed unwritten traditions of the
church upon an equal footing with Holy Scriptures as approved of Christ or of the Holy
Spirit. Any appeal to Holy Scripture as expressing the supreme will of God was thereafter
useless in the Latin Church" (Edwin W. Rice, Our Sixty-six Sacred Books, p. 112).
The Apocrypha have a variety of content. Some are histories of events concerning the Jews.
Some are short sayings similar to the Proverbs. Some are sermons; others are like novels.
One purports to be symbolical prophecy.
Why reject the Apocrypha
It is important that God's people understand why the Apocryphal books
(also called the Deuterocanonical Books) are rejected from the canon of inspired
Scripture. Because of ecumenical activities involving the Roman Catholic Church, there is
an increasing tendency for publishers to include the Apocryphal writings with the Bible.
This is being done by the United Bible Societies in many languages. By 1981, for example,
the American Bible Society had published over 500,000 copies of the Today's English
Version with the Apocryphal books included. In the mid-1980s I visited the Bible Society
book depot in Calcutta, India, and was shown massive stacks of Revised Standard Version
Bibles containing the Apocrypha. These had been published by the American Bible Society
and shipped to India for distribution. The 1992-93 American Bible Society catalog of
Scripture Resources lists at least nine different Bibles containing the Apocrypha.
Following are the reasons the Apocrypha are rejected by Bible believers:
1. They are not included in the original Hebrew O.T. preserved by the
Jews. Rom. 3:1-2 states that God used the Jews to preserve His Word; therefore, we know
that He guided them in the rejection of the Apocryphal books from the canon of Scripture.
2. They were not received as inspired Scripture by the churches during the
first four centuries after Christ.
3. They were not written in the Hebrew language, which was alone used by
the inspired historians and prophets of the O.T.
4. They do not claim to be the inspired Word of God. Unlike the inspired
Scriptures, the Apocryphal books contain no statements such as "thus saith the
Lord" or "these are the words of God."
5. They contain teachings contrary to the biblical books. II Maccabees
teaches praying to the dead and making offerings to atone for the sins of the dead.
Consider this quote from II Maccabees 12:43-45: "He also took up a collection ... and
sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. ... For if he were not expecting that
those who had fallen asleep would arise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish
to pray for the dead ... Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be
delivered from their sin." The Bible, though, says there is only one mediator between
God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Ti. 2:5-6). Also Heb. 10:10-14 says believers have
been perfected forever through Christ's one sacrifice. Thus, the dead in Christ need no
human, earthly prayers or offerings. At death the lost go immediately to a place of
torment; thus there is no purpose in praying for them (Lk. 16:22-23). II Maccabees also
contains the heresy that deceased saints are interceding in heaven for those on earth
(15:11-14). The Bible teaches that it is the Lord Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, who
is interceding for us in Heaven--not deceased saints (Heb. 4:14-16; 8:1-2; 1 Jn. 2:1-2).
6. In quality and style, the Apocryphal books are not on the level of
Bible writings. Even a hurried reading of the Apocryphal books reveals the fact that here
we are touching the uninspired writings of men apart from divine inspiration. These
writings are not "God breathed," as 2 Tim. 3:16 says all Scripture is. There is
not in the Apocryphal books the supernatural depth and breadth of thought, the rich
complexity yet simplicity of language, which goes beyond mere writings of men.
7. The Apocryphal writings are not quoted by the Lord Jesus or the
Apostles, while every part of the O.T. Scriptures are quoted. This is a very important
point. Though some claim to find allusions to the Apocrypha in certain N.T. passages (Mt.
7:12; 27:43-54; Rom. 9:21; Eph. 6:13-17; Heb. 1:3; Jam. 1:6,19; 5:6), this is not a proven
fact. While it is possible that the N.T. writers were familiar with the Apocrypha, it is
plain that they did not directly quote from these books. The supposed allusions to the
Apocrypha in the N.T. could just as easily be allusions to other O.T. histories or to
facts given directly by revelation. We must remember that the N.T. Scriptures are not the
product of man, but of God.
8. Some Apocryphal books, though written as history, are actually fiction.
This is a form of deception not found in divinely inspired books of the Bible.
"Ostensibly historical but actually quite imaginative are the books of Tobit, Judith,
Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon, which may be called moralistic novels" (Oxford
Annotated Apocrypha, p. xi). Noteworthy examples of ancient fiction they might be, but
such books have absolutely no place among the seven-times purified Word of God (Ps.
12:6-7).
9. The Apocryphal books were rejected from the canon of Scripture by the
early church leaders. "It is a significant fact that the best of the early Fathers
adopted the Hebrew canon as giving the authoritative Scriptures of the O.T."
(Analytical, p. 1083).
10. The book of Tobit contains many false things.
First, there is the account of a supposed high and good angel of God who
lies and teaches the use of magic! In Tobit 5:4 we are told that the angel's name is
"Raphael," but later he lies to Tobit, claiming to be "Azarias the son of
the great Ananias, one of your relatives" (Tobit 5:12). This angel professes to be
"one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of the saints and enter into
the presence of the glory of the Holy One" (Tobit 12:15). Yet he not only lies about
his name, but teaches magic. "Then the angel said to him, `Cut open the fish and take
the heart and liver and gall and put them away safely.' ... Then the young man said to the
angel, `Brother Azarias, of what use is the liver and heart and gall of the fish?' He
replied, `As for the heart and the liver, if a demon or evil spirit gives trouble to any
one, you make a smoke from these before the man or woman, and that person will never be
troubled again. And as for the gall, anoint with it a man who has white films in his eyes,
and he will be cured'" (Tobit 6:4,6-8). The Bible clearly condemns magical practices
such as this (consider De. 18:10-12; Le. 19:26,31; Je. 27:9; Mal. 3:5).
Second, the false doctrine of salvation through works is taught in the
book of Tobit. "For almsgiving delivers from death, and it will purge away every
sin" (Tobit 12:9). "So now, my children, consider what almsgiving accomplishes
and how righteousness delivers" (Tobit 14:11). These false teachings must be
contrasted with Lev. 17:11, which says "it is the blood that maketh an atonement for
the soul," and with Tit. 3:5 which says, "Not by works of righteousness which we
have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and
renewing of the Holy Spirit."
Third, Tobit taught that help is only to be given to the deserving.
"Place your bread on the grave of the righteous, but give none to sinners"
(Tobit 4:17). Contrariwise, in Ex. 23:4-5 God taught even in O.T. times that His people
were to do good to their enemies and not only toward the righteous.
11. The book of Judith contains the account of how a supposedly godly
widow destroyed one of Nebuchadnezzar's generals through deceit and sexual offers. It is
also important to note that Judith's counsel regarding resisting Nebuchadnezzar was
contrary to that given by God's prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 38:1-4). God warned the Israelites
to submit to Nebuchadnezzar rather than to resist, because the Babylonian captivity and
destruction of Israel was a judgment from God upon the Jew's rebellion and idolatry.
The King James Bible and the Apocrypha
It is true that early editions of the KJV (as well as many other
Reformation Bibles, including the German Luther Bible) contained the Apocrypha, but these
books were included for historical reference only, not as additions to the canon of
Scripture. Alexander McClure, a biographer of the KJV translators, says: "...the
Apocryphal books in those times were more read and accounted of than now, though by no
means placed on a level with the canonical books of Scripture" (McClure, Translators
Revived, p. 185). He then lists seven reasons assigned by the KJV translators for
rejecting the Apocrypha as inspired. The Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England
clearly states that the Apocrypha have no scriptural authority. "...[the Church of
England] doth not apply to them to establish any doctrine." The Westminster
Confession says, "The books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine
inspiration, are no part of the canon of the Scripture; and therefore are of no authority
in the Church of God, nor to be any otherwise approved, or made use of, than other human
writings." Luther included a note on the Apocrypha which stated, "These are
books not to be held in equal esteem with those of Holy Scripture..."
It is important to note that in the early King James Bibles the Apocryphal
books were placed between the Old and New Testaments rather than intermingled within the
O.T. itself as is done in Catholic Bibles. In the Jerusalem Bible (a Catholic Bible), for
example, Tobit, Judith, and the Maccabees follow Nehemiah; the Book of Wisdom and
Ecclesiasticus follow Ecclesiastes; Baruch follows Lamentations; etc.
Conclusion
Though some of the Apocryphal books do have historical value, giving information regarding
the inter-testament "quiet years" prior to the coming of Christ, there is no
justification for giving these a place in the Holy Scripture. Their proper place is on the
same level as (if not lower than) the writings of the historian Josephesus or of some
other uninspired writer of that period.
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