Books of the Second Canon/The Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical Books

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Chapter 9

• Books of the Second Canon/The Apocrypha or
  Deuterocanonical Books

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Reading Ch. 9, Books of the Second Canon/The
Apocrypha, pp. 284-307 in the Textbook.
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• Books of the Second Canon
• The Hebrew Bible closes with the Books of
  Chronicles
• The Rabbis (ca. 90 A.D.) decided not to
  recognize as authoritative about 14 books that
  had been included in the Septuagint, that is, the
  Greek version of the Jewish scriptures
• The early Christian community, which used the
  Greek edition of the Hebrew Bible, regarded these
  14 books as Deuterocanonical, i.e., belonging to
  a Second Canon

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• Books of the Second Canon
• Today, Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox Bibles
  place some of these books among the Prophets
  (Neviim) and Writings (Kethuvim)
• See Textbook, pp. 4-5 and Table 9.1, p. 285.
• Following the Protestant Reformation in the 16th
  and 17th centuries, most Protestant editions of
  the Bible either omit Deuterocanonical books or
  relegate them to a separate unit between the Old
  and New Testaments
• Thus, in some Protestant editions of the Bible,
  these books are called the Apocrypha
• See your edition of the Bible.

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• See The New Revised Standard Version of the
  Bible
• See Table 9.1 Deuterocanonical (Apocryphal
  Books) (p. 285 in Textbook).

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• In the Writings (Kethuvim), books such as
  Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah give a generally
  favorable picture of Persian rule (see, Table
  3.1 Some Major Events pp. 42-44 in
  textbook)
• Persian Emperors generally tended to support
  Judean causes
• during the period of the Persian Empire, the
  Jewish people enjoyed two centuries of peace and
  stability (from ca. 539-330 BC)

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• Alexanders Conquests and the Hellenistic World
• However, the situation changed in the fourth
  century B.C. when a new world conqueror burst
  onto the international scene
• This emperor was Alexander of Macedonia (356-323
  B.C.) (See, Table 3.1, pp. 42-44 in textbook)
• Alexander rapidly conquered the Persian empire
• He created the largest empire the world had yet
  known
• See Figure 9.1 (p. 286) map of Alexanders
  empire (323 BC).

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(No Transcript)
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Alexander the Greats Defeat of Darius III (see
textbook, fig. 9.2, p. 286).
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Alexander the Great
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Alexander the Great
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The Empire of Alexander the Great
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• Alexanders Conquests and the Hellenistic World
  (contd.)
• Alexander brought Greek language, art,
  literature, philosophy, and social customs to the
  subjects of his vast empire
• For the first time in history, a European power
  dominated the older Near Eastern and Indian
  centers of civilization (see Figure 9.1, p. 286)
• Alexander died before he could carry out his
  presumed goal

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• Alexanders most important successors
• Ptolemy I he founded a dynasty that ruled Egypt
  for three centuries capital at Alexandria ruled
  Judea until 199 B.C.E
• Seleucus his descendants ruled Syria.
• See figure 9.1 (p. 286, in Textbook).
• Alexanders successors presided over a new
  international culture known as Hellenistic, a
  mixture of the classical Greek (Hellenic)
  civilization with the older cultures of the Near
  East.

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• The Hellenistic synthesis produced a creative
  flowering of Greek and oriental motifs in
  religion, philosophy, and the creative arts
• The Hellenistic epoch chronologically overlaps
  the period of Roman expansion and the early
  Christian centuries (see, Table 3.1, pp. 42-44 in
  Textbook).

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• Judaism and Hellenistic Assimilation
• Israels religion had originally developed in a
  small arena
• After Alexanders conquests, however, Judeans
  were forced to cope with life in a much larger
  and more culturally complex environment
• A cosmopolitan outlook emerged
• A breaking down of national barriers
• An integration of Greek with other ethnic
  customs
• As a result, many Jews became Hellenized.

