The word Apocrypha literally means obscure. It is a title used to describe books of doubtful origin and questionable authorship, which have nevertheless been found in association with the Scriptures. We find certain apocryphal books included in the Septuagint; we also find a number of religious scrolls of an apocryphal character among the Dead Sea Scrolls. This mingling of texts has led to confusion and has opened the door for some to question the canon of Scripture. For the Roman Catholic church, the canonicity of certain apocryphal books was explicitly affirmed by the Council of Trent in 1546 A. D. (A Roman Catholic ecumenical council). There are, nevertheless, strong reasons why these books have been rejected as the inspired Word of God by both Protestant Christians and Jews alike.
Why They Are Rejected
The most overlooked reason why these books have been rejected as the Word of God is simply because they are obviously not inspired! Some people have the impression that canonicity was decided by a committee many years removed from the original authorship. In fact, Heinrich Graetz hypothesized that the canon of the Old Testament was decided by the council of Jamnia around 90 A. D. This view has since been discredited as insupportable conjecture. It never seems to occur to scholars that God gave man a revelation, and that it was received as such by the faithful to whom it was addressed. Quite frankly, many of the so-called apocryphal books were rejected because they were plainly interlopers—they pretended to be something they were not. However, I do not want to be accused of highhandedness; if the apocryphal books were not inspired, there will be evidence to this effect.
The Jews themselves did not treat the Apocryphal books as Scripture. Neither Josephus (a Jewish historian, circa 37 – 100 A. D.) nor Philo (an Alexandrian Jewish philosopher, circa 20 B. C. – 40 A. D.) quoted from the Apocrypha as inspired. More importantly, none of the New Testament authors, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, James, or Jude quoted from these books. Jude may be offered by some as an exception, but I will address this shortly. The so-called church fathers spoke out against the Apocrypha—for example, Origen, Cyril of Jerusalem, and Athanasius. Jerome (340 – 420 A. D.), the translator of the Latin Vulgate Bible, rejected the Apocrypha as Scripture. Writing in his prologue to the books of Solomon (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs), Jerome says, “The church reads Judith, Tobit, and the books of Maccabees, but does not admit them among the canonical Scriptures, so let it read these two volumes for the edification of the people, not to give authority to doctrines of the church.” Martin Luther and the other reformers rejected the Apocrypha as canonical.
The Rest of Scripture
Aside from its silence, how does the rest of Scripture judge the Apocrypha? The character of these books and the doctrines they uphold are at variance with the inspired Word of God. As an example, the Roman Catholic practice of praying for the dead is taken from the apocryphal book of Second Maccabees (2 Macc. 12:44-46) (Keep in mind, the Roman Catholic Church, at the counter-reformation council of Trent, conferred full canonical status on the Apocrypha). Truly, such prayers are vain and useless. Indeed, how shall we escape if in this life we reject salvation (Heb. 2:33How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; (Hebrews 2:3))? There is no way. The Lord confirms the fixed state of the dead in the account of the rich man and Lazarus—“Beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence” (Luke 16:26).
The Prophecy of Enoch
As to the book of Jude, Jude gives us a prophesy from Enoch—“Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” (Jude 14-15). Among the Dead Sea Scrolls there are multiple manuscripts of a text known as the book of Enoch; Jude’s prophesy is found in it. Interestingly, this book was not included by the Jewish translators of the Septuagint, and it has never gained traction among Jews and Christians alike. No copy has ever been found in the Hebrew language; all the Enoch scrolls found at Qumran are in Aramaic. The book has five sections, the first of which is occupied with fallen angels and a fanciful interpretation of Genesis 6:4. It reads like Greek mythology and not Scripture; man’s occupation with such salacious topics continues with the popular media of this present day. The book of Enoch was most likely written subsequent to Jude’s epistle, with the author using the prophecy given by Jude to offer legitimacy to the text. Given the unusual nature of Enoch’s life (Gen. 5:21-2421And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: 22And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: 23And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: 24And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. (Genesis 5:21‑24)) it naturally excites much interest. That someone should take Jude’s quotation and build a text around it is hardly surprising. Such pseudepigraphical texts (The false credit of authorship to give writings greater legitimacy) were not uncommon. Regardless, it is incongruous to believe that Jude sourced his quotation from such a book, and, as did the early Christians, we receive his short epistle as the inspired Word of God and reject the book of Enoch.
The Merit of Apocrypha Books
As to the merit of the books of the Apocrypha, Maccabees I and II provide us with an historic account of that silent period between the Old and New Testaments. Nevertheless, we receive them as one would the writings of Josephus, Julius Caesar, Herodotus, or any other secular historian. As to the remaining books, they are of interest to one studying the period, but unlike Jerome, I cannot recommend them, even for edification, if the Scriptures themselves make no such commendation.
I find it rather striking that a fellow high school student, a self-proclaimed atheist, found the apocryphal books the most enjoyable when he actually read the Bible. Should it surprise us that these had the greatest resonance with the natural man? “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (2 Cor. 2:14). To complete the story, many years later I heard that this man had been saved! Truly, we marvel at the grace of God. It reminds me of the verse—“Because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:1616So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:16)). Truly, indifference is often a greater enemy to the soul than outright hostility.
N. Simon, The Holy Scriptures