THE APOCRYPHA

What is important is the decision that had to be made about the list of books held to be inspired.

The Greek Bible of Alexandria became the official Bible of the Christian community, and an overwhelming number of quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures in the New Testament are derived from it. Extra books called the Apocrypha (Greek for hidden). are represented, the purpose of the Apocrypha seems to have been to fill in some of the gaps left by the indisputably canonical books and to carry the history of Israel to the 2nd century BC. Whatever the origin of the Apocryphal books in the canon of Alexandria, these became part of the Christian Scriptures, but there seems to have been no unanimity as to their exact canonical status. In the 4th century, Athanasius, chief theologian of Christian orthodoxy, differentiated "canonical books" from both "those that are read" by Christians only and the "Apocryphal books", they were also excluded by a council of Rabbis held at Jamnia in A.D. 90. However early councils of the African Church held at Hippo (393) and Carthage (397, 419) affirmed the use of the Apocryphal books as Scripture.

Roman Catholics use the Vulgate, and this includes some additional Old Testament writings to the Hebrew Bible that was finally accepted by the Jewish authorities. In the preparation of a standard Latin version, the biblical scholar Jerome (c. 347 - 419-420 ) separated "canonical books" from the Apocryphal writings which he regarded as good for spiritual edification but not authoritative Scripture. The contrary view of Augustine (354-430), one of the greatest Western theologians, prevailed, however, and the works remained in the Latin Vulgate version.

Throughout the Middle Ages, the Apocryphal books were generally regarded as Holy Scripture in the Roman and Greek churches. At the Reformation the Apocrypha was dropped by Protestant translators. The first to segregate the disputed writings was a Dutch version by Jacob van Liesveldt (Antwerp, 1526). Luther's German edition of 1534 did the same thing and entitled them "Apocrypha" for the first time, noting that while they were not in equal esteem with sacred Scriptures they were edifying. In response to Protestant views, the Roman Catholic Church confirmed the entire Latin Vulgate , in (1546) and 1870. The Greek Church, the Synod of Jerusalem (1672) had designated several Apocryphal works,in the 19th century, however, Russian Orthodox theologians agreed to exclude these works from the Holy Scriptures.Wycliffe Bible (14th century) included the Apocrypha, its preface made it clear that it accepted Jerome's judgment. The translation made by the English bishop Miles Coverdale (1535) was the first English version to segregate these books,

The first English Bible to exclude the Apocrypha was the Geneva Bible of 1599. The King James Version of 1611 placed it between the Old and New Testaments. In 1615 Archbishop George Abbot forbade the issuance of Bibles without the Apocrypha, but editions of the King James Version from 1630 often omitted it from the bound copies. The Long Parliament actually forbade the public reading of these books, and three years later the Westminster Confession of the Presbyterians decreed them to be no part of the canon.

There is also a New Testament Apocrypha, but on this there is no difference of opinion between Catholics and Protestants; both reject it