What is the Apocrypha/Deutrocanonical books?

[KBuck1970]

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if someone could tell me exactly what is the Apocrypha and why
is it in some Bibles and not others. How many books are there in the
Apocrypha? Is it the same thing as the Deutrocanonical books or not? If not,
what is the difference? Thanks. Take care.

Blessings,
Keith

[andrew g]

This is either an "I'm too lazy to look it up" or an "I don't know where to
start" question, right?

Start with the introduction to the Apocrypha in a Bible that has one: The
Revised English Bible or the New Revised Standard Version will do nicely. Or
you could check the entry in the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church.

keywords: Septuagint, Jerome, LXX, Vulgate.

Assuming you're not lazy, this will get you off to a good start.

[Cfortunato]

>
>Hello everyone,
>
>I was wondering if someone could tell me exactly what is the Apocrypha and
>why
>is it in some Bibles and not others. How many books are there in the
>Apocrypha? Is it the same thing as the Deutrocanonical books or not? If
>not,
>what is the difference? Thanks. Take care.

It's exactly the same thing as the Deuterocanonical books. Catholics usually
call them "Deuterocanonical" and Protestants call "Aprocrypha." Catholics find
the term "Apocrypha" to be a bit offensive because it implies that they are
inauthentic, and Roman Catholic accept them.

They are books that are accepted as part of the Bible by the Roman Catholic and
Eastern Orthodox Churches (and a few smaller groups) but not by Protestants.
The Anglican Church uses them in the Liturgy, but does not turn to them to
establish doctrine.

The Jews who did not live in Israel in the First Century used to use a Greek
version of the Old Testament called the "Septuagint." The Apocrypha were in
the Septuagint, but were not in the Hebrew version of the Old Testament.
Judaism did not officially establish a canon until around 90 AD, when they
declared that the Apocrypha were not part of the Jewish canon. They have
always been used by the Christian Church, as the Christian Church grew up in
the Greek Speaking World, that that the Greek Old Testament. But their exact
status was never determined. Jerome thought they shouldn't be part of the
canon, but translated them into Latin anyway, as they were used. The church
has come up with canonical lists that included them.

During the Reformation, Protestants declared them uncanonical, and the
Catholics declared them canonical.

Personally, I think they belong. They have always been used by the church, to
such a degree that one of the books is named "Ecclesiasticus" - which means
"Church Book," and no edition of the Bible was published without them prior to
the 1600's.