Studying Early Judaism: The OT Apocrypha
A Guide to Resources for New Testament Studies
Studying Early Judaism
We recently kicked off this studying EJ series, check out the first post.
In this post, we are recommending resources for studying the Apocrypha
What is the OT Apocrypha?
The terminology Apocrypha refers to Jewish texts included in the Septuagint that are not part of the precursor Hebrew Bible. Different religious groups ascribe to these Apocryphal texts various levels of authority or significance. Protestants like Anglicans and Lutherans may include the Apocrypha in their Bibles, but only as pious texts with no doctrinal dependence on them. For example, the original KJV included the Apocrypha as supplemental reading.
Reading the Apocrypha
There are many places online where you can read the Apocrypha in English (The Bible Gateway). For an updated academic/critical translation, consult the NETS (New English Translation of the Septuagint). If you want a more readable version, the Apocrypha was translated for the Common English Bible version.
What is the Value of Reading the Apocrypha for Protestants?
Scholars often recommend reading the Apocrypha to better understand Jewish thought, piety, genres, and cultural dynamics, but is there a formational value to reading the Apocrypha for Christian formation? My good friend David deSilva says “Yes!” He has written a spectacular (*free*) essay on this: “Never Without a Witness: The Apocrypha and Spiritual Formation.” (See also deSilva’s video below)
Studying the Apocrypha
Here are some resources I highly recommend for learning more about the Apocrypha.
Introducing the Apocrypha (David deSilva)
Excellent, readable, thorough discussion. Highly recommended.
Invitation to the Apocrypha (Daniel Harrington)
A bit dated now (published 1999), but still good.
Commentaries
If you want more depth, there are a few commentary series that include the Apocrypha.
Anchor Yale Series
Check out the whole series HERE.
Hermeneia Series
Also, check out the Hermeneia series.
Commentaries on Early Jewish Literature
Another excellent academic series is the EJL from de Gruyter. Warning: expensive! This volume is $275 for one book—ouch.
Septuagint Commentary Series
For in-depth study of the Greek text, check out Brill’s Septuagint Commentary series.
I just recently spent a fair amount of time in 1-4 Maccabees for a study of John 10:22-39 and was blown away by the number of allusions John makes to those texts and stories. Maybe they aren’t inspired texts, but they are indispensable if one wants to see and hear what John’s audience would have seen and heard.
A couple years ago I listened to the Bible in a year podcast with Father Mike Schmidt. It included the readings of the apocrypha. Growing up SBC it was insinuated that these were not books we should read. I learned a lot of things through a different perspective. My youngest son is dating a wonderful young lady from a Jewish background. She has spent the last two Christmases with us as her family does not celebrate Christmas. This year Hanukah fell on Christmas Day. Because of my readings of the Maccabees I had a better understanding of their celebration of Hanukah. Thanks for these recommendations to dive a little more into these books and how they can help us better understand how the early church would have understood the message