apocrypha

apocrypha
/euh pok"reuh feuh/, n. (often used with a sing. v.)
1. (cap.) a group of 14 books, not considered canonical, included in the Septuagint and the Vulgate as part of the Old Testament, but usually omitted from Protestant editions of the Bible. See table under Bible.
2. various religious writings of uncertain origin regarded by some as inspired, but rejected by most authorities.
3. writings, statements, etc., of doubtful authorship or authenticity. Cf. canon1 (defs. 6, 7, 9).
[1350-1400; ME < LL < Gk, neut. pl. of APÓKRYPHOS hidden, unknown, spurious, equiv. to apokryph- (base of apokrýptein to hide away; see APO-, CRYPT) + -os adj. suffix]

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In biblical literature, works outside an accepted canon of scripture.

In modern usage the Apocrypha refers to ancient Jewish books that are not part of the Hebrew Bible but are considered canonical in Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. Among the various books included are Tobit, Judith, Baruch, and the Maccabees as well as Ecclesiasticus and the Wisdom of Solomon. Protestant churches follow Jewish tradition in judging these works apocryphal or noncanonical. The term deuterocanonical is used to refer to works accepted in one canon but not all. Pseudepigrapha are spurious works for which biblical authorship is claimed.

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      (from Greek apokryptein, “to hide away”), in biblical literature, works outside an accepted canon of scripture. The history of the term's usage indicates that it referred to a body of esoteric writings that were at first prized, later tolerated, and finally excluded. In its broadest sense apocrypha has come to mean any writings of dubious authority. A brief treatment of apocrypha follows. For full treatment, see biblical literature: Apocryphal writings (biblical literature).

      There are several levels of dubiety within the general concept of apocryphal works in Judeo-Christian biblical writings. Apocrypha per se are outside the canon, not considered divinely inspired but regarded as worthy of study by the faithful. pseudepigrapha are spurious works ostensibly written by a biblical figure. Deuterocanonical works are those that are accepted in one canon but not in all.

      At the time when Greek was the common spoken language in the Mediterranean region, the Old Testament—the Hebrew Bible—was incomprehensible to most of the population. For this reason, Jewish scholars produced the Septuagint, a translation of the Old Testament books from various Hebrew texts, along with fragments in Aramaic, into Greek. That version incorporated a number of works that later, non-Hellenistic Jewish scholarship at the Council of Jamnia (AD 90) identified as being outside the authentic Hebrew canon. The Talmud separates these works as Sefarim Hizonim (Extraneous Books).

      The Septuagint was an important basis for St. Jerome (Jerome, Saint)'s translation of the Old Testament into Latin for the Vulgate Bible (Vulgate); and, although he had doubts about the authenticity of some of the apocryphal works that it contained (he was the first to employ the word apocrypha in the sense of “noncanonical”), he was overruled, and most of them were included in the Vulgate. On April 8, 1546, the Council of Trent (Trent, Council of) declared the canonicity of nearly the entire Vulgate, excluding only the Third and Fourth Books of Maccabees, the Prayer of Manasseh, Psalm 151, and the First and Second Books of Esdras. Eastern Christendom, meanwhile, had accepted some of the Old Testament apocrypha—Tobit, Judith, the Wisdom of Solomon, and Ecclesiasticus (Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach)—but rejected the rest.

      The other apocryphal writings, canonical only to Roman Catholicism, with an exception or two, include the Book of Baruch (a prophet) and the Letter of Jeremiah (often the sixth chapter of Baruch); the First and Second Books of Maccabees; several stories from Daniel, namely, the Song of the Three, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon; and extensive portions of the Book of Esther.

      Old Testament pseudepigrapha are extremely numerous and offer accounts of patriarchs and events, attributed to various biblical personages from Adam to Zechariah. Some of the most significant of these works are the Ascension of Isaiah, the Assumption of Moses, the Life of Adam and Eve, the First and Second Books of Enoch, the Book of Jubilees, the Letter of Aristeas, and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs.

      All the New Testament apocrypha are pseudepigraphal, and most of them fall into the categories of acts, gospels, and epistles, though there are a number of apocalypses and some can be characterized as wisdom books. The apocryphal acts purport to relate the lives or careers of various biblical figures, including most of the apostles; the epistles, gospels, and others are ascribed to such figures. Some relate encounters and events in mystical language and describe arcane rituals. Most of these works arose from sects that had been or would be declared heretical, such as, importantly, the Gnostics. Some of them argued against various heresies, and a few appear to have been neutral efforts to popularize the life of some saint or other early leader of the church, including a number of women. In the early decades of Christianity no orthodoxy had been established, and various parties or factions were vying for ascendancy and regularity in the young church. All sought through their writings, as through their preaching and missions, to win believers. In this setting virtually all works advocating beliefs that later became heretical were destined to denunciation and destruction.

      In addition to apocryphal works per se, the New Testament includes a number of works and fragments that are described by a second meaning of the term deuterocanonical: “added later.” The Letter to the Hebrews (Hebrews, Letter to the) attributed to Paul, who died before it was written, is one of these; others are the letters of James, Peter (II), John (II and III), and Jude, and the Revelation to John. Fragments include Mark 16:9–20, Luke 22:43–44, and John 7:53 and 8:1–11. All are included in the Roman canon and are accepted by the Eastern Church and most Protestant churches.

      Heretical movements such as Gnosticism and Montanism spawned a great body of New Testament pseudepigrapha. The existence of such purported scriptures lent great impetus to the process of canonization in the young and orthodox Christian Church. See also various apocryphal works cited above.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Apocrypha — (from the Greek word Polytonic|ἀπόκρυφα, meaning those having been hidden away [Specifically, Polytonic|ἀπόκρυφα is the neuter plural of ἀπόκρυφος, a participle derived from the verb ἀποκρύπτω [infinitive: ἀποκρύπτειν] , to hide something away .] …   Wikipedia

  • Apocrypha — • A long article with a comments on each Apocryphal book. Classified according to origin Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Apocrypha     Apocrypha      …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Apocrypha — A*poc ry*pha, n. pl., but often used as sing. with pl. {Apocryphas}. [L. apocryphus apocryphal, Gr. ? hidden, spurious, fr. ? to hide; ? from + ? to hide.] 1. Something, as a writing, that is of doubtful authorship or authority; formerly used… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Apocrypha — ► PLURAL NOUN (treated as sing. or pl. ) ▪ those books of the Old Testament not accepted as part of Hebrew scripture and excluded from the Protestant Bible at the Reformation. ORIGIN from Latin apocrypha scripta hidden writings …   English terms dictionary

  • apocrypha — [ə päk′rə fə] pl.n. [ME apocrifa < LL(Ec) apocrypha (pl. of apocryphus) < Gr apokryphos, hidden, obscure < apokryptein < apo , away + kryptein, to hide: see CRYPT] 1. any writings, anecdotes, etc., of doubtful authenticity or… …   English World dictionary

  • APOCRYPHA — sic libri dicti, qui publice primo non legebantur in Ecclesia. Ludovicus Vives, in l. 1.5. de Civ. Dei c. 23. Vel, quia apud Iudaeos, a facra illa crypta, in qua libri Canonici asser vabantur, abfuerunt: Augustin. l. 11. contra Faustum, c. 2.… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Apocrypha — Apocrypha, the a collection of Jewish writings which form part of the ↑Old Testament in some bibles. They do not appear in the ↑Hebrew bible, or many modern bibles …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Apocrypha — late 14c., neuter plural of L.L. apocryphus secret, not approved for public reading, from Gk. apokryphos hidden; obscure, thus (books) of unknown authorship (especially those included in the Septuagint and Vulgate but not originally written in… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Apocrypha —    The term Apocrypha generally refers to those ancient Hebrew books that were originally included in the Latin Vulgate Bible compiled and edited by St. Jerome (c. 347 419/420), even though they were not considered canonical by most Jews at the… …   Encyclopedia of Protestantism

  • Apocrypha — After the Fall of Jerusalem (70 CE) the future of Judaism was maintained by rabbis of the Pharisaic tradition. They accepted as authoritative the twenty four books of the Hebrew scriptures but rejected a number of Jewish works which were used in… …   Dictionary of the Bible

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