Search the encyclopedia

Search the Bible

27 articles found for “Apocrypha”

• Old Testament Apocrypha

  The Old Testament Apocrypha is the Protestant term for Jewish writings that appear in Greek manuscripts of the Old Testament but are absent from the Hebrew Bible. The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church accept some of these books as canonical.

• New Testament Apocrypha

  The New Testament Apocrypha is a collective term for early Christian writings that tell stories about Jesus and the apostles or bear an apostle's name but were not included in the twenty-seven books of the New Testament canon.

• Acts of Peter

  The Acts of Peter is a New Testament apocryphal work generally dated to the late second century. It recounts how the apostle Peter contended with Simon Magus in Rome and was martyred by being crucified upside down.

• Deuterocanonical Books

  The deuterocanonical books are books such as Tobit, Judith, and Maccabees that the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church include in the Old Testament but that are absent from the Hebrew Bible and the Protestant Old Testament. Protestants commonly call them the Apocrypha.

• Biblical Canon

  The canon is the list of books that the church has recognized as the Word of God and the standard for faith and life. Protestants regard sixty-six books as canonical and refer to certain books excluded from the canon as the Apocrypha.

• Protevangelium of James

  The Protevangelium of James is a Greek apocryphal work from around the second century that recounts the birth and upbringing of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the birth of Jesus. It is not included in the canonical Bible.

• Anne (Mother of Mary)

  Anne is known from the second-century apocryphal Protoevangelium of James as the wife of Joachim and the mother of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. She does not appear in the canonical Bible.

• Holofernes

  Holofernes is a character in the apocryphal Book of Judith who serves as commander in chief of King Nebuchadnezzar's army. He besieged Bethulia and was beheaded by the widow Judith.

• Infancy Gospel of Thomas

  The Infancy Gospel of Thomas is an early Christian apocryphal work that collects miracle stories from the childhood of Jesus between the ages of five and twelve. It is thought to have been written around the second century. Despite the similar name, it is a different book from the Gospel of Thomas found at Nag Hammadi.

• Protoevangelium of James

  The Protoevangelium of James is a New Testament apocryphal work that appears to have been written in Greek around the second century. It recounts the birth and upbringing of Mary and the birth of Jesus. Although it was not included in the canon, it had a major influence on Marian tradition and on depictions of the Nativity.

• Tobit

  Tobit is a book included in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles but classified by Protestants as part of the Apocrypha; it is also the name of the book's main character. The story is set in Nineveh during the Assyrian exile and features the angel Raphael.

• Joachim

  Joachim is the figure whom church tradition, including the second-century apocryphal Protoevangelium of James, identifies as the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the husband of Anne. He is not named in the canonical Scriptures.

• Sirach

  Sirach is a book of wisdom literature generally attributed to Jesus ben Sira, a teacher of the law in Jerusalem in the early second century BC. The Catholic and Orthodox churches regard it as canonical, while most Protestants classify it among the Apocrypha.

• Letter of Jeremiah

  The Letter of Jeremiah is a short work presented as a letter from Jeremiah to the Judean captives being carried off to Babylon, warning them against idolatry. The Catholic and Orthodox churches include it in the Bible, while Protestants classify it among the Apocrypha.

• Maccabees

  The Books of Maccabees record the Jewish revolt against persecution under the Seleucid dynasty in the second century BC. The Catholic and Orthodox churches include them in the Old Testament canon, while Protestants classify them as Apocrypha.

• Books of the Maccabees

  The Books of the Maccabees are writings that record the Jewish resistance to persecution under the Seleucid dynasty in the second century BC and the martyrdoms that accompanied it. The Catholic and Orthodox Churches accept them as canonical (deuterocanonical), while Protestants classify them as Apocrypha.

• Book of Judith

  The Book of Judith is a sixteen-chapter book that tells how the widow Judith saved Israel by killing the enemy general Holofernes. The Catholic and Orthodox churches include it in the Old Testament, while Protestants classify it among the Apocrypha, outside the canon.

• Tobias

  Tobias (Korean: Tobia or Tobiya) is the protagonist of the Book of Tobit, one of the deuterocanonical books (Apocrypha) of the Old Testament, and the son of Tobit. Guided on a journey by the angel Raphael, he married Sarah and cured his blind father.

• Gospel of the Hebrews

  The Gospel of the Hebrews is a gospel said to have been read among Christians of Jewish origin around the second century. No copy survives. It is a New Testament apocryphal work known only from a few passages quoted by the Church Fathers.

• Gospel of Nicodemus

  The Gospel of Nicodemus is an ancient Christian text that recounts the trial, death, and resurrection of Jesus and his descent into Hades. It is a New Testament apocryphal work not included in the canon and is also known as the Acts of Pilate.