Why Were Some Books (the Apocrypha) Removed From The Bible?

Why Were Some Books (the Apocrypha) Removed From The Bible? 

Author Unknown.

The word “apocrypha” comes from two Greek words: apo (which means “from”) and kruptees (which means “hidden”).

The name is used for books that are uncertain. Their authors are not always known, their origins are not clear, and their authority is often questioned.

More specifically, the word usually refers to collections of books that some people have tried to connect to the Old Testament or the New Testament.

The books that are usually called the Old Testament Apocrypha include Baruch, Judith, Tobit, 1 and 2 Esdras, Wisdom of Solomon, The Prayer of Manasseh, The Letter of Jeremiah, Ecclesiasticus (also known as Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach), and 1 and 2 Maccabees.

In addition to these, six chapters were added to the book of Esther. Extra parts were also added to Daniel. These include Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, and The Prayer of Azariah with the Song of the Three Young Men.

When deciding which books truly belong in the Bible, there are certain tests that must be used. One important fact is that neither Jesus nor the apostles ever quoted from the Apocrypha.

Now, quoting a book by itself does not automatically prove that it is inspired. But if the Apocrypha really was God’s Word, it would be very strange that Jesus and His apostles never used it.

The New Testament quotes from at least thirty-five Old Testament books. Together, this adds up to about 275 quotations. Yet, not even once does it quote or even clearly refer to the Apocrypha.

Another important point is that Jesus confirmed the Hebrew Old Testament canon. He often used phrases such as “The Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”

These terms covered the complete set of books that the Jews already recognized as Scripture. The Jewish Scriptures were arranged in three groups.

The first group was called the Torah, or the Law. This included Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

The second group was called the Prophets. It was divided into two parts. The “Former Prophets” were Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. The “Latter Prophets” were Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve Minor Prophets, which were all counted as one book.

The third group was called the Writings. This included Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles.

Altogether, the Hebrew Bible contained twenty-four books. These are the same as the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament we have in modern Bibles today. The difference is only in how they were divided.

Some later Jewish teachers counted them as twenty-two books. They did this by joining Ruth with Judges, and by joining Lamentations with Jeremiah.

The Apocrypha was never part of the Hebrew Bible. When the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek in the third century B.C., the Septuagint included these books.

Even so, many important Jewish leaders rejected the Apocrypha. Josephus strongly refused to accept them. Philo, a Jewish thinker from Alexandria (20 B.C.–A.D. 50), never quoted or referred to the Apocrypha, though he often quoted the Old Testament.

The Targums, which are Aramaic versions of the Scriptures, also did not include the Apocrypha. The Jewish people, who were responsible for keeping God’s Word, did not accept the Apocrypha as equal to the 39 Old Testament books until much later.

When Christianity started, early Christian writers also did not accept the Apocrypha. Early lists of inspired books left them out. Origen (2nd–3rd century), Athanasius (4th century), and Jerome (4th–5th century) all rejected them as Scripture.

Sometimes the Apocrypha was listed later, but usually a note said it was only for reading, not equal to God’s Word. Roman Catholicism first said the Apocrypha was part of the Bible at the Council of Trent in A.D. 1546. Even then, 1 and 2 Esdras and the Prayer of Manasseh were not included.

The Apocrypha also shows no signs of being inspired. The writers never claimed God gave them the words. Some books have mistakes in history, geography, or time, like Judith 1:1. They contain legends and stories that are not true. Some parts even go against the Bible, like Baruch 3:4. The writing style is weaker than the Bible, and the morals and lessons are not as strong.

Finally, the Apocrypha was written much later than the Old Testament. Most of it was written between the Old and New Testaments. Some parts were even written during Christian Era.

The following books are usually called the New Testament Apocrypha: Gospel of Peter, Shepherd of Hermas, Acts of Paul, Enoch, Revelation of Peter, Epistle of Barnabas, 1 and 2 Clement, and others.

To decide if a book belongs in the Bible, scholars use certain tests. The New Testament Apocrypha fails these tests in many ways.

First, they contradict clear teachings of the New Testament.

Second, some were written to support certain personal or group beliefs rather than God’s truth.

Third, they include frivolous or silly details that are not important for faith.

Fourth, they often contradict history.

Fifth, they show signs of trying to copy New Testament books.

Sixth, the writing style is very different from real New Testament books.

Seventh, these books were never accepted as genuine by people who lived close to the apostles. This includes Clement of Rome (1st century), Ignatius (1st century), Polycarp (2nd century), and Hermas (2nd century).

Eighth, early lists of canonical (inspired) books exclude them.

Ninth, even enemies of Christianity, when attacking the faith, quoted the New Testament, but never the Apocrypha.

Some people point to Jude 14–16 and say it quotes the apocryphal book of Enoch. The passage in Jude reads:

"Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.’ These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage."

The Enoch 1:9 passage reads:

"And lo! He comes with ten thousands of His holy ones to execute judgment upon them, and He will destroy the ungodly, and will convict all flesh of all that the sinners and ungodly have wrought and ungodly committed against Him."

If Jude actually quotes the apocryphal book of Enoch, does that mean Jude is also an apocryphal book? Or does it mean the book of Enoch is inspired? Not necessarily.

There are two possible explanations. First, maybe both Jude and Enoch were quoting something that the real Enoch said. This saying could have been passed down by oral tradition. In that case, Jude was just quoting oral tradition—not the book of Enoch itself.

Second, it is more likely that Jude did quote from the book of Enoch, but not as Scripture. Jude may have recognized that what Enoch said about false teachers was true. He could treat this particular prophecy as important without saying that the whole book of Enoch was inspired by God.

Being inspired by God does not mean a writer cannot use sources that are not inspired. The Holy Spirit guided the writer so that whatever was included was true and accurate. The writer could use his own words, style, and knowledge, but God made sure the final message was exactly what He wanted (2 Peter 2:21).

Several passages show that inspired writers could use sources that were not inspired by God.

In Luke 1:1–4, God allowed Luke to include extra-biblical materials in his writing.

In Acts 17:28, Luke quotes Epimenides of Crete: “In Him we live and move and have our being.” He also quotes line five of Phaenomena, a poem by Aratus of Cilicia (around 315–245 B.C.): “We are his offspring.”

In 1 Corinthians 15:33, Paul quotes from the comedy Thais by the Greek playwright Menander (342–291 B.C.).

In Titus 1:12–13, Paul quotes the pagan poet Epimenides of Crete and says, “This testimony is true.”

In all these cases, the inspired writers are simply referring to words from uninspired writers that happen to match the truth they wanted to teach.

Other examples show that God guided inspired writers to use historical or extra-biblical sources. In Numbers 21:14, there is a reference to the Book of the Wars of the Lord.

In Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18, the Book of Jashar is mentioned. In 1 Kings 11:41, the Book of the Annals of Solomon is referenced.

In 1 Chronicles 9:1, the Book of the Kings of Israel is mentioned. In 1 Chronicles 29:29, there are records of Samuel the seer, Nathan the prophet, and Gad the seer.

In 2 Chronicles 9:29, the records of Nathan, the prophecy of Ahijah, and the visions of Iddo are referenced. 2 Chronicles 12:15 mentions the records of Shemaiah and Iddo. 2 Chronicles 20:34 refers to the annals of Jehu and the book of the kings of Israel.

These examples show that God allowed His inspired writers to use other sources while still ensuring that the final message was completely true.

Many of the apocryphal books were written because people were curious about parts of the Bible that do not give full details.

People wanted to know things like: “What happened in the lives of Bible characters during times not explained in the Bible?” or “What happened between the Old and New Testaments when God was not giving new Scripture?”

Many people have focused on small, unrevealed details of Bible history. Some wanted to know what Jesus was like as a child or what happened to famous Bible characters later in life.

The Apocrypha shows this desire to satisfy human curiosity, rather than giving inspired truth.