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• The Deuterocanonical Books and Covenant Peoples
  Encounter with Hellenism
• For some authors, a peaceful coexistence between
  Hellenistic culture and the practice of authentic
  Jewish religion (see, e.g., The Book of Tobit and
  the Book of Wisdom)
• In sharp contrast, the Books of Maccabees show
  faithful Jews heroically resisting the imposition
  of Hellenization here, Hellenistic culture is
  seen as a threat to the covenant peoples
  religious identity and purpose

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• The Book of Daniel, an apocalyptic work,
  pictures human history as a series of Gentile
  empires that repeatedly attempt to compromise the
  faith of pious Jews
• (Why treat the Book of Daniel here? See,
  Textbook, p. 285 Box 9.1.)

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• Canonical and Deuterocanonical Books
• First, Antiochus IV, a Greek-Syrian king (see,
  Table 3.1, p. 43 and Table 9.2., p. 291 in
  Textbook)
• He attempts to eradicate Judaism
• The Maccabean revolt begins
• 1 and 2 Maccabees depict Anthiochus attack on
  Judaism
• They record a major shift in Israels religious
  experience
• Jews find themselves battling a foreign power
  not to defend their state militarily but to
  defend their religion

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• The Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians had
  permitted the people of Judea to worship Yahweh
  and to keep the Torah
• Antiochus, on the other hand, deliberately set
  out to destroy Judaism
• He made loyalist Jews suffer for their faith
• Thus, the great tribulation of which the Book
  of Daniel speaks
• the first saints and martyrs in a line of Jewish
  and Christian religious heroes who kept their
  integrity unto death

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• The Book of Daniel depicts Antiochus
  persecution as marking the climatic consummation
  of history
• This depicted in Daniels eschatological visions

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• Books covering Antiochus persecution and the
  rise of Apocalyptic writing
• 1 Maccabees a historical account of the Jewish
  revolt against the oppression of the Syrian King
  Antiochus IV
• 2 Maccabees a vivid elaboration of the
  persecution and tortures that Antiochus IV
  inflicted on Jewish martyrs
• See Figure 9.3, p. 290 Map of Palestine in the
  Maccabean period (ca. 168-63 B.C.E)

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Map of Maccabean Period.
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• Books covering Antiochus persecution and the
  rise of Apocalyptic writing (contd.)
• Daniel a canonical work, written during the
  persecution of Antiochus IV, that combines
  quasi-historical narrative and apocalyptic
  visions of end time
• Additions to Daniel

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• Other Deuterocanonical Writings (Books of the
  Apocrypha)
• Tobit a short story set at the time of the
  Assyrian empire but reflecting Jewish life in the
  later Diaspora
• Judith a fictional romance that highlights
  dangers threatening Diaspora Jews
• Additions to Esther prayers, etc. added to the
  Canonical Book
• Baruch a narrative about Jews living in foreign
  realms

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• Other Deuterocanonical Writings (Books of the
  Apocrypha) (contd.)
• Ecclesiasticus or Wisdom of Jesus Ben Sirach
  proverbial wisdom and ethical advice to Jewish
  students, written by a Jewish sage ca. 180 B.C.E
• Wisdom of Solomon a wisdom book combining
  traditional Jewish and Hellenistic ideas,
  composed during the first century B.C.E.

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• Apocalyptic Literature and the Book of Daniel
• Apocalyptic
• From the Greek Apokalypsis
• Meaning an unveiling, an uncovering, a
  stripping naked of what is normally hidden
• As a literary category, an apocalypse means a
  revelation of dimensions or events ordinarily
  closed to human view, e.g., the invisible realm
  of heaven, or the future course of history
• In the Hebrew Bible, only Daniel is a fully
  apocalyptic work

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• Apocalyptic Literature and The Book Of Daniel
  (contd.)
• Apocalyptic elements in Isaiah 6.1-12 and
  Zechariah 3.1-10
• See also, Isaiah 24-27, Ezekiel 30, 37-39, and
  Zechariah 9-14
• The New Testament (NT) Book of Revelation is
  apocalyptic literature
• Much of the NT is permeated with apocalyptic
  thought
• See, e.g., Mark 13, Matthew 24, Luke 21, and 1
  and 2 Thessalonians and 1 Corinthians.

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• Eschatological Concerns
• Apocalyptic literature is typically concerned
  with eschatology
• Speculations about last things, such as the
  final consummation of history, the prophetic day
  of Yahweh
• The ultimate fate of individual persons, e.g.,
  death, posthumous judgment, heaven, hell, and
  resurrection
• The belief in the resurrection of the body is a
  by-product of the apocalyptic movement (Dan
  12.1-3).

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• The authors of the Torah and the Former Prophets
  showed little or no interest in eschatological
  matters
• During the last three centuries B.C.E., the
  situation changed when apocalyptic speculation
  reached its height.

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• Apocalyptic Writings
• Commonly arise during times of persecution and
  tension
• They are a response to severe persecution or to
  that which threaten a groups welfare
• Daniel and Revelation composed to encourage
  their respective audience to remain faithful
  before the threat of state persecution
• They tell of the persecutors certain doom
• Rekindle hopes of future blessedness.

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• Apocalyptic Literature and the Book Of Daniel
  (contd.)
• The Book of Daniel
• Written to encourage Jewish Torah loyalists
  during the persecutions of Antiochus IV (mid-2nd
  century B.C.)
• Assures readers that even though Israel is
  scattered and oppressed by Gentile powers, its
  God still controls all nations
• the book is a two-part drama of supernatural
  deliverance

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• Part 1 (Chs. 1-6)
• The book portrays Daniel, one of
  Nebuchadnezzars court magicians, and his three
  young friends as scrupulous Torah observers whom
  God miraculously rescues from unjust punishment
• Part 2 (Chs. 7-12)
• A series of apocalyptic visions surveying the
  rise and fall of Near Eastern empires, from
  Babylon to the Hellenistic states of Syria and
  Egypt, that dominated Palestine in the authors
  day.

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• Book Of Daniel (contd.)
• Book ends by predicting public vindication and
  the physical resurrection of the wise who
  remained faithful under persecution (see 12.13
  see also 12.2 earliest clear enunciation of
  belief in the resurrection)
• The book was written ca. 167-164 B.C.E. when
  Jews were suffering intense persecution by
  Antiochus IV
• It is chronologically the latest written book in
  the Hebrew Bible.

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• Additions to the Book of Daniel
• The Greek version of Daniel contains three long
  poetic and narrative units not found in the
  Hebrew canon
• The Song of the Three Holy Children (3.24-90 in
  Catholic Bible Editions)
• Susanna (The Jerusalem Bible includes it as Ch.
  13)
• Bel and the Dragon (usually appended as Ch. 14).

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Three Faithful Hebrew Youths Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego.
Daniel 3.1-30 see especially 3.25.
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Questions 1. How does the canon of Hebrew
Scripture end? By whom and when was the decision
made as to what books were to be considered
authoritative for Jews? 2. What was the
practice of the early Christian community
relative to a number of books that were contained
in the Greek edition of the Hebrew Bible? What
did the community call these books? Where are
some of these books placed in Roman Catholic and
Greek Orthodox Bibles? 3. When did Protestants
decide to omit from their editions of the Bible
certain books that are contained in the Greek
edition of the Hebrew Bible? Why? What do
Protestants call these books and why?
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4. Describe the situation of the Jewish people
under the Persian Empire. How and when did this
situation change? 5. Describe some of the
changes that the conquests of Alexander the Great
brought to the Near East and, in particular, to
Palestine. 6. Describe the situation of the Jews
of Palestine in the centuries immediately
following the death of Alexander the Great. 7.
What is meant by the expression Hellenism? 8.
How do the Deuterocanonical books depict the
covenant peoples encounters with Hellenism? 9.
Describe how 1 and 2 Maccabees depict Antiochus
attack on Judaism. How does the Book of Daniel
depict the same attack?
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10. List and give a short description of the
Deuterocanonical books. 11. What is meant by
apocalyptic literature? What is the best example
in the Hebrew Bible of this type of literature?
Where are other examples of apocalyptic
literature found in the Hebrew Bible? What are
examples of apocalyptic literature in the New
Testament? 12. Apocalyptic literature is
typically concerned with eschatology. What is
meant by this statement? 13. Explain the origin
of apocalyptic literature. 14. Describe the Book
of Daniel under the headings a) purpose b)
major divisions c) time of writing and d)
additions that are not found in the Hebrew
Bible. PEACE!