Get a Handle on the Canon - Why not the Apocrypha?

Continuing our look at the Canon, we will look at a related question. Why not include the Apocrypha in the canon? Remember, canon refers to the books that are recognized as coming from God (and excluding other books that might claim to be from him).  

Why Not The Apocrypha?

The Apocrypha are books written during the “inter-testamental period” (after Malachi but before Matthew) from 430 B.C. to 40 A.D. It includes books of Jewish history (1,2 Maccabees), wisdom (Sirach), and other writings. They were added to the Catholic Church canon during the Council of Trent in 1546 A.D.

So why not accept these as part of the canon? Here are a few reasons:

• First, the Jews did not put these books in the same authoritative category as the OT writings. Philo, (ca. 20 B.C. – 40 A.D.) quoted the OT prolifically but never quoted the Apocrypha as inspired. Josephus (ca. 30 A.D. – 100 A.D.) explicitly excludes the Apocrypha when he lists the OT books.

• Second, Jesus didn’t accept it. In  Luke 11:49-51 Jesus says,

"Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation."

What is significant about this is the two martyrs he mentions. Zechariah (mentioned in 2 Chronicles 24:20-21), was not the last martyr chronologically in the OT times. But he is the last martyr mentioned canonically (that is, in the Hebrew canon, Chronicles is the last book and he is the last on mentioned in Chronicles). Abel is the first martyr in Genesis. So, Jesus summarizes all the martyrs in a way that does not extend the canon into the apocryphal books, but ends with the last book in the Hebrew OT. Therefore, he did not consider the apocrypha part of the canon.  

• Third, the New Testament authors never cite an Apocryphal book as Scripture (The book of Enoch is cited in Jude 14-15, but it is not said to be “the Word of God” or any other designation for Scripture. It should also be noted that Paul cites a pagan author in Acts 17:28 and Titus 1:12 as saying true things, but he did not recognize them as divinely inspired and authoritative).