The Apocrypha Case

Michael W. Newton, TH201

The Apocrypha

What is the Apocrypha?

The word "Apocrypha" means hidden or cryptic in nature. The books composing what is called The Apocrypha have been referred to by many names in past years with one contemporary name being, "The Hidden or Lost Books of the Bible." The Apocrypha is more accurately identified as the name given to the 14 books that are inserted between the Old Testament and the New Testament. These books were never mentioned in the Old Canon (Unger's Bible Handbook, pg 456) and never mentioned by the Jewish people, by Jesus or by the writing of the historian Josephus. At worst the Apocrypha is a collection of books that purport to contain the inspired Word of God. At best, they can be seen as a collection of books that serve to give religious teachings and inspiration.

Should we include these books in our Canon?

No, we should not. One of the three-prong foundational stones of Canonicity is that the writer of a book of Scripture either stated or inferred in the writings that what was written was inspired from God. Inspiration from God includes revelation: God revealing Himself to us because we are totally incapable of detecting God by our own actions or senses. Summarizing this thought, 2 Timothy 3:16 teaches us that the entire Bible came from God in order to show us how to live. Additionally, the whole of the Old Testament (the Hebrew Scriptures) was referred to by Jesus as the Word of God to validate his mission, his words and his actions (The Canon of Scripture, F.F. Bruce, pg.27).

Although the Apocrypha was contained in the early Catholic Bibles and even in the various English Bibles, they were removed from English Bibles in the 1870's, with the consideration