[CS-FSLUG] Apocrypha

[Timothy Butler]

> "Apocrypha"
>
> Can someone explain this to me, is this really biblical ?
> I have never heard of it before.

	I'd say the Apocrypha is interesting, but should be treated as no  
more of an authority than many useful extra-Biblical sources, such as  
Josephius. The interesting thing about the Apocrypha is that it  
appears in the Septuagint (or LXX), the Greek translation of the  
Hebrew Scriptures (the text that the Gospel writers likely used), but  
not the Hebrew manuscripts of the OT.

	This presents some serious issues:

	1.) It could be that the texts simply weren't written in Hebrew but  
are legit. At least part of the Apocrypha fills us in on what  
happened in the centuries of silence between the return from the  
Exile and the New Testament. With Greek culture spreading, I guess  
one could argue that the writers -- some of which were defending  
against Hellenism -- actually were still of the sort that liked to  
write in Greek.

	2.) The Septuagint, as I understand it, actually is available in  
older manuscripts than the Hebrew. Therefore, something could have  
been lost between the time of our best Hebrew manuscripts and the  
Greek translation.

	3.) Matthew quotes Isaiah 7:14 as "a virgin will conceive...," the  
same language used in the Septuagint. Had he read the Hebrew, I am  
told by Hebrew scholars, he may not have been so likely to see 7:14  
as a reference to Jesus, since the word could also be translated  
"young woman." IIRC, there are numerous other places where the NT  
writers use uniquely LXX translations, so it would seem that God  
inspired the Gospel writer to use the LXX for some reason; can the  
case be made for the overall authority of the LXX? I'm not sure.

	On the other hand, as I see it, the Apocrypha does not add anything  
terribly useful, so we should look at it like Mark 16:9-20, for  
example. Interesting, but of questionable origin. In this respect, it  
makes sense to be aware of it, but not base any doctrine of substance  
on it.

	The Latin Vulgate, the major Latin translation of the Catholic  
Church by Jerome, was not a translation from the Hebrew original, but  
rather a re-translation of the Septuagint, which is how the Apocrypha  
moved along into Catholicism when the language shifted.

	-Tim

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