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Jewish apocrypha

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TheJewish apocrypha(Hebrew:הספרים החיצוניים,romanized:HaSefarim haChitzoniyim,lit. 'the outer books') arereligious textswritten in large part byJews,especially during theSecond Temple period,not accepted as sacred manuscripts when theHebrew Biblewascanonized.Some of these books are considered sacred in certainChristian denominationsand are included in their versions of theOld Testament.The Jewish apocrypha is distinctive from theNew Testament apocryphaand Christianbiblical apocryphaas it is the only one of these collections which works within a Jewish theological framework.[1]

Apocrypha in Judaism[edit]

Certain sects of Second Temple Judaism, such as theEssenesinJudaeaand theTherapeutaeinAlexandria,were said to have a "secret or hidden" literature.[citation needed]ThePhariseeswere familiar with these texts. TheApocalyptic literatureis an example of this secret literature. Based on unfulfilled prophecies, these books were not considered scripture, but rather part of a literary form that flourished from 200 BCE to 100 CE. These works usuallybore the namesof ancient Hebrew worthies to establish their validity among the true writers' contemporaries.

2 Esdrasreinforces this theory: when Ezra was inspired to dictate the sacred scriptures that were destroyed in the overthrow of Jerusalem,

So during the forty days ninety-four books were written. And when the forty days were ended, the Most High spoke to me, saying, "Make public the twenty-four books that you wrote first and let the worthy and the unworthy read them; but keep the seventy that were written last, in order to give them to the wise among your people. For in them is the spring of understanding, the fountain of wisdom, and the river of knowledge."

— RSV14:44–47

Writings that were wholly apart from scriptural texts were designated asHitsonim(literally: external) by theSanhedrin[when?]and reading them was forbidden.[citation needed]In the following centuries, these apocrypha fell out of use in Judaism.[2][3][4]

Books[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"APOCRYPHA - JewishEncyclopedia.com".www.jewishencyclopedia.com.Retrieved2020-06-12.
  2. ^"Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha".My Jewish Learning.Retrieved2020-06-13.
  3. ^"The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha".www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org.Retrieved2020-06-13.
  4. ^"Apocrypha".www.thejc.com.Retrieved2020-06-13.
